tyager@apollo.COM (Tom Yager) (11/03/88)
Okay, I'll admit I've seen this topic go by before, but I wasn't interested then! My Seagate ST-251 just lost its head (#5 to be precise) & I'm looking for a replacement. It has to be 1/2 height. Right now, the front runner is the Miniscribe 3085, but the $800 tag on that is frightening. The prices on the RLL drives are much more reasonable, but there's a minor rub: I've never seen or used an RLL drive before, and have some questions. My primary OS is Xenix, which has a Miniscribe 2085 dedicated to it, and it used to get half (20MB) of the ST-251 as well. The other half ran, well, let's not talk about it. I have seen here that Xenix will work with RLL drives & controllers, but what about my Miniscribe? If I have to replace that, too, then it isn't reasonable for me to consider making the jump to RLL. I'd like to hear from someone running an RLL/Xenix combination, preferably on something like a 20MHz '386 (like mine). All advice will be appreciated. Thanks, as always, in advance. (ty) -- +-Tom Yager, Apollo Computer R&D----------------------ARPA: tyager@apollo.com-+ | I speak only for myself. -or- tyager%maxx@m2c.m2c.org | | "I've always said, there's nothing an agnostic can't do if he really | +-doesn't know whether he believes in anything or not."-----------------------+
davidsen@steinmetz.ge.com (William E. Davidsen Jr) (11/04/88)
I run Xenix on an Adaptek RLL controller and ST4096 and ST251 (not even
-1). I have no problem since identifying the bad tracks. After using the
Adaptek tests to find all the bad tracks I could, and letting Xenix beat
on the drive a while, I installed Xenix and started running. The disk
ran a week and corrupted, several times... Finally I looked in messages
and saw that the first few problems were always on the same tracks. I
didn't even reformat, just used badtrk to get rid of those tracks, and
everything ran for eight weeks. The system is down for other reasons at
the moment, but the controller seems fine.
--
bill davidsen (wedu@ge-crd.arpa)
{uunet | philabs}!steinmetz!crdos1!davidsen
"Stupidity, like virtue, is its own reward" -meroot@conexch.UUCP (Larry Dighera) (11/04/88)
In article <3f6dfb02.6bad@apollo.COM> tyager@apollo.COM (Tom Yager) writes: >I'd like to hear from someone running an RLL/Xenix combination, preferably on >something like a 20MHz '386 (like mine). All advice will be appreciated. SCO Xenix supports RLL formatted hard drives. It isn't even necessary to purchase RLL certified drives, as most plated-media drives work just fine. Specifically, the Maxtor XT-1085, XT-1140, and Micropolis 1325 operate perfectly when formatted RLL 2-7. Consider increasing the performance of your entire hard disk subsystem further by employing a controller capable of supporting 1:1 interleave. The Adaptec ACB-2372 will increase an ATs hard disk throughput from the normal 250 Kb/s to ~750 Kb/s. The A revision of this controller runs fine at a 10 Mhz buss speed. The most inexpensive and fastest 100 MB file system can be implemented with the above mentioned Adaptec controller and Micropolis drive. Total cost should be under ~$700.00 for the hardware. There are faster and larger options, but this is the most inexpensive I have found. -- USPS: The Consultants' Exchange, PO Box 12100, Santa Ana, CA 92712 TELE: (714) 842-6348: BBS (N81); (714) 842-5851: Xenix guest account (E71) UUCP: conexch Any ACU 2400 17148425851 ogin:-""-ogin:-""-ogin: nuucp UUCP: ...!uunet!turnkey!conexch!root || ...!trwrb!ucla-an!conexch!root