long@mcntsh.enet.dec.com (Rich Long) (06/13/91)
Hi, I'm getting tired of shuffling floppies, so am getting ready to buy a 45MB Syquest cartridge drive for backup purposes and scratch space. So, I turn to you net.experts for opinions. I'm a novice in this area, so be gentle. I've read the review in the Feb. '91 Macuser, and it looks like either the APS or Ehman drives are good bets. o Do Syquests work like big floppies, in that you shove one in and it mounts, and you drag its ICON to the trash, and it dismounts? I notice in the review that some of the drives include INITs or CDEVs. What are they for? Would the cdev interface mean that cartridges must be manually mounted? o Can the Syquest be left powered off, or must it be on all the time? o Some of the drives include switched AC outlets. Does this mean I could plug my Mac into that outlet, power up the drive and have the Mac come up with it? Would there be timing problems (as there are for some hard disks)? On a related note, can one boot off a Syquest? General Stuff: - I need the drive to be System 7 compatible NOW. - I'd like to spend no more than about $500. I'd really like some general feedback, along with perhaps some "I hate/love my drive because...". Thanks very much! Richard C. Long | long@mcntsh.enet.dec.com | Selfware: If you like --------------- | ...!decwrl!mcntsh.enet.dec.com!long | this program, send A First Edition | long%mcntsh.dec@decwrl.enet.dec.com | yourself five bucks!
rhyde@hubbell.ucr.edu (randy hyde) (06/14/91)
I bought one of the 88mb removables for $900, here's my experiences: o It mounts and dismounts like a floppy. o You can boot off it (sometimes I've had problems with this, about one out of four times it unmounts when you"restart", but this may be a CMS driver problem) o Like most SCSI devices, if the thing isn't powered up while you're using your mac, SCSI chokes. There may be ways around this, I've never bothered looking for a solution (i.e., request for ways around this from those smarter than I am). o The INITs and CDEVs are the things that make is possible for the system to automatically mount and dismount the cartridge. They do other things too, but mounting and dismounting are the biggies to me. o < $500. There are 44mb drives in this range, the 88mb drives are still expensive. If you can get by with 44megs for a while, go ahead and buy the 44mb drive now. In a couple of years the 88mbyte drives will be around $500. For $100 more than I paid, you could have both (in a couple of years). OTOH, I boot sys 7 from the syquest and I've left sys 6 on my internal drive (600 megs). I couldn't use sys 7 from a 44 mbyte cartridge given the amount of stuff I have on the sys 7 disk. Love/Hate??? I don't do either. The removable works for me because I need a place to put 100's of megs of clip art, data files, etc., which I need infrequent but fast access to (my DAT is too slow). The Syquest works fine for this. It also provides a good mechanism which allows me to move up to sys 7 slowly while waiting for software upgrades from everyone. *** Randy Hyde
bda@uther.calvin.edu (Bruce Abernethy) (06/14/91)
long@mcntsh.enet.dec.com (Rich Long) writes: > o Some of the drives include switched AC outlets. Does this mean I could plug > my Mac into that outlet, power up the drive and have the Mac come up with it? > Would there be timing problems (as there are for some hard disks)? On a > related note, can one boot off a Syquest? > General Stuff: > - I need the drive to be System 7 compatible NOW. > - I'd like to spend no more than about $500. > I'd really like some general feedback, along with perhaps some "I hate/love > my drive because...". Well Richard, All I can say are good things about my MIRROR 44Meg removable drive. Yes you can boot off it, yes it has 2 AC outlets (fused) on it that will come up when you turn on the drive, yes it is currently (1.36) System 7 compatable if fact I have had system 7 booting off of it for exactly one month with no problems (less problems than with 6.0.7), and it is less than $500 now :(. I had a problem once when I inadvertantly shorted out the outlet with another device (major sparks). The fuse worked on the drive and they even included another fuse right in the unit and I was up and running in 15 minutes. I have 3 carts now and I am very happy with the unit. Bruce -- Bruce Abernethy Calvin College Computer Center Hotline X8555; (616) 957-8555 Grand Rapids, MI 49546 <bda@uengr.calvin.edu>
