Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!wuarchive!sdd.hp.com!apollo!goykhman_a
From: goykhman_a@apollo.HP.COM (Alex Goykhman)
Newsgroups: comp.periphs
Subject: Re: AGA Discus
Message-ID: <50531a4e.20b6d@apollo.HP.COM>
Date: 12 Mar 91 18:57:00 GMT
Sender: root@apollo.HP.COM
Reply-To: goykhman_a@apollo.HP.COM (Alex Goykhman)
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Apollo Division - Chelmsford, MA
Lines: 44

In article <24081@hydra.gatech.EDU> gt0852c@prism.gatech.EDU (Daniel Rothman) writes:
>I have a problem. As a new network admin, i have discovered two AGA Discus r/w 
>optical drives lying dormant. These appear to be really nice little drives, and
>have cartridges of 300M/side. They claim to be SCSI, with compatibility to 
>ANSI x3.131/1986, as well as being "Novell certified" for use with Netware
>386 SFT.  Optimally, I'd like to hang them off of the IBM PS/2 model 80 we're 
>using as a Novell file server. Unfortunately, the little buggers come with 
>"SCSI adapter cards" for use with the IBM AT Bus. The next step in this 
>conendrum is that i cannot find AGA nowadays. They seem to have gone under, 
>with no forwarding address and no pointers to tech-support.
>
>1) anybody heard of Advanced Graphics Application (AGA) or their tech support
>people? 
>
>2) Can anyone suggest to me a way to get these beasts to talk to a micro-channel
>machine in any capacity?

    You would definitely need a microchannel/SCSI host adapter
>
>3) can anyone explain to me what SCSI compatibility with ANSI x3.131/1986
>means, and how this may be of benefit to me?

    It implies that any decent SCSI driver would be able to handle it.
    SCSI-wise, MO is a removable direct-access device, just as a floppy is.
>
>Failed attempt: I tried to bring one of the beasts home, to talk to my Mac 
>through its SCSI port. Despit the best intentions, the suggested dip settings
>and such, I simply could not get my mac to recognize this box as SCSI 1.
>I attempted to use a fresh cartridge, and install some Mac drivers on it, but
>SF&I 1.01 showed an error on the drive. This is the software that's supposed to
>format and partition SCSI hard drives for a mac.

    It may well be a software problem.  What does it complain about?

>The docs I have from AGA are really scimpy (of course) and don't help at all in
>the configuration of the drive, although they are pretty good for the AT card 
>configuration. 
>
>Daniel Rothman

    Alex Goykhman


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