Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!SERVAX.BITNET!CARPENTR
From: CARPENTR@SERVAX.BITNET (RALPH=CARPENTER)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re: GS & UniDisk (was: TransWarp'd Sider)
Message-ID: <8912131551.AA14278@apple.com>
Date: 13 Dec 89 15:50:09 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 46

Ralph Carpenter (CarpentR@SerVax.Bitnet) says:
>>        A few months ago, we had to substitute a UniDisk 3.5 drive for
>>a GS's Apple 3.5" drive which had to go to The Shop.  We couldn't get
>>the GS to boot from the UniDisk.  We swapped drives, cards, cables,
>>etc.  No go.  Finally, in desperation, we read the manual :-) and
>>discovered that the FAST speed of the GS was TOO fast for the UniDisk
>>to respond during the boot scan, so the GS never "heard" it.  We set
>>the GS's speed down to NORMAL (ie, POKEY) via the Control Panel and
>>the UniDisk booted just fine. (It booted slow, but it booted.)

Matt Deatherage (Matt@Apple.Com) replies:
>This isn't true generally, although slowing down the system may have
>made your specific problem go away.  I boot my system from UniDisks
>all the time, as do thousands of others, without resetting the system
>speed to "normal".
>In fact, there's a whole lot of expensive hardware in the IIgs to make
>sure that the system isn't "too fast" for older peripherals.

        I'm glad to know it's not a widespread problem.  We were
completely puzzled as to why our (3rd) brand-new IIgs consistently
failed to boot from any of our brand-new UniDisks until we came across
this paragraph in the System 4.0 Apple IIgs Owner's Guide (030-1502-A),
Chapter 6 "TroubleShooting", p. 183:

        "THE COMPUTER DOESN'T RECOGNIZE YOUR UNIDISK 3.5-INCH DRIVE

        [ ... ]

        o   The UniDisk drive is connected to a disk drive controller
            card but the System Speed option in the Control Panel is
            set to Fast. Change the System Speed setting to Normal."

        Reading this, & finding that it DID solve the problem, we
naturally assumed that this WAS a little-known "feature" of the
IIgs/UniDisk system combination. :-)
 _____________________________________________________________________________
/                                                                             \
|  Ralph Carpenter           InterNet: CarpentR%SerVax.Bitnet@MITvma.MIT.EDU  |
|  Dept. of Psychology   --->Bitnet: CarpentR@SerVax  SoBell: (407) 367-2616  |
|  Florida Atlantic U.       Bitnet: Ralpho@FauVax  GEnie, Delphi: Ralpho     |
|  at Boca Raton             CI$: 74015.644@compuserve.com                    |
\_____________________________________________________________________________/

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