[comp.os.msdos.misc] Somebody...Anybody...HELP!!!

knaack@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Robert John Knaack) (06/26/91)

I am having a problem writing data to my hard drive (especially drives E&F).
I get all kinds of cross linked errors (found using Norton's Disk Doctor).
How can I determine what is causing it?

Oh yeah,  I have low-level formatted the drive twice and it seemed ok, and
NDD scanned the drives and found no bad sectors.

My system:
	DTK keen3304
	Orchid ProDesigner II (1mb) video card
	Micropolis 180Mb ESDI drive
	Ultrastor floppy/hard controller
	TEAC 5.25 and 3.5 drives
	NEC 4D monitor

Drivers,etc:
	DOS 4.01
	SHARE
	FASTOPEN
	QEMM386.SYS          - High memory manager
	DTKCACHE.SYS         - Disk cache
	SPEEDUP.SYS          - for PD II (NOT installed)
	XANSI.SYS            -   "      "       "


Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.  Especially since I just installed
WP5.0 and Windows 3.0 and the system said "cannot write to E:" towards the
end of the windows install (aaaaarrrrgghhh!!!).  I look in norton's and
around 15 groups of 10 files (from WP and win) were crosslinked together.
What a mess.

Thanks for your help,
Rob

ekalenda@cup.portal.com (Edward John Kalenda) (06/27/91)

>I am having a problem writing data to my hard drive (especially drives E&F).
>I get all kinds of cross linked errors (found using Norton's Disk Doctor).
>How can I determine what is causing it?

< rest of post deleted>

Try removing FASTOPEN. About a month ago, there was quite a discussion
of FASTOPEN causing all kinds of weird problems. If that doesn't work,
strip everything out so the system is as virginally clean as possible.
Any software you are running which deals with the disk could be your
problem so try not using it. If your system starts working OK, add ONE
thing at a time. Give yourself several hours of run time to check each
driver or TSR.

I know this type of thing is irritating to do but it works. When I went
to my 486/33 I was having problems like you describe and found that I
had an odd timing problem with my SCSI controller BIOS when doing lots
of file transfers. Oddly enough, reducing the number of BUFFERS in the
CONFIG.SYS to 4 seems to have made the problem almost non-existant. The
disk cache takes up the slack in disk access speed that reduced buffers
caused.

Ed
ekalenda@cup.portal.com

kirk@yoda.eecs.wsu.edu (James Kirk) (06/27/91)

In article <13441@uwm.edu> knaack@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Robert John Knaack) writes:
>
>
>I am having a problem writing data to my hard drive (especially drives E&F).
>I get all kinds of cross linked errors (found using Norton's Disk Doctor).
>How can I determine what is causing it?
>

In your config.sys use lastdrive=f. This works in 3.3 and the default is e.


jim..


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Those who say it can't be done will eat the dust of those doing it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim "Capt." Kirk                        INTERNET : kirk@eecs.wsu.edu
Elect. Eng. & Comp. Sci.                UUCP     : ...uunet!eecs.wsu.edu!kirk
Wash. State University                  BITNET   : kirkj@wsuvm1
Pullman WA 99164-2752                   AT&TNET  : (509)-335-6887
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   Oh...I have no response to that! 
			--Meg Ryan in Joe vs. the Volcano

feustel@netcom.COM (David Feustel) (06/27/91)

My first recommendation would be to get rid of fastopen.
-- 
David Feustel, 1930 Curdes Ave, Fort Wayne, IN 46805, (219) 482-9631
EMAIL: feustel@netcom.com  

I voted for Bush once.  As it's turning out, once was once too often.

heinicke@uwovax.uwo.ca (Allan Heinicke) (06/27/91)

In article <13441@uwm.edu>, knaack@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Robert John Knaack) writes:
> 
> 
> I am having a problem writing data to my hard drive (especially drives E&F).
> I get all kinds of cross linked errors (found using Norton's Disk Doctor).
> How can I determine what is causing it?
> 
> 
> Drivers,etc:
> 	DOS 4.01
> 	SHARE
> 	FASTOPEN
> 	QEMM386.SYS          - High memory manager
> 	DTKCACHE.SYS         - Disk cache
> 	SPEEDUP.SYS          - for PD II (NOT installed)
> 	XANSI.SYS            -   "      "       "
> 
> 
> Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.  