jr@amanue.UUCP (Jim Rosenberg) (06/16/91)
In <5253@ryn.mro4.dec.com> long@mcntsh.enet.dec.com (Rich Long) writes: > o Can the Syquest be left powered off, or must it be on all the time? I have an APS 44M Syquest. I very seldom power on the Mac with the Syquest on, as for now I'm using the Syquest only for backup and "off-line storage". Yes, absolutely, you *CAN* get this buggy to go post-boot. If you turn on the Syquest after the machine has booted and insert a cartridge, it will *not* appear on the desktop. But all you need to do is run SCSI Probe from the Control Panel, mount the Syquest, and woila. I tend to run the Syquest as little as possible because (1) it is a bit noisy and (2) my environment is pretty dusty, and I'm *very* concerned about that. Note my experience is System 6 only. I have a vague memory of reading somewhere that SCSI Probe has not yet been System 7ized, but don't quote me on that. BTW SCSI Probe *comes with* the APS drive, along with a huge dollop of other PD software and shareware. -- Jim Rosenberg -- cgh!amanue!jr CIS: 71515,124 UUCP: / / | WELL: jer dsi.com pitt! ditka! BIX: jrosenberg Internet: amanue!jr@vax.cs.pitt.edu
Eric.J.Baumgartner@dartmouth.edu (Eric J. Baumgartner) (06/17/91)
In article <5253@ryn.mro4.dec.com> long@mcntsh.enet.dec.com (Rich Long) writes: > I'm getting tired of shuffling floppies, so am getting ready to buy a 45MB > Syquest cartridge drive for backup purposes and scratch space. So, I turn to > you net.experts for opinions. I'm a novice in this area, so be gentle. > > I've read the review in the Feb. '91 Macuser, and it looks like either the > APS or Ehman drives are good bets. I bought an Ehman for work and later an APS for myself. I prefer the APS. I can boot the Mac with the APS off. The Ehman (and the DPI a co-worker has AND the ClubMac another co-worker has... we've been doing our own survey :-) must be turned on to boot. (I also know another guy whose Ehman went south about three months after he got it. Mine has behaved fine.) > o Do Syquests work like big floppies, in that you shove one in and it mounts, > and you drag its ICON to the trash, and it dismounts? I notice in the review > that some of the drives include INITs or CDEVs. What are they for? Would the > cdev interface mean that cartridges must be manually mounted? I'm suffering INIT backlash so I don't use an auto-mount INIT to mount the Syquest when I insert it. Instead, I use a neato FKEY called MountEm. It works great and I don't have to worry about another INIT clogging the System heap. (If you use SCSIProbe, use vers. 3.0 for System 7 compatibility.) > o Some of the drives include switched AC outlets. Does this mean I could plug > my Mac into that outlet, power up the drive and have the Mac come up with it? > Would there be timing problems (as there are for some hard disks)? Both the APS and the Ehman have two AC outlets on the back, as well as push button SCSI settings. You should be able to plug a non-Mac II into the Syquest and turn everything on at once. > General Stuff: > > - I need the drive to be System 7 compatible NOW. > > - I'd like to spend no more than about $500. APS with shipping: 500.50. Close enough? :-) (Prices have probably dropped.) For a while I had a 7 beta on a Syquest and I booted off that if I wanted to run 7. Worked great. I use the Syquest at work as an on-line drive for various projects, usually one per disk, and daily backups (Finder copies). The APS at home I use when I want to bring work home (I got real sick of carrying floppies) or for backup of that Mac. Syquests make pretty expensive backup devices if that's all you use them for, but they're plenty fast and it's very nice to have an open-ended storage solution... if I need more room, I only have to spend $70 at a time. I think 44M is plenty for individual use, so the 88s and the opticals don't really interest me. There's also the compatibility issue; sure, your 88 will read your friend's 44, but it doesn't write to it. There are a lot of 44s out there already. Unless you're doing serious image or sound work or something that eats up disk space by the Gig, an 80M internal and a Syquest make for a very nice, expandable system. Eric Baumgartner * ebaum@dartmouth.edu Interactive Media Lab * - When in danger or in doubt, Dartmouth Medical School * run in circles, scream and shout.
