Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!sgi!markb@denali.sgi.com
From: markb@denali.sgi.com (Mark Bradley)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.sgi
Subject: Re: Third Party Disks for 4D/25
Summary: help with your 3rd party disk on a PI
Message-ID: <43751@sgi.sgi.com>
Date: 30 Oct 89 21:15:20 GMT
References: <8910252145.AA09555@aero4.larc.nasa.gov> <2541@munnari.oz.au> <1989Oct27.184925.13487@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu>
Sender: markb@denali.sgi.com
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc., Mountain View, CA
Lines: 60

In article <1989Oct27.184925.13487@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu>, ian@dgp.toronto.edu (Ian S. Small) writes:
> A word of warning re third party disks - what works now may not
> work tomorrow.  We have been running Wren V's on both Personal Irises
> and Power Irises without too much distress after some initial teething
> problems.
> 
> One of the Personal Iris/Wren V combinations just upgraded to 3.2 and
> guess what?  His Wren V doesn't behave any more.  SGI's response appears
> to be:  "We didn't support it, it's your problem."  We have only tried to
> upgrade the one machine, so cannot determine if this problem is endemic
> across the entire line, or whether it is just Personal Irises, or
> just 4D/25's for that matter.
> 
> But when the manufacturer breaks things that used to work (and doesn't
> offer any help in fixing the problem), that's good cause for customer
> dissatisfaction.  While we are used to doing a lot of hacking, and aren't
> terribly bothered by the prospect of doing a little more, hacking to
> fix things that shouldn't have to be fixed is simply annoying.
> 
> Seems to me that the glow that appeared about SGI products and SGI
> willing-to-pleaseness (gack, what a word!) around about the time of
> the Personal Iris introduction is fast disappearing.  We should know
> better, of course, having been original owners of a 2400T, but hey,
> one could always hope.
> -- 
> Ian S. Small (416) 978-6619       Dynamic Graphics Project
> 				  Computer Systems Research Institute
> BITNET:      ian@dgp.utoronto	  University of Toronto
> EAN:         ian@dgp.toronto.cdn  Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A4
> UUCP/CSNET:  ian@dgp.toronto.edu

You should probably have whomever sold you that drive upgrade the firmware.
3.2 has some performance enhancements that we found (rather painfully)
bring out some bugs in old, braindead, buggy drive f/w.  

It would be really nice if everyone tried as hard to determine the problem
and its solution as they do trying to find someone to blame.  You may have
noticed that there are some of us here on the net who actually DO want to
help you solve your problems.

As for someone telling you that we don't support your drive, that person
was probably doing as they were told.  Support is a cost/profit center, too.
They are also not privy to all of the information they would have needed
to help you solve your problem.

Anyhow, try to get your drives' f/w upgraded to the latest rev.  It will
probably work just fine.

					markb

--
Mark Bradley				"Faster, faster, until the thrill of
I/O Subsystems				 speed overcomes the fear of death."
Silicon Graphics Computer Systems
Mountain View, CA 94039-7311		     ---Hunter S. Thompson

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* Disclaimer:  Anything I say is my opinion.  If someone else wants to use it, *
*             it will cost...						       *
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