kent@swrinde.nde.swri.edu (Kent D. Polk) (09/06/89)
I came in this morning to work & found to my dismay that my new A2500
wouldn't boot up. The Rodime 40 meg drive refused to spin-up, and
instead, emitted a series of clicking noises for a few seconds.
In order to even boot off of a floppy I found that I had to disconnect
the drive in one of the following ways:
1) disconnect power to the drive
2) disconnect the controller cables from the drive
3) disconnect the drive controller from the bus
I have left the computer on pretty much all the time since I got it,
but had turned it off last weekend. Am I a victim of the dreaded
"stiction" disease that is plaguing Seagate drives? (The Rodime was
assembled in Singapore).
For once I had the sense (or luck) to have backed everything up - Phew!
Now if I can just get something to put all that data back onto.
BTW, the dealer stated that they are experiencing a high failure rate
with the Rodime/2090A controller combination, & were now trying to
convince potential A2000HD buyers to purchase an A2000 and another
controller/drive combination (of the purchasers choice). Unfortunately,
they saw no easy way of making A2500 customers the same kind of deal at
a reasonable price. I asked if there was a way to 'trade up' to a
better drive, but it appears not in the framework of Commodore's
warranty scheme.
Also, a friend just bought an A2500 also, and the 2090A controller
went bad just a couple of days after he got his system.
Question: is the Rodime/2090A combination really experiencing such a
high failure rate and should I be concerned about another disk
failure?
Hopefully I'll be up and running in a few days.
Thanks,
====================================================================
Kent Polk - Southwest Research Institute - kent@swrinde.nde.swri.edu
Motto : "Anything worth doing is worth overdoing"
====================================================================galvey@sts.sts.UUCP (09/06/89)
Kent, I know of other problems with RODIME drives (half height model 5090) in the past. They seemed to have some reliability problems that were intermittent. It seemed that everything was ok for about 2-3 weeks and then, flaky errors every now and then. P.S. The drives were mounted vertically (right side UP). I hope this will help in your decision about a replacement drive. Later, Greg A.
kent@swrinde.nde.swri.edu (Kent D. Polk) (09/06/89)
In article <67100002@sts> galvey@sts.sts.UUCP writes: > >Kent, > >I know of other problems with RODIME drives (half height model 5090) in the >past. They seemed to have some reliability problems that were intermittent. >It seemed that everything was ok for about 2-3 weeks and then, flaky errors >every now and then. > >P.S. The drives were mounted vertically (right side UP). Oops, I have my A2500 resting on it's left side - right side up. About the only way I can fit it in the allowable space. Is this really a problem with the A2500? Also: 1) What does a gold colored boot screen mean? I don't see it in the list. 2) The drive light from the A2090a controller just turns on and STAYS on. Even when I don't apply power to the drive. (I have to disconnect the drive in order to boot the machine off of floppy) Thanks, Kent
galvey@sts.sts.COM (09/08/89)
Kent, In my previous response I mentioned that the disk was mounted on its side. It was NOT in an Amiga system, so I don't think the Amiga is the problem. Also, I have been looking for the manual on the Rodime to see how it is RECOMMENDED that you mount it. Most of the other manuals I have looked at (Tandem, CDC, etc.) say it is O.K. to mount either way (flat or sideways) as long as you use it that way all the time (i.e. format the disk in the same orientation as it will be used). If I find some documentation that says specifically NOT to mount the drive on the side, I will send you some EMAIL about it or post it on the network. Later, Greg A. ============================================================================= |Greg Alvey | Internet: galvey@sts.sts.COM | |Semiconductor Test Solutions | Phone : (408) 727-2885 (work) | |4101 Burton Dr. | | |Santa Clara, CA 95054 | When all else fails, read the instructions! | =============================================================================