Xref: utzoo comp.sys.mac:22697 comp.sys.mac.programmer:3111
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!cornell!uw-beaver!tikal!sigma!uw-nsr!uw-warp!gtisqr!sam
From: sam@gtisqr.UUCP (Sam Felton)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: SF&I for ST277N
Summary: I must have missed alot...
Message-ID: <456@teela.gtisqr.UUCP>
Date: 10 Nov 88 20:58:58 GMT
References: <1671@cadre.dsl.PITTSBURGH.EDU>
Reply-To: sam@teela.UUCP (Sam Felton @ the Xoo)
Organization: Global Technology International, Inc.
Lines: 24

Our system was "off-net" for about two weeks. Now I see everyone referring to
"SF&I", which I assume means something like SCSI Formatter & Initializer. What
I want to know is, where do you get this? If it is "nettable", could someone
re-post it? I don't have access to SUMEX or the other archives, unfortunately
:-<.

I bought a Seagate ST-157N bare drive, made cables, and wrote the initializer/
formatter myself, using a driver modified from the SCSI driver supplied as an
example by APDA. This took me A LONG TIME, although I did it the hard way (I
used the old Consulair assembler, since it was the only thing that would fit on
an 800K drive with system and Macsbug).

I know, I know -- call me a masochist. But I learned LOTS about the SCSI
manager and the Mac II hardware this way, not to mention the ST-157N itself.

I am now looking to purchase another drive, which I had intended to be another
ST-157N since I had one running already... but if this SF&I does what it sounds
like it does, I could get something better (i.e., larger and faster), like a 
Quantum or Fujitsu or something, and use this to format/initialize it.

Thanks for putting up with my (obviously uninformed) ravings.

		---Sam

DISCLAIMER: Please, don't try this at home -- we're trained professionals.