Toshiba T3100e HDD replacement?
Posted by not-a_porn-alt@reddit | vintagecomputing | View on Reddit | 4 comments
Hello there!
I recently acquired a beautiful computer off ebay in the hopes of fixing it up and bringing it back to working order. It looks like the hard drive is having issues - I consistently reach an error prompt "ERROR INITIALIZING HARD DISK CONTROLLER". Of course, the manual recommends I use the diagnostics disk, but I'm waiting on a new floppy drive since the current one is also fried (Tried cleaning it and a bunch of tiny parts fell out that definitely looked important). Is there a better replacement than another 40-year old physical hard drive?
redditshreadit@reddit
You got a Toshiba compatible floppy drive? How much?
not-a_porn-alt@reddit (OP)
Allegedly, i think. Was around $50 all things considered, some guy on ebay selling NOS
ravensholt@reddit
One option, is to try and get in touch with the creator of the 3inONEder:
https://conventionalmemories.com/wiki_cm/3inONEder_for_Toshiba_portables
That's by far the best solution.
Alternatively - Add an XT-IDE card , and get a small IDE DiskOnModule.
The XT-IDE will take care of the BIOS limitations, and the DiskOnModule is a fantastic solution on top of that.
I've got a T3100e as well, it's a fun little machine, and this post reminded me, that I need to get back to that "project" of mine.
Good luck!
T-SquaredProductions@reddit
XT-IDE cards. They work great with systems with ISA slots. You can use modern hard drives, and for some configurations, all you need is a CompactFlash card or two (and a CompactFlash-to-IDE converter if you want a dual-"drive" setup.)