bader+@andrew.cmu.edu (Miles Bader) (12/18/88)
I just got a 2090A. The system won't boot with it plugged into the bus (power led blinks, medium-grey screen, disk led connected to J5 is on steadily). But looking at the addendum (diffs of the 2090A from the 2090), it said that the autoboot roms will mess up with 1.2 kickstart roms (which I have). So I removed the two rom chips that the addendum specifies as the autoboot roms, and tried again. Still won't boot. Then I remove the disk led wire from J5; now it boots from floppy. But prep (after waiting about 7 minutes!) just says "Drive not PREPed" (great error messages here). Thinking that maybe it was the disk led in the first place, I put the roms back in. System won't boot. So... Is my 2090A totally non-functional? Will it not work at all without 1.3 kickstart roms? Help! Thanks, -Miles
dleigh@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM (Darren Leigh) (12/20/88)
In article <oXefiHy00VsNEE8nlw@andrew.cmu.edu> bader+@andrew.cmu.edu (Miles Bader) writes: >I just got a 2090A. The system won't boot with it plugged into the >bus (power led blinks, medium-grey screen, disk led connected to J5 is >on steadily). But looking at the addendum (diffs of the 2090A from >the 2090), it said that the autoboot roms will mess up with 1.2 >kickstart roms (which I have). So I removed the two rom chips that >the addendum specifies as the autoboot roms, and tried again. Still >won't boot. Then I remove the disk led wire from J5; now it boots >from floppy. But prep (after waiting about 7 minutes!) just says >"Drive not PREPed" (great error messages here). Thinking that maybe >it was the disk led in the first place, I put the roms back in. >System won't boot. I spent Saturday messing with mine and getting results similar to yours. My setup is a 2000 w/3 Meg, a 2090A, a Quantum Pro 80s SCSI drive and Kickstart and WB 1.3. I kept getting that terse "Drive not PREPed" error and was ready to scream after a while. The problem turned out to be the jumpers on my SCSI drive. Apparently the drive was set up to be SCSI device number 6 instead of number 0. I fixed the jumpers and it preped just fine. My hard drive light (when attached to J5) always stays on too. I have it disconnected now but would like to know how to get it working. Also, does anyone happen to have the right numbers for the Quantum Pro 80s. The place I bought it at gave me the weird numbers: surfaces = 6 cylinders = 5004 sectors/track = 35 (??) they weren't sure I could also use a phone number/address for Quantum. I have my drive set up with the numbers for the 40s so it only has 40 Megs right now. ======== Darren Leigh Internet: dleigh@hplabs.hp.com UUCP: hplabs!dleigh
jesup@cbmvax.UUCP (Randell Jesup) (12/20/88)
In article <something> bader+@andrew.cmu.edu (Miles Bader) writes: >I just got a 2090A. ... >But looking at the addendum (diffs of the 2090A from >the 2090), it said that the autoboot roms will mess up with 1.2 >kickstart roms (which I have). Quite correct. >So I removed the two rom chips that >the addendum specifies as the autoboot roms, and tried again. Still >won't boot. Then I remove the disk led wire from J5; now it boots >from floppy. Wierd. >But prep (after waiting about 7 minutes!) just says >"Drive not PREPed" (great error messages here). Thinking that maybe >it was the disk led in the first place, I put the roms back in. >System won't boot. Did you put the driver AND icon in the expansion drawer of your boot disk, AND did your startup-sequence run 'binddrivers'? Both are needed to make prep work. (You can copy the icon over, then run binddrivers again to avoid rebooting before running prep.) Note that SCSI drives may take a long time to prep (low-level format). If the drive light is on (the one on the drive, if it has one), you know it's probably working. What type of drive are you using? If you have 1.3 KS roms, then the driver in the expansion drawer isn't needed, since it is auto-started from the ROM. -- You've heard of CATS? Well, I'm a member of DOGS: Developers Of Great Software. Randell Jesup, Commodore Engineering {uunet|rutgers|allegra}!cbmvax!jesup
papa@pollux.usc.edu (Marco Papa) (12/20/88)
