BDS2@NS.CC.LEHIGH.EDU (Brad D Shalit) (03/11/91)
WHAT IS THIS PROGRAM?
IS IT NEEDED IF I AM USING A SCSI DRIVE WITH A 1542B ON A PC?
PLEASE REPLY TO BDS2@NS.CC.LEHIGH.EDU
THANK YOU
-BRAD
__________________________________________________________
Praise not the day until evening |
has come; a woman until she is bed; | Brad Shalit
a sword until it is tried; | BDS2 x8-2581
a maiden until she is married; | INTERNET: BDS2@NS.CC.LEHIGH.EDU
ice until it has been crossed; | BITNET: BDS2@LEHIGH
beer until it has been drunk; | 1(215)758-2581
--VIKING PROVERB |neese@adaptx1.UUCP (03/15/91)
>/* ---------- "WHAT IS SCSICNTL.EXE" ---------- */ >WHAT IS THIS PROGRAM? >IS IT NEEDED IF I AM USING A SCSI DRIVE WITH A 1542B ON A PC? > >PLEASE REPLY TO BDS2@NS.CC.LEHIGH.EDU I tried to send mail, but it bounced. The program is designed to let the user get to the programmable mode pages of a SCSI device and alter parameters in those pages. It also has a low-level format option. It will give you information based on what the adapter thinks it is programmed to do on the SCSI bus. It will give you SCSI option information on what your SCSI device claims to support. I don't know if it really needed. In the truest sense of the question, I don't think anyone needs SCSICNTL. Your system will run without it. While I am at this posting, I thought I might let you folks know,.... There has been some noise about wanting a public domain tar like program for DOS to work with SCSI stuff. If there is a real demand for it, I have almost completed this program and could post it, again, if it is something that would be useful to many netters. So far it can: Read/Write UNIX compatible tar format tapes, restore/backup the files to/from a DOS partition and vice-versa. It will support variable tape block sizes,and variable tar blocking sizes. It does not compress/uncompress files on the fly. It will work with virtually any SCSI tape drive. It does require DOS versions of 3.0 or later. It is menu driven with online help. It will read/write from/to any hard drive. It will be written directly to the 1542/1640/1740 hardware, except when reading/writting from/to the hard disk. If interested, drop me a line. Roy Neese Adaptec Senior SCSI Applications Engineer UUCP @ neese@adaptex uunet!cs.utexas.edu!utacfd!merch!adaptex!neese
norcott@databs.enet.dec.com (Bill Norcott) (03/16/91)
In article <283400069@adaptx1>, neese@adaptx1.UUCP writes... > >While I am at this posting, I thought I might let you folks know,.... >There has been some noise about wanting a public domain tar like program >for DOS to work with SCSI stuff. If there is a real demand for it, I have >almost completed this program and could post it, again, if it is something >that would be useful to many netters. Roy, I am the noisemaker who asked for it. I think it would be a *great* service to the Adaptec 1542 owners, myself included, to post such a program -- especially if it reads/writes in tar format! I would be happy to try it over the weekend if you need a guinea pig! I will send you direct mail. >So far it can: >Read/Write UNIX compatible tar format tapes, restore/backup the files to/from >a DOS partition and vice-versa. >It will support variable tape block sizes,and variable tar blocking sizes. excellent >It does not compress/uncompress files on the fly. can I pipe it from a PD DOS compressor like PKXZIP or PKXARC ? >It will work with virtually any SCSI tape drive. >It does require DOS versions of 3.0 or later. >It is menu driven with online help. >It will read/write from/to any hard drive. >It will be written directly to the 1542/1640/1740 hardware, except when >reading/writting from/to the hard disk. Roy, does this mean I can not use it together with ASPI4DOS? I prefer to use this if possible since it speeds up my I/O and I will be using >3 disks later on. Ditto, I would like it if SCSICNTL would coexist with SCSI4DOS and use the ASPI programming interface. Right now I have to reboot without my ASPI4DOS in my config.sys to use it, a minor annoyance. But the program itself is great. Is there is technical/marketing/licensing/too busy reason not to do it this way? > >If interested, drop me a line. > > Roy Neese > Adaptec Senior SCSI Applications Engineer > UUCP @ neese@adaptex > uunet!cs.utexas.edu!utacfd!merch!adaptex!neese Bill Norcott Digital Equipment Corporation
bill@unixland.uucp (Bill Heiser) (03/16/91)
