Re: HDD Faq?

["Warren Stramiello" <uebergeek@iname.com>]

>For starters, is it the original Apple SCSI card, or the high-speed one?

It's the HS card (4 dips, plus I found the original software that
accompanied it when my dad bought it long ago...)

>It would also be worthwhile confirming that the termination is actually
>present.  If this is the original mechanism as supplied by Quality
>Computers, and you didn't change anything, then it would be terminated.

It is still unmodified, and in the original mechanism, so I guess it's still
terminated.

>Right.  Some potential problems that we can eliminate:
>
>I'll take it as read that you followed the correct procedure for
>changing the slot settings (saving the changes in the Control Panel, and
>rebooting before trying to use them).

Yep, tried that.

>Double check the SCSI cable connection - unplug it at both ends and
>reconnect it.  You might also like to try the other connector on the
>drive enclosure.  As always, make sure the power is off (both drive and
>computer) before playing with SCSI connections.

Made sure of that, and tested it.  I worked at a computer store, and if
ANYBODY hotswapped drives, they were shunned by the other geeks. *grin*.
You might be able to get away with hotswapping IDE, but I've seen SCSI catch
fire...
:)

I did try both connectors on the drive enclosure, though. I even opened it
up, and peeked at the innards. The drive uses a 50pin SCSI, so I'm going to
try (last chance attempt) tossing it into my PC and seeing if my Adaptec
card will see it.

>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?

>If you see a message like this, it at least proves that the computer is
>able to communicate with the firwmare on the SCSI card.

*whew*.
The drive can be replaced (swap out the bugger, keep the enclosure), whereas
finding a replacement SCSI card could turn out to be a big hassle...

>Beyond that, we're getting into SCSI voodoo territory.  If I had the
>equipment in front of me, my inclination would be to start swapping
>components (card, cable, drive, or even the computer itself) until I
>found a combination which worked.  I expect your options are limited
>here.

My options are kinda limited. I tried it in different computers, and I tried
different cables. The drive I'm going to have to test in my PC, and the card
seems to be good (since it responded to the PR#x command).

>It is a rather odd coincidence that the problem coincided with disabling
>the slot which contained the card.  It could be a latent hardware
>problem that just decided to manifest itself.  Without any more
>information to go on, I'd be more inclined to suspect the card or
>computer.

That was my original feeling, but I've tested the computer, and it seems
fine. In addition, I searched both the SCSI card, the port it was plugged
in, and the physical controlled inside the enclosure for fire or heat
damage, and they seem fine as well. All connections seemed ok. I've had some
bad sectors on the drive before, so that's the most likely culprit.

>What other cards (if any) are in the machine?

I tried it in two different machines (After it failed, I stripped the
computer to its basics to check for conflicts). Usually it runs a ZipGS
(unmodified), the Apple HS SCSI, a scanner card, a Thumbpring GS card
(screen dump), and one or two other cards depending on what tasks I'm
running (games, I'm using some type of add-on soundcard from Wagner(?)). And
a 4mb RAM expansion card.

>You didn't say so explicitly, but you obviously have a IIgs.  Which ROM
>version is it, and what system software do you normally use?

Rom-01.

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)...

I've got another SCSI HDD coming in, so I can hopefully get this puppy up
and running again rather soon...


Thanks for your help!
:)
Warren Stramiello