Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!decwrl!fernwood!portal!atari!apratt
From: apratt@atari.UUCP (Allan Pratt)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: TOS 1.6 & Re: Hold that computer...
Message-ID: <2236@atari.UUCP>
Date: 12 Jul 90 23:52:06 GMT
References: <1990Jul6.190229.19792@sun.soe.clarkson.edu> <10766@chaph.usc.edu>
Organization: Atari Corp., Sunnyvale CA
Lines: 39

In article <1990Jul6.190229.19792@sun.soe.clarkson.edu>,
AAron@image.soe.clarkson.edu (AAron nAAs) writes:

>By the way, TOS 1.6 waits about 6 seconds for the harddrive to get up to
>speed before continuing to boot.

Actually, I think he meant 60 seconds.  The actual number is 90 seconds.
If the manual that came with the computer didn't contain a comment
about this, it should have.  The comment would read something like this:

	"When you turn on your computer, the Floppy Disk Access light
will come on, then go out, then come on again.  After this there is a
90 second delay, to allow your hard disk to become ready.  If the hard
disk becomes ready in less than 90 seconds, or if you have no hard
disk, you can press any key to terminate the delay and continue the
startup sequence."

Believe me, people, I tried to come up with a solution which didn't
involve a simple delay.  It turns out that hard disks vary widely in
their spin-up time, and also in their responses to commands between the
time they are powered up and the time they are ready.

Hitting a key too early will not stop the delay because the system
hasn't initialized the keyboard yet.  Wait for the floppy access light
to come on, then go out, then come on again: that's when everything is
initialized, and you can hit a key to stop the delay.

The 90-second delay addresses the need for machines you can turn on
with one power switch, and most notably for unattended machines which
might come up all at once after a power outage.  The logic goes like
this:

(A) 90 seconds is more than enough for all hard disks we're aware of.
(B) If you're there, you can hit a key when your HD is ready.
(C) If your system comes up unattended, an extra 90 seconds won't hurt.

============================================
Opinions expressed above do not necessarily	-- Allan Pratt, Atari Corp.
reflect those of Atari Corp. or anyone else.	  ...ames!atari!apratt