[comp.sys.ibm.pc] PC's New Harddisk Question

smq@ticnj.UUCP (10/01/87)

I have been experiencing an occasional problem on my
Xerox PC (aka, Olivetti M24, AT&T 6300).

I have added a harddisk (a Seagate ST225) with a Microtek controller.
I have performed a low-level format, fdisk and a format (/s).  After
I did that, the disk worked fine.  But now, on occasion, when I turn
the machine on I get the message:
   Unable to read the Hard disk.
   Do you want to Initialize (Y/N)?
I respond No; it says that Basic is not is ROM, press reset; I do
and it boots off the hard disk then as normal.  When this happens the 
behavior is very consistent: If it bombs the first time it *ALWAYS* 
works the second time.

My questions are:
  (1)  How can I fix this (what have I done something wrong?)
  (2)  Is this harmful in any way to my PC?
  (3)  If I should contact Microtek, what is their number?

Other info that may help:
  (1)  ROM-BIOS is v1.21
  (2)  Microtek (HDC 1000) ROM is labeled "HDC BIOS v4.0"
  (3)  DOS 3.1 is on the HardDisk
  (4)  The screws that I removed from the floppy did not fit the
       ST225;  I had another disk that had screws that fit the ST225
       but only 4, so the disk is "not properly attached"

Thanks for any suggestions,
-Steve-