Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!mcnc!uvaarpa!murdoch!savant!jon
From: jon@savant.uucp (Jon Gefaell)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.i386
Subject: Re: Adaptec 1542B under ESIX?
Message-ID: <1990Aug18.134453.16821@savant.uucp>
Date: 18 Aug 90 13:44:53 GMT
References: <2074@sud509.ed.ray.com> <4351@tmiuv0.uucp>
Organization: Savant System, Public Interactive Media: Charlottesville, Va.
Lines: 50

In article <4351@tmiuv0.uucp> rick@tmiuv0.uucp writes:
>In article <2074@sud509.ed.ray.com>, heiser@tdw201.ed.ray.com writes:
>> Is anyone out there using an Adaptec 1542B with ESIX?  One person reported
>> using a 1542A, but I'd like to find out about the 1542B ...
>
>I'm one of the 1542A users.  Works fine, lasts a long time.  Even with yuckky
>Seagate ST-296N drives.  It does zing! on my Wangtek 5150S tape drive, though.

Well, the 1542A works just fine. The ST200 series drives are HORRID though.
If you're lucky enough to get one without the 0525 error, or the multiple
LUN's error I'm sure it'll work fine for you, but if when you fire up the
on board utilities under DOS from the Adaptec, and upon inquiring to the
drives you get either of these errors, you're doomed. I had to  do the long
drawn out multivendor thing with ESIX, Adaptec, and Seagate on this. ESIX
said that they knew their driver worked, and I haddda agree, Adaptec offered
that it was _possible_ that I had a defective host adapter, though they  
rather doubted it. Anyways, they air shipped me a replacement to test with.

All Seagate would say was "It works with DOS!" (The battle cry of the 
ignorant) and offer to do NOTHING. *sigh* (Take it to your dealer)
I did the smart thing, I covertly researched the pecking order, found
Al Shugart at the top and phoned him directly. He was easily accessible(!)
and when I recounted my tale of woe he told me to expect a phone call...

The call didn't come the next day, I hadda call and go NUTS on their people,
the real phone terror (act like a big enough jerk, they'll service you
to get rid of you) They wanted, at first, to merely reiterate that I should
return the drives via my dealer. What they didn't understand was that I had
done so already, and the same errors occured (PANIC, and then more PANIC, 
especialy during fsck's, well, you get the idea...) Finally, they sent me
a replacement (on my ...SUGGESTION) of a Imprimis (good idea that!) and
I've never been happier... 

Moral: BEWARE the ST2xxN drives! They are evil! :)

>
>I seem to recall ESIX saying the 1542B works with ESIX, but I won't swear to
>it.

The 1542B changed the Floppy Controller Chip, and there was a problem at first.
They almost released the Rev D. Upgrade before it was discovered. A larger
delay somewheres to deal with the new chips latency on firing up a floppy
(I think it was) was all that was needed to make it work with the 'B' board.

Enjoy!

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