XT IDE Adapter
(250-1088)                  Hints & Tips               Faxback Doc. # 17124

Q:  Can any smartdrive be used on the 25-1088 adapter?

A:  No, the 25-1047 & 25-1048 are the only supported hard disk drives for 
    the 25-1088.

Q:  Will the adapter work in any computer?

A:  No, the addendum states the adapter will not work in the Tandy 3000NL.
    It is not recommended for any 3000 or 4000 series computer (uses two 
    slots), and can not be used in a Tandy 1000TL/2, TL/3, RL, RLX, or RSX 
    (IDE interface is already included).

Q:  The manual says to use HSECT on the smartdrive.  Doesn't that ruin the
    smartdrive?

A:  The manual is correct, HSECT is used and will NOT ruin the smartdrive.
    The paddle board's BIOS will correctly interpret the HSECT command and
    configures the smartdrive correctly.

Q:  How can I get the extended partition in MS-DOS 3.20.22, the FDISK 
    utility does not include the option?  (40 MEG smartdrive)

A:  Under 3.20.00 & 3.20.22 you must use the MLPART.COM utility to access 
    the extended partition.  Also, the MLPART.SYS must be loaded in the
    CONFIG.SYS to recognize the partition.  Then the MLFORMAT.COM command 
    must be used to format the extended partition.  If you want to do it 
    the easy way, AUTOFMT.EXE will automatically configure the smartdrive 
    as a 32 MEG C: drive and a 8 MEG D: drive. 
____________________________________________________________________
The following is the procedure to use the MLPART command to create a 32 meg 
and 8 meg partition using MS-DOS 3.20.00.  The only difference when using 
MS-DOS 3.20.22 is it will ask you for the Interleave Factor which is the 
number 7:

With the MS-DOS Supplemental Diskette in the A: drive at the A:\> prompt, 
type:

HSECT <ENTER>

Question                      Type In          Remarks

Which Hard Drive (C/D)        C
Do you want to continue?      Y

Hard Drive C is type 8 
Number of heads=5             This information is only
Number of cylinders = 979<-----displayed in 03.20.00 DOS.
Is this Correct?              Y
Do you want to flag 
defective tracks?             N
Formatting.....                                This takes about 15 min.
Formatting Complete.

A: FDISK <ENTER>

 Question                   Type In            Remarks

Choose Option 1
Create DOS partition        1
Do you wish to use the
entire hard disk? (Y/N)     Y                  This will create a 32 
                                               meg partition

REBOOT

                            A: MLPART <ENTER>  This will display a menu 
                                               similar to FDISK.
Choose option 1
Create DOS2 partition       1
Enter partition size        209 <------------- This information is available
Enter starting cylinder     770 <--------------on the screen.

REBOOT

A: FORMAT C: /S                                FORMAT is on the
Copy DOS to the hard drive                     MS-DOS boot disk
Create CONFIG.SYS with
  DEVICE=c:\mlpart.sys c: <------------------- The "c:" option must be used
                                               to work correctly

REBOOT

You should see the following:

Tandy MLPART Version 1.00.00 Split Disk Drive
Installed additional Drive on C: as drive D:

C: MLFORMAT  D:                                This will format the D: 
                                               partition
_____________________________________________________________________

MAKE A AUTO-FORMAT DISKETTE

Format a blank diskette with the /s option.
Copy these files from the MS-DOS & Supplemental diskettes

AUTOFMT.EXE      FORMAT.COM
SYS.COM               MLFORMAT.COM
MLPART.COM       MLPART.SYS
HSECT.COM

BOOT FROM THE AUTO FORMAT DISKETTE

Question                    Type In      Remarks

Enter hard drive                         Entire process takes about 20 min.
number to format            1            Creates a 32 meg C: partition and 
Do you wish to continue?    Y            a 8 meg D: partition.
Determining drive 1 size....
Formatting drive 1......
Verifying drive 1.......

AUTOMATICALLY REBOOTS

You should see:

Tandy MLPART Version 1.00.00 split disk drive
Installing additional drive on C: as drive D:
--Installed

REM Autofmt Completing Installation
echo off
System transferred
1 files copied
1 files copied
1 files copied
1 files copied

Autofmt is Complete
Remove diskette from drive A: and hit <CTRL> <ALT> <DEL>
____________________________________________________________________

MAKING A 20 + 20 MEG SPLIT USING FDISK AND MLPART
(Use HSECT as normal)

A: FDISK <ENTER>

Question                   Type In     Remarks

Choose option 1
Create DOS partition       1
Do you wish to use the
entire hard disk? (Y/N)    N           This will create a 20 meg partition

Enter partition size       489
Enter starting cylinder    0

Anything less than a 32 meg partition will create a NON-BOOTABLE partition,
you must make the partition ACTIVE to correctly boot.

Choose option 2 
Change active partition    2   
Enter the number you 
want to make active        1 

REBOOT

A: MLPART <ENTER>                      This will display a menu similar to
                                       FDISK.
Choose option 1
Create DOS2 partition      1  
Enter partition size       490 <------ This information is available
Enter starting cylinder    489 <------ on the screen.

REBOOT

A: FORMAT c: /s                        FORMAT is on the MS-DOS
Copy DOS to the hard drive             boot disk.              
Create CONFIG.SYS with
  DEVICE=C:\mlpart.sys c: <----------- The "c:" option must be used to work
                                       correctly.
REBOOT

You should see the following:

Tandy MLPART Version 1.00.00 Split Disk Drive
Installed additional Drive on C: as drive d:

C: MLFORMAT D:                                                                

This will format the D: partition.