teague@ssdvx2.mdcbbs.com (Chris Teague) (02/06/91)
Does anyone know what the drive limit is for an IDE interface card. All of the IDE cables I have seen only have one drive connector. Is it possible to put two or more hard drives on one interface card, or would they each need an interface card? Similarly, can an ST506 (RLL or MFM) controller be installed along with an IDE drive? Would the bios of one have to be relocated? Thanks in advance for any answers to the IDE questions, as they seem to be getting very popular and cost effective. I heard Conner will have a 500+ Mb drive for about $800 soon... Chris Teague
lpdjb@brahms.amd.com (Jerry Bemis) (02/08/91)
In article <1991Feb6.140303.1@ssdvx2.mdcbbs.com> teague@ssdvx2.mdcbbs.com (Chris Teague) writes: >Does anyone know what the drive limit is for an IDE interface card. All of the >IDE cables I have seen only have one drive connector. Is it possible to put >two or more hard drives on one interface card, or would they each need an >interface card? Yes you can install two (2) IDE drives with one interface card. A second connerctor can be put on the original cable. Mine wasn't long enough so I made my own. NOW FOR THE HARD PART IDE drives come setup for single drive operation. A jumper(s) needs to be changed on both drives. Why is this hard? The store I bought the second drive from was not able to tell me what jumpers to change! They told me several incorrect ways--of which one shorted my power supply. I called the manufacturer. Then it was easy. Set one to be drive 1 (some call it A). The other to be drive 2(dito B). The drives are then: C: drive 1 segment 1 D: drive 2 segment 1 E: drive 1 segment 2 F: drive 2 segment 2 G: ram drive BE SURE TO RUN FDISK AND SETUP > >Chris Teague LPDJB@brahms.amd.com Jerry Bemis Sunnyvale, CA (408) 749-3327 (800) 538-8450 x43327 AMD, POB 3453 - 45, Sunnyvale CA 94086-3000 from comuserve >INTERNET LPDJB@brahms.amd.com (or76326,2233--I never read it $k)
mamos@uafhp.uark.edu (Mark _E_ Amos) (02/09/91)
teague@ssdvx2.mdcbbs.com (Chris Teague) writes: >Does anyone know what the drive limit is for an IDE interface card. All of the >IDE cables I have seen only have one drive connector. Is it possible to put >two or more hard drives on one interface card, or would they each need an >interface card? Similarly, can an ST506 (RLL or MFM) controller be installed >along with an IDE drive? Would the bios of one have to be relocated? { stuff deleted } I currently use a Conner 82Meg IDE (3 1/2") in my 386-25 and am very happy with it. I was told, when I asked the same questions as you have, that I could plug in another drive of the same type and in fact my IDE bus card came with a second connector for just such an occasion. I was also informed the use of other HD interfaces concurrently with IDEs is next to impossible, if it is possible at all. Anyway, I like mine, and can safely say it runs cooler and quieter than any hard drive I have ever seen - which in my book translates into a better design (less friction, tighter tolerances, etc.). Of course, the above features may be more the Conner touch and not universal across all IDEs. I seem to recall a 40Meg Miniscribe that was quite hot and about average in the noise area. This was about a year ago, though, so I'm sure technology has come a long way since then... :-) -- oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Mark _E_ Amos University of Arkansas Computer Science Engineering mamos@uafhp.uark.edu mea1@engr.uark.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Man's mind, when stretched to a new idea, never goes back to its original dimension." -Oliver Wendell Holmes oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
barry@dgbt.doc.ca (Barry McLarnon DGBT/DIP) (02/15/91)
From article <1991Feb7.215934.8935@amd.com>, by lpdjb@brahms.amd.com (Jerry Bemis): > In article <1991Feb6.140303.1@ssdvx2.mdcbbs.com> teague@ssdvx2.mdcbbs.com (Chris Teague) writes: >>Does anyone know what the drive limit is for an IDE interface card. All of the >>IDE cables I have seen only have one drive connector. Is it possible to put >>two or more hard drives on one interface card, or would they each need an >>interface card? > Yes you can install two (2) IDE drives with one interface card. > A second connerctor can be put on the original cable. Mine wasn't long enough > so I made my own. > NOW FOR THE HARD PART > IDE drives come setup for single drive operation. A jumper(s) needs to be > changed on both drives. Why is this hard? The store I bought the second > drive from was not able to tell me what jumpers to change! They told me > several incorrect ways--of which one shorted my power supply. A colleague of mine has a similar problem. The drives involved are a Conner CP-344 40MB and a Seagate ST-1144A 125MB. The drives work ok individually, but we haven't discovered the jumper settings needed to get them both to fly at once, and we are loathe to experiment and possibly end up toasting something. The jumpers on the Conner are labled HSP, C/D, DSP, and ACT; the jumpers on the Seagate are ACT, EVS, SLV, MTR and LT. Anybody got info on the proper configuration for running both drives? This is pretty esoteric, so I suggest you use e-mail rather than posting to respond. Thanks in advance... Barry -- Barry McLarnon | Internet: barry@dgbt.doc.ca Communications Research Centre | PBBS: VE3JF@VE3JF.ON.CAN Ottawa, Canada K2H 8S2 | AMPRnet: barry@hs.ve3jf [44.135.96.7]
wood@Software.Mitel.COM (Dale Wood) (02/18/91)
> IDE drives come setup for single drive operation. A jumper(s) needs to be > changed on both drives. Why is this hard? The store I bought the second > drive from was not able to tell me what jumpers to change! They told me > several incorrect ways--of which one shorted my power supply. I just bought a Seagate ST-1144A 125MB drive. I had another 1144 drive on loan (With data) and connected this drive just fine (with a manual and some phone assistance) After I removed the borrowed 1144 I installed an 80Meg Conner - Here is the info that I required. ST-1144A dirve jumpers MASTER SLAVE PRES. 0 0 Remote Led || Single Drive System Install Remove 0 0 Reserved || Drive 1 in 2 Drive System Install Install 0 0 Slave Present || Drive 2 in 2 Drive System Remove Remove 0 0 Master || 0 0 Live-Test To install the Conner drive as Drive 2 - Remove the C/D jumper. Ensure that the Boot section of the hard disk is a DOS sector (FDisk or DM/M) Dale Wood wood@Software.Mitel.COM