Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!merk!brennan
From: brennan@merk.UUCP (Rich Brennan)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.xenix
Subject: Disk controllers and weird booting rituals.
Message-ID: <372@merk.UUCP>
Date: 23 Jan 89 06:07:59 GMT
Reply-To: brennan@merk.UUCP (Rich Brennan)
Distribution: na
Organization: Technology Partners, Inc.
Lines: 34


  I hate being a pain-in-the-net, but I've got this weird booting problem
with which I could use some help. Besides, you all did so well with my
last question :-).

  I've just upgraded to this WD-1007 ESDI controller, and it has this
weird boot sequence:

	  Hard reset the machine (i.e. the reset button), and the machine
	does its RAM scan, etc. I get a "Hard Disk Controller failed"
	message from (I think) my BIOS. However, if I do a "soft" reset
	at this point (CTRL-ALT-DEL), then apparently the controller is
	recognized, and everything works.

  Doing the above, I was able to install Xenix 2.3, and bring my system
completely up (and lose about 5 meg of incoming news because I screwed
up my HDB Permissions....).

  I went through every conceivable contortion I could think of to get
this thing to boot on a hard reset, including the four combinations of
enabling/disabling the WD-1007 BIOS and its 34->17 sector translation
mode. Always the same result.

  Has anyone out their seen this weird hard/soft reset behavior or have
some guess as to what I could look at? The system is usable, but I'm
hosed if I get a power glitch.

  If you'll mail suggestions, I'll post the summary. Thanks again...



Rrrrrich.
-- 
...!{uunet,linus!alliant}!merk!root			Rich Brennan