ms0p+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael Gordon Shapiro) (06/05/91)
A general question: I'd like to add another hard drive to my A3000 - that is, in addition to the factory-shipped one. Since it has an SCSI port, I assume that an SCSI controller isn't necessary. Does this imply that I can just buy, say, a Quantum 40 meg and throw it in there? Is there space internally? Do I need to get an external drive? Inquiring minds want to know. Mike Shapiro ms0p@andrew.cmu.edu I don't live in fantasy; I only work there.
johnhlee@CS.Cornell.EDU (John H. Lee) (06/05/91)
In article <McGzQna00VIE07OmRs@andrew.cmu.edu> ms0p+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael Gordon Shapiro) writes: >A general question: I'd like to add another hard drive to my A3000 - >that is, in addition to the factory-shipped one. Since it has an SCSI >port, I assume that an SCSI controller isn't necessary. Does this imply >that I can just buy, say, a Quantum 40 meg and throw it in there? Is >there space internally? Do I need to get an external drive? Inquiring >minds want to know. Correct. The A3000 has the SCSI controller built-in. If you don't have a second floppy, you can mount the additional HD in that internal bracket, but you may have to fashion your own cable to connect both drives. You may also need to check out the power cable and the capacity of the A3000's power supply. You'll also have to mind the usual signal terminators and SCSI ID stuff. Me? When I needed to transfer some stuff from my Rodime to my new A3000's Quantum, I left the Rodime in my A2000 for the power supply, made a SCSI 50-pin header to MacIntosh-style SCSI DB25 cable, and connected it to the external connector on the A3000. Worked great, so adding an external drive works fine, too. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The DiskDoctor threatens the crew! Next time on AmigaDos: The Next Generation. John Lee Internet: johnhlee@cs.cornell.edu The above opinions are those of the user, and not of this machine.
cython@ais.org (Tim Devlin) (06/05/91)
In article <1991Jun5.002609.23342@cs.cornell.edu> johnhlee@cs.cornell.edu (John H. Lee) writes: >In article <McGzQna00VIE07OmRs@andrew.cmu.edu> ms0p+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael Gordon Shapiro) writes: >>A general question: I'd like to add another hard drive to my A3000 - >>that is, in addition to the factory-shipped one. Since it has an SCSI >>port, I assume that an SCSI controller isn't necessary. Does this imply >>that I can just buy, say, a Quantum 40 meg and throw it in there? Is >>there space internally? Do I need to get an external drive? Inquiring >>minds want to know. > >Correct. The A3000 has the SCSI controller built-in. If you don't have >a second floppy, you can mount the additional HD in that internal bracket, >but you may have to fashion your own cable to connect both drives. You >may also need to check out the power cable and the capacity of the A3000's >power supply. You'll also have to mind the usual signal terminators and >SCSI ID stuff. > >Me? When I needed to transfer some stuff from my Rodime to my new A3000's >Quantum, I left the Rodime in my A2000 for the power supply, made a >SCSI 50-pin header to MacIntosh-style SCSI DB25 cable, and connected it to >the external connector on the A3000. Worked great, so adding an external >drive works fine, too. Question, would it be possible to place a 2nd hard drive on top of the other one that is in the case. I noticed there seems to be room for one to sit on the other, but would that be possible? I know you would get no indecater light, also there might be a heat problem? And you would not want to move the computer, as I don't think you could mount it there. But I have an IBM 1.44 meg AT drive in the other bay, for a bridgeboad, and due to a lack of desk space wold really prefer to have another internal hard drive. I also dont want to use one of the few slots that the A3000 has, so a hard card would not be the best answer. Course I could alway just put a larger HD in the place ofthe current one, but would like to keep both. So what does everyone think? Would it be possible/advisable or a silly idea. Tim > -- Internet: Cython@irie.ais.org Compuserve: 76217,1372 GEnie: T.devlin2 BIX: Cython
johnhlee@CS.Cornell.EDU (John H. Lee) (06/06/91)
In article <K0XCM_?@irie.ais.org> cython@ais.org (Tim Devlin) writes: [...] > Question, would it be possible to place a 2nd hard drive on top of the >other one that is in the case. I noticed there seems to be room for one to >sit on the other, but would that be possible? I know you would get no >indecater light, also there might be a heat problem? And you would not want >to move the computer, as I don't think you could mount it there. But I have >an IBM 1.44 meg AT drive in the other bay, for a bridgeboad, and due to a >lack of desk space wold really prefer to have another internal hard drive. >I also dont want to use one of the few slots that the A3000 has, so a hard >card would not be the best answer. Course I could alway just put a larger >HD in the place ofthe current one, but would like to keep both. So what >does everyone think? Would it be possible/advisable or a silly idea. I didn't look that closely the last time I opened my A3000, but if there's space, you might be able to do it. To do it right, I'd use some type of bracket to tie-down the second drive and insert a little gap between the two drives. You'll also have to watch the mounting bracket on the top half of the case. If it physically fits, then there's no electrical reason why it shouldn't work if you mind the power, SCSI cabling and terminators. Heat could be a problem. I just don't know about the cooling paths and capacity of the A3000's airflow. As for the HD activity light, that's tied to the controller and lights up whenever the controller accesses the SCSI bus, so accesses to either drive will cause the light to flicker. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The DiskDoctor threatens the crew! Next time on AmigaDos: The Next Generation. John Lee Internet: johnhlee@cs.cornell.edu The above opinions are those of the user, and not of this machine.