[comp.windows.ms] SCSI drives with WIN3

tim@chaos.math.uakron.edu (Timothy Smith) (11/18/90)

Hello..

	Has anyone out there used a SCSI drive with windows 3.0
if so.. How good does it work with it?  Are there any compatability
problems with software?  What SCSI contoller card are you using?
I am currently looking into upgrading my PC.  I would like to
use a ALWAYS IN2000 SCSI controller with my existing IDE interface.
And a 100-200 meg SCSI drive.  I don't want to replace my internal IDE
because I can use only one IDE drive in my system.. (gee thanks DELL)
And the other one would goto waste.  I also would like to connect a 
CD-ROM drive to my PC .. but currently use must use SCSI with CD-ROM
drives and most controller that come with the drive don't work with
IDE.. they work with ESDI, MFM, RLL, but not IDE.. I have been told
that the ALWAYS card with work with IDE but I really don't trust the
source..  And finally.. Im buying my wife-to-be a MAC and I will
at some time buy a UNIX workstation and I would like to be able to
use the drive on either system.


				thanks for any info..

tim smith
tim@chaos.math.uakron.edu

smm@milton.u.washington.edu (Stephen Milton) (11/18/90)

In article <824@VAX1.CC.UAKRON.EDU> tim@chaos.math.uakron.edu writes:
>
>Hello..
>
>	Has anyone out there used a SCSI drive with windows 3.0
>if so.. How good does it work with it?  Are there any compatability
>problems with software?  What SCSI contoller card are you using?

I use a PLI Fast Card SCSI adapter card on a 386sx clone. and use two
chained macintosh scsi drives on it.  I tworks fine, in fact the SCSI bus
on my PC is much less volatile than those on the macs in our office.  The 
fast card is approximately $175, and comes with drivers and diagnostic
software.  My current configuration uses an internal IDE 45mb seagate configed
as C: and D:, then the two 45 meg SCSI drives configure as E: and F:.  The 
SCSI driver software has no problem with large partitions.  It even works
great in Windows 3.0.  The program manager and the file manager both recognize
them as valid drives and I have had no problem using either of them.  The only
problem that I have found so far is that things like Norton Disk Doctor and 
other hard disk dependeent utilities don't work on them , but this is to be 
expected since they are driver dependent, and the software in question doesn't
know the hooks in to the drivers.  But as I said windows works them just fine.

Stephen Milton
Product Manager
Multiple Zones Int'l
Direct Market Distribution
The Mac Zone 1-800-248-0800
The PC Zone  1-800-258-8088

poffen@sj.ate.slb.com (Russ Poffenberger) (11/20/90)

In article <824@VAX1.CC.UAKRON.EDU> tim@chaos.math.uakron.edu writes:
>
>Hello..
>
>	Has anyone out there used a SCSI drive with windows 3.0
>if so.. How good does it work with it?  Are there any compatability
>problems with software?  What SCSI contoller card are you using?
>I am currently looking into upgrading my PC.  I would like to
>use a ALWAYS IN2000 SCSI controller with my existing IDE interface.
>And a 100-200 meg SCSI drive.  I don't want to replace my internal IDE
>because I can use only one IDE drive in my system.. (gee thanks DELL)
>And the other one would goto waste.  I also would like to connect a 
>CD-ROM drive to my PC .. but currently use must use SCSI with CD-ROM
>drives and most controller that come with the drive don't work with
>IDE.. they work with ESDI, MFM, RLL, but not IDE.. I have been told
>that the ALWAYS card with work with IDE but I really don't trust the
>source..  And finally.. Im buying my wife-to-be a MAC and I will
>at some time buy a UNIX workstation and I would like to be able to
>use the drive on either system.
>
>

I am using an Adaptec AHA1542B controller with a CDC Wren IV. I have had no
problems with it.


Russ Poffenberger               DOMAIN: poffen@sj.ate.slb.com
Schlumberger Technologies       UUCP:   {uunet,decwrl,amdahl}!sjsca4!poffen
1601 Technology Drive		CIS:	72401,276
San Jose, Ca. 95110             (408)437-5254

rpA-Inc@cup.portal.com (RP and Ainc) (11/21/90)

I have an Adaptec AHA1542B controller on a 386/20 clone. It is far better
than the Future Domain TMC-870 I used to have in this machine. The TMC
requires a custom driver if you are to use it for other than C drive. It is
also buggy and slow and the customer support is terrible...

