hdrw@ibmpcug.co.uk (Howard Winter) (05/07/91)
I have a mchine with a Miniscribe 3650 drive, and its light had always been on all the time - I'd assumed it was to indicate it was ready. Then I added another drive and found that its light came on when it was accessed and went off immediately. The first drive's light comes on when you access it and goes off when you access the _other_ drive. With only 1 drive there is no 'other' so it stays on - I think you have the same situation - ie. no problem. Howard. -- Automatic Disclaimer: The views expressed above are those of the author alone and may not represent the views of the IBM PC User Group. -- hdrw@ibmpcug.Co.UK Howard Winter 0W21' 51N43'
drp@buhub.bradley.edu (Douglas Pokorny) (05/07/91)
The design of the AT hard disk controller is done in a manner in which the drive select latches until another drive is made active. This is claimed to be a feature which increases the speed of the hard drive. (The computer doesn't have to wait for the disk to respons to the drive select if it is always selected) Whether or not there is any benefit is of dubious value. Most clone controllers have the option to disable this, and use the "normal" XT style of drive accesses. Unless you are staring at the front of the drives, and find the constant light anoying, don't bother with it. _________________________________________________________ ________ ___ ___ |_ __ \ | | | | Douglas R. Pokorny | |__| / | | | | drp@buhub.bradley.edu | __ \ | | | | CS major/Geisert Hall Resident _| |__| | | \__/ | The best of both worlds! |________/ \______/ Bradley University "The Harvard of the Midwest"