frederit@boulder.Colorado.EDU (FREDERICKS THOMAS M) (07/27/89)
I recently acquired a 10 megabyte hard drive out of a unix-pc. Trouble is that there is a set of dip switches on the back that I don't know what to set to. The drive is a Miniscribe model 3425. If anyone has worked with one of these or has a spec please let me know. Thanks, Tom... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Enter the point where reality and illusion merge to become one... frederit@spot.Colorado.EDU -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan) (07/28/89)
Frederit@Boulder.colorado.edu asks about DIP swttings on Miniscribe drives ... Suggest you call Miniscribe in Longmont, CO **ASAP** Last I heard, Miniscribe is in the process of going belly-up; they just filed for Chapter 11 in Federal Bankruptcy Court. Their media (platter) supplier was providing junk for the past several months (per the stories I've heard), and Miniscribe drives are becoming VERY difficult to locate now. I've just tried to get some more 3085 and NO local dealer can get them. I'm now looking at Microscience drives (re: 1/2 height, large capacity). Thad Floryan [ thad@cup.portal.com (OR) ..!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!thad ]
goer@sophist.uucp (Richard Goerwitz) (07/28/89)
In article <20818@cup.portal.com> thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan) writes: >Last I heard, Miniscribe is in the process of going belly-up. Some substantiation of this assertion would be nice. You say that they filed for Chapter 11 protection in Federal Court. Where did you get this information? This is not a flame. -Richard L. Goerwitz goer@sophist.uchicago.edu rutgers!oddjob!gide!sophist!goer
thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan) (07/30/89)
The problems regarding Miniscribe were related to me by staff at: US Mach Systems (Fremont, CA) Access Computer Technologies (Santa Clara, CA) and 6 other vendors I called who advertise in COMPUTER CURRENTS and in MICROTIMES; I flagged their ads in the latest issues, so I could cite their names, too, if necessary, but having received the SAME story from so many dealers independently strongly suggests to me the veracity of the assertion Miniscribe is in SERIOUS trouble. Re: US Mach and Access Comp. Tech.: these are vendors from whom I normally buy drives (e.g. Miniscribe 3085) and they've NO reason to lie to me esp. when I'm walking in there with cash in hand ready to buy more drives.
jan@bagend.UUCP (Jan Isley) (07/30/89)
In article <4704@tank.uchicago.edu> goer@sophist.UUCP (Richard Goerwitz) writes: >In article <20818@cup.portal.com> thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan) writes: > >>Last I heard, Miniscribe is in the process of going belly-up. > >Some substantiation of this assertion would be nice. You say that they >filed for Chapter 11 protection in Federal Court. Where did you get this >information? This is not a flame. > I buy disk drives from about 8 different distributors. In the last 3 weeks every distributor that I deal with that carries Miniscribe has told me that Miniscribe is history, ie: no longer accepting orders or filling old ones, and that the supply in warehouses are drying up fast. The 3085 is getting scarce *real* fast. One month ago I had distributors offering me great deals on quantity hundreds of the 3085s, now they cannot fill orders for 5. Jan Isley, follower of Zen, picker of nit jan@bagend | gatech!bagend!jan | (404) 434-1335
thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan) (07/30/89)
[ previous reply continued; damned PORTAL mail interface ... ] It's not that the drives weren't available over the counter and that I'd have to wait; it's that the drives aren't available PERIOD. They ALL said Miniscribe isn't manufacturing drives anymore. This P.O.'d me royally, as I *need* three 1/2 height, maximum-possible capacity drives with an ST506/412 interface. The Miniscribe 3085 has been satisfying these requirements VERY nicely (and at 22 mS avg access); now I am being forced to use lesser capacity UNLESS I can locate some other mfr's drives. Other people who've also been checking mail order "houses" have informed me that Hard Times (??) (adv. in COMPUTER SHOPPER, which I don't get) is saying the same story. There are three of us looking for 10 drives (the Miniscribe 3085 was the drive of choice) for the past 2 weeks, and none are to be found "all of a sudden." These are the sources and the extent of my knowledge in this matter. Thad Floryan [ thad@cup.portal.com (OR) ..!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!thad ]
mvadh@cbnews.ATT.COM (andrew.d.hay) (07/31/89)
In article <20845@cup.portal.com> thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan) writes:
[]
"There are three of us looking for 10 drives (the Miniscribe 3085 was the
"drive of choice) for the past 2 weeks, and none are to be found "all of a
"sudden."
have you looked into the fujitsu 2243T?
--
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a.d.hay@att.com +------------------------------------------------------+boyne@hplvli.HP.COM (Art Boyne) (07/31/89)
All this talk about Miniscribe going under is very interesting, but I doubt it's correctness. Miniscribe is located in Longmont, Colorado, just 20 miles from here, and the local papers have said nothing about any Chapter 11 filing; in the past they have followed Miniscribe closely. Also, one guy at church works for Miniscribe and is being transfered 10 days from now to Hong Kong - with return trip guaranteed. What is true is that Miniscribe recently announced that, due to improper accounting practices, company profits for the last couple of years have been overstated. They are taking action to clean up their accounting. Art Boyne, boyne@hplvla.hp.com (in Loveland, Colorado)
axaris@sunybcs.uucp (Vassilios Axaris) (08/02/89)
As long as we still are on the hard drive issue, I am looking for info. on Microscience drives, pertaining to their reliability and value/green. In particular, are they better than Seagates? Sure, the ad I saw in Comp.Shopper says voice coil actuators, servo this, micro that, but only one company sells them (Rose Hill Computers), except Northgate that has them as standard equip- ment. Vassilios.
kens@hplsla.HP.COM (Ken Snyder) (08/02/89)
I'm not sure about the chapter 11 stuff but today I received a Miniscribe 3180E from Austin Computer (who hasn't, btw, heard that Miniscribe isn't taking orders). The mfg date on the drive was June 17, 1989. Austin did say that they have a hard time getting the 3180 drive but that is only because Miniscribe can't make them fast enough. BTW, the drive I received is to replace the one that came with my computer in May. It went TU with miscellaneous errors here and there for the last 6 weeks. Maybe this is due to the media problems mentioned earlier in this posting. I hope this problem has been fixed. Ken `keeping my fingers crossed' Snyder