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In article <46k9u0$13k@lynx.dac.neu.edu>,
Yousuf Bukhashim <ybukhash@lynx.dac.neu.edu> wrote:
>The Reno CD-ROM is being discounted very heavily (around $99 in most
>places). This is a little portable 2X CD-ROM with rather fast access
>time (180ms). I realize that the reason for the heavy discount is that
>the manufacturer, Media Vision, is getting out of the retail business.
>Does anybody have any positive or negative experience with this CD-ROM
>drive? 

I have tested two drives with my systems.  One cost $199 (the "Deluxe pack")
and is rather noisy but works under OS/2 (the only OS I am interested in).
It was built in January 1995, and my SCSI software shows version number 2.04.

The second drive I got for $79.  It came in a brown box that did not
contain the real manual (just a two-page sheet put together by the retailer)
and no cable.  The carrying case was $10 extra.  The drive was made in June
1994 and is version 1.10.  It does *not* work under OS/2.

>If something happens to it, do you think the warranty will be
>honored?

Mediavision provides next to no support on Compuserve, in their own
support forum.  From what I read there they do *not* honor their own
warranty if you buy the drive from a retailer who put together a
"special" package (i.e., does not sell the entire original package).
Guess that's how they (the retailers) try to make money (by shipping
without manual and cable).

Obviously there seem to be still a lot of old drives "in the channel" --
and who knows what they fixed since release 1.10.

I'll return both drives (thanks to money back guarantee).

Oliver

ybukhash@lynx.dac.neu.edu (Yousuf Bukhashim) wrote:
>The Reno CD-ROM is being discounted very heavily (around $99 in most
>places). This is a little portable 2X CD-ROM with rather fast access
>time (180ms). I realize that the reason for the heavy discount is that
>the manufacturer, Media Vision, is getting out of the retail business.
>Does anybody have any positive or negative experience with this CD-ROM
>drive? If something happens to it, do you think the warranty will be
>honored? My experience with Media Vision has been very negative (they
>advertise that they have an 800 tech support number, but that number
>has just a voice message, and you have to use a toll number to talk to
>a real person -- talk about deceiptive advertising).
>
>Any feedback would be much appreciated.


Advice is what you ask for when you know the answer and hope someone else 
gives you a different one, so you don't feel guilty about doing what you 
know is wrong anyway!

Wake up and smell the coffee! read your own post SLOWLY and carefully!
Then go out and buy something you know is reliable.

Regards,

Tony (Dr.PC)

ybukhash@lynx.dac.neu.edu (Yousuf Bukhashim) wrote:

>The Reno CD-ROM is being discounted very heavily (around $99 in most
>Does anybody have any positive or negative experience with this CD-ROM
>drive? If something happens to it, do you think the warranty will be
>honored? My experience with Media Vision has been very negative (they
Hi
I have tried a Reno CD-ROM SCSI last month when I was at Wichita. I
got a problem because my Compaq Aero does not recognize the PCMCIA
Card even I installed the software which came with the Reno CD-ROM.
I did not try the Tech Support I just when back to the shop (ETC
SOFTWARE) and they gave me the money back.

That's my experience with the Reno CD-ROM.

Regards,

Javi

Don't buy it. The drive itself is flimsily made (and makes one heck of 
racket when in use) and Media Vision tech support is worse than worthless 
-- you need to throw money at them and get nothing in return.

------------- clip here with virtual scissors --------------
************************************************************
Looking for roadkills... drop it by honge@creighton.edu...
e-mails are welcome anytime -- but mails are not.
Keyboard stuck failure. Press F1 to continue.
File not found. Should I fake it? (Y/N)
************************************************************

I have had me Reno drive for about 6 months and have'nt had the first problem 
with it.  It appears every one is talking hear say.  I'm using the drive.