In article <2746@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM| dleigh@hplabsz.UUCP (Darren Leigh) writes: |Also, does anyone happen to have the right numbers for the Quantum Pro |80s. The place I bought it at gave me the weird numbers: | |surfaces = 6 |cylinders = 5004 |sectors/track = 35 (??) they weren't sure The Documentation from the Quantum literatures is as follows: Disk Drive Prodrive Prodrive Architecture 40S 80S ------------ -------- -------- Capacity (formatted) 42 MB 84 MB Heads 3 6 Disks 2 3 Track Format 28 and 35 sectors x 512 bytes Number of data zones 2 2 Tracks 2502 5004 So your numbers seem to be according to spec. |I could also use a phone number/address for Quantum. Quantum can be reached at (408)432-1100. -- Marco Papa 'Doc' -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= uucp:...!pollux!papa BIX:papa ARPAnet:pollux!papa@oberon.usc.edu "There's Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Diga!" -- Leo Schwab [quoting Rick Unland] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
fnf@estinc.UUCP (Fred Fish) (12/20/88)
In article <2746@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM> dleigh@hplabsz.UUCP (Darren Leigh) writes: >Also, does anyone happen to have the right numbers for the Quantum Pro >80s. The place I bought it at gave me the weird numbers: > >surfaces = 6 >cylinders = 5004 >sectors/track = 35 (??) they weren't sure Looks like it's my week to answer drive configuration questions :-). I just installed a Quantum 80S on a Hardframe, and the software there said that the drive uses a variable number of blocks per cylinder. Apparently it queries the drive to ask about its geometry. The configuration suggested by the installation program was 6 heads, 37 sectors/track, and 739 cylinders, for a total of 164058 usable blocks. Apparently there are some small number of blocks left over that end up being wasted. -Fred -- # Fred Fish, 1346 West 10th Place, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA # asuvax!nud!fishpond!estinc!fnf (602) 921-1113
jesup@cbmvax.UUCP (Randell Jesup) (12/21/88)
In article <14164@oberon.USC.EDU> papa@pollux.usc.edu (Marco Papa) writes: >The Documentation from the Quantum literatures is as follows: > >Disk Drive Prodrive Prodrive >Architecture 40S 80S >------------ -------- -------- >Capacity (formatted) 42 MB 84 MB >Heads 3 6 >Disks 2 3 >Track Format 28 and 35 sectors x 512 bytes >Number of data zones 2 2 >Tracks 2502 5004 Note that that's total tracks, not cylinders. Divide by 3 or 6 for cylinders. Something like 834 cylinders. Note that if you say the drive is too big, prep will accept that until you try to access, via format or just putting files there, those non-existant sectors. If you try, you'll get R/W errors. The trick with unusual drives is to figure out how many blocks there are on the drive, then feed prep (and the mountlist) figures that add up to the right number of blocks. Note that doesn't doesn't like more than 63 blocks per track currently, so don't tell it you have more than that, use heads and cylinders. >Quantum can be reached at (408)432-1100. -- You've heard of CATS? Well, I'm a member of DOGS: Developers Of Great Software. Randell Jesup, Commodore Engineering {uunet|rutgers|allegra}!cbmvax!jesup
lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca (Larry Phillips) (12/21/88)
In <5528@cbmvax.UUCP>, jesup@cbmvax.UUCP (Randell Jesup) writes: > If you have 1.3 KS roms, then the driver in the expansion drawer isn't > needed, since it is auto-started from the ROM. Whoops! Are you saying that the driver itself is in the ROMs on the 2090A? Or is it that the driver icon only is not needed? If the driver is loaded from the ROMs themselves, does this mean I should stop waiting for the next revision of the driver to start on a streaming tape handler, and just go for a different brand of controller with a driver that will handle the SCSI command passthrough? -larry -- "Intelligent CPU? I thought you said Intel CPU!" -Anonymous IBM designer- +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | // Larry Phillips | | \X/ lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca or uunet!van-bc!lpami!lphillips | | COMPUSERVE: 76703,4322 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
cjp@antique.UUCP (Charles Poirier) (12/22/88)
In article <5541@cbmvax.UUCP> jesup@cbmvax.UUCP (Randell Jesup) writes: >get R/W errors. The trick with unusual drives is to figure out how many >blocks there are on the drive, then feed prep (and the mountlist) figures >that add up to the right number of blocks. Note that doesn't doesn't like >more than 63 blocks per track currently, so don't tell it you have more >than that, use heads and cylinders. I used 2 surfaces, 95 blocks/track, 823 cylinders to prep my Quantum Q280 SCSI drive and prep did not complain. Am I in for a surprise when I exceed 63/95 of my disk's capacity? How would that 63 block limit express itself if it was going to be a problem? Thank you, -- Charles Poirier (decvax,ucbvax,mcnc,attmail)!vax135!cjp "Docking complete... Docking complete... Docking complete..."
