If you have a parallel null modem cable (or even a serial one) you can use the dos interlnk and intersvr command to access the drive from another computer. Not sure if that will help.
Entering the CHS values into bios was common practice on pre pentium level computers. This might explain why your usb adapter doesn’t work as the drive is too old to send its geometry.
I don’t think I’ll ever take off while it’s called Lemmy. It’s just not a word that sounds ‘good’ in my opinion.