UltraStor 12F ESDI Controller
View of the Circuit Board
  • J1: Floppy Drive Connector
  • J3: Hard Drive #1 Data Connector
  • J4: Hard Drive #0 Data Connector
  • J5: Hard Drive Control Connector
  • J6: Hard Drive LED
    • Default settings are in Bold or are selected by a .

    JP3: Factory Use Only. Default is Jumpered.

    JP4(1/2): Reserved (no pins installed for jumpers).

    JP4(3/4): Cache Control

  • Jumper to Disable Caching.
  • Open to Enable Caching.

    • JP5: Configured for 32KB Data Buffer. Default is Jumpered.

    JP6: Configured for 8/32KB Data Buffer. Default is Jumpered.

    JP7: Factory Use Only. Default is Jumpered.

    JP10: BIOS Address
    pinsDisableC800CC00D000D400D800DC00Disable
    1/2--------XXXX
    3/4----XX----XX
    5/6--X--X--X--X
    C800 is the Default setting.

    JP11: Floppy Controller

    JP11(1/2): 3rd Floppy
  • Jumpered: Single-twist cable, set drive as #4.
  • Open: Double-twist cable, set drive as #2
    • JP11(3/4): 2nd Floppy
  • Jumpered: PS/2 type floppy (3.5" only).
  • Open: AT type floppy (3.5" or 5.25").
    • JP11(5/6): 1st Floppy
  • Jumpered: PS/2 type floppy (3.5" only).
  • Open: AT type floppy (3.5" or 5.25").
    • JP11(7/8): Floppy Address
  • Jumpered: Secondary Address (370-377).
  • Open: Primary Address (3F0-3F7).
    • JP11(9/10): Floppy Speed Support
  • Jumpered: Dual speeds (300/360 RPM).
  • Open: Single speed (300 RPM).
    • JP11(11/12): Floppy Precompensation
  • Jumpered: Fixed at 125ns for all data rates.
  • Open: Varies with data rate (250KHz: 250ns, 300KHz: 208ns, 500KHz: 125ns).

    • JP12: HD I/O Address

  • Jumpered: Secondary Address (170-177).
  • Open: Primary Address (1F0-1F7).

    • JP17: Floppy Support

  • Jumpered: Enable Floppy Support.
  • Open: Disable Floppy Support.

    • JP20: Hard Drive IRQ Select

  • 2/3: IRQ#14.
  • 1/2: IRQ#15.

    • Accessing the Internal Setup

    The 12F has an internal setup program in it's BIOS that is accessed using DEBUG at the controller's I/O address, with an offset of 5. Thus, if you set the address to C800, you'd type debug , then at the "-" prompt, you'd type g=c800:5 to access the setup menu. The latest BIOS as of this writing is #9.00, and this guide is based on that.

    Setup & Mapping Options

    Drive Choices:

  • 1: <1024 cylinders, <63 sectors/track. <528MB capacity.
  • 2: >1024 cylinders, <63 sectors/track, <528MB capacity.
  • 3: >1024 cylinders, <63 sectors/track, >528MB and </=1.2GB capacity.
  • 4: >1024 cylinders, >63 sectors/track, >528MB and </=1.2GB capacity.
  • 5: >1024 cylinders, >63 sectors/track, >1.2GB capacity.

    • Operating System: Dos 3.3 up, OS/2 1.1 up
    - 1 -- 2 -- 3 -- 4 -- 5 -
    1 spare/trackNONONONONO
    sector mapNO63NO6363
    track mapNONO<1.2GB<1.2GB>1.2GB
    1024 mapNONONONONO

    When using a tape drive in the "3rd floppy" position, the tape software should normally work fine. However, if an actual floppy drive is used in that position, additional software will be needed to allow DOS to access the device. This software, EXFDRV.SYS, is available from UltraStor or your UltraStor Dealer.

    Each hard drive should be Prep'd with the utility accessed through the DOS Debug command. Normally, the User will initiate a Low Level Format with the AUTOFORMAT field set to BRIEF. Choosing EXTENDED adds considerable time to the format, which is fully automatic.
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