🚀 go-pugleaf

The card (IDE) costs very little, only about $20 for a cheap
card from taiwan.  The advantage is that the card is NOT a 
hard disk controller - it is an interface card.

The hard disk controllder is "embedded" in the hard drive electronics.
The disk is low-level formatted at the factory, so you won't have to worry
about that stuff (remembering bad areas, etc).  With the controller built
in, the drive/card arrangement is much more reliable.

I don't know if this goes for all MFM drives, but the MFM drive I used
to have required special device drivers for different partitions.  I also
had to use proprietary software for low level formatting and the like.
All the IDE drive needs is the proper settings in the CMOS setup, and you're
off!

This may be unrelated, but my several Seagate MFM drives were tempermental:
sometimes they'd work and sometimes they wouldn't.  Their IDE replacements
(Seagate as well) have performed flawlessly, even under MORE strenuous
environments.

-jason vanValkenburgh
jav2d@virginia.edu
--
					Jason A. vanValkenburgh
					University of Virginia
					ACC MicroConsultant
					jav2d@virginia.edu