In article <283400069@adaptx1> neese@adaptx1.UUCP writes: > >>/* ---------- "WHAT IS SCSICNTL.EXE" ---------- */ >>WHAT IS THIS PROGRAM? >>IS IT NEEDED IF I AM USING A SCSI DRIVE WITH A 1542B ON A PC? >> >>PLEASE REPLY TO BDS2@NS.CC.LEHIGH.EDU I don't mean to knock the scsicntl program, but use it with care! On a 386/25 running Esix Rev D, with a CDC Wren IV and a Toshiba MK-156FB drive, and an Archive 2150S, I did the following. I shut down unix, booted dos, ran scsicntl. I selected the page that controls cache on the drive -- I had previously turned cache on (long ago) -- I now turned cache off -- (this was all on the cdc wren, the toshiba doesn't have cache, although it seems faster than the wren, but that's a different story). When I again tried to boot Unix, it wouldnt' boot! I tried the quick recovery in Esix, but that didn't help. It wasn't getting to the point where it actually loads /unix. The machine would self test, see the scsi drives, blank the screen, pause a few seconds, and then re-initiate the self-test. A complete re-install was necessary. (The Toshiba is the boot drive). I haven't had the time or inclination to re-try this operation to see if it was actually the scsicntl operation or some fluke. Someday maybe I will, because I still want to try turning off the cache on the CDC again. -- home: ...!{uunet,bloom-beacon,esegue}!world!unixland!bill bill@unixland.uucp The Think_Tank BBS & Public Access Unix 508-655-3848 (2400) 508-651-8723 (9600-HST) 508-651-8733 (9600-PEP-V32) other: heiser@world.std.com
karl@robot.in-berlin.de (Karl-P. Huestegge) (03/18/91)
norcott@databs.enet.dec.com (Bill Norcott) writes: >Roy, does this mean I can not use it together with ASPI4DOS? I prefer to >use this if possible since it speeds up my I/O and I will be using >3 >disks later on. It would really be nice if the asw1410 and the tar could coexist, because I have only room for dos partitions on the 3rd and 4th disk. And I could extract Sytos tapes in the same session (well, that's only luxury). >Ditto, I would like it if SCSICNTL would coexist with SCSI4DOS and use >the ASPI programming interface. Right now I have to reboot without >my ASPI4DOS in my config.sys to use it, a minor annoyance. But the program >itself is great. Yes indeed. Roy, keep up the good work. It was of great use to me. -- Karl-Peter Huestegge karl@robot.in-berlin.de Berlin Friedenau Bus: 2,25,48,81,85 U-Net: Bhf.F.Wilh.Pl. ..unido!fub!geminix!robot!karl
neese@adaptx1.UUCP (03/19/91)
>In article <283400069@adaptx1>, neese@adaptx1.UUCP writes... >> >>While I am at this posting, I thought I might let you folks know,.... >>There has been some noise about wanting a public domain tar like program >>for DOS to work with SCSI stuff. If there is a real demand for it, I have >>almost completed this program and could post it, again, if it is something >>that would be useful to many netters. > >Roy, > >I am the noisemaker who asked for it. I think it would be a *great* service >to the Adaptec 1542 owners, myself included, to post such a program -- >especially if it reads/writes in tar format! I have since gotten a truck load of mail from all over about it and so will be posting it as soon as the first version is done. >>STUFF DELETED<< >>It does not compress/uncompress files on the fly. > >can I pipe it from a PD DOS compressor like PKXZIP or PKXARC ? Initially no, as the first release is more a functional release than the whiz-bang thing it will grow to become. >>It will work with virtually any SCSI tape drive. >>It does require DOS versions of 3.0 or later. >>It is menu driven with online help. >>It will read/write from/to any hard drive. >>It will be written directly to the 1542/1640/1740 hardware, except when >>reading/writting from/to the hard disk. > >Roy, does this mean I can not use it together with ASPI4DOS? I prefer to >use this if possible since it speeds up my I/O and I will be using >3 >disks later on. It will talk directly to the adapter, so ASPI4DOS will have to be out of the config.sys for the time being. Eventually, it will support ASPI4DOS, but for the first release it will not. >Ditto, I would like it if SCSICNTL would coexist with SCSI4DOS and use >the ASPI programming interface. Right now I have to reboot without >my ASPI4DOS in my config.sys to use it, a minor annoyance. But the program >itself is great. Due to some of the things SCSICNTL does, I cannot use ASPI4DOS/SCSI4DOS yet. I am looking at doing a version of SCSICNTL that will use ASPI4DOS and take out some of the things I can't do under ASPI4DOS. >Is there is technical/marketing/licensing/too busy reason not to do it >this way? Truth be known, I am not a DOS person. UNIX is my forte, but for direct hardware control, DOS is all there is. I am glad you like the program. I get a lot of mail about it and do appreciate the thanks. I know some of the hard drive manufacturer's aren't thrilled about the program, but I have always viewed SCSI with a very open mind and think it is only as good as a user can make it for thier own application. Being able to tailor SCSI to one's own application is what I consider one of the major reasons for going that direction in the first place. Roy Neese Adaptec Senior SCSI Applications Engineer UUCP @ neese@adaptex uunet!cs.utexas.edu!utacfd!merch!adaptex!neese