jesup@cbmvax.UUCP (Randell Jesup) (12/22/88)
In article <2045@van-bc.UUCP> lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca (Larry Phillips) writes: >In <5528@cbmvax.UUCP>, jesup@cbmvax.UUCP (Randell Jesup) writes: >> If you have 1.3 KS roms, then the driver in the expansion drawer isn't >> needed, since it is auto-started from the ROM. > >Whoops! Are you saying that the driver itself is in the ROMs on the 2090A? >Or is it that the driver icon only is not needed? I should have been more specific. The driver is loaded from the ROM ON THE 2090A. If you have 1.3 KS roms, and a 2090A, and have the 2090A roms in their sockets, then you don't need the driver (or icon) in the expansion drawer. If you have 1.2 KS, you need the driver in the expansion drawer AND need to remove the roms from the 2090A. >If the driver is loaded from the ROMs themselves, does this mean I should >stop waiting for the next revision of the driver to start on a streaming tape >handler, and just go for a different brand of controller with a driver that >will handle the SCSI command passthrough? I have no idea what will be done about new roms/eproms for the 2090a if/when we rev the driver. Not my end of the business. You can always remove them and put the new driver in the expansion drawer, and boot from floppy/RAD. -- Randell Jesup, Commodore Engineering {uunet|rutgers|allegra}!cbmvax!jesup
ricks@iscuva.ISCS.COM (Rick Schaeffer) (08/13/89)
I've been having some spooky problems with the 2090A controller, so
I'm posting this in hopes that someone can help. First, a little
history. I previously owned a 2090 (not 2090A) and used it with a
Seagate ST251 40 Meg drive. I then had an opportunity to purchase
a Rodime RO5081S SCSI drive (150 meg, 5 1/4 half-height) at a pretty
good price. I installed the Rodime on my system and it worked real
well! It's real fast (>650k/sec dperf2 times) and seemed reliable.
I later added an A2620 card to my system and at about the same time
ordered a 2090A to replace the 2090 (the plan being to sell the 2090
and Seagate drive to a friend).
Well, the 2090A doesn't seem to like the Rodime drive! I am unable
to run Prep on the Rodime, and, if I Prep using the 2090 (which works
fine...same Prep program and all!) I am unable to access the Rodime.
A friend has a 2090A and a Seagate ST251 so I took the Rodime drive
over to his house one evening and tried it there. It worked fine!
So, I took the 2090A back to my dealer for replacement because it
seemed to be a problem with my particular 2090A. The other day, the
replacement 2090A came in...and it doesn't work either! I have spent
the past couple of days working with it....here's the scooby:
1. Tried my friends controller with 2090A, ST251, and RO5081S.
It still worked.
2. Took the ST251 out of circuit.
My friend's 2090A didn't work either!
3. Replaced my friend's 2090A with mine.
Same results as above for both cases.
4. Removed the boot ROMs from the 2090A.
Everything worked!! Except, of course, I can't auto boot,
which was the whole idea in the first place.
Other things I have tried include formatting & using the Rodime with a
friend's Hardframe controller (works fine) and a trip to another friend's
house who has a Quantum 80 meg drive & 2090. Was able to set up the
boot partition on his drive and use my 2090A with no problems. I have
also tried various default (boot) partition sizes on the Rodime with
no success.
The symptoms that I consistantly see are:
1. As I boot from floppy, I see the Rodime's drive light flash once
and then the boot process completes. If I then try to mount res2:
it completes normally but when I "prep res2:" the drive light
immediately comes on and stays on. I go through answering all
the prep questions and then get an immediate "Drive not PREPped"
message. The drive light stays on throughout. Using the 2090
for the same thing, I get a quick flash of the light when prep
first comes up and then, after answering all the questions, the
light comes back on and I hear the ticking of the prep process
followed by a "Drive prepped" message.
2. If I boot from floppy having first prepped the Rodime using the
2090, I usually see a quick flash of the drive light during the
boot process, but no icon for drive DH2 appears. If I try to
mount my fast file system partition (named FS2:), the drive
light comes on and stays on but the mount command completes
normally. If I issue the "info" command, it tells me that
FS2: is "not a dos disk".
It seems clear that there is some problem in the boot ROM. Either it is
doing something during the boot process which screws up the Rodime from
then on or there is some difference between the "hddisk" driver that
is stored in the ROM and the "hddisk" driver that is in the Expansion
drawer.
Sorry about the length of this posting! I wanted to describe the
situation completely enough that someone would be able to help me get
this problem resolved (hopefully CATS). My dealer is pursuing "official"
channels. Any suggestions or ideas appreciated. Also, one of the reasons
I went with this particular combination of drive and controller is so that
I would be able to run Unix when the time comes. Anyone know if any
of the third party controllers (Hardframe, GVP, etc) will be able to support
Unix?
--
Rick Schaeffer UUCP: uunet!isc-br!ricks
ISC-Bunker Ramo ricks@isc-br.ISC-BR.COM
Box TAF-C8 Phone: (509)927-5114
Spokane, WA 99220) (08/14/89)
In article <2593@iscuva.ISCS.COM>, ricks@iscuva.ISCS.COM (Rick Schaeffer) writes... > >I've been having some spooky problems with the 2090A controller, so If your machine is a rev 4.4, does it have a resistor tacked onto U605 (pin 11 to pin 20)? This fix is needed for some 2090A's, but is required for the 2620's. Mark Kaye | | | Box 172, Munster Hamlet | 613-838-3580 | kaye@fscore.dec.com | Ontario, Canada K0A 3P0 | | DEC fscore::kaye or kaye @kao |