In article <mission1.14.003AAF46@mindspring.com>,
Mission Recording Studio & Gear <mission1@mindspring.com> wrote:
>I have had me Reno drive for about 6 months and have'nt had the first problem 
>with it.  It appears every one is talking hear say.  I'm using the drive.


Well, I have had two, and both went back.  The first one was very noisy
while it was spinning, the second one was ancient (June 1994) and didn't
work properly with OS/2 (didn't bother to test anything else).

The general impression:  lousy design, next to no support.

Not hearsay -- my personal impression/experience.

Oliver

ybukhash@lynx.dac.neu.edu (Yousuf Bukhashim) wrote:
>The Reno CD-ROM is being discounted very heavily (around $99 in most
>Does anybody have any positive or negative experience with this CD-ROM
>drive? 

My understanding is that Mediavision is getting out of this sort of
business, which would explain why these drives are being discounted.
I would not expect warranty service.

Here in Sillycon Valley the drives seem to be turning up at surplus
and refurb electronics stores (*) for $79, which gets you the drive,
its dock/base widget, and AC adapter.  This is OK for desktop
operation.  An "accessory pack" containing the battery (needed for
portable operation) and a nasty smelly carrying bag is another $10.

So I bought one to see what it is like -- I already have a CD-ROM
drive on the desk that I use with the notebook PC when there, but
thought it might be handy to have one that I can carry with me from
time to time (the desktop box is big and holds a tape drive as well).
I have yet to find out, but in the meantime here are my observations.

Others have observed that the Reno drives are flimsy -- they are
right.  I worry about breaking the top cover or the hinge when I open
it.  It's got some sort of magnetic latch in the center hub; this
means that when you push the open button and try to lift the top cover
up, the cover tries to twist a bit.

It makes "clunk" sounds when accessed (but maybe my desktop CD-ROM is
just drowned out by the fan in its case).  It's also slow, but maybe
I'm spoiled by having a quad-speed drive to compare it to (it's a
double-speed).

When plugged into AC power it is always on, presumably for charging
the battery.

It also doesn't seem to have any sort of brake on the head, so if/when
you carry it around idle the head just slides on its tracks.  My cheap
Sony CD players (well, more expensive than this was, but they were 
bottom of the price list when I bought them 8 and 5 years ago) don't
do that.

Note the dock/base widget is also where the SCSI connectors are, so if
you are thinking about taking it with you and using it as anything but
a CD player, you need to take that too.  This makes the unit about 1
1/2 times as deep.  Note also it uses the mini SCSI-II connectors like
are found on Sun SPARCstations.  It does have a switch so you can
twiddle the SCSI ID, and jumpers so you can set termination options.

Without the dock/base widget it is a portable CD player.

Maybe by the time I screw up and break it there will be another cheap
replacement, or I will find that it is just not that useful after all.
In the meantime I can deal with it, and I expect I will probably get
my money's worth out of it.  YMMV.

(*) I've seen ads from Disk Drive Depot and Halted Specialties.  The
DDD ones are in no-frills shrink wrap and cardboard boxes.  DDD also
had "complete" sets in prettier boxes that included PC and Mac stuff
for more $$.

-Frank McConnell

In article <DHrKD4.K38@aphasia.us.com>,
Frank McConnell <fmc@aphasia.us.com> wrote:
>ybukhash@lynx.dac.neu.edu (Yousuf Bukhashim) wrote:
>>The Reno CD-ROM is being discounted very heavily (around $99 in most
>>Does anybody have any positive or negative experience with this CD-ROM
>>drive? 
>
>My understanding is that Mediavision is getting out of this sort of
>business, which would explain why these drives are being discounted.
>I would not expect warranty service.

That's right.  Just call the "toll-free service" number advertised
on their Reno boxes.  It's an answering machine that answers some
more or less common questions about their products, and otherwise refers
you to a third-party service (toll call!).