neese@adaptx1.UUCP (03/19/91)
>>>/* ---------- "WHAT IS SCSICNTL.EXE" ---------- */ >>>WHAT IS THIS PROGRAM? >>>IS IT NEEDED IF I AM USING A SCSI DRIVE WITH A 1542B ON A PC? >>> >>>PLEASE REPLY TO BDS2@NS.CC.LEHIGH.EDU > >I don't mean to knock the scsicntl program, but use it with care! >On a 386/25 running Esix Rev D, with a CDC Wren IV and a Toshiba MK-156FB >drive, and an Archive 2150S, I did the following. I shut down unix, >booted dos, ran scsicntl. I selected the page that controls >cache on the drive -- I had previously turned cache on (long ago) -- >I now turned cache off -- (this was all on the cdc wren, the toshiba >doesn't have cache, although it seems faster than the wren, but that's >a different story). When I again tried to boot Unix, it wouldnt' boot! > >I tried the quick recovery in Esix, but that didn't help. It wasn't >getting to the point where it actually loads /unix. The machine would >self test, see the scsi drives, blank the screen, pause a few seconds, >and then re-initiate the self-test. > >A complete re-install was necessary. (The Toshiba is the boot drive). >I haven't had the time or inclination to re-try this operation to see >if it was actually the scsicntl operation or some fluke. Someday maybe >I will, because I still want to try turning off the cache on the CDC >again. Uhmmm. Whenever anyone has a problem with SCSICNTL, I would like to hear about it. Please Email me. I test it with quite a few devices before I send it out, but the problem is,....I can't know when someone has changed firmware in a SCSI device, so something could break, and break very easily. I am also only human and may make mistakes. The risk is always there. I try to be very careful about this, but again,.... If you have a problem, what I would like is all the information that shows up in the data box on the left at the main menu. I have many contacts in the SCSI industry and could get the firmware to test with to find out what is happening. Also please note the verion of SCSICNTL you are using. SCSICNTL can be very dangerous and should always be used with caution. Although, sometimes you don't know until you do it and at that point it is too late. Of course, a SCSI device should not allow you to get the drive to a point that it is no longer functional. If an invalid command or invalid data is sent to the drive, it should just return an error and reject the command. But life in the real world ain't that easy. As far as this particular incident goes. I find it interesting. The Wren IV was one of the first drives I developed SCSICNTL for. I have used it on this drive since the drive first came out. I am at a loss as to what SCSICNTL could have done to cause this problem. What version of SCSICNTL are you using? Roy Neese Adaptec Senior SCSI Applications Engineer UUCP @ neese@adaptex uunet!cs.utexas.edu!utacfd!merch!adaptex!neese
bill@unixland.uucp (Bill Heiser) (03/20/91)
In article <283400075@adaptx1> neese@adaptx1.UUCP writes: > >>I don't mean to knock the scsicntl program, but use it with care! > >Uhmmm. Whenever anyone has a problem with SCSICNTL, I would like to hear >about it. Please Email me. I test it with quite a few devices before I > >As far as this particular incident goes. I find it interesting. The Wren >IV was one of the first drives I developed SCSICNTL for. I have used it on >this drive since the drive first came out. I am at a loss as to what >SCSICNTL could have done to cause this problem. What version of SCSICNTL >are you using? > Roy, This *was* a pretty strange incident. The funny part was that although I was changing a parameter on the CDC Wren, it was another drive on the chain (a Toshiba MK-156FB I believe) that got corrupted! If you're interested in more details, let me know, and I'll send e-mail. As I said in my original posting, I definitely don't mean to knock SCSICNTL.EXE. It is a great (and VERY useful) program, and thanks for making it available! Bill -- home: bill@unixland.uucp The Think_Tank BBS & Public Access Unix ...!uunet!think!unixland!bill ...!{uunet,bloom-beacon,esegue}!world!unixland!bill 508-655-3848 (2400) 508-651-8723 (9600-HST) 508-651-8733 (9600-PEP-V32)