Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!mailrus!cwjcc!gatech!mcdchg!ddsw1!karl
From: karl@ddsw1.MCS.COM ([Karl Denninger])
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Low-level formatting of hard-drive
Message-ID: <[800.4]karl@ddsw1.comp.ibmpc;1>
Date: 12 Dec 88 20:00:04 GMT
References: <1988Dec10.094859.18130@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu>
Lines: 25

Regarding OMTI controllers and XTs:

If you have an OMTI RLL controller, get rid of it and FAST.  Every one of 
them that I have had here has exhibited extreme temperature stability 
problems, to the point that they were unusable.  Symptoms are increasing 
read-write failures as the system warms up, eventually leading to complete 
inability to retrieve anything on the disk.

I've returned a half-dozen in the last year or so personally; there's still 
one of these monsters in our stockroom that was out of warranty -- I 
wouldn't even sell that, with a disclaimer that we know it has problems, for 
$5.00!

Get a Western Digital WD27x board; it looks like a WX2 (real short card) but 
it says "27x" on the build level sticker.  These have an on-board BIOS that 
is known to work, it can virtually configure the drive (so the system still 
thinks it's a 17-sector unit; very useful for some picky software) and most 
importantly, I have never had one go bad on me.

If you must use that OMTI, the jump address Barrett Kreiner gave is close -- 
on OMTI controllers I believe it's G=C800:6 (not :5) (it has been a while).

--
Karl Denninger (karl@ddsw1.MCS.COM, ddsw1!karl)
Data: [+1 312 566-8912], Voice: [+1 312 566-8910]
Macro Computer Solutions, Inc.     "Quality solutions at a fair price"