nelson@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Russ Nelson) (08/21/90)
I just got off the phone from IBM's dealer support line. They said that the PS/2 30/286 hard disk was a ST-506 drive. However, the salesman assured us that it was an IDE drive. Who's lying? -- --russ (nelson@clutx [.bitnet | .clarkson.edu]) Russ.Nelson@$315.268.6667 We won the cold war. The Russians spent trillions defending their stuff, then they found that they didn't have any stuff. Will we avoid the same trap?
cyamamot@aludra.usc.edu (Cliff Yamamoto) (08/21/90)
In article <NELSON.90Aug20132451@image.clarkson.edu> nelson@clutx.clarkson.edu (aka NELSON@CLUTX.BITNET) writes: >I just got off the phone from IBM's dealer support line. They said that the >PS/2 30/286 hard disk was a ST-506 drive. However, the salesman assured us >that it was an IDE drive. Who's lying? IBM of course! If you look at the hard disk, there isn't even a power connector on it. That's right! All the data AND POWER connections are made through that goof-ball 44 or whatever pin connector. Yep, it *looks* like an IDE drive, but DON'T go out and buy a generic IDE drive for it. The number of pins is not even like IDE. I went thru a lot of grief with my friend who owns one of these junky PS/2 30/286s. He desparately wants more disk space, but we can't find anyone who carries the correct drive. It seems the only combination we tried that worked was a Future Domain SCSI card and an external SCSI disk. We didn't try the "HardCard" from Plus Technologies but other so called 'hardcards' didn't work anyway. Ibm really locks you in when you buy from them. Cliff
timg@smoke.BRL.MIL (Timothy Gion) (08/21/90)
I have seen a company called Procom that makes replacement hard drives for the 30 286 in the 40 meg and 100 meg varieties. However I believe the prices are still in the stratosphere. The 100 megger ranged up around $1000. I saw the ad in PC Magazine sometime last year. --Tim -- ** The Mages' Guild :: (301)939-9139 :: 2400MNP5 :: WWIVLink @13124 **
shair@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Bob Shair) (08/21/90)
I have a friend who's placed a PLUS Development HardCard 40 in her PS/2 30/286. Works like a Champ! Nice to know that we at IBM have so many fans on these groups! -- Disclaimer: I am not speaking officially for IBM or the University of Illinois in this append Bob Shair shair@vmd.cso.uiuc.edu Scientific Computing Specialist SHAIR@UIUCVMD (bitnet)
ss@sprite.Berkeley.EDU (Srinivasan Seshan) (08/23/90)
From the specs i have seen on the 30/286. I believe the interface for the hard drive is st-506. However IBM uses a modified connector for the drive. I also """heard""" that it is possible to wire up the connector (if your really confident in yourself ;-) ) so that you can attach a regular ST-506 drive. Also I have seen several store adds of 30-286's with non IBM non card, cheap hard drives. So there must be some easy way of adding one. Srinivasan Seshan
cyamamot@aludra.usc.edu (Cliff Yamamoto) (08/23/90)
In article <38332@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> ss@sprite.Berkeley.EDU (Srinivasan Seshan) writes: >From the specs i have seen on the 30/286. I believe the interface for the >hard drive is st-506. However IBM uses a modified connector for the drive. >I also """heard""" that it is possible to wire up the connector (if your >really confident in yourself ;-) ) so that you can attach a regular >ST-506 drive. Well can anyone with the tech manual for the PS/2 30-286 tell us what signals are on each pin for the hard-disk connector? --Cliff
bank@lea.ncsu.edu (Dave The DM) (08/23/90)
In article <NELSON.90Aug20132451@image.clarkson.edu> nelson@clutx.clarkson.edu (aka NELSON@CLUTX.BITNET) writes: >I just got off the phone from IBM's dealer support line. They said that the >PS/2 30/286 hard disk was a ST-506 drive. However, the salesman assured us >that it was an IDE drive. Who's lying? > >-- >--russ (nelson@clutx [.bitnet | .clarkson.edu]) Russ.Nelson@$315.268.6667 >We won the cold war. The Russians spent trillions defending their stuff, >then they found that they didn't have any stuff. Will we avoid the same trap? The salesman. But then they do that a lot. Most of 'em, anyway. I would think IBM would know what's in their hardware. The only way for the salesman to be correct is if his company has done some mods to the PS/2. This is possible. Dave the DM
Jim Gerlach <GERLACHJ@QUCDN.QueensU.CA> (08/24/90)
We replaced the 20Mb drive in our PS/2 30-286 with a 42Mb drive from Procom Technology (200 McCormick, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 714/549-9449). Coretest 2.91 values are: Data transfer rate: 700 KB/sec Average seek time : 30.7 ms Track-track seek : 1.7 ms Performance index : 5.96 The drive uses 2,7 RLL and has a 32Kb RAM for caching and track buffering. The list price is $895 (we paid less). They also have a 101Mb version for $1895 list. No slot is required and installation takes less than 30 min (really). We put the original 20Mb drive into a PS/2 30 (8086). We have been very happy with this drive. The usual disclaimers apply. - Jim Gerlach
nelson@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Russ Nelson) (08/25/90)
In article <1990Aug23.163132.23004@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu> bank@lea.ncsu.edu (Dave The DM) writes: In article <NELSON.90Aug20132451@image.clarkson.edu> nelson@clutx.clarkson.edu (aka NELSON@CLUTX.BITNET) writes: >I just got off the phone from IBM's dealer support line. They >said that the PS/2 30/286 hard disk was a ST-506 drive. However, >the salesman assured us that it was an IDE drive. Who's lying? The salesman. But then they do that a lot. Most of 'em, anyway. I would think IBM would know what's in their hardware. The only way for the salesman to be correct is if his company has done some mods to the PS/2. This is possible. Um, they were IBM salesman. And I found out more. According to Seagate, the disk drives are completely proprietary. They are manufactured in a different division of Seagate from all their other hard disks, they're loaded at a special loading dock that's reserved for IBM trucks, the contract itself is sealed, and the plans and specifications for the disks are locked in a cabinet and sealed in a safe. Even the mounting holes are non-standard. What a rip-off. -- --russ (nelson@clutx [.bitnet | .clarkson.edu]) Russ.Nelson@$315.268.6667 We won the cold war. The Russians spent trillions defending their stuff, then they found that they didn't have any stuff. Will we avoid the same trap?