Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!sigma
From: sigma@picasso.ipl.rpi.edu (Kevin Martin)
Subject: Two IDE questions
Message-ID: <672g3mj@rpi.edu>
Keywords: Conner IDE spam
Nntp-Posting-Host: picasso.ipl.rpi.edu
Date: 2 May 91 17:10:41 GMT
Lines: 25

I recently got my new system set up.  I have a 386/25 non-cache 4Mb system
with a Conner 212Mb IDE drive.  Works like a charm.

1) How does IDE *really* handle bad sectors?  There is no defect list, no
   defects turned up during high-level formatting or partitioning, but this
   morning trying to unzip a file led to about a fifteen-second pause with
   the drive light on, several long seeks, and then the read succeeded, but
   PKUnzip didn't understand the file.  I deleted it.  DiskFix from PCTools
   was unable to find anything wrong with the disk.  Am I right in
   surmising that the drive found the error, and when it couldn't correct
   it, simply mapped in a sector from a reserve somewhere and returned a
   blank sector of data?  What happens when the reserve runs out?

2) What *is* the difference between the CP-3204 and the CP-3204F.  My
   documentation only mentions the 3204, but this is labelled as a 3204F.
   It's impressively fast, CoreTest 2.92 returns 1123.4 Kb/sec transfer
   and 16.2 ms average seek.  Anyone with a similar setup and a 3204 want
   to compare notes?

Thanks,

-- 
Kevin Martin
sigma@ipl.rpi.edu
"I am NOT a Merry Man!"