VMS 4.7 was VAXstation 3100 history (Was ... different)

From: Zane H. Healy <healyzh_at_aracnet.com>
Date: Fri Dec 3 16:18:02 1999

>Zane,
>
>Do you stay with DEC OEM Model NUMBER on replacement?
>
>What utilities exist to help identify drives to a MicroVAX?
>
>Can I "dummy" some CYL/SPT/Hd count and hand it to the MicroVax and have the
>OS Come in later and claim its an RD5? something provided the figures match?
>
>Like, Whats the difference between a Quantum Q-540 and a DEC RD52?
>
>Since Allison Parent mentioned that the RD52 was a Q-540, I have looked it
>up in "The Hard Disk Technical Guide" by Micro-House. All the details are
>there.
>
>If I were to Find a Micropolis or CDC drive that fit some larger DEC
>equivalent on CYL/SPT/Heads MFM ST506 RPM etc what would stop me from
>generating a workable drive profile?
>
>Anyone done this?

Depends. In the case of RDxx drives I use whatever I can get my hands on.
I think one of my 3 RD54's is the real thing. One someone else setup as an
RD54, the third is the Maxtor that's the exact same drive.

I don't think there is *any* difference between a RD52 and a Q540 other
than the DEC formatting.

For RDxx drives, I've got a VAXstation 2000 that I've used to format them.
It's the only thing the system is used for, and it's the only thing that
particular VS2000 is good for. It has bad memory, but can still be used as
a drive formatter, and I don't have any desire to be bothered with fixing
it up.

I'm trying to get away from having any of my systems using MFM Hard Drives
though for obvious reasons, though with some like the Pro380 I don't have
any chioce.

For SCSI drives I generally use DEC drives, though I've got non-DEC drives
in my pair of AlphaStation 200's, one of which causes problems unless it's
tricked into spining up before I boot the system. I'm not sure if some of
my StorageWorks drives are 3rd party or not I was thinking they were, but
am no longer sure. Though on my PDP-11's I prefer non-DEC SCSI drives that
auto-spinup.

                                Zane
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Adminstrator |
| healyzh_at_aracnet.com (primary) | Linux Enthusiast |
| healyzh_at_holonet.net (alternate) | Classic Computer Collector |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------+
| Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, |
| and Zane's Computer Museum. |
| http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |
Received on Fri Dec 03 1999 - 16:18:02 GMT

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