[comp.os.msdos.misc] Installing new drive in MS-DOS 3.20 system

steveh@moosehead.mips.com (Stephen C. Hill) (05/21/91)

I was replacing a dead Seagate ST238R over this weekend, and I
have hit a stumbling block that I'd like a "sanity check" from
you folks.

System Config

XT clone (w/turbo)
1 floppy
Adaptec 2070A RLL Controller
ST238R 30 Mb (former D: drive)
ST277R 60Mb (new drive), mapped into two "logical drives"
MS-Dos 3.2

Since I am running DOS 3.2, after doing a low level format of
the entire 60 Mb on the new 277R, I found out that FDISK
couldn't "reach" the cylinders above 432.  I then
re-LL-formatted, specifying that I wanted two logical drives to
reside on the one physical device.  I was then able to FDISK and
high-level format both logical drives.  I was also able to read
and write to both of them, as well.

The problem came when I was trying to bring the older ST238R
(not the dead one, but it's "brother") on-line.  Upon power up,
I see the drive access LEDs being activated on both drives,
however whenever I try to access the older drive, I get "Invalid
drive spec."

Trouble shooting:
First, I ascertained that I had removed the intervening
terminating resistor and had set the 238 as the second drive.

I swapped the 20-pin cables, on both ends.  (The Adaptec
requires the first drive to be cabled to J0 on the controller.) 

I took the 277R off-line, put the J0 cable into the 238, changed
the jumper to be the first drive.  This allowed me to boot a
diskette and talk to the C: drive, showing all of my data intact
... relieving my sweat deficit IMMENSELY!

I put "lastdrive=f" into an otherwise empty CONFIG.SYS, with no
additional success.

================================================================

Can anyone explain what I may have overlooked, and/or a solution
to my problem?

Steve

-- 
Stephen C. Hill, CDP
{ames,prls,pyramid,decwrl}!mips!steveh  or  steveh@mips.com 
Integration Products Group
MIPS Computer Systems, Stop 6-03
930 Deguigne Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94086, (408) 524-7436         Fax (408) 524-7528

Time is Nature's method of keeping us from bumping into ourselves.