[comp.sys.amiga] Janus Hard drive Read/Write errors

a774@mindlink.UUCP (Wayde Police) (08/26/89)

   I have a A2000 with an 2088 bridgecard and have encountered a problem that I
haven't seen mentioned yet. First, the background ...
  - stock A2000
  - 30M RLL Miniscribe hard drive. 1 Dos partition, 3 Amiga partitions
  I was using this system for about a year with no problems. Then I started to
get Read/Write errors happening on the Amiga side. These requesters would go
away if I hit Retry. They became more frequent (and more irritating) so I
reformatted the entire drive. I used every PC based program I have (quite a
few) to scan the drive for defects, and made sure that everything that was even
suspicious was mapped out. The PC found nothing wrong with the drive (but I did
notice that in a couple of areas it might do a QUICK retry of the sector). So,
I set up the partitions again and restored the data. Same thing. It seems that
the PC can handle a quick retry (or couple) of a sector, but when this happens
the AMIGA throws up it's hands and produces an error requestor! Since I had
been sucessfully using FFS on the partitions for months previously, I doubt
that this is the problem. I am also using Janus V2 software.   Eventually (1
week later) I decided the HD tolerances were getting a little too weak for the
Janus interface, and bought a new drive. Now I am using a 40M MFM 30ms Fujitsu.
Twice as fast as the old one. Now, 1 month later, it TOO is starting to do the
same thing. Anyone out there know what is going on? Surely one doesn't have to
buy a flawless hard drive in order to use it as a Janus drive!?! Can the
Amiga's "sensitivity" to sector retries be adjusted?

        Wayde Police

(p.s. I'm sure the new drive is only now doing this because I have been slowing
filling it with data. It was not full to begin with.)

lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca (Larry Phillips) (08/27/89)

In <440@mindlink.UUCP>, a774@mindlink.UUCP (Wayde Police) writes:
> [ errors on the Janus drive ]

Are you sure you have the disk geometry set up the same for both the Amiga and
IBM side? Sounds almost like overlapping partitions.

-larry

--
The Mac? Oh, that's just like a computer, only slower.
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|   //   Larry Phillips                                                 |
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aduncan@rhea.trl.oz (Allan Duncan) (08/31/89)

From article <440@mindlink.UUCP>, by a774@mindlink.UUCP (Wayde Police):

>   I was using this system for about a year with no problems. Then I started to
> get Read/Write errors happening on the Amiga side. These requesters would go
> away if I hit Retry. They became more frequent (and more irritating) so I

I have had similar problems, when they get too bad, I pull out the A2088
board and give all the socketed ICs a little move, including the four
sided ones.  This is usually good for a month or so.

All the signs of tinned socket contacts in combination with tinned IC
legs.  Abandon hope all ye who enter!

-- 
Allan Duncan	ACSnet	aduncan@rhea.trl.oz
		ARPA	aduncan%rhea.trl.oz@uunet.uu.net
		UUCP	{uunet,hplabs,ukc}!munnari!rhea.trl.oz!aduncan
Telecom Research Labs, PO Box 249, Clayton, Victoria, 3168, Australia.