Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!world!lucifer
From: lucifer@world.std.com (Kevin S Green)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: Re: Best hard drive combo
Message-ID: <1991Jun30.224857.27770@world.std.com>
Date: 30 Jun 91 22:48:57 GMT
References: <4939.apple.a2.net@pro-nbs>
Organization: The World @ Software Tool & Die
Lines: 34

In article <4939.apple.a2.net@pro-nbs> asong@pro-nbs.cts.com (Andi Song) writes:
|        I'm not really sure on all these obscure port/slot configurations.
[...edited...]

Andi, 
 I can't speak on the RAMFast card because I don't own one. However,
you can put the Apple SCSI card in virtually any slot (although the
best ones are 5,6 & 7 since they won't affect other things like the
built in text display, etc). 

If you set the control panel to "scan" on start-up, it keeps going 
around on the chain of drives until it finds one that has a valid
GSOS (or ProDOS8) Startup file on it. If you don't care about your
machine taking a little while longer to boot (while it is looking
for a system disk) then this is the way to do it. You'll be able to
put your SCSI card in any slot and the computer will scan until 
the harddrive has come up to speed or until another drive has a
Startup program on it.

If on the other hand you want to give the computer a little head
start, you set the control panel to whatever slot you _know_ the
Startup volume will be on (and in the case of the harddrive, the
SCSI card is seated). If your harddrive is then a little slow in
booting up, you can fiddle with the SCSI ids, as per my last msg,
and it will give it that extra few seconds to wind up to speed.

The best advice I can give you is: Buy your card based on things 
other than startup speed, which isn't _that_ important. More
important things to consider are drive speeds,etc. Whichever card
you buy, you should consult your manual carefully. I'm sure it will
give you all the information you need to give you your optimum setup.

-- 
Kevin S. Green / lucifer@world.std.com / {xylogics;uunet}!world!lucifer