Re: HDD Faq?

[dempson@actrix.gen.nz (David Empson)]

Warren Stramiello <uebergeek@iname.com> wrote:

> David Empson wrote:
> >The next thing to do is to try booting manually from the SCSI card.  To
> >do this, get into BASIC (press Control-Reset from the "Check Startup
> >Device" screen, if necessary), and assuming the card is in slot 2, type
> >PR#2.
> 
> That's pretty cool. I tried it, and unfortunately (or fortunately,
> depending), it tells me SCSI Boot Error. I presume from the rest of your
> letter that the drive is then the most likely problem?

Not necessarily.  It does prove that the computer is able to access the
fimrware on the SCSI card, but the fault might still be on the card (in
its SCSI interface circuitry, for example).

> I've had some bad sectors on the drive before, so that's the most likely
> culprit.

Agreed.  In order, I'd suspect:

1. If the drive is supposed to be supplying termination power (which it
is), it may have blown a fuse.  Some drives have a fusing device between
the internal +5V rail and the TERMPWR line.  This is usually a
semiconductor of some kind, not a simple fuse, and may be difficult to
identify.  The best way to be sure of this is to check the voltage on
the TERMPWR line with a multimeter - it should be +5V.  If not, then
nothing is supplying termination power and the problem might just be
incorrect termination.

2. Something else has gone wrong with the controller board on the drive,
e.g. a burnt out termination resistor.  The disk itself might be
damaged, or the interface between the disk and controller board.

3. SCSI cable fault.

4. Something else wrong with the SCSI drive enclosure, e.g. the power
supply not generating the right voltages.

5. Something wrong with the SCSI card itself.

> How would I upgrade to Rom 03? Since I'm using a ZipGS chip and it still
> says Rom01, I presume it's a motherboard thing (rather than the
> processor)...

You would have to swap the entire motherboard.  The ROM 3 firmware only
works in the newer motherboard, which has two ROM sockets and 1MB of
RAM.

-- 
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz
Snail mail: P.O. Box 27-103, Wellington, New Zealand