Re: Need help with zip drive

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

In article <199710251158093508243@slip129-37-106-104.wa.us.ibm.net>,
B.J. Major <bjblackbear@ibm.net> wrote:

[snip]

>From the Apple IIgs Owner's Reference, page 267:
>
>"In order for the Finder to recognize a hard disk, the hard disk must be
>switched on and up to speed before you start up (or restart) the
>computer.  Switch on the hard disk, wait about 10 seconds for it to come
>up to speed, and then restart the computer."

This is only common sense. You have to let a drive spin up fully before
accessing it. Sometimes I jump the gun and get the "check startup device"
sliding Apple and have to three finger the IIgs to boot.

In the case of the Pegasus internal hard disks, they do indeed come on
at the same time as the CPU. If you have a RAMfast it's no problem, but
with a HS SCSI, you run a wire from the drive unit to a pin in the slot
containing the SCSI card. This keeps the system from trying to boot until 
the internal drive is ready. That's how one of the Econ guys said it works
when I saw the drive at Kfest back in '92.

>From the Macintosh User's Guide for desktop Macs, page 216:
>
>"IMPORTANT:  Always turn on any external SCSI devices connected to your
>Macintosh before turning on the computer itself.  Otherwise, your
>computer cannot recognize the SCSI devices."

This is idiot proofing. It's logical that if you power up an external drive
at the same time as an internal, the external will be ready by the time the 
system can boot from the internal. Earlier in this thread, I explained how
I run my externals off my Quadra's monitor outlet.

The lone exception to this I've seen is when I used my Q700 with a 230 mb
Quantum internal and a really old clunker Quantum 210 in an external enclosure.
The 210 took so long to spin up, it would cause the 700 to fail to boot
unless it had plenty of time to spin up. Turning 'em on at the same time
didn't work. Now that drive is an external connected to my SE/30 and I
give it plenty of time to spin up before firing up the SE/30.

>From The Macintosh Bible, 5th ed., page 225:
>
>"Power up all devices that are currently attached to your SCSI chain
>before you turn on your Mac.  ....  Conversely, when you are shutting
>down, leave your peripherals on until you have safely shut down and shut
>off the Mac itself.  Turning off a device while the Mac and other
>peripherals are on could cause a damaging power surge."

If this were really so, I would have fried plenty of hardware. I do this all
the time. Authors are gonna err on the side of caution so that lamebrain
users who fry their equipment don't get irate with them. It's a CYA move.

Moreover, I have seen no problems with having some devices off. As I mentioned,
I keep my magneto optical off most of the time, and my buddy who uses my 700
now has a flatbed scanner and leaves it off most of the time. Both work fine.
--
Randy Shackelford                                 
shack@frii.com