The 1542B can be used for either C or D. The custom driver then comes
in for E and above. I have used it under DOS 4.0.1 and Windows 3.0 without
any problems. I have two 80MB Seagate ST296N's daisy-chained to it. The
1542B also supports two floppy drives.

Compatibility note: I also have a Syquest SQ-555 42 MB disk-cartridge which
I can directly plug into either the 1542B and use as the E drive, or
straight into the Mac II (with different cartridges, of course).

I've also used a CD-ROM (NEC) daisy-chained to the 1542B without any
problem (and yes... into the Mac as well). I will also be trying a
streaming tape cartridge soon. The 1542 will probably need a special tape
driver (as will the Mac).

If it isn't already obvious, the goal is to acquire (through exhaustive
pre-planning and research) peripherals that can be shared identically 
between the Mac and a SCSI-based PC. There are also 1542B drivers for 
SCO Unix and Xenix. A/UX on the Mac will naturally support all SCSI drives.
So you can potentially have Unix cornered on either platform as well...

Oh yes... If you get an Ethernet card for the PC and the Mac (plug-in card
or SCSI Nodem type) and run something like TOPS, you can just leave the
peripherals on one machine and share them across the network... Gives
the pant-knees a longer half-life (:-)

Of course, if you eventually move up to Unix, you can also acquire TCP/IP,
NFS, and X-windows for both PC's and Mac's. But that's another story
altogether...

Hope this helps...

Cheers...

Ramin Firoozye'
rp&A Inc.
San Francisco, CA.

(P.S. I am not at all affiliated with any of the above vendors... just a
 happy customer who hasn't hit a big brick wall with all this mixing and
 matching business yet).

kelpie@nwnexus.WA.COM (Anthony C. Garland) (11/21/90)

tim@chaos.math.uakron.edu (Timothy Smith) writes:


>Hello..

>	Has anyone out there used a SCSI drive with windows 3.0
>if so.. How good does it work with it?  Are there any compatability
>problems with software?  What SCSI contoller card are you using?
>I am currently looking into upgrading my PC.  I would like to

	I am presently using a Maxtor 200 MB SCSI drive via an
	Adaptec 1540B SCSI host adapter.  I am experiencing no
	problems so far.

	However, I haven't used a wide variety of software under
	Windows 3.0 yet - just Ami Professional (word processor),
	Wingz (spreadsheet), Procomm, and MKS toolkit (in virtual
	PC windows in enhanced mode).  So far, I've filled up about
	60 megs of my hard disk and things are going strong.

	Sorry I can't offer more insight.

o-----------------------------------------------------------------------------o
| Anthony C. Garland, P.E.                                 Garland Consulting |
| 1373 S. Bonanza Alley,                                       (206) 387-6390 |
| Camano Island, WA 98292                               kelpie@nwnexus.WA.COM |
o-----------------------------------------------------------------------------o

sanand@sp90.uucp (11/26/90)

In article <824@VAX1.CC.UAKRON.EDU> tim@chaos.math.uakron.edu writes:
>
>Hello..
>
>	Has anyone out there used a SCSI drive with windows 3.0
>if so.. How good does it work with it?  Are there any compatability
>problems with software?  What SCSI contoller card are you using?
>I am currently looking into upgrading my PC.  I would like to
>use a ALWAYS IN2000 SCSI controller with my existing IDE interface.

Hi,
	I am currently using the "Always IN2000". I have a 150 MB SCSI
disk (Maxstor (sp?))on a 386/25. No problems. I am using the setup for
win 3.0 development. Not being "PC literate" it seems that there is a lot of
disk i/o ... but as I say it works fine and installed fine.

But ... I am returning the controller in exchange for an ADAPTEC. Since I
also want to install SCO UNIX, I prefer to have a fully supported 
SCSI controller. My current understanding is that the ALWAYS has a xenix driver
... but you need to install it *after* UNIX is "up" ... not much good if your
system disk is on the Always. The Adaptec is going to cost more $'s.

Cheers,
Sanand