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From: campbell@redsox.bsw.com (Larry Campbell)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.i386
Subject: WD1007V-SE2 controller -- 15Mb/s or not?  Wren VI -- 650MB or 1.1GB?
Message-ID: <1576@redsox.bsw.com>
Date: 26 May 90 15:50:14 GMT
Reply-To: campbell@redsox.bsw.com (Larry Campbell)
Distribution: usa
Organization: The Boston Software Works, Inc.
Lines: 28

I'm using a CDC/Imprimis/Seagate Wren VI on a WD1007V ESDI controller.  The
controller claims to be a 15Mb/s board.  Recently someone (sorry, forgot
who) in this group said that if you had a 15Mb/s controller, you could jumper
the drive for 93 sectors/track, raising its capacity from about 650MB to
about 1.1GB (actually they said 770MB, but 1630 cyl * 93 sec/trk * 15 heads
comes out to about 1.1GB).

Now, the drive *does* have a jumper labelled 93 sectors/track.  However, I
had originally jumpered the drive for 54 sectors/track (the other choices are
53, 35, and 34).  At 54 sectors/track the thing ran *ridiculously* slowly; a
low level format would have taken (if I had waited for it to finish) over
122 hours!

I called Western Digital and was told that the controller "isn't fast enough"
to run at 54 sectors/track, and if I jumpered the drive for 53 sectors/track
it would run at a reasonable speed.  Well, I was skeptical, but I tried it,
and indeed it now runs like a champ.  Very nice drive.

Now, if the WD1007V can't hack 54 sectors, I suspect it *certainly* can't
hack 93.

So here (finally) is my question.  Is the WD1007V a bozo controller, or am
I doing something wrong?  Can I actually use 93 sectors/track on my drive,
and if I need a new controller to do so, which controller will work?
-- 
Larry Campbell                          The Boston Software Works, Inc.
campbell@redsox.bsw.com                 120 Fulton Street
wjh12!redsox!campbell                   Boston, MA 02109