kcwellsch@watmath.waterloo.edu (Ken Wellsch) (08/15/90)
I've got an RA80 drive circa 1984 that I've run "rabads" on (Ultrix11v3.0) with an awful lot of bad blocks, many that could not be fixed. In fact, it's now hung on a block replacement; I suspect the RCT has become currupted. I'd like to reformat the darn thing but don't have diagnostics and don't even know if the RA series can even be "reformatted" or if one is stuck replacing the HDA. What can I do? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! -- Ken Wellsch kcwellsch@watmath.waterloo.edu
terry@spcvxb.spc.edu (Terry Kennedy, Operations Mgr) (08/16/90)
In article <1990Aug15.022455.2356@watmath.waterloo.edu>, kcwellsch@watmath.waterloo.edu (Ken Wellsch) writes: > I've got an RA80 drive circa 1984 that I've run "rabads" on (Ultrix11v3.0) with > an awful lot of bad blocks, many that could not be fixed. In fact, it's now > hung on a block replacement; I suspect the RCT has become currupted. I'd like > to reformat the darn thing but don't have diagnostics and don't even know if > the RA series can even be "reformatted" or if one is stuck replacing the HDA. > What can I do? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Well, if you're *sure* that reformatting is needed, you need to find your diagnostic disk/tape (called XXDP, where XX may be 2 other letters). The for- matter is ZUED??. The formatter warns that it is not to be run as a diagnostic tool, but only when needed, as per the service manual. Generally the RA's don't need refor- matting unless something else is wrong. Possibilities include: o Media/head damage - the HDA needs replacing o Logic board failure - needs replacing o Buggy driver for a UDA50 causing incorrect BBR Another case is when a drive is broken out of a shadow or volume set on an HSC - if not properly dismounted from the HSC, a UDA50 will not mount it as it sees an improper volume status. In such cases, reformatting may be easier than getting the drive back to the HSC for a proper dismount. If you need more help, send mail and I'll see what I can dig up... Terry Kennedy Operations Manager, Academic Computing terry@spcvxa.bitnet St. Peter's College, US terry@spcvxa.spc.edu (201) 915-9381