jones@optilink.UUCP (Marvin Jones) (03/07/91)
Is anyone familiar with the various diagnostic codes of a Seagate ST157N
controller card which are implemented as a flashing sequence of the "access"
LED at power-up?
Specifically, I was given one of these drives which flashes the LED seven
times at power-up. I would like to know what the seven flashes
represent.
Further, does anyone know where to purchase new or refurbished ST157N
controller cards, rather than sending the drive in for repair somewhere?
Any information or leads are very much appreciated.
--
== Marvin Jones === Optilink Corp. === Petaluma, CA === 707.795.9444 X206 ==
== uucp: {uunet, tekbspa, pyramid}!optilink!jones ==========================
== CIS: 71320,3637 or 71320.3637@compuserve.com === AOL: mjones ============thad@btr.BTR.COM (Thaddeus P. Floryan) (03/11/91)
In article <5956@optilink.UUCP> jones@optilink.UUCP (Marvin Jones) writes: >Is anyone familiar with the various diagnostic codes of a Seagate ST157N >controller card which are implemented as a flashing sequence of the "access" >LED at power-up? > >Specifically, I was given one of these drives which flashes the LED seven >times at power-up. I would like to know what the seven flashes >represent. >[...] From Seagate's ST125N/138N/157N Product Manual, Rev.C, page 18: ``READ SECTOR ID MARK: If the controller is unable to find and read an ID mark for any sector, seven flashes are returned with an additional sense code of 88H.'' From my own experiences with these drives (11 went belly-up just weeks after their warranties expired), the MOST likely cause of why the on-board controller cannot read the sector ID marks is due to the disk not spinning thanks to the dreaded stiction (static friction) problem which, in my experience, is endemic with these drives ... EVERY single one of mine had the same problem, and the only solution is replattering (due to overlubrication of the platters during original assembly). You can temporarily "break" the stiction by manually spinning the main spindle then repowering and then backup your files ASAP if you haven't already done so. If you need more details, send email. I have over 3MB worth of text describing this problem as reported from around the world afflicting many drives from the same vendor. My solution was to switch to a different HD vendor. Thad Floryan [ thad@btr.com (OR) {decwrl, mips, fernwood}!btr!thad ]