Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mailrus!ncar!ames!apple!rick
From: rick@Apple.COM (Rick Auricchio)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.aux
Subject: Re: Request for help on setting up Syquest removable hard disk
Message-ID: <39536@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 16 Mar 90 18:10:40 GMT
References: <8657@chaph.usc.edu>
Organization: Apple Computer, Inc.
Lines: 35

In article <8657@chaph.usc.edu> jamin@aludra.usc.edu (Sugih Jamin) writes:
    >Could someone please e-mail me the steps required to setup
    >Syquest removable hard disk with A/UX 1.1?  Thanks.

This one's not trivial, unfortunately.  The Syquest (and A/UX) suffer from a
few problems:
	1) Some (all?) Syquest drives don't support the SCSI message
	    "restore pointers", which causes the 1.1 and 1.1.1 SCSI
	    manager to get annoyed.  Forcing "never-disconnect" mode
	    is a hack around it, but setting that mode isn't trivial.
	    The A/UX SCSI manager should infer "restore pointers" on
	    a drive reconnecting.  An oversight that I became aware
	    of several months back.
	
	2) When the Syquest media is initialized, there are certain
	    "error control" bits that can be set/reset (I don't know
	    specifically, but "PER" comes to mind).  Anyway, if this
	    is set "wrong", A/UX attempts to fix it via Mode Select.
	    Sending a Mode-Select with Zero bytes of page info is
	    valid SCSI protocol, but the Syquest barfs.  One could
	    flip this bit via some kind of utility program, though.

	3) The bad news for last.  The Syquest is removable, and A/UX
	    only understands fixed media.  As long as you don't try
	    to do anything "unusual" with the "removability" features
	    (e.g. always keep media in the drive, don't try to eject,
	    don't push the eject button), things should work OK.
	    The entire issue of removable media has yet to be
	    addressed.  My crystal ball tells me it might be me.
-- 
-- 
Rick Auricchio, Apple Computer Inc, 20525 Mariani Av MS 58A Cupertino CA 95014
sun!apple!rick   OR   rick@apple.COM     Mooney N894AR     (408) 974-4227
		Never eat prunes when you're famished.
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