Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!nrl-cmf!ames!oliveb!pyramid!octopus!pete From: pete@octopus.UUCP (Pete Holzmann) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: FAST disks on PC AT clones Message-ID: <214@octopus.UUCP> Date: 5 May 88 04:06:57 GMT References: <21346@amdcad.AMD.COM> <205@octopus.UUCP> <1006@spdcc.COM> <613@mccc.UUCP> <212@octopus.UUCP> <618@mccc.UUCP> Reply-To: pete@octopus.UUCP (Pete Holzmann) Organization: Octopus Enterprises, Cupertino CA Lines: 61 Summary: RLL- It isn't all *that* dangerous if you avoid Seagate. In article <618@mccc.UUCP> pjh@mccc.UUCP (Pete Holsberg) writes: > >[me]... 4) Anybody have experience with other brands? > >I've been running a Rodime 203E with an early Adaptec RLL controller >with excellent results for nearly two years. However, no one should use >any HD with an RLL controller that is NOT certified for RLL formatting. I am certain that you shouldn't be so certain about this absolute prohibition :-) ! I'll repeat it in a different way: If you have a Seagate non-RLL drive, *stay away* from RLL. If you have other drives, your luck will be much better. In particular, the Maxtor and Micropolis drives have good enough designs to always be used with RLL, despite what their marketeers would lead you to believe. IF you are selling the drives under warranty, you probably can't get away with using non-RLL under RLL conditions, since the mfg won't back you up. If you are the user, and the drive fails, it won't be the RLL's fault! If you start getting lots of data errors, *that* could be due to RLL, but all you have to do to fix it is re-do the low level format using non-RLL controller. Manufacturers *frequently* sell high-end equipment with low-end stickers on them. Why? It is cheaper to make a single product than two different ones. You sell it into two different markets, making more $$ from the people that can afford to pay more (and think they are getting more). Maxtor in particular seems to be fond of this. Two examples, one certain, one rumor that is being checked on this week: 1) Maxtor 1140 vs. 2190. The ONLY difference in the specs is 918 cylinders for the 1140 vs. 1224 cylinders for the 2190. Actually, they are identical drives, right down to the testing (and results) done at Maxtor. Confirmed by inside sources, and *extensive* use [close to a hundred drives known to be in use this way, from personal contact] 2) New Maxtor ESDI drive [don't have model handy]. The 170MB version has 7 heads, the 350MB version has 15. Rumor has it that changing a jumper on the drive will enable the other 8 heads [and platters] that have been waiting in there all along! We'll see... > >Your treatise on HDs was undoubtedly very informative, but my purposes >would have been served better had you answered my questions. :-) Sorry! I try to answer the underlying general questions whenever I think that people are probably interested. I didn't realize that I missed your particular question in my answer. Maybe you can email me the specific Q I missed and I'll try again [your original article is already gone from here]. Pete -- OOO __| ___ Peter Holzmann, Octopus Enterprises OOOOOOO___/ _______ USPS: 19611 La Mar Court, Cupertino, CA 95014 OOOOO \___/ UUCP: {hpda,pyramid}!octopus!pete ___| \_____ Phone: 408/996-7746