Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!spdcc!dyer
From: dyer@spdcc.COM (Steve Dyer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.rt
Subject: Re: ESDI disks for RT (AOS 4.3)
Message-ID: <3434@ursa-major.SPDCC.COM>
Date: 2 Jun 89 14:08:59 GMT
References: <3396@ursa-major.SPDCC.COM> <613@acheron.UUCP> <3404@ursa-major.SPDCC.COM> <170@arnor.UUCP>
Reply-To: dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.COM (Steve Dyer)
Organization: S.P. Dyer Computer Consulting, Cambridge MA
Lines: 54

In article <170@arnor.UUCP> jparnas@arnor.UUCP (Jacob Parnas) writes:
>Are you sure you modifed all of the necessary kernel files?

Well, it's not clear to me what kernel files have to be changed when running
the standalone formatter.  :-)

>Are you sure that you have your drive jumpers/dip switches set to drive
>select 2 and the right number of sectors per track?

All jumpers were made to agree with other IBM H310 drives.  This was
done with two different Maxtor 4380E drives and cross checked by
another guy.  Drive select was 2.  Both drives misbehaved identically--
the formatter gave the same error on each track.  We even tried this on
another RT (same microcode level).  No difference.  I was operating
under the assumption that the IBM H310 drive, which is labelled with
"Maxtor 4380E" on its backside, is the same as a late-model Maxtor
4380E which I can buy from a distributor.  If all the disk geometries
agree, and the configuration record produced by the formatter is
correct, it isn't clear to me what kernel files would need to be
changed.  It should look, smell and taste like a H310.

Do you think there is a remote possibility that:

	0.) The jumpers for a H310 and an OEM 4380E mean different things
	    (no indication of this whatsoever from Maxtor.)  Seems unlikely.

	1.) the AOS 12/88 formatter messes up with formatting ESDI disks?

	2.) I have an IBM 114mb disk as my boot disk.  I run the formatter
	    by typing ^C from the boot record.  At that point, the EESDI
	    controller had to have polled drive 0 and got ITS attributes.
	    I, of course, are interested in formatting drive 1.  Would
	    that mess it up?

	3.) I assume there's a separate AIX/RT hard disk formatter program
	    available.  Perhaps that might work better.  I'm sure I can borrow
	    this from the IBM folks at MIT/Project Athena, if I know what disk
	    from the AIX or diagnostic set to ask for.  Any leads?

>Good luck, and if you have further problems give me a call or send me 
>a note with all of the kernel changes that you made to incorporate your
>Maxtor drive.

Thanks, I might take you up on that, barring any fresh suggestions!

>Note that I have only used Wren V and Priam disks on the RT.

Gasp, sputter...  And here I thought I was being CONSERVATIVE by buying
the same drive as IBM sold!  :-)

-- 
Steve Dyer
dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima,harvard,rayssd,linus,m2c}!spdcc!dyer
dyer@arktouros.mit.edu