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From: DBarker@system-m.phx.bull.com ( Deryk Barker)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: ESDI disks/controllers and SCO UNIX
Message-ID: <23260@adm.BRL.MIL>
Date: 7 May 90 02:46:48 GMT
Sender: news@adm.BRL.MIL
Lines: 35

On the chance that they are people who read this and don't read the info-UNIX
mailing list:

Does anyone out there have any experience of the following?
          NEC 5655 153Mb ESDI disk
          Western Digital WD1007A-WA2 ESDI controller
with SCO UNIX (or Xenix)?

My SCO UNIX release notes say that it will work OK with the WD1007 (ST506) and
WD1006 (ESDI) controllers - so I am a bit puzzled as to why the WD1007A should
be  ESDI  rather  than  ST506 - oh well...  I am VERY reluctant to spend large
amounts  of  money  without  the  benefit  of  someone else's experience, as I
discovered  the hard way that the Seagate SCSI controller won't even boot UNIX
from  floppy  -  despite  the  company's  claims  that it works fine with "all
UNIX's".   (In  fact  it  won't  even  boot other non-DOS software such as the
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy game).

I  have been informed that the WD1007 is definitely ESDI, so presumably it's a
typo.   Can  anyone  confirm  that the WD1007A -WA2 is bus-compatible with the
vanilla  WD1007  -  although  I  can't imagine why it wouldn't be.  Also, does
anyone  know  how  many cylinders/heads the NEC disk has?  I gather UNIX won't
access past 1024 cylinders or 16 heads.

Failing  that, has anyone address/phone numbers for Western Digital and/or NEC
- preferably in Canada, but the US will do... If all else fails, I can try the
supplier.

Any info - either to me direct or here - will be MUCH appreciated.

"Send Lawyers, Guns and Money,
Dad - get me out of this!"

Deryk Barker,
Jupiter Software
Victoria, BC