Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!cica!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!omen!caf
From: caf@omen.UUCP (Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: ESDI controller for Micronics 33 mHz board?
Keywords: ESDI, 386
Message-ID: <857@omen.UUCP>
Date: 1 Nov 89 11:44:22 GMT
References: <6763@pt.cs.cmu.edu>
Reply-To: caf@omen.UUCP (Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX)
Organization: Omen Technology Inc, Portland Oregon
Lines: 34

In article <6763@pt.cs.cmu.edu> tgl@zog.cs.cmu.edu (Tom Lane) writes:
:
:  A while back there was some discussion of difficulties in putting
:ESDI hard disk controller cards on '386 motherboards, specifically
:the Micronics 33 mHz motherboard.  A friend of mine has just run
:into precisely this problem: he is getting very flaky behavior from
:an Adaptec ESDI controller.  (Needless to say he is not too happy
:with the "systems integrator" that sold him the combination.)
:  Are there any ESDI controller cards that are KNOWN to work with
:the Micronics motherboard?  Reports of first-hand experience would
:be preferred.  (If you can name names of other brands that don't work,
:that would be useful too.)

I have a Micronics 33 mHz motherboard and it isn't too kind with marginally
fast I/O boards, even at slower bus speed.  Casualties include: AST 4-Port
(in Xenix mode), Everex Tape controller, and Adaptec 2322 (marginal).

The AST won't work at all in the Micronics.  The Everex seems
to work if the Micronics is slowed to "AT 8 mHz" speed, and
sometimes works at full speed.  The Adaptec doesn't like to
format Hd's on the Micronics, but SCO Unix seems to like it
just fine.  When I first tried the 2322 had difficulty writing
to HD with DOS, but with the current arrangement of boards DOS
seems to be OK.  Several other boards work OK at the slow bus
speed.  The Micronics' 11 mHz bus speed spazzes just about
everything, don't bother to try it.

Maybe the Micronics 33 mHz really wants EISA boards.

Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX          ...!tektronix!reed!omen!caf 
Author of YMODEM, ZMODEM, Professional-YAM, ZCOMM, and DSZ
  Omen Technology Inc    "The High Reliability Software"
17505-V NW Sauvie IS RD   Portland OR 97231   503-621-3406
TeleGodzilla:621-3746 FAX:621-3735 CIS:70007,2304 Genie:CAF