Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!bloom-beacon!eru!luth!sunic!tut!santra!digiw!petri From: petri@digiw.UUCP (Petri Alhola) Newsgroups: comp.unix.i386 Subject: Re: SCSI tape drives. Message-ID: <925@digiw.UUCP> Date: 10 Oct 89 13:07:46 GMT References: <9680@chinet.chi.il.us> Reply-To: petri@digiw.UUCP (Petri Alhola) Organization: Digiware , Helsinki Finland Lines: 77 In article <9680@chinet.chi.il.us> pdg@chinet.chi.il.us (Paul Guthrie) writes: > >Has anyone actually got SCSI tape drives to work on ISC 2.0.2? >Other people have posted this question, and I have never seen >a reply saying yes. > I sent following succes report to this newsgroup litle time ago, I is possible that is lost somewehre. After many days research work, i have got 386/ix 2.0.2 and adaptec 1540 SCSI controller to work with archive viper 150 Mbyte scsi streamer tape. I have found following things to be done before i got it working. I have also got archive QIC streamer working with asrhive drivers for archive409 controller board. 1 - SCSI parity in 1540 Parity is enabled as default and in archive it is disabled as default. i disabled parity in 1540 2 - SCSI address of arcvhive. 1540 does not regonize archive in all addresses . I got it working with SCSI address 2. 3 - The major number of /dev/tape was wrong. The /dev/tape major number was not generated by the kconfig script becouse there was not file in /etc/conf/node.d for tape and so major number for tape was 21 . In /etc/cond/cf.d/mdevive file it was 41. So it needed to make new /dev/tape file for right major number. For testing streamer the rom BIOS utility was usefull, becouse there was not any diagnostic utilities in 386/ix. And i even does not found any ioctls to test scsi devices. Using BIOS utility you can check that the 1540 founds streamer tape before you try use it with unix. >According to one person, the only success he had was with the tape >configured with a SCSI ID greater than 4, while the Archive 2150ES >manual, says that the high bit jumper of the 3 ID jumpers is >not used, effectively limiting the ID to 3 or less. > >Well, I've configured the kernel as specified, upgraded my 2150ES >firmware to the latest version, and tried about every possible >combination of jumpers, but with no success. Opening the scsi >tape devices (ct or nrct) fail with errorno -1 (PERMISSION), >even though the actual device permissions are OK, and I was >root. The adaptec controller seems to recognize the drive >(the active light flickers during the adaptec BIOS install), >and the kernel at least tries to determine SCSI devices (the >tapes light flickers again during the device inits after the >copywrite). > The problem can be in parity. The led flickers even parity is wrong. Try check parity jumpers in 2150ES. Try also 1540 bios diagnostic with dos debugger A:\>debug g=dc00:6 ---- Adaptec bios ---- This is only good way to see if the bios is regonizing drive. I have also tried to get adaptec utilities with uucp from adaptex ( see article in this group from neese@adaptex.UUCP) completely onsuccesfully. >Well, I've followed the manuals to the T, and tried about >everything, but to no avail. Has anyone actually got this >working, or is Interactive selling vaporware or the tape drive >equivilent of their asy driver? > >I am, however impressed with the performance of the SCSI >disk driver for the Adaptec. >I just wish I could back the sucker up with something that >takes less time than 300 floppies :-). >-- >Paul Guthrie >chinet!nsacray!paul Petri Alhola petri@digiw.fi