U30Q@CBEBDA3T.BITNET (K.Haedener @ Berne, Switzerland) (01/21/88)
There has been some discussion recently on this list about replacing the Rainbow's 10 MB harddisk by non-DEC products such as Seagate 225 and higher capacity drives. Could somebody with some hands-on experience please give a review of what has been checked to work with the standard DEC controller and which formatting software has been used in each case. P.S: Thanks for the pointers to TEK 4010 emulation software. Konrad Haedener, University of Berne Computing Center, Switzerland
iav1917@ritcv.UUCP (alan i. vymetalik) (01/23/88)
In article <8801222356.AA13313@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> U30Q@CBEBDA3T.BITNET (K.Haedener @ Berne, Switzerland) writes: > >There has been some discussion recently on this list about replacing >the Rainbow's 10 MB harddisk by non-DEC products such as Seagate 225 >and higher capacity drives. > >Could somebody with some hands-on experience please give a review of >what has been checked to work with the standard DEC controller and >which formatting software has been used in each case. > >P.S: Thanks for the pointers to TEK 4010 emulation software. > >Konrad Haedener, University of Berne Computing Center, Switzerland OK, here's the scoop on DEC Rainbow hard disks. Using the standard controller with the Rainbow, I have tested (or have info on) the following drives: 5mb DEC RD50 (Seagate ST506) (The original drive!) 10mb DEC RD51 (Seagate ST412) (The old standard drive) 20mn DEC RD31 (Seagate ST225) (This is the new *standard* DEC Rainbow drive; if you could still purchase the machines from DEC (which you can't!)) 30mb (Seagate ST238) (An RLL-drive. I have been told it works and formats to 20mb) 33mb DEC RD52 (Quantum Q540) (I have this drive running in my Rainbow at this moment!) 71Mb DEC RD53 (Micropolis 1325D) (Check out the HitchHiker's FIDO BBS at 1-315-589-7361 to see an actual machine using this drive!) I have also heard that the Corvus drives work on the Rainbow (Corvus' Omninet machines had a version designed for the Rainbow, I believe.) Except for the ST-238, I have played with or own all the above drives (I have an RD50 and RD51 sitting on a shelf and the RD52 purring contently in my Rainbow)...Funny, DEC never wanted to admit that these higher capacity drives worked on the Rainbow...They MAY have sold more machines if people had known!...Isn't life funny, sometimes? ;-) Remember, it's the same controller running all of the above drives. You'll need some decent formatting software, however, to use the larger drives (ST-238 and up). Anthony Camas' WUTIL V2.0 is preferred. Also, DISKPART and WUP32 (DEC's Winchester Utility) are good alternatives. I have used WUTIL to format all of my disks and I haven't had any problems with it. Does anyone need WUTIL to format large hard disks? It's a PD program. If I get enough requests, I'll post it. Remember, though, if you don't have Rainbow MS-DOS 3.10, you won't be able to take advantage of the larger disks beyond a maximum of 4 8-mb partitions. DOS 3.10 should allow 4 32-mb partitions (if it ever comes out ;-). Also, CP/M will only allow up to 10mb for everything... So, some disks may not be worth it for you to buy. I hope this helps. Enjoy! Alan All e-mails to: {allegra | seismo}!rochester!ritcv!iav1917 All flames to: !lostnode!hades!flmbckt ------------------------+-------------------------------------------- Alan I. Vymetalik | Standard Disclaimer: The above statements Prism Software Designs | and opinions belong to the author. Any 44 Arborwood Crescent | resemblence to statements found in actual Rochester, New York | reality is simply coincidence. And, as 14615-3807 | always, the above opinions have absolutely (716)-458-4932 (8-10pm) | nothing to do with the little, fat man (leave message) | putting $100 bills in my pocket. ------------------------+--------------------------------------------
bcw@rti.UUCP (Bruce Wright) (01/23/88)
In article <8801222356.AA13313@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>, U30Q@CBEBDA3T.BITNET (K.Haedener @ Berne, Switzerland) writes: > > There has been some discussion recently on this list about replacing > the Rainbow's 10 MB harddisk by non-DEC products such as Seagate 225 > and higher capacity drives. > Just about any drive which is sold as a standard IBM-PC drive will run on the Rainbow. Exceptions are drives which require special controllers, but these are relatively rare. The formatting program I am most familiar with is WUTIL, which is a public- domain formatting program. It allows a number of options for configuring the drive, and could be used to configure just about anything which is readily available. Do not use versions before version 2.0! Earlier versions have problems formatting a Seagate 225. It should be available from any number of bulletin boards - if you are unable to find it, I can supply a copy (my company is not connected with it, we are just satisfied users) - send a self addressed stamped floppy to: Bruce Wright SoftWright Systems P. O. Box 3208 Durham, NC 27705 along with a note that you want a copy of WUTIL. Bruce C. Wright
jto@santra.UUCP (Jari Tomminen) (01/28/88)
One more hard drive that will work with Rainbow... Rodime RO-202 10 MB, ST-506 interface 2 disks, 4 heads, 320 cylinders Can be formatted with DEC's own WUP-package but will give only about 9.5 MB storage (due to the severe braindamages in DEC's formatters, they assume the drive has n x 306 cylinders where n=1, 2). More recommendable is to format the drive with WUTIL and make new boot loaders with DSKPREP. This will give you the whole storage capacity. Best regards, Jari. -- Jari Tomminen | Internet: jto@santra.hut.fi Helsinki University of Technology, Finland | uucp: ...!mcvax!santra!jto Computing Centre | Bitnet: jto@fingate.bitnet Microcomputer Support Division | Voice: + 358 - 0 - 451 2987