Does the DEC RA82 drive need to see an active SDI controller in order to
spin up without a FAULT light? I know that RL02's needed power on the
controller before their FAULT indicators would clear.
I ask because I've spun up my RA81. It sounds OK -- positions the heads,
etc. -- but it displays FAULT and diagnostic LEDs 3 & 4 (I think -- it
might be 2 & 3) once it reaches operating speed. That, of course, is with
the I/O cables flying in the breeze.
Inquiring minds, especially those who are going to make a MicroVAXen
available in the near future, wish to know! ;-)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, Sysop, The Dragon's Cave BBS (Fidonet 1:343/272)
(Hamateur: WD6EOS) (E-mail: kyrrin(a)jps.net)
"Our science can only describe an object, event, or living thing in our own
human terms. It cannot, in any way, define any of them..."
For the VMS hacks out there...
$Set mode/farce=comdey
<Note to self: Do not, I repeat DO NOT disgruntle members of the classiccm
<mailing list! They are dangerous gun toting mercenaries! :)
Mercenaries, never...unless your going to scrap that machine!
Where I lived in PA the, "2 double aught, 6" would have the 2 dropped as
in the then present reference to 1998 would be back "in nineteen and ninty
eight".
Allison, Who totes a 12ga to avoid ambiguity! ;)
$Set mode/farce=inactive
While we're on this subject. . .
Does anyone out there have a copy of SpeedStor that can access
Storage Dimensions old 8-bit scsi host adaptors? (Specifically, the
DataCannon 800). I'm trying to test an old scsi MFM controller
board, and I need to format the drive, first!
Jeff
>
>
> On Tue, 16 Jun 1998, Charles E. Fox wrote:
>
> (I've shortened your quote of my email...)
>
> > > Several of these drives seem to almost work (they make the usual sounds
> > >at power up and can be detected by the bios of a newer PC) but they won't
> > >format/fdisk for me.
> > >
> >
>
> > I have had quite good results with Ontrack Disk Manager, about four times
> > out of five it will get an old drive going and lock out the bad sectors.
> > The recovered drives have been going in XTs etc. At ten or twenty megs
> > capacity there is no point in trying to install them in modern computers.
> >
>
> Thanks for the tip. I've tried Spinrite and some program I got with a WD
> drive. I believe I got Ontrack with a drive I bought recently. I'll try
> it. I'm afraid it may be beyond that though. The drives are not getting
> as far as reporting bad sectors ... they just hang when I try to format
> them.
>
> Regards,
>
> Bjorn Eng
>
>
>
>
>
Hi,
I've got a question about "borderline" classics. I've got a few old PCs
>from right around 1990, maybe a bit earlier and I've got several small IDE
and MFM drives that I've scavenged from various places.
Several of these drives seem to almost work (they make the usual sounds
at power up and can be detected by the bios of a newer PC) but they won't
format/fdisk for me.
Anyone have any tips of things to try as far as simple troubleshooting?
Or are they doomed for the dumpster?
Thanks,
Bjorn
Hello all,
I have found a AT&T 6310 PC box. Can anyone tell me anything about it? Is it
10 years
old, yet? It is heavy enough I'd thought it had a large linear supply in it,
but only a switcher ps! It was made in Italy by Olivetti, as mentioned on
the 6300 thread.
Opening the top reveals a AT type passive motherboard- the CPU, etc. is
apparently on another one in another compartment below it, which I haven't
gotten to yet.
All the cards are 8 bits, except a Mouse Systems serial card which extends about
1/3 way into the "16 bit extension". There is another 2 port serial card and
also a
MIcrosoft Inport card with a mini-DIN connector. There is also a serial and
printer port on the "hidden" CPU card, both DB-25, and a DB-9 connector for
the keyboard.
There is a volume control on the front, but haven't found the speaker, either.
-Dave
>Well, older southern men in the US used to say, for example, "19 ot 6"
>for 1906. So I guess we could revive that in 2006 and say "20 ot 6". But
>this has nothing to do with the original question.
>
Wouldn't that be 2ot ot 6?
Francois
-------------------------------------------------------------
Visit the Sanctuary at: http://www.pclink.com/fauradon
Hi Bruce,
----------
> From: Bruce Lane <kyrrin(a)jps.net>
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
> Subject: RA82: Does it need...?
> Date: Tuesday, June 16, 1998 12:21 AM
>
> Does the DEC RA82 drive need to see an active SDI controller in order to
> spin up without a FAULT light? I know that RL02's needed power on the
> controller before their FAULT indicators would clear.
as far i know, YES. My ra90 spins up without sdi controller, but after few
seconds you get an error with soemthing like "sync errors" whitch means
there is no communication. then you never get the ready light.
hope it helps,
emanuel
>> I've got a question about "borderline" classics. I've got a few old PCs
>>from right around 1990, maybe a bit earlier and I've got several small IDE
>>and MFM drives that I've scavenged from various places.
>>
>> Several of these drives seem to almost work (they make the usual sounds
>>at power up and can be detected by the bios of a newer PC) but they won't
>>format/fdisk for me.
The way I understand it, IDE drives should automatically map out bad
blocks, (is this true for all IDE drives?) whereas MFM disks won't.
Therefore I'd assume that once an IDE drive starts presenting bad blocks
to the user its days are pretty numbered...
I was once told that a small percentage of an IDE disk is unused, purely
for the sake of providing a "reserve" area so that the disk could cope
with some bad blocks whilst still giving the user the impression that
full capacity was available - is this true, or just one of those stories
that I happened to turn up over the years??
cheers
J.
>
Can anyone in 'NE' (Sorry, I can't always remember all of your states
abbreviations... at least we only have 12. Is that Nebraska?) help this
guy out? Please reply directly to him, not me or the list.
ttyl
srw
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 15:38:53 -0700
From: COMPASS <compass(a)navix.net>
To: scott(a)saskatoon.com
Subject: TRS 80 Model 4 Wanted
We are looking for a TRS 80 Model 4 to operate an engraving machine (the
old one died).
Any suggestions?
Pete Godfrey
Compass Materials Handling Systems
A Division of Schuler Industries, Inc.
PO Box 714
Beatrice, NE 68310
Phone: 402-223-5678
Fax: 402-228-4193
Email: compass(a)navix.net
Hi. Now, I don't want to start a flamewar, but still, Microsoft HAS played
an important part in personal computing, for better or for worse. From 1986
or so onwards, they were a industry dominator.
Now, from what I understand, the origional MS logo was GREEN? Somebody
have a picture?
Other than OS's and current Office Applications (and, of course,
Internet Explorer, which is a decent browser, and DOES have pleanty of
innovation, if you're prepared to admit it.), what did MS make? Anything
for say... the Apple II? PDP's? UN*X boxes (once again, omitting current
ports of IE 4.0)?
Thanks,
Tim D. Hotze