Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!crdgw1!crdos1!davidsen
From: davidsen@crdos1.crd.ge.COM (Wm E Davidsen Jr)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: 60MB hard disks -- Which to buy?
Message-ID: <392@crdos1.crd.ge.COM>
Date: 19 Sep 89 13:48:45 GMT
References: <632.2515BB61@mudos.ann-arbor.mi.us>
Reply-To: davidsen@crdos1.UUCP (bill davidsen)
Organization: GE Corp R&D Center
Lines: 39

In article <632.2515BB61@mudos.ann-arbor.mi.us>, mju@mudos.ann-arbor.mi.us (Marc Unangst) writes:
|  I am currently in the market for a 60MB hard disk to stick in my 
|  Zenith Z-148 (XT compatible).  CompuAdd lists a 60MB MiniScribe 
|  RLL disk (they don't say what the model number is; perhaps some 
|  smart net.person knows?) for $389 plus s/h, etc.  (Specs on the
|  disk: half-height, RLL, 1.5Mbit/sec xfer rate, 61ms average access
|  time.)  Is this a good price?  Is this a good disk?  Should I
|  be looking for something else; perhaps a Seagate?  (Note that

  I have run several ST251 disks RLL without problems. You could get a 251
for about $309 from _Computer Shopper_ the last time I looked.
|  
|  I'm also planning on keeping my current ST-225, hooking it up to
|  the RLL controller, and getting a grand total of 90MB out of this.
|  I think that this is one of the "new" ST-225's, with the green
|  access light and all.  Is RLLing the ST-225 a safe thing to do?

  It will probably work. The "new" 225 is as safe as any non-RLL disk,
which is to say that if you got a "good" one it will work fine.
|
|  (BTW, don't worry about voiding warantees -- The one on this drive
|  ran out a while ago.)  Will I stand a great risk of losing my
|  data?  If I shouldn't RLL the ST-225, is it possible to put both
|  MFM and RLL controllers in the same machine?

  Yes, but you will need to diddle drivers to make it fly. I have seen
it done but I don't have the drivers myself. Have you considered running
an ST4096 (about $520) with your existing 225 and controller? Gives you
100MB, everything running in spec, and not much more money (assuming
$125-150 for the RLL controller).

  I've used the Adaptek and WD1006VSR2 controllers for RLL and would go
with the WD. It not only works slightly better, it's cheaper, at least
at dealer Q3 pricing.
-- 
bill davidsen	(davidsen@crdos1.crd.GE.COM -or- uunet!crdgw1!crdos1!davidsen)
"The world is filled with fools. They blindly follow their so-called
'reason' in the face of the church and common sense. Any fool can see
that the world is flat!" - anon