brad@griffin.itc.gu.oz (Brad Rosser) (12/10/90)
I'm about to upgrade the disk storage on my 80386 AT-bus machine, and have recently acquired access to the 'net. I've noticed what appears to be the "tail-end" of a discussion on IDE drives. I'm looking at replacing my two MFM 40Mb drives with one or more Conner drives, which the salesmen around here refer to as "embedded AT". Are these identical to the "IDE" drives under discussion? Do such drives present a standard ST506/MFM interface to the Operating System? My machine has an "American Megatrends Inc 386-BIOS (C) 1987", and I'm particularly looking at purchasing 1-2 Conner CP30104 120Mb drives, or one Conner CP3204 200Mb drive. I'd appreciate any mail on whether this configuration will work with DOS, Xenix 2.3.2, and (looking to the future) SCO/AT&T UNIX. (The few articles I've managed to read suggest that I've got a lot to learn!) Thanks, Brad Rosser.
alex@grian.cps.altadena.ca.us (Alex Pournelle) (12/11/90)
brad@griffin.itc.gu.oz (Brad Rosser) writes: >identical to the "IDE" drives under discussion? Do such drives present >a standard ST506/MFM interface to the Operating System? Yes, and no. >My machine has an "American Megatrends Inc 386-BIOS (C) 1987", and I'm >particularly looking at purchasing 1-2 Conner CP30104 120Mb drives, or one >Conner CP3204 200Mb drive. They give me problems under 2.3.3--there are others out there who claim they get 'em working all the time. >I'd appreciate any mail on whether this configuration will work with DOS, >Xenix 2.3.2, and (looking to the future) SCO/AT&T UNIX. (The few articles >I've managed to read suggest that I've got a lot to learn!) You will need an updated BIOS to use the drives reliably--at least 12/15/89 version. Then DOS will work fine. XENIX: see above; more when I test out the latest SLS. UNIX I can't comment on. Alex -- Alex Pournelle, freelance thinker Also: Workman & Associates, Data recovery for PCs, Macs, others ...elroy!grian!alex; BIX: alex; voice: (818) 791-7979 fax: (818) 794-2297 bbs: 791-1013; 8N1 24/12/3