🚀 go-pugleaf

In message <4bcc09$5u8@spectator.cris.com> - Daniel Ts'o <dan@dna.neusc.bcm.tmc
edu> writes:
> 
> >- New PCI motherboard with NCR 53c810-based controller.  This would admittedly
> >  cost more than any of the above options, but the NCR-based controllers are
> >  inexpensive (typically $60-$90 in the US), and PCI 486 boards are becoming
> >  quite reasonable, too.  If you think you might want to upgrade your
> >  motherboard and/or add SCSI hard drives any time soon, this would be the
> >  way to go, IMHO.
> >
>      Just how does one determine whether a particular motherboard
> can support the NCR SCSI controller ? Thanks.

Support on the motherboard's BIOS is required to use an NCR 53c810 
controller.  If you've got a computer using the board already, there should 
be some NCR SCSI-related options in your CMOS setup, some mention of it in 
the manual, and/or a message about NCR SDMS support being enabled or disabled 
during bootup.  You might also scan a disk image of a flash BIOS for "NCR" or 
"SDMS" using a binary editor.  If you're just considering the board, ask the 
people who sell it or check some specifications on the manufacturer's web 
site or somewhere else.  Note that a BIOS version is NOT diagnostic; the NCR 
SDMS BIOS can be added to just about any PCI motherboard BIOS, and AFAIK, 
there's no standard prefix or suffix on a BIOS version to indicate whether 
the NCR additions are present.

					--Rod Smith
					  RSMITH@PSYCH.COLORADO.EDU