Suggestions: 
1) Take out Fastopen.
2) If your Disk Cache is capable of delaying writes, do NOT choose this
   option.

poffen@sj.ate.slb.com (Russ Poffenberger) (06/28/91)

In article <43703@cup.portal.com> ekalenda@cup.portal.com (Edward John Kalenda) writes:
>>I am having a problem writing data to my hard drive (especially drives E&F).
>>I get all kinds of cross linked errors (found using Norton's Disk Doctor).
>>How can I determine what is causing it?
>
>< rest of post deleted>
>
>Try removing FASTOPEN. About a month ago, there was quite a discussion
>of FASTOPEN causing all kinds of weird problems. If that doesn't work,
>strip everything out so the system is as virginally clean as possible.
>Any software you are running which deals with the disk could be your
>problem so try not using it. If your system starts working OK, add ONE
>thing at a time. Give yourself several hours of run time to check each
>driver or TSR.
>

I had similar problems when using my SCSI controller (Adaptec AHA1542B), qemm,
loading smartdrv high, then running windows. This messed up the disk something
awful.

The solution is to not load smartdrv high. Also the latest driver from
Adaptec is supposed to work correctly. I am still waiting for the update.

Russ Poffenberger               DOMAIN: poffen@sj.ate.slb.com
Schlumberger Technologies       UUCP:   {uunet,decwrl,amdahl}!sjsca4!poffen
1601 Technology Drive		CIS:	72401,276
San Jose, Ca. 95110             (408)437-5254

GD.SAR@forsythe.stanford.edu (Sandy Rockowitz) (06/29/91)

In article <1991Jun27.203539.6354@sj.ate.slb.com>,
poffen@sj.ate.slb.com (Russ Poffenberger) writes:
>I had similar problems when using my SCSI controller (Adaptec AHA1542B), qemm,
>loading smartdrv high, then running windows. This messed up the disk something
>awful.
>
>The solution is to not load smartdrv high. Also the latest driver from
>Adaptec is supposed to work correctly. I am still waiting for the update.
>

Russ,

I too had a similar problem trying to load SMARTDRV high with 386MAX
5.1 and Windows 3.0/DOS 4.01.  The drive containing my Windows files
were trashed, and I had to restore from tape.

For what it's worth, this was with a Conner IDE drive, to I don't
think that the fact that you have a SCSI drive is a factor.

I've not had the nerve to try again with DOS 5.0.

Sandy Rockowitz
gd.sar@forsythe.stanford.edu

msmith@proton.tricity.wsu.edu (Mark Smith) (06/30/91)

In article <1991Jun28.230626.3676@morrow.stanford.edu> GD.SAR@forsythe.stanford.edu (Sandy Rockowitz) writes:
>In article <1991Jun27.203539.6354@sj.ate.slb.com>,
>poffen@sj.ate.slb.com (Russ Poffenberger) writes:
>>I had similar problems when using my SCSI controller (Adaptec AHA1542B), qemm,
>>loading smartdrv high, then running windows. This messed up the disk something
>>awful.
>>
>>The solution is to not load smartdrv high. Also the latest driver from
>>Adaptec is supposed to work correctly. I am still waiting for the update.
>>
>
>Russ,
>
>I too had a similar problem trying to load SMARTDRV high with 386MAX
>5.1 and Windows 3.0/DOS 4.01.  The drive containing my Windows files
>were trashed, and I had to restore from tape.
>
>For what it's worth, this was with a Conner IDE drive, to I don't
>think that the fact that you have a SCSI drive is a factor.
>
>I've not had the nerve to try again with DOS 5.0.
>
I've just installed 5.0 a couple of nights ago and fired up win 3.0 in
enhanced mode.  No problems.  
  System:
    Generic 386-25 (AMI BIOS dated mid '90)
    4 Meg RAM
    80 meg Maxtor IDE.
    SVGA (512K)
    
  Software:
    Win 3.0
    DO$ 5.0
    QEMM386

 OOPS, forgot to mention.  The DO$ 5.0 manual specificly states that you 
MUST use the smartdrv.sys that comes with 5.0 and NOT the one with windows.
Also, If you use the EMM386.sys and HIMEM.sys that came with windows, you'd
also need to change your config.sys to use the DO$ 5.0 ones also.

This is according to the Bible according to Microsoft. V. 5.0 that is.