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From: jca@pnet01.cts.com (John C. Archambeau)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: RLL controllers with MFM drives
Message-ID: <624@crash.cts.com>
Date: 31 Oct 89 04:56:17 GMT
Sender: root@crash.cts.com
Organization: People-Net [pnet01], El Cajon CA
Lines: 46

wayne.ho@f526.n250.z1.fidonet.org (wayne ho) writes:
>Hello there,
>    I do agree with you that putting RLL controllers on MFM drives 
>
>is quite a risk, but I must say, it isn't impossible.  I have RLLed 
>an ST-225 and a Miniscribe 3650 (which is exactly the same drive as 
>the RLL rated 3650.. 'cept its not certified) for a year or so now 
>without a hitch.
>    Yes, I may be slightly crazy, but most of my data is not EXTREMELY 
>
>important.  I have backups..  From what I know Seagate no longer allows 
>their non-RLL certified drives to use RLL.  They have done something 
>with their drives to disallow this.  In their older ST-225's RLLing 
>is possible, but it isn't very safe.  I suppose I was lucky.  From 
>what I know you need a ST-225 above revision 3.  I'm not sure when 
>they started changing their drives to disallow RLLing.
 
You mean the drive won't format RLL or what?  I can tell you since I work for
an authorized Seagate dealer that Seagate NEVER condoned RLL formatting a
non-RLL certified drive.  Same goes in reverse, if you MFM format an RLL
drive, the warranty is invalidated.  But I do know one thing, Seagates if
formatted the way they're supposed to be never gave me any trouble.  I have a
two year old ST225 to prove it.  The only time it crashed was when *I* had the
pleasure of trashing the partition table myself.  Of course, that ST225 is now
in the hands of a friend of mine whom I sold it to and replaced with an ST151.

Oh, by the way.  Seagate is not going to develop anymore MFM or RLL drives. 
The ST151 was Seagate's last MFM drive developed.  Seagate is now focusing on
SCSI drives so now this problem of MFM and RLL will be done with as soon as
the older MFM and RLL drives die out from normal usage.  Seagate will still do
servicing of these drives of course, but gradually, they will cease
manufacturing of MFM and RLL drives.  There will be no 80 Mb 3.5" MFM or RLL
drive, only a SCSI drive.  A shame since the newer 3.5" drives have an average
access time of 24ms (ST151, ST177N, and ST1096N).  Guess I'd better buy my 2nd
ST151 while I can.  Got another hard drive bay to fill up.  :)

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