brand@janus.UUCP (10/02/87)
I have a number of questions about hard disk drives and controllers in general and those of the PC6300 in particular. I have a 2 year old PC6300 with a dealer installed 20MB HD and controller (Western digital or Data Technologies Corp., I am not sure.) One or the other has just gone bad and so I am looking at the prospect of having to replace it. I had thought about using the diagnostic disk that came with DOS (2.11 in my case) but was told by the AT&T hardware rep. that the disk will not work if "optional ROM" is present. When I boot up the message does say "Optional ROM at C8000....etc", I cant't remember the exact details. I must admit, though, that I haven't noticed any extra boards in the machine when I have taken off the cover - apart from the video and disk controller boards that is. As a result I have a few questions: (1) What exactly is this "Optional ROM" and what does it do? (2) Where does it reside physically - on the motherboard, on a separate memory board? (3) Could I not have any Optional ROM and still get this message? (4) How do I use the diagnostic disk (or other means) to confirm which item is defective (HD or controller)? (5) If it is the hard disk, I may want to replace it with a 30 MB. Might there be any problem in doing this? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. -Graham Brand (brand@janus.berkeley.edu)
ralph@mtunf.ATT.COM (Ralph Heredia) (10/02/87)
In article <21066@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> brand@janus.UUCP (Graham Brand) writes: >I have a number of questions about hard disk drives and controllers >in general and those of the PC6300 in particular. I have a 2 year old >PC6300 with a dealer installed 20MB HD and controller (Western digital >or Data Technologies Corp., I am not sure.) One or the other If the controller is a DTC or Data Technology Corporation card it is a long card next to the hard disk. If the controller is a WD or Western Digital card it is a short card next to the hard disk. The inscription on the hard disk controller for the DTC is 5150BX and the WD card is W1002 or W1001. The rom on the DTC should say something like BXD0x (where x is one of 4-6). The WD rom should say something like 8 digits long. .... >the message does say "Optional ROM at C8000....etc", I cant't remember >the exact details. I must admit, though, that I haven't noticed any > >(1) What exactly is this "Optional ROM" and what does it do? If your controller is a WD then the optional rom is needed to identify to the PC what type of hard disk is installed in the machine. NOTE: This is only necessary if you have a Motherboard ROM BIOS earlier than 1.43. ex., (1.0,1.1,1.21)... The 1.43 has support for the WD controller. If your controller is a DTC and your drive is a standard 20 MEG like the Seagate ST225, then your machine can use the DTC controller with this drive without the rom on the the controller. All the roms listed above support the DTC but 1.21 and 1.43 are the only drives that support the 20 Meg HDU's. >(2) Where does it reside physically - on the motherboard, on a > separate memory board? On the Controller Board. >(3) Could I not have any Optional ROM and still get this message? No. > >(4) How do I use the diagnostic disk (or other means) to confirm > which item is defective (HD or controller)? If you have one of the roms listed above you can't because the Diagnostic supplied with your machine looks in to the motherboard table for the hard disk parameters. If there is a rom id doesn't know what kind of drive is attached. You will have to remove the rom on the controller and get 1.43 BIOS if using the WD controller to diagnose the PC. >(5) If it is the hard disk, I may want to replace it with a 30 MB. > Might there be any problem in doing this? Not really as long as the drive is supported in either the ROM BIOS on the motherboard or in the ROM on the controller card. > >Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. >-Graham Brand (brand@janus.berkeley.edu) Ralph Heredia AT&T DSD mtunf!ralph
psfales@ihlpe.UUCP (10/03/87)
In article <21066@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>, brand@janus.uucp (Graham Brand) writes: > I have a number of questions about hard disk drives and controllers > in general and those of the PC6300 in particular. I have a 2 year old > > As a result I have a few questions: > > (1) What exactly is this "Optional ROM" and what does it do? You have the Western Digital Controller. The optional ROM contains the code to operate the controller. This is as opposed to the DTC controller which is understood by the ROMs on the motherboard. > (2) Where does it reside physically - on the motherboard, on a > separate memory board? Neither, it is on the disk controller board. > (3) Could I not have any Optional ROM and still get this message? No > (4) How do I use the diagnostic disk (or other means) to confirm > which item is defective (HD or controller)? I am told that the latest release of the diagnostic disk understands the WD controller. I haven't seen it myself. If your disk gives the correct information for "System configuration" you are OK. Otherwise, your best bet is to remove the hard disk and try it on a known good system. Don't give up until you try a low-level format especially if you use a different make of controller. > (5) If it is the hard disk, I may want to replace it with a 30 MB. > Might there be any problem in doing this? > No. -- Peter Fales UUCP: ...ihnp4!ihlpe!psfales work: (312) 979-7784 AT&T Information Systems, IW 1Z-243 1100 E. Warrenville Rd., IL 60566
kak@stc-auts.UUCP (Kris Kugel) (10/07/87)
On my 6300+, I was adding some cards, and found the controler
card sitting in the middle of the slots.
"How silly!" I thought, "It should be next to the disk,
so that the cables aren't laying over everything! I will
move it there."
Well, not long afterwards, my machine started having problems
booting up. First it would boot after two or three trys,
then after three or four trys, then ...
I called in the AT&T Hotline calvary, and they sent out a technician.
He opened the machine, looked at my cards, and said "There's your problem."
I looked and said, "Where?"
It turns out that the WD controller is sensitive to the magnetic fields
generated by the hard disk, and you should place it at least 4 slots
away from the disk.
Moral: computer hardware is weird, even when designed not to be.
Kris A. Kugel
Storage Tek: ...{hao,nbires,ihnp4}!stcvax!stc-auts!kak
High Country Software: ...{hao,nbires,wldrdg}!hicntry!kak