msa@toybox.UUCP (Mark Anacker) (03/07/89)
[]
Hello again, net....
In our last episode, you'll recall my Compaq 40mb disk had
"negatively exceeded the platter/head separation tolerance"...
one of the heads did a nose-dive into the oxide. Well, I
finally resolved the problem. I bought a third-party drive
for around $740 from our local *Land. What I got was a CMS
40mb drive with an interface board (the one attached to the
drive) from Conner Peripherals. It only cost me about twice
what it should have :(. It is interesting, however, that the
original drive was a 5.25", while the replacement is a 3".
It just burns me that Compaq used custom interfaces for both
the 40mb and their so-called "ESDI" 130mb drive. I've gone
over the schematics for both drives, and they really played
some games with the control leads to make sure you didn't put
a cheap drive on their controller. I haven't figured out why
the system wouldn't boot with an AT controller in place instead
of the Compaq one, but I'm sure it's in the BIOS somewhere.
These guys are IBM-compatible in more than just hardware!
--
Mark Anacker, US West Network Systems Inc., Bellevue, WA
{...uw-beaver!tikal,...!thebes}!toybox!msa -or- msa@toybox
"Their mission read, To Boldly Go,
But how ill-bred, To phrase it so." - Phil Garlandleonard@bucket.UUCP (Leonard Erickson) (03/09/89)
In article <106@toybox.UUCP> msa@toybox.UUCP (Mark Anacker) writes:
<It just burns me that Compaq used custom interfaces for both
<the 40mb and their so-called "ESDI" 130mb drive. I've gone
<over the schematics for both drives, and they really played
<some games with the control leads to make sure you didn't put
<a cheap drive on their controller. I haven't figured out why
<the system wouldn't boot with an AT controller in place instead
<of the Compaq one, but I'm sure it's in the BIOS somewhere.
We buy Compaqs as our "standard" machine. But we don't use their HDs.
Instead we use a standard WD controller. We keep the Compaq HD/floppy/
serial/parallel board. All you have to do is flip *one* dip switch to
make it the secondary controller...
--
Leonard Erickson ...!tektronix!reed!percival!bucket!leonard
CIS: [70465,203]
"I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools.
Let's start with typewriters." -- Solomon Short