>Here in Sillycon Valley the drives seem to be turning up at surplus
>and refurb electronics stores (*) for $79, which gets you the drive,
>its dock/base widget, and AC adapter.  This is OK for desktop
>operation.  An "accessory pack" containing the battery (needed for
>portable operation) and a nasty smelly carrying bag is another $10.

Yup, I got a drive from CSC, in exactly this configuration, after having
had one from Fry's for a short time that was rather noisy (but otherwise
working).  It turned out that the drive from CSC was 1 1/2 years old
(manufactured in June 94, as opposed to April 95 or so for the Fry's drive).
The version number as displayed by my SCSI software was a 1.0x, as 
opposed to 2.x.  It didn't work under OS/2 (the Fry's drive did work).
As stated before, both drives went back to the shops.

>It makes "clunk" sounds when accessed (but maybe my desktop CD-ROM is
>just drowned out by the fan in its case).  It's also slow, but maybe
>I'm spoiled by having a quad-speed drive to compare it to (it's a
>double-speed).

Mine didn't make that "clunk" sound, it sounded like it was scratching
the CD with something.

>Without the dock/base widget it is a portable CD player.

Probably with a lousy battery life, though.

>Maybe by the time I screw up and break it there will be another cheap
>replacement, or I will find that it is just not that useful after all.
>In the meantime I can deal with it, and I expect I will probably get
>my money's worth out of it.  YMMV.

If the $79 drive had worked with my machine and OS, I would have kept it.
But after two failures, I am sick and tired of this.

>(*) I've seen ads from Disk Drive Depot and Halted Specialties.  The
>DDD ones are in no-frills shrink wrap and cardboard boxes.  DDD also
>had "complete" sets in prettier boxes that included PC and Mac stuff
>for more $$.

Yup, CSC shipped mine without any manual or Mediavision warranty card
etc. in a brown box.  Mediavision's sysop on CompuServe says that they
don't honor any warranty if a company (like CSC apparently) sells them
in this OEM-ish way.

Oliver

The Reno CD-ROM has also turned up in the Damark catalog.  They're 
selling the complete kit, except for a SCSI card, for $99, and they 
don't charge for shipping or tax.
But after reading all the comments about the Reno and MediaVision, I 
cooled on buying it, and have ordered a Panasonic instead...



**-._.-**-._.-**-._..lee

In article <481a6m$m49@its.hooked.net>, Lee <leacee@hooked.net> wrote:
>The Reno CD-ROM has also turned up in the Damark catalog.  They're 
>selling the complete kit, except for a SCSI card, for $99, and they 
>don't charge for shipping or tax.

Tsk, tsk,.... what do you mean, no tax? ;-)

Anyway, if anyone really wants to try the Reno *and* still needs a 
PCMCIA SCSI card, too, WinBook sells a kit containing both for $199.
And as far as I know they have a 30-day money back guarantee...

Anfter my experiences with two Reno's I'll go with a different
brand, probably the new Toshiba 3701 (6.7x).  Not portable, but then
the Reno isn't very portable either (just the power brick weighs
almost the same as my notebook <grin>).

Oliver

The exterior A: drive does not work on 1 of my laptops. I
want to exchange info from 1 to another. Do U know how to
do this?
Stan

On 12 Nov 1995, Stan Wagner wrote:

> The exterior A: drive does not work on 1 of my laptops. I
> want to exchange info from 1 to another. Do U know how to
> do this?
> Stan
> 
> 
> 
try laplink

>> The exterior A: drive does not work on 1 of my laptops. I
>> want to exchange info from 1 to another. Do U know how to
>> do this?
>> Stan
>> 
Or you can use Interlink from DOS 6. Need a null cable though.

Sam

-- 
Samuel Chen               | University of California, Berkeley  __    __
ASUC Box 568,             | (510) 644-0770  [home]           o-''))_____\\
Berkeley, CA 94720        | (510) 720-0540  [pager]          "--  / * * * )
sachen@haas.berkeley.edu  |  Go Bears !                       c_c__/-c____/

stwagner@ix.netcom.com (Stan Wagner ) wrote:

>The exterior A: drive does not work on 1 of my laptops. I
>want to exchange info from 1 to another. Do U know how to
>do this?

