🚀 go-pugleaf

Johnny Billquist <bqt@bern.docs.uu.se> writes:

>>Jeffrey Luszcz <jrl2@cornell.edu> writes:
>>
>>
>>>  Well, after deciding to upgrade my system
>>>from a 34a to a 23+, I've run into a snag.
>>>  I'm using a SC02/A rp02/03 compatible controller
>>>from Emulex. (circa 1981)
>>>  I have the Emulex board looking for a drive which
>>>has 700 physical cylenders, 5 tracks and 35 Sectors.
>>>I believe I have the Kennedy drive set up correctly.

>>I am trying to do something similar, and also request help (Jeff and I
>>have talked, and between the two of us we are still at a bit of a loss).
>>I am trying to connect a Kennedy 5300 drive to an 11/34a using a Dilog DU202
>>board, and am also having little luck formatting it. 

>What's wrong with FMT, provided that you are running RSX?

>Johnny Billquist                  || "I'm on a bus

The way both these cards work is to organize the Kennedy 5300 drive into
several logical RP02's. I think you have to do something to the disk
to set that up before you go off and try to "format" each RP02 using
a DEC OS. As I said, Dilog provided some software (are they still in
business? If so where, or what is the phone #?) that did the low-level
formatting. It returned messages like "Organizing Kennedy 5300 into
6 RP02 drives" according to the manual.  

Under RSX-11M, FMT just hangs after it says "Start formatting." The
heads swing inward, and then nothing happens (on both Jeff's Kennedy
drive and mine. We let it go about 30 minutes just in case it was so
slow we couldn't see the heads move, but we are now convinced that it
is hanging). There is a footnote in the RSX-11M FMT manual saying that
stand-alone FMT uses vector 320 for DP: drives -- why? Everything else
I read, including the manual for the Dilog card, says that RP02 
controllers use vector 254. 

If I run BAD DP0:/LIST, it returns every LBN as bad (but it does at
least move the heads over all the sectors) Under RT-11, FORMAT returns
in about 1 second and says that it has finished successfully. But then
RT-11 INIT indicates "Directory read error".

Any ideas? 

chapman@cs.cornell.edu (Richard Chapman) writes:

>Johnny Billquist <bqt@bern.docs.uu.se> writes:

>least move the heads over all the sectors) Under RT-11, FORMAT returns
>in about 1 second and says that it has finished successfully. But then
>RT-11 INIT indicates "Directory read error".

I'm not familiar with the specific device, but if it isn't a piece
of Digital hardware, there is a possibility that FORMAT can't deal
with it.  I'm going to look at the FORMAT sources and see what it
does, but I suspect that it tries to diddle the hardware directly,
and unless the non-dec hardware simulated an RP EXACTLY, this may
not work, but appear to, or vice versa.

					Megan

>I'm not familiar with the specific device, but if it isn't a piece
>of Digital hardware, there is a possibility that FORMAT can't deal
>with it.  I'm going to look at the FORMAT sources and see what it
>does, but I suspect that it tries to diddle the hardware directly,
>and unless the non-dec hardware simulated an RP EXACTLY, this may
>not work, but appear to, or vice versa.

I checked the sources and they do twiddle the hardware directly.  The
RP device you're using may not emulate an RP02/03 exactly.

What version of RT are you using?

					Megan

Megan B Gentry, mbg@world.std.com writes:
>I checked the sources and they do twiddle the hardware directly.  The
>RP device you're using may not emulate an RP02/03 exactly.
>
>What version of RT are you using?
>
>					Megan
>

  I figured out what the problem was, a non-functioning dip-switch.
Even though the board was set correctly, it didn't think it was.
So I went through and switched all the switches back and forth
and then reset it up correctly. I put it in and was able to get the
onboard formatter to work. Yeehh!
  Megan is right, the FMT command will not work on this emulation.
but since the board has an onboard formatter, I'm set. Richard
Chapman who is also using a Kennedy  5300 is out of luck though.
After I got the board working he tried it with his 5300 and was
able to format it, but the Dilog DU202 he is using won't recognized
its format scheme. So he called Dilog, they want $250US for a 
formatting utility.  Woah. 
   I'm currently moving all my rl02 data over to my kennedy
on the 23+. A little nicer setup then the 34a. Doesn't scare the
cat as much, but the room is a lot colder without it running. 8-(
   -Jeff Luszcz
    cc2x@vax5.cit.cornell.edu