Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!van-bc!sl
From: sl@van-bc.wimsey.bc.ca (Stuart Lynne)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.i386
Subject: Re: 2 hardrives of different interfaces allowed to coexist in PC UNIX?
Message-ID: <1626@van-bc.wimsey.bc.ca>
Date: 29 Aug 90 02:27:05 GMT
References: <25313.26ce9f6f@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> <637@slammer.UUCP> <25@opel.COM>
Organization: USENET Public Access, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Lines: 37

In article <25@opel.COM> johnk@opel.COM (John Kennedy) writes:
>In article <637@slammer.UUCP> todd@slammer.UUCP (Todd Merriman) writes:
>-In article <25313.26ce9f6f@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> teoh@uicbert.eecs.uic.edu writes:
>->Is it possible to allow 2 different types of hard disks in a pc UNIX
>->environment (using 2 different controllers)?
>-
>
>I agree.  The documentation and menus indicate you can set up a primary ST-506
>and a secondary SCSI, but what I tried was the opposite:  having an old ST-506
>controller and drive available as secondary.  My attempts, too, failed.
>
>Anyone had any luck with this?  Followups to comp.unix.i386.

I have made this work under SCO Xenix (SCO also maintains that it won't).

The basic problem is that the Adaptec controller checks for a normal
controller and if it finds one will not boot. 

What I did was to install a "second" hard disk controller at the "second"
address. I didn't tell the ROM BIOS that it had any hard disks.

The Adaptec doesn't see the controller so it will boot normally.

The second problem is whether the OS will pay attention to the second
controller if the first is not in use. Xenix will. I simply had to create the 
appropriate device file's. While I had an existing disk that did not need 
preparation with the mkdev hd script I suspect just telling the script that 
you had an ST506 drive as the boot disk would work (if not it's not that hard 
to do by hand).

So the big question is whether ISC will use the controller once you have
your system setup in this fashion. And whether you will have to partition
and prepare the file systems by hand.


-- 
Stuart.Lynne@wimsey.bc.ca ubc-cs!van-bc!sl 604-937-7532(voice)