I transfer info using twisted pair network.  If you don't want to buy
a hub you could get Coax.  If you don't want to get any network cards,
you could run laplink (or Win 95 or something similar) and transfer
via serial or parallel cables.


Murray Morris
mmorris@oz.net

Murray  Morris (mmorris@oz.net) wrote:

: I transfer info using twisted pair network.  If you don't want to buy
: a hub you could get Coax.  If you don't want to get any network cards,

You can tie two together using twisted pair (10BaseT) by using a flipped
RJ45 - RJ45 cable if both units have a twisted Ethernet adapter. I have
used a parallel cable I made (notes from help in MS-DOS 6.22 how to make)
from my desk top to my laptop. Works great for loading CD stuff on my
laptop via my desktop using WIN95.

-- 
                     __________________________________
                    /                                  \
                   (0  gteater@freenet.columbus.oh.us  0)
                    \__________________________________/

Stan Wagner (stwagner@ix.netcom.com) wrote:
: The exterior A: drive does not work on 1 of my laptops. I
: want to exchange info from 1 to another. Do U know how to
: do this?

Yes.

And if your next question is "How do you do this?", the answer would be "Buy
a null-modem cable, and plug it into the serial port of each one. Follow the
instructions that came with DOS 6.0+. Add "Device=c:\dos\interlnk.exe" to
the config.sys of one, run intersvr.exe on the other, and reboot the first
one." But that's only if you want to know the answer.

-- 
-=dave wiecking
  bethesda, md           
  wiecking@uspto.gov

Stan Wagner (stwagner@ix.netcom.com) wrote:
: The exterior A: drive does not work on 1 of my laptops. I
: want to exchange info from 1 to another. Do U know how to
: do this?

David Wiecking (wiecking@uspto.gov) wrote:
: Yes
: And if your next question is "How do you do this?", the answer would be "Buy
: a null-modem cable, and plug it into the serial port of each one. Follow the
: instructions that came with DOS 6.0+. Add "Device=c:\dos\interlnk.exe" to
: the config.sys of one, run intersvr.exe on the other, and reboot the first
: one." But that's only if you want to know the answer.

Good answer, but get a "Laplink" or "Microsoft Interlnk"
parallel cable instead of the serial null-modem cable.
Both work but the parallel cable is much faster.

In article <48r2ud$jdl@pioneer.uspto.gov> wiecking@uspto.gov (David Wiecking) writes:
>Xref: dragon.acadiau.ca comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.cd-rom:11809 comp.periphs.scsi:32874 comp.sys.laptops:35159
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>From: wiecking@uspto.gov (David Wiecking)
>Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.cd-rom,comp.periphs.scsi,comp.sys.laptops
>Subject: Re: How do I connect 2  laptops?
>Followup-To: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.cd-rom,comp.periphs.scsi,comp.sys.laptops
>Date: 20 Nov 1995 18:28:13 -0500
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>Stan Wagner (stwagner@ix.netcom.com) wrote:
>: The exterior A: drive does not work on 1 of my laptops. I
>: want to exchange info from 1 to another. Do U know how to
>: do this?

>Yes.

>And if your next question is "How do you do this?", the answer would be "Buy
>a null-modem cable, and plug it into the serial port of each one. Follow the
>instructions that came with DOS 6.0+. Add "Device=c:\dos\interlnk.exe" to
>the config.sys of one, run intersvr.exe on the other, and reboot the first
>one." But that's only if you want to know the answer.

>-- 
>-=dave wiecking
>  bethesda, md           
>  wiecking@uspto.gov
You have to add    DEVICE=C:\dos\interlnk.exe    to both systems config files.
If you're only using it for file transfer, I'd recommend a parallel port null 
modem cable. It's faster.