kfink@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (Kevin Fink) (04/01/89)
I have an Everex 286/12 computer with an Everex hard disk controller of some sort. It is connected to a 5 1/4", a 3 1/2", and a Miniscribe 40 meg hard drive. About once in every 15 or 20 times I turn on the computer, it tells me I have a "Hard Disk Controller Failure" and won't boot off the hard disk. I have to turn the computer off and back on, sometimes several times, to make it work right. What is the problem? I tried opening the computer up and making sure everything was firmly plugged in, but everything seemed to be and it didn't change the behavior any. On another note, I'm just starting to learn about the IBM world (I used Commodores for many years before I got my IBM), and was wondering a good source to learn about hard drives and controllers. I've seen people discussing MFM vs. RLL controllers and formatting, and interleave factors, but I don't really understand what they're saying. I pulled a file off of Simtel20 to measure hard drive interleave and speed, and it said an interleave of 3 or 4 was best. My manual said this controller was a 1:1 interleave, and the program confirmed that. Is this good? I was under the impression that the smaller the interleave, the faster the data transfer. Why would an interleave of 3 or 4 be best? How can I tell if you can use an RLL controller with my hard drive? How much are these controllers, and what is a good place to buy them? Are there any disadvantages? From the discussions I read, it appeared that some hard drives could use them with no problems and some couldn't use them at all. Is there a middle ground, i.e. would I be at risk to lose data if it worked, but not perfectly? Thanks. Kevin Fink kfink@jarthur.claremont.edu kfink@jarthur.uucp kfink@hmcvax.bitnet uunet!jarthur!kfink