ISA CompactFlash Adapter - IDE for 8-Bit PC, XT CF LITE 4.1, XTIDE
What is XT-CF-Lite all about?
XT-CF-Lite is an SD-based storage device for old IBM PCs developed by James Pearce.
- Allows connecting a Compact Flash (CF) card to computers with an ISA bus
- The card also supports BIOS extension ROM
- No IBM slot-8 compatibility
- Works with XTs, ATs, and IBM PS/2 models
- If you have an IBM 5150, you need a special BIOS programmed (flash the right BIOS)
- IBM 5170 requires a BIOS upgrade to an AMI or AWARD BIOS to utilize this card (Requiring replacing/programming the 2x 27c256 EPROMS)
In the photo:
- ISA CompactFlash Adapter XT-IDE CF LITE 4.1 Bootable (Top)
- ISA CompactFlash Adapter XTIDE Bootable (Bottom)
| SW1.1 | SW1.2 | SW1.3 | I/O Address |
|---|---|---|---|
| ON | ON | ON | 0x300 |
| ON | ON | OFF | 0x320 |
| ON | OFF | OFF | 0x360 |
| OFF | ON | ON | 0x380 |
| OFF | ON | OFF | 0x3A0 |
| OFF | OFF | ON | 0x3C0 |
| OFF | OFF | OFF | 0x3E0 |
| SW2.1 | EEPROM Enable |
|---|---|
| OFF | EEPROM disabled |
| ON | EEPROM enabled |
| SW2.2 | EEPROM Write Enable |
|---|---|
| OFF | EEPROM write disabled |
| ON | EEPROM write enabled |
| SW2.3 | SW2.4 | SW2.5 | SW2.6 | SW2.7 | EEPROM Address |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ON | ON | ON | ON | ON | 0xC0000 |
| ON | ON | ON | ON | OFF | 0xC2000 |
| ON | ON | ON | OFF | ON | 0xC4000 |
| ON | ON | ON | OFF | OFF | 0xC6000 |
| ON | ON | OFF | ON | ON | 0xC8000 |
| ON | ON | OFF | ON | OFF | 0xCA000 |
| ON | ON | OFF | OFF | ON | 0xCC000 |
| ON | ON | OFF | OFF | OFF | 0xCE000 |
| ON | OFF | ON | ON | ON | 0xD0000 |
| ON | OFF | ON | ON | OFF | 0xD2000 |
| ON | OFF | ON | OFF | ON | 0xD4000 |
| ON | OFF | ON | OFF | OFF | 0xD6000 |
| ON | OFF | OFF | ON | ON | 0xD8000 |
| ON | OFF | OFF | ON | OFF | 0xDA000 |
| ON | OFF | OFF | OFF | ON | 0xDC000 |
| ON | OFF | OFF | OFF | OFF | 0xDE000 |
| OFF | ON | ON | ON | ON | 0xE0000 |
| OFF | ON | ON | ON | OFF | 0xE2000 |
| OFF | ON | ON | OFF | ON | 0xE4000 |
| OFF | ON | ON | OFF | OFF | 0xE6000 |
| OFF | ON | OFF | ON | ON | 0xE8000 |
| OFF | ON | OFF | ON | OFF | 0xEA000 |
| OFF | ON | OFF | OFF | ON | 0xEC000 |
| OFF | ON | OFF | OFF | OFF | 0xEE000 |
| OFF | OFF | ON | ON | ON | 0xF0000 |
| OFF | OFF | ON | ON | OFF | 0xF2000 |
| OFF | OFF | ON | OFF | ON | 0xF4000 |
Notes:
- Make sure that the selected I/O and EEPROM addresses do not conflict with other devices
- Addresses 0xC0000 - 0xC6000 will conflict with the EGA/VGA BIOS extension
- Addresses 0xC8000 - 0xCA000 might conflict with the XT Hard Disk BIOS extension
- Addresses 0xE0000 and up might conflict with the system BIOS on newer motherboards
- It is recommended to disable EEPROM write once the XT IDE BIOS extension is programmed and configured
Preparing the CF Card
Before formatting the CF card, you must first run the FDISK program included with DOS to create the necessary partitions. If the CF card was previously partitioned on a modern PC, it likely contains 386-based code in the Master Boot Record (MBR), which is incompatible with 8088 or 8086-class machines.
To resolve this, you can use the FDISK /MBR Command from DOS 5 or DOS 6 to rewrite the MBR with compatible code. Alternatively, you can use a low-level formatting tool such as HDD Guru to completely erase the CF card and then run FDISK to create new partitions suitable for use on vintage systems.
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