AAron@image.soe.clarkson.edu (AAron nAAs) (07/07/90)
From article <1990Jul6.030726.24719@wolves.uucp>, by brian@wolves.uucp (Brian Daniels): > > How does one go about constructing a circuit that will hold off > the 1040ST until the hard drive gets up to speed? > (other than the listen and then flip switch interface :-) > By the way, TOS 1.6 waits about 6 seconds for the harddrive to get up to speed before continuing to boot. Not having a harddrive, I just find this annoying. :) AAron nAAs
baffoni@alcor.usc.edu (Juxtaposer) (07/12/90)
In article <1990Jul6.190229.19792@sun.soe.clarkson.edu> AAron@image.soe.clarkson.edu (AAron nAAs) writes: >From article <1990Jul6.030726.24719@wolves.uucp>, by brian@wolves.uucp (Brian Daniels): >> >> How does one go about constructing a circuit that will hold off >> the 1040ST until the hard drive gets up to speed? >> (other than the listen and then flip switch interface :-) >> > >By the way, TOS 1.6 waits about 6 seconds for the harddrive to get up to >speed before continuing to boot. > >Not having a harddrive, I just find this annoying. :) Is that all it does? Wait 6 seconds? Couldn't they be using that time for something useful? Like maybe a memory check or something? It seems awfully silly to be wasting time that could be put to good use... (just my $.02 worth). > >AAron nAAs -Mike Baffoni (sorry, no .sig - no $$ - no time. The only yes I here is "Yes, its bill time")
apratt@atari.UUCP (Allan Pratt) (07/13/90)
In article <1990Jul6.190229.19792@sun.soe.clarkson.edu>, AAron@image.soe.clarkson.edu (AAron nAAs) writes: >By the way, TOS 1.6 waits about 6 seconds for the harddrive to get up to >speed before continuing to boot. Actually, I think he meant 60 seconds. The actual number is 90 seconds. If the manual that came with the computer didn't contain a comment about this, it should have. The comment would read something like this: "When you turn on your computer, the Floppy Disk Access light will come on, then go out, then come on again. After this there is a 90 second delay, to allow your hard disk to become ready. If the hard disk becomes ready in less than 90 seconds, or if you have no hard disk, you can press any key to terminate the delay and continue the startup sequence." Believe me, people, I tried to come up with a solution which didn't involve a simple delay. It turns out that hard disks vary widely in their spin-up time, and also in their responses to commands between the time they are powered up and the time they are ready. Hitting a key too early will not stop the delay because the system hasn't initialized the keyboard yet. Wait for the floppy access light to come on, then go out, then come on again: that's when everything is initialized, and you can hit a key to stop the delay. The 90-second delay addresses the need for machines you can turn on with one power switch, and most notably for unattended machines which might come up all at once after a power outage. The logic goes like this: (A) 90 seconds is more than enough for all hard disks we're aware of. (B) If you're there, you can hit a key when your HD is ready. (C) If your system comes up unattended, an extra 90 seconds won't hurt. ============================================ Opinions expressed above do not necessarily -- Allan Pratt, Atari Corp. reflect those of Atari Corp. or anyone else. ...ames!atari!apratt
AAron@image.soe.clarkson.edu (AAron nAAs) (07/13/90)
From article <2236@atari.UUCP>, by apratt@atari.UUCP (Allan Pratt): > In article <1990Jul6.190229.19792@sun.soe.clarkson.edu>, > AAron@image.soe.clarkson.edu (AAron nAAs) writes: > >>By the way, TOS 1.6 waits about 6 seconds for the harddrive to get up to >>speed before continuing to boot. > > Actually, I think he meant 60 seconds. The actual number is 90 seconds. Well my computer does wait LESS than 10 seconds (haven't cared to time it yet), and then continues booting without me having to touch the keyboard... Now, if it waits the 90/60 seconds after "sensing" that there is a harddrive attached, that's something I don't know... I was told by a friend with an STe that the delay was for the harddrive, So I mentioned it... Oh, I'm glad we are hearing from Atari again! (Someone AT Atari I mean!) AAron nAAs
fischer-michael@CS.YALE.EDU (Michael Fischer) (07/13/90)
In article <2236@atari.UUCP> apratt@atari.UUCP (Allan Pratt) writes: >Believe me, people, I tried to come up with a solution which didn't >involve a simple delay. It turns out that hard disks vary widely in >their spin-up time, and also in their responses to commands between the >time they are powered up and the time they are ready. Unfortunately, the solution you describe seems to preclude using configurable software solutions such as duck31 that others have devised. Is there any way to disable the 90 second delay, or has that been made the official MINIMUM time for booting an unattended machine, regardless of how fast your hard disk spins up? Will a bootable floppy allow one to bypass the delay? ================================================== | Michael Fischer | | Arpanet: <fischer-michael@cs.yale.edu> | | Bitnet: <fischer-michael@yalecs.bitnet> | | UUCP: <fischer-michael@yale.UUCP> | ==================================================