anthony@cs.adelaide.edu (Anthony Dunstan) (06/17/91)
In article <502@amanue.UUCP> jr@amanue.UUCP (Jim Rosenberg) writes: >Note my experience is System 6 only. I have a vague memory of reading >somewhere that SCSI Probe has not yet been System 7ized, but don't quote me >on that. The latest version of SCSI Probe is 3.0.1 and IS System 7ized. You can get it off sumex. SCSI Probe works beautifully with the Syquest 44MG drive. Isn't it nice when something WORKS! Anthony. ---------------------------------------------- Anthony Dunstan Just Another MacCyberMan, The University of Adelaide Apple Consortium. Phone: +61 8 228 5502, Fax: +61 8 223 1206 Net: anthony@cs.adelaide.edu.au
wilde@cs.colorado.edu (Nick Wilde) (06/18/91)
In article <1991Jun16.212739.5599@dartvax.dartmouth.edu>, Eric.J.Baumgartner@dartmouth.edu (Eric J. Baumgartner) writes: > > For a while I had a 7 beta on a Syquest and I booted off that if I > wanted to run 7. Worked great. I use the Syquest at work as an > on-line drive for various projects, usually one per disk, and daily > backups (Finder copies). The APS at home I use when I want to bring > work home (I got real sick of carrying floppies) or for backup of that > Mac. Syquests make pretty expensive backup devices if that's all you > use them for, but they're plenty fast and it's very nice to have an > open-ended storage solution... if I need more room, I only have to > spend $70 at a time. > This brings up a point I've been meaning to ask for a while. Eric is talking about using two different brands of Sysquests, so I assume they format the same and he can carry disks back and forth between the two. In general, is this true among all the 44 Meg removables with Sysquest internals ? We have a bunch of Sysquests in the lab - MicroTech brand, I beleive. If I decide to buy one for at home use, am I stuck with the same brand are they pretty much all compatible ? Thanx ! -Nick
deh7g@newton.acc.Virginia.EDU (David E. Husk) (06/18/91)
In article <1991Jun17.214014.11552@colorado.edu> wilde@cs.colorado.edu (Nick Wilde) writes: >In article <1991Jun16.212739.5599@dartvax.dartmouth.edu>, Eric.J.Baumgartner@dartmouth.edu (Eric J. Baumgartner) writes: >> >> For a while I had a 7 beta on a Syquest and I booted off that if I >> wanted to run 7. Worked great. I use the Syquest at work as an >> on-line drive for various projects, usually one per disk, and daily >> backups (Finder copies). The APS at home I use when I want to bring >> work home (I got real sick of carrying floppies) or for backup of that >> Mac. Syquests make pretty expensive backup devices if that's all you >> use them for, but they're plenty fast and it's very nice to have an .................... > >In general, is this true among all the 44 Meg removables with Sysquest >internals ? We have a bunch of Sysquests in the lab - MicroTech brand, >I beleive. If I decide to buy one for at home use, am I stuck with >the same brand are they pretty much all compatible ? > > In fact how do people format Sysquest's. I.E. If I use a IBM Sysquest + disks that were used on the IBM how do I reformat them. Or for that matter do I need to reformat them? Husk@virginia.edu
tgoose@eng.umd.edu (Jason Garms) (06/19/91)
In article <1991Jun18.150734.6227@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>, deh7g@newton.acc.Virginia.EDU (David E. Husk) writes: > > In fact how do people format Sysquest's. I.E. If I use a > IBM Sysquest + disks that were used on the IBM how do I reformat them. > Or for that matter do I need to reformat them? > > Husk@virginia.edu Yes you definatly need to format them. You can use LaCie's SilverLining to do this. Just hook the Syquest up to the Mac (at an unused SCSI ID), boot it up, run SilverLining and the rest of it works the same way as formating any SCSI hard disk. If you install SilverLinings init (for removable media), the mac will automatically mount a Syquest disk if it's inserted after startup (as long as it is formatted!) Additionally, if you want to remove the Syquest while the machine is turned on the drag the disk to the trash, and when it unmounts, push the button on the front of the Syquest. When the disk spins down, just take it out. (Unmounting the Syquest doesn't require the Silverlining init. Nor does mountning it. The init is only for AUTOmounting the Syquest if it is inserted after bootup.) Hope this is helpful, Jason Garms tgoose@eng.umd.edu
biesty@ide.com (Bill Biesty) (06/21/91)
