My evening...

by "bhtooefr" (bhtooefr)
Published 03/23/2017 at 21:43

Tags: retrocomputers ; nibbybait ; ibm
STARS: 3

Ahh, low-level formatting a hard drive.

That was after renewing my SSL certs, only to find that StartCom is untrusted by browsers for new certs (thanks to their fuck ups ), and then having to switch to Let’s Encrypt.

Oh, and that low level format? So, I’m trying to get Xenix running on this IBM 5155 Portable PC, and it wasn’t happy with my RLL hard drive controller (a WD1002-27X) - apparently, it’s expecting 17 sectors per track, which is what you’d get out of an MFM controller. Not a problem, the controller supports 17 sector emulation mode, although that does require redoing the low level format...

...except the emulation mode is implemented by the hard drive controller’s firmware, and Xenix is directly twiddling the hardware. So, I just LLFed the hard drive for nothing. Oh well, just ordered a WDXT-GEN2 Plus, that’s a true MFM controller. Hopefully I’ll get it in time to set this up for Vintage Computer Festival East...

Replies (6)

"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
03/23/2017 at 21:48, STARS: 0

Shows how little I know about computers all that went straight over my head

"bhtooefr" (bhtooefr)
03/23/2017 at 21:52, STARS: 0

Well, this is all ancient shit that’s older than I am, too, and is utterly irrelevant in 2017. (Not the certificate stuff. That’s quite modern, and extremely relevant to 2017 computing, at least on the server side, so that when you go to https://bhtooefr.org , you get the little green lock, instead of a warning that the site isn’t secure.) Note the 1987 copyright - and that’s probably the newest thing involved in that picture.

"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
03/23/2017 at 21:54, STARS: 0

Oh

"Rainbow" (rainbeaux)
03/23/2017 at 22:01, STARS: 0

Does it activate a nearby Protectron?

"Nibbles" (nibbles)
03/23/2017 at 22:32, STARS: 0

Damn, straight back to 1990 lol

"Berang" (berang)
03/24/2017 at 02:37, STARS: 1

Mine doesn’t even hard drive.