Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!decwrl!ucbvax!van-bc! From: lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca (Larry Phillips) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware Subject: Re: NEED MORE HELP!! (formatting Quantum ProDrive) Message-ID: <1830@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca> Date: 31 Jul 90 00:40:29 GMT Lines: 72 Return-Path: To: van-bc!rnews In <3757@tmiuv0.uucp>, rick@tmiuv0.uucp writes: >In article <1990Jul25.190605.11054@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu>, wille@frith.msu.edu (Jeffrey Wille) writes: >> I recently posted an article requesting help on formatting my 40 Meg >> Quantum Prodrive w/ a CLtd host adaptor. I had two responses, suggesting >> that I use the GenFormat program. Thanks for your responses. I tried it, >> and it says >> >> Formatting SCSI Address 0, Interleave 1 ... >> >> After that, I hear the head move for a second, and then it says >> Format Status OK and quits. Any more ideas? Something I need to fix in >> my devsetup file? It doesn't seem to make any difference whether or >> not I run devinstall. Any additional help would be greatly appreciated. >> >> Jeff Wille (wille@frith.egr.msu.edu) >> (wille@happy.egr.msu.edu) >> > >Quantum drives don't actually do a low-level format. Essentially, they >recalibrate (reseek track 0) and report "Done". There are a few other >drives which do this. "SCSI is a standard that isn't". Whether a drive actually does or does not do a low level format when it receives the command has absolutely nothing to do with the SCSI standard (or SCSI-2 for that matter. The drive knows best. If a low level format is required, it is performed, otherwise, it is not. >To my knowledge, the only way to low-level format a Quantum is to send it >back to Quantum. There is a way to do it (I don't know the method offhand, but have been told that it can be done), but it requires a special set of commands to make it happen. > Also, since no low-level format is actually done, Quantums >are prime candidates for the "0 in block 0" FFS bug. What 'zero in block zero FFS bug'? You aren't thinking of the 'non zero in memory location zero FFS ' are you? > There are other drives >with the same problem. Hey, SCSI drive makers: either implement the command >or refuse it. Don't fake it out. Quantum is not 'faking it. The successful return of the SCSI Format command is saying "Ok, I am low level formatted", whether it actually does rewrite the bitstream or not (and yes, the controller looks at it as a bitstream). > It seems that several of the manufacturers >merely take the SCSI standard as a "strong suggestion". Perhaps we need a >new division of the police known as the "SCSI Squad". Yeah, just what we need. We'll end up with drives that dare not do anything above the lowest common denominator, whether it matters to the SCSI spec or not, because some yahoo SCSI vigilante will decide that the spec really meant this, instead of that. I agree that there are a lot of drives out there whose designers have chosen to interpret the SCSI spec in different manners, but that is the fault of the spec, not the fault of those who have to interpret ambiguous and muddy definitions, and the Quantum's handling of the low level format command does NOT fall into that area at all. -larry -- Sex is better than logic, but I can't prove it. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | // Larry Phillips | | \X/ lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca -or- uunet!van-bc!lpami!lphillips | | COMPUSERVE: 76703,4322 -or- 76703.4322@compuserve.com | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+