In article <5253@ryn.mro4.dec.com> long@mcntsh.enet.dec.com (Rich Long) writes: > >Hi, > > I'm getting tired of shuffling floppies, so am getting ready to buy a 45MB > Syquest cartridge drive for backup purposes and scratch space. So, I turn to > you net.experts for opinions. I'm a novice in this area, so be gentle. I bought a syquest from APS when my original Apple supplied 20meg drive failed. I figured I could always salvage the platter (and my data!). Make sure you specify whether you want it terminated or not. I got miffed because they didn't attach the internal clip for the fan correctly (I was able to re-attach it myself) and the "ON" led was burned out. Their support people were helpful and they mailed me a new led thing but I've noticed it too burned out. (sigh) But I haven't had any hardware problems and the drive itself (not the housing) has a red and green led when it's active. > I've read the review in the Feb. '91 Macuser, and it looks like either the > APS or Ehman drives are good bets. Inspite of the above I'd still recommend the APS. I can tell it's on without the ON led. Just check the fan. :-) > > o Do Syquests work like big floppies, in that you shove one in and it mounts, > and you drag its ICON to the trash, and it dismounts? I notice in the review > that some of the drives include INITs or CDEVs. What are they for? Would the > cdev interface mean that cartridges must be manually mounted? The inits and cdevs are device drivers. Don't use everything APS sends you though. I had init conflicts; but this is my fault. Hmm. Never tried dragging it to the trash. I had a weird thing happen. I swapped disks without dragging to the trash and without shutting down. it converted the second disk to an extension to the first but didn't up the storage capacity (complained about not finding the system) -I was trying to copy a rather large folder from one to the other. Eventually I had to reformat the second disk to use it as a second disk. Still haven't been able to copy the folder. Anyone know how to copy data from one datacart to another with only one syquest drive? > > o Can the Syquest be left powered off, or must it be on all the time? I leave mine off when I'm not using it. I treat it like any other hard drive except I can change platters. > > o Some of the drives include switched AC outlets. Does this mean I could plug > my Mac into that outlet, power up the drive and have the Mac come up with it? > Would there be timing problems (as there are for some hard disks)? On a > related note, can one boot off a Syquest? > I boot off of my syquest. I don't have the power outlet. I turn the drive on first and then the mac with a few seconds in between. IE you don't have to wait for the drive to completely power up. > General Stuff: > > - I need the drive to be System 7 compatible NOW. Don't know. > > - I'd like to spend no more than about $500. That will be tough. I paid $600-650 with one extra datacart ($75). Prices have come down since then though. > > I'd really like some general feedback, along with perhaps some "I hate/love > my drive because...". I'm happy except for the inability to copy from one to the other like floppies. > > Thanks very much! > >Richard C. Long | long@mcntsh.enet.dec.com | Selfware: If you like >--------------- | ...!decwrl!mcntsh.enet.dec.com!long | this program, send >A First Edition | long%mcntsh.dec@decwrl.enet.dec.com | yourself five bucks! Bill Biesty <biesty@ide.com>
ireland@ac.dal.ca (06/21/91)
> Anyone know how to copy data from one datacart to another with only one > syquest drive? I use Syquest drives from both Ehman and APS and prefer APS. APS drives are much better constructed than Ehman drives and APS telephone support is much better. I don't often copy files from one cartridge to another on a single Syquest drive because its takes so much time to mount cartridge, but I remember reading that the init supplied with Syquest cartridges is required in order to do this. The init enables you to unmount a cartridge and have its dimmed icon remain on the desktop so you can drag a file from the second cartridge onto the dimmed icon. Keith Conover ireland@ac.dal.ca
deh7g@newton.acc.Virginia.EDU (David E. Husk) (06/21/91)
Company Telephone # sysquest cart. + cart. MacCenter 800 950 3726 499.00 68.00 Wholesale 54 800 473 0054 449.00 69.00 U.S. Computer 800 888 8779 462.00 63.00 Mactel 800 950 8411 499.00 69.00 Husk@virginia.edu
chma@marlin.jcu.edu.au (Michael Antolovich) (06/23/91)
In article <1991Jun21.041618.531@ac.dal.ca> ireland@ac.dal.ca writes: >> Anyone know how to copy data from one datacart to another with only one >> syquest drive? > >I use Syquest drives from both Ehman and APS and prefer APS. APS >drives are much better constructed than Ehman drives and APS >telephone support is much better. I don't often copy files from one cartridge >to another on a single Syquest drive because its takes so much time >to mount cartridge, but I remember reading that the init supplied >with Syquest cartridges is required in order to do this. The init >enables you to unmount a cartridge and have its dimmed icon remain >on the desktop so you can drag a file from the second cartridge onto >the dimmed icon. > >Keith Conover >ireland@ac.dal.ca So, who what and where is this INIT ? :-) Michael -- _______________________________________________________________________________ \ Michael Antolovich in sunny North Queensland (where it's bloody hot!) / \ chma@marlin.jcu.edu.au / \_________________________________________________________________________/