dlv@cunyvms1.gc.cuny.edu (Dimitri Vulis, CUNY GC Math) (12/31/90)
I've had for some time a 386 computer with a Future Domain model 830 SCSI controller (8-bit) and a MAXTOR LXT-100S hard disk. I've just received an Adaptec 1522 SCSI controller and tried to replace the FHA with it. (The purpose of the exercise was to improve the performance.) The guy I got it from won't be reachable for a few days (holiday season). I've encountered two problems: 1. I've connected the floppy cable to the 1522 and removed the old FDC. It almost works, except that trying to access 360K disks in drive A (5.25", 1.2M) causes DOS to say "General error". Both 1.44M and 720K disks work in drive B (3.5"). I've tried shorting 8th jumper on J7 (dual speed), and this didn't seem to help. 2. At boot time, the code in Adaptec ROM goes through part of the diagnostic (SCSI reset...), but then says: >Checking SCSI target 0: > Executing SCSI inquiry command > >Target 0: target not connected. *However*, I've made a (1.2M) bootable floppy with MS-DOS 3.31 and CONFIG.SYS that says: device=aspi2dos.sys /D device=aspidisk.sys /D and when I boot from that disk, SCSI inquiry correctly returns the name of the disk (MAXTOR LXT100S) and it procedes to complain that INT 13H isn't redirected, and then everything seems to work! I'm able to access disk C: from DOS, and everything appears to be as it was under FHA. The messages from 2DOS match those from ROM: INT 11, PIO, disconnect enabled... I've checked all the jumpers, and they're at factory default settings (INT 11, DMA channel 0, etc). I've added #3 on J5 to get more diagnostics at boot time, and I've tried shorting #6 on J8 (parity). (The disk has no parity jumper, so I don't know if it's on or off. This had no effect anyway.) I'm highly dissatisfied with Adaptec's technical support policy. Their literature lists no voice number, but says that "questions can be answered" via a BBS in California, which should be called at 8 data bits, no parity. I called it 3 times before I realized that it does *not* connect at 8-N-1, but connects at 7 bits, even parity. Then I got what seemed to me like an extremely obnoxious message saying that if I want any answers from them, I must first provide the name of the AUTHORIZED distributor I got the board from, his phone number, and the same of the support person I've already spoken with. I have no idea whether the people I got it from are "authorized" (they are a reputable store), and I can't reach them for a few days. When I tried to get an account on the BBS, it made me wait for a number of minutes and I eventually hung up. I'm pretty much out of ideas (other than giving this card back and getting another 16-bit SCSI controller, such as Future Domain model 885, which is my current inclination :). So, I would greatly appreciate any and all suggestions regarding the following questions. (I'm back to FHA in the meantime). 1. Can I make DOS recognize 360K disks with 1522? 2. Can I make SCSI Inquire command function at boot time? I want to boot from the hard disk, not the floppy! 3. Is there much difference between 152x and 1542B? 4. Does anyone possibly know if the performance of 16-bit Future Domain controllers is much worse than Adpatecs? Thank you very much and happy new year!!!! Dimitri Vulis CUNY GC Math Internet: DLV@CUNYVMS1.GC.CUNY.EDU