Re: RAMFast doesn't boot up when cold (!? sic)

[toddpw@sloth.ugcs.caltech.edu (Todd P. Whitesel)]

devernay@sophia.inria.fr (Frederic Devernay) writes:

>I recently got a RAMFast (rev 3.01e), and my problem is that when I
>power up the computer, RAMFast either hangs the system or jumps into
>the monitor. The only solution I found was to let the system "heat" 10
>minutes or so, and then boot up again. It recognizes the hard drive
>and everything works fine again. I have no SCSI terminator, could this
>be the problem?

Try powering up the hard drive for about 15 seconds, then turn the computer
on. If this consistently works then all you have to do is lower the SCSI ID
number on your hard drive. The RAMFast starts looking for ID 7 first, then
6 and on down to 0. The lower the ID, the more time the drive has to get
ready to respond. I typically use 3 or 4 for my quantum.

Why this matters: Quantum drives can't respond to SCSI protocol messages
until after the platter has spun up because all the SCSI code is on a
couple of reserved tracks on the platter. Spinning up takes more power
than normal operation, so most bargain hard drive vendors cheat a little
on the power supply -- they can handle the drive's startup power needs only
after they are warmed up themselves. If both the drive and power supply are
coming up cold, not enough power is available for the drive to get its
SCSI code off the platter fast enough for the RAMFast to recognize it.

Todd Whitesel
toddpw @ ugcs.caltech.edu