johnk@opel.COM (John Kennedy) (08/28/90)
In article <637@slammer.UUCP> todd@slammer.UUCP (Todd Merriman) writes: -In article <25313.26ce9f6f@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> teoh@uicbert.eecs.uic.edu writes: ->Is it possible to allow 2 different types of hard disks in a pc UNIX ->environment (using 2 different controllers)? - -When I installed Interactive Unix 2.2 I attempted to use an ST-506 primary -controller and an Adaptec 1542B SCSI controller as secondary. After -a *day* of re-building kernels and plugging and un-plugging controllers, -with nary a kernel that would boot, I gave up. Fortunately, the SCSI -controller has floppy ports, so I decided to toss the ST-506, two MFM -drives, and use only the SCSI. - -The Interactive documentation states that two different contollers is -definitely allowed, but clearly I didn't have the magic to make it -work! I agree. The documentation and menus indicate you can set up a primary ST-506 and a secondary SCSI, but what I tried was the opposite: having an old ST-506 controller and drive available as secondary. My attempts, too, failed. Anyone had any luck with this? Followups to comp.unix.i386. -- John Kennedy johnk@opel.COM Second Source, Inc. Annapolis, MD
sl@van-bc.wimsey.bc.ca (Stuart Lynne) (08/29/90)
In article <25@opel.COM> johnk@opel.COM (John Kennedy) writes: >In article <637@slammer.UUCP> todd@slammer.UUCP (Todd Merriman) writes: >-In article <25313.26ce9f6f@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> teoh@uicbert.eecs.uic.edu writes: >->Is it possible to allow 2 different types of hard disks in a pc UNIX >->environment (using 2 different controllers)? >- > >I agree. The documentation and menus indicate you can set up a primary ST-506 >and a secondary SCSI, but what I tried was the opposite: having an old ST-506 >controller and drive available as secondary. My attempts, too, failed. > >Anyone had any luck with this? Followups to comp.unix.i386. I have made this work under SCO Xenix (SCO also maintains that it won't). The basic problem is that the Adaptec controller checks for a normal controller and if it finds one will not boot. What I did was to install a "second" hard disk controller at the "second" address. I didn't tell the ROM BIOS that it had any hard disks. The Adaptec doesn't see the controller so it will boot normally. The second problem is whether the OS will pay attention to the second controller if the first is not in use. Xenix will. I simply had to create the appropriate device file's. While I had an existing disk that did not need preparation with the mkdev hd script I suspect just telling the script that you had an ST506 drive as the boot disk would work (if not it's not that hard to do by hand). So the big question is whether ISC will use the controller once you have your system setup in this fashion. And whether you will have to partition and prepare the file systems by hand. -- Stuart.Lynne@wimsey.bc.ca ubc-cs!van-bc!sl 604-937-7532(voice)
dougp@ico.isc.com (Doug Pintar) (08/30/90)
In article <25@opel.COM> johnk@opel.COM (John Kennedy) writes: > >I agree. The documentation and menus indicate you can set up a primary ST-506 >and a secondary SCSI, but what I tried was the opposite: having an old ST-506 >controller and drive available as secondary. My attempts, too, failed. > >Anyone had any luck with this? Followups to comp.unix.i386. There are some problems trying this. For MFM controllers, the way you get the geometry of the drive is usually from drive-type entries in the CMOS RAM. Since you have to tell your system that you have NO 'AT-style' hard drives to get a SCSI adapter to boot from one of its disks, this leaves the driver in the dark as to what the drives on the MFM controller look like. For ESDI it's no problem, as you can get the geometry from the drive (unless you used some bizarre controller translation mode when the filesystems on it were built). Adaptec pulled a hacko in their RLL controller to record a couple bits of the configuration in each sector header for the first few tracks of cylinder 0. Must have been some INTERESTING microcode that was run when you asked the controller for the config info... Anyway, there's supposed to be an IOCTL to pass both the physical and apparent geometries of drives so that you could have some sort of init program that did this prior to opening them the first time, but it's unclear whether it actually works. I tried it once with no success (on a beta 2.2 system) and haven't messed with it since. It may have gotten fixed since I tried it. Good luck, DLP
wiljo@freesid.mamnix.quest.sub.org (Wiljo Heinen) (09/03/90)
johnk@opel.COM (John Kennedy) writes: [about the possibility of running both an ST-506 and an SCSI controller simultaneously on ISC 2.2] >Anyone had any luck with this? Followups to comp.unix.i386. Don't know yet... I'm gonna try next week. I already gave it a (non-succeeding) try. According to my vendor you _have_ to jumper the 'secondary' SCSI drive to DMA chan. 6, as ISC will use this for any secondary SCSI no matter what type the primary controller is. As I said - I'll try next week and then I'll inform you about the correctness of this theory. cheers Wiljo -- snail-mail: | e-mail: | tel. lines: | | Wiljo Heinen | wiljo@freesid.ruhr.sub.org | voice: +49-231-162837 Rittershausstr. 55 | wheinen@ipkama.ka.sub.org | fax: +49-231-140192