[637] in linux-scsi channel archive
Re: Linux/NT partitioning new drive -- strangeness with translation
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Don Parsons)
Mon Sep 25 19:08:27 1995
Date: Mon, 25 Sep 1995 14:12:09 -0400 (EDT)
From: Don Parsons <dparsons@synapse.kent.edu>
Reply-To: Don Parsons <dparsons@synapse.kent.edu>
To: aic7770-list@poplar1.cfr.washington.edu
cc: linuxscsi <linux-scsi@vger.rutgers.edu>
In-Reply-To: <695@scribendum.win-uk.net>
On Sun, 24 Sep 1995, Stephen Benson wrote:
> System: (March Infomagic) Slackware Linux (1.3.2x) on a Gateway P5-120 PCI with
> Adaptec 2940, Seagate SCSI ST 3243ON 2GB SCSI HDD. Just added a Quantum VP32210
> 2GB SCSI HDD.
>
> Last night I added a second drive (the Quantum VP32210) to my adapter, with no
> problems. It was visible with the right ID to SCSISelect, Linux and DOS. But
> it went in as drive d:, upsetting my c/d/e partitions on disk 0 (the Seagate
> 32430N). Nonetheless it worked. And with no FAT partition it's invisible to
> DOS, which is how I left it, since I don't know if it's possible to reassign
> it's drive name (D: to G:), and I can't be bothered fixing all the path
>
I did a very similar upgrade last week and had a serious problem from
adding a second SCSI hard drive. Since the solution was very unexpected
and might apply to you also (unlikely), let me tell you what happened.
First, the second SCSI drive becoming D: is unique to SCSI drives and DOS/
Microsoft. I wish it didn't happen! Another black mark for Microsoft.
I also added a Quantum XP32150 2GB drive to my new Gateway2000-133 with
Seagate 32430N and Adaptec 2940 controller. I used Linux fdisk-2.0d to
fully format the new disk for both DOS/Win95 and Linux. I then used tar
to copy all the Linux partitions from drive sda to sdb. (The idea was to
replace the slow 5400rpm Seagate with the faster 7200rpm Quantum and
return the Seagate to Gateway for a refund.) I also booted Win95 and
xcopy'ed C: to D: Linux worked but Win95 didn't.
The problem I finally understood was that DOS fdisk, DOS, and Win95 all
thought that the second drive 0x81h was the first drive, that is DOS
reversed the order of the two drives even though during boot the 2940 BIOS
had them identified properly. (Booting from floppy or using DOS fdisk
showed C:, E: on the second drive and D:, F: on the first
drive--backwards). I spent over 5 hours in the phone to Gateway with no
resolution to the identity problem. So then I called Adaptec at their
free 800 number and found it was a lie, you just get a recording to call a
non-800 number. So I then called Quantum fully expecting that they
couldn't help. But when he found out the new drive I had received was
almost a year since manufacture, he asked me what version firmware was in
it. Rebooting Linux showed F76D, and he said that was an old version, and
I should download a newer version from their BBS. I didn't know til then
that Quantum drives had flash PROMs. Since I didn't want to call long
distance, he agreed to email them to me as two zip files, the download
program and the DSP code (F81H). He said the code wasn't on their ftp
site because using the wrong DSP code would require returning the drive to
the factory to get it working again.
Well after downloading new DSP code to the drive, all of DOS's drive
identification problems went away! **A big surprise to me.**
I know it is a long shot, but you might want to see if your DSP code is
up to date.
--
Don
