Re: Profile HD info needed

[shack@deimos.frii.com (Randy Shackelford)]

In article <5dos3q$28a@darla.visi.com>, Nathan Mates <nathan@visi.com> wrote:
>In article <32FFD56C.7BA4@ix.netcom.com>,  <jcreid@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>>I just picked up a Profile hard disk at my local thrift store.  
>>The model number is A9M0005 so can I assume this is a 5Mb unit?
>
>   Quite possibly. There was only a 5MB and a 10MB variant.
>
>>What card is recommended for using this on an Apple II?  Will it work on
>>an Apple II?
>
>   The only card that's recommended for making it function (and the
>only card that does make it function) is the Profile controller
>card. What you have there is a drive that communicated to the host
>through about the only Apple II (and Apple III) bidirectional parallel
>card. Yes, like a printer. Worse, due to Apple's attempts to shaft the
>Apple II starting back in the 1980s, you can only format that drive on
>an Apple III.

Yawn. You can format a Profile with Filer on an Apple II. You only need an
Apple III to do a low level format, and you have to swap a chip on the 
analog card to do that. Big whoop. How often does the average person do a
low level format on a hard disk? Considering that the Profile was designed
with the III and was made to work on IIs some three years after its debut,
seems reasonable. I suppose you think Apple tried to shaft Lisa owners
by not allowing them to low level format a Profile either. Give me a furkin' 
break.

>>Is there software required to make the Apple SCSI card function? 
>
>   It's not SCSI, don't even think about connecting it to a SCSI card
>unless you swap out the drive mechanism for a real SCSI one. [If you
>bought it with a SCSI card, and the two can already talk to each
>other, looks like a previous owner might have done that]

You don't need diddly to use a Profile on a II aside from the appropriate
expansion card. I have one of those and I've tried out my Profiles on my
//e, works great.

>> How hard is it to find 5 or 10 Meg drives should this unit go
>>belly up?  And is 10 Megs the limit?  Inquiring minds want to know.... 
>>Thanks in advance.
>
>   10MB was the limit of the profiles. If you can find one of the
>controllers for these beasts, and get it working, great. If you have a
>SCSI controller, buy a SCSI drive from elsewhere and use that, unless
>you like the museum piece.

Well looky, Nathan has said something I can agree with.

n
e
e
d

f
i
l
l
e
r
 
t
o

m
a
k
e

r
n

h
a
p
p
y
-- 
Randy Shackelford                                 
shack@frii.com