[comp.sys.mac.hardware] MAJOR BUG IN QUANTUM LPS FIRMWARE CONFIRMED.

pascal@CAM.ORG (Pascal Gosselin) (03/29/91)

Finally,

    Almost a month after posting a message regarding this problem and
tons of phone calls to various SCSI driver makers, Adobe and QUANTUM, I
was finally able to get a confirmation of a MAJOR bug in LPS firmware.

If you own a Macintosh with system 6.0.7 and a Quantum Low Profile Series
hard drive, you are VERY likely to have been having problems with your
machine.

Symptoms:

- Adobe Illustrator 3.0 will not work properly
- Mac crashes after quitting application (before returning to desktop)
  very often.
- DAs will not open sometimes
- Unexplained behavior (unlimited list of problems....) with plain-vanilla
systems  


What's causing the problem:

- 6.0.7 (it makes the problem worse, but I haven't been given any details
  as to why)
- BUG in the Quantum LPS firmware (that's the ROM that is socketed on
  the hard disk controller board).


Note: 6.0.7 is NOT the cause of the problems, it is merely making the
      problem in the firmware much more apparent.


Solution:

- ROM FIRMWARE UPGRADE.  I know Quantum has a new firmware ready but
  I don't have details on the exchange procedure yet.  I'll keep you
  posted!



    I am not sure how widespread the problem is.  I have not yet found
a SCSI driver that works with the LPS without the above mentionned bugs.

    When I first reported the problem (Illustrator 3.0 wouldn't work on
the Mac LC, 6.0.7 and LPS combination), Adobe sent a copy of Illustrator
3.0 for testing to Quantum.  Subsequent testing with the latest versions
of Silverlining and Unimac Storware revealed no problems at Quantum.

    I ordered an upgrade to the latest version of Silverlining a week
ago but still hadn't gotten it, so I called Questronex (makers of
StorageWare , one of the drivers that didn't work) and asked them
if they had any news on the problem (I had complained to them about
2 weeks earlier).  Dave at Questronex told me that the problem had been
traced to a bug in the LPS firmware and told me who to talk to at
Quantum to get the new firmware.

    I am not prepared to give this person's name and number away right
now, so as to avoid a possible deluge of phone calls to this unsuspecting
employee of Quantum!

    I will let you know about any possible firmware upgrade info once I
get to clear things up with them.



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