Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!unix.cis.pitt.edu!gvlv2!gvlv1!kleonard From: kleonard@gvlv1.gvl.unisys.com (Ken Leonard) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware Subject: Re: info on hard disk & controller Message-ID: <816@gvlv2.GVL.Unisys.COM> Date: 17 Jul 90 13:30:46 GMT References: <1171@gold.GVG.TEK.COM> <5307@plains.UUCP> <1174@gold.GVG.TEK.COM> Sender: news@gvlv2.GVL.Unisys.COM Reply-To: kleonard@gvlv1.UUCP (Ken Leonard) Distribution: comp Organization: Unisys Defense Systems, NISD, Great Valley Laboratory Lines: 25 In article <1174@gold.GVG.TEK.COM> grege@gold.GVG.TEK.COM (Greg Ebert) writes: * * IDE - Integrated Drive Electronics. Wow!!! Conner Peripherals put *ALL* the * disk controller logic (data separator,serial<->parallel,buffering,etc) onto * the drive itself. An IDE drive only needs a trivial interface card, which * some manufacturers build into their motherboards. * * The ASIC I designed at AST Research had IDE support on it. If you get a * system with an internal IDE interface, all you add is the drive and a * 40 pin connector. No more hard disk controller board. IDE drives are upward * compatible from the 16-bit AT style controllers and are software-transparent -- Interrogative compatible what way? As in commands? As in cchhss address? As in lowlevel format? As in badtrack handling? -- Will a lowlevel disk manager program (like SpeedStor or DiskManager) see the same things as with an MFM drive? Will a diskmanager stiil be useful for partitioning (for DOS 3 or multiboot systems?) Will a diskmanager still be useful for surface scan, etc? ----- I think I need to know, because I'm _soon_ to buy a system and need to make a choice. ---------- regardz, Ken