smiller@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu (09/05/89)
I have some interesting problems with three 6152's. First of all DOS diagnostic routines run fine and report no errors(advanced diagnostics). Now for the problem: Boot the MINIROOT disk. Run fdisk and create a 4.3 partition (size is 1009 cylinders starting at cylinder 13 to allow for a small DOS partition) Run format. Problem: format fails at some random cylinder between 0 and 1009. The disk access light stays on and the program reports that it is formatting cylinder xxx. This message will stay overnight and the only way to recover is to power cycle the machine. Attempted solutions: Run low level format on the disks: this runs through to completion on two of the machines which then continue to have the same problem mentioned above. The third machine low level format dies trying to format cylinder 0(zero) with the same symptom as above. Try skipping the format and just go to create minidisks: after entering the disk to work on minidisk goes out to lunch in the same manner as described above. Try a new Installation Miniroot disk: same problem. I have successfully installed 4.3 on three other systems which, when people don't hit cntrl-alt-keypad del to force DOS or flip the power switch and boot from their floppy, are up and running fine. Anybody have some ideas?? Thanks in advance. Steven Miller dragonslive@uiuc.edu
ehrlich@cs.psu.edu (Daniel Ehrlich) (09/08/89)
In article <221600005@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu> smiller@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu writes:
I have some interesting problems with three 6152's. First of all DOS diagnostic
routines run fine and report no errors(advanced diagnostics). Now for the
problem:
Boot the MINIROOT disk.
Run fdisk and create a 4.3 partition (size is 1009 cylinders starting
at cylinder 13 to allow for a small DOS partition)
Run format.
Problem: format fails at some random cylinder between 0 and 1009. The disk
access light stays on and the program reports that it is formatting
cylinder xxx. This message will stay overnight and the only way to
recover is to power cycle the machine.
Attempted solutions:
Run low level format on the disks: this runs through to completion on
two of the machines which then continue to have the same problem
mentioned above. The third machine low level format dies trying to
format cylinder 0(zero) with the same symptom as above.
Try skipping the format and just go to create minidisks: after entering
the disk to work on minidisk goes out to lunch in the same manner as
described above.
Try a new Installation Miniroot disk: same problem.
I have successfully installed 4.3 on three other systems which, when people
don't hit cntrl-alt-keypad del to force DOS or flip the power switch and boot
from their floppy, are up and running fine.
Anybody have some ideas??
Thanks in advance.
Steven Miller
dragonslive@uiuc.edu
Have IBM replace the ESDI disk controller. There was/is a bug in the controller
micorcode that would cause BIOS on the 286 to hang. If you really need it I
could take one of our 6152s apart to get the ROM revisions, etc.
--
Dan Ehrlich <ehrlich@shire.cs.psu.edu> | Disclaimer: The opinions expressed are
The Pennsylvania State University | my own, and should not be attributed
Department of Computer Science | to anyone else, living or dead.
University Park, PA 16802 |smiller@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu (09/11/89)
Unfortunately the controllers are the non-ESDI type. I should have mentioned in my previous post that the disks were 40M non-ESDI. If they were 70M disks I would not be having some of the problems I am currently fighting. Thanks for the suggestion. I am going to swap disk controllers anyway with one of the working systems and see if it helps. It just might. Anyone got any ideas since you now know that we have 40M disks?? Steven DragonsLive@uiuc.edu