This web site is not some kind of 'official' documentation hub for the XT-IDE card.
It is simply the result of someone who decided to add to the documentation that exists elsewhere.
XTIDE Universal BIOS (XUB) - Some Serial Drive Examples
Example #1 ------------
My IBM XT (IBM 5160) is fitted with: a video card, a serial port card, an XT-IDE card, an IBM floppy controller, and one floppy drive. The motherboard switches are configured for one floppy drive.
The serial drive that I am hosting on my modern computer, file MY_720K.IMA, is a 'floppy/diskette' type.
During the boot of the IBM XT, I do what the XUB requires to have it scan for serial drives, and it does report that it found MY_720K.IMA
I boot from the CF on the XT-IDE card, and see a C: prompt.
What I discover is that I now have a B: drive, which is the serial drive.
BOOTING
I know that the serial drive (MY_720K.IMA) is bootable and so I can boot from it if desired (a slow process, at 9600 baud, taking minutes).
I know from earlier that in the particular hardware configuration that I have, the serial drive (MY_720K.IMA) is appearing as B:
During the boot of the IBM XT, I do what the XUB requires to have it scan for serial drives, and it does report that it found MY_720K.IMA
I then press the B key to boot from B:
Example #2 ------------
My IBM PC (IBM 5150) is fitted with only a video card, a serial port card, and an XT-IDE card. There is no floppy controller, and so accordingly, switch 1 on the motherboard's SW1 is set for no floppy drives.
The serial drive that I am hosting on my modern computer, file MY_720K.IMA, is a 'floppy/diskette' type.
During the boot of the IBM PC, I do what the XUB required to have it scan for serial drives, and it does report that it found MY_720K.IMA
I boot from the CF on the XT-IDE card, and see a C: prompt.
What I discover is that I now have an A: drive, which is the serial drive.
BOOTING
I know that the serial drive (MY_720K.IMA) is bootable and so I can boot from it if desired (a slow process, at 9600 baud, taking minutes).
I know from earlier that in the particular hardware configuration that I have, the serial drive (MY_720K.IMA) is appearing as A:
During the boot of the IBM PC, I do what the XUB requires to have it scan for serial drives, and it does report that it found MY_720K.IMA
I then press the A key to boot from A: