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From: bryan@cs.utexas.edu (Bryan Bayerdorffer @ Wit's End)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Subject: Re: A3000 and Syquest -- booting
Message-ID: <338@mohawk.cs.utexas.edu>
Date: 15 May 91 00:28:34 GMT
References: <1991May13.115455@alamo.Berkeley.EDU> <21017.282eec91@oregon.uoregon.edu> <1991May14.221337.1726@cs.cornell.edu>
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In article <1991May14.221337.1726@cs.cornell.edu> johnhlee@cs.cornell.edu (John H. Lee) writes:
=-I'm not sure why you can't boot with the Syquest powered up empty.  I'm
=-guessing, but it sounds like the SCSI driver is repeatedly polling the
=-Syquest and the Syquest is responding "not ready" instead of "no media
=-loaded."  The SCSI driver is waiting forever for the drive to spin-up.
=-I think you'll have to query Commodore Software Engineering for this one.
=-

I might mention --- ok, I *will mention* --- that my HardFrame controller boots
just fine from the main (Q80S) drive when no cartridge is installed in my
Syquest, which is located physically in the middle of the SCSI bus, and, being
internally mounted, is continuously powered.  The HardFrame polls the Syquest
for a while at boot time and then gives up.  This seems a preferable way of
handling unresponsive devices.

I don't know how the HardFrame would behave if the Syquest were powered off at
boot time, but I suspect it would be the same.