Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!portal!cup.portal.com!Chip_N_Oliver From: Chip_N_Oliver@cup.portal.com Newsgroups: comp.sys.dec Subject: Re: DEC 3100 drive question??? Message-ID: <17610@cup.portal.com> Date: 26 Apr 89 06:12:35 GMT References: <905@uceng.UC.EDU> Distribution: na Organization: The Portal System (TM) Lines: 25 In jwg1@bunny.get.com writes: > According to our local DEC salesman, there are currently no third > party drives available for the 3100, i.e., you might call it > pseudo-SCSI. Your going to believe a DEC salesman about 3rd party drives (even if he knew what he was talking about)? My recollection is that the 3100 SCSI bus is SUPPOSED to be as standard as SCSI can get (whatever the H**L that means. In other words, just like any other 'standard' SCSI bus, SOME SCSI drives will work. The problem may be (as it always was in the past) is whether DEC is going to give you the facilities to format the drive - i.e. are they going to let you enter the drive geometries into the format utility or do you just specify "RZnn"? Of course you could always write you own formatter using the 'standard SCSI command set' (this actually would be feasible). One thing you can be sure of, the 3rd party guys are working on solutions, whatever they may be. Of course their prices, like always, will be somewhere between DECs outrageousness and rolling your own. Chip Oliver coliver@cup.portal.com Lockheed Missiles & Space sun!portal!cup.portal.com!coliver This line left Internationally Blank