Multibus ST-506/QIC-02 (was: Re: SGI IRIS 1400 ...)

From: Don Maslin <donm_at_cts.com>
Date: Sat Jul 20 16:09:01 2002

On Sat, 20 Jul 2002, Tothwolf wrote:

> On Thu, 18 Jul 2002, Tothwolf wrote:
>
> > I double checked all the board numbers, and everything but the ST-506
> > interface does indeed match the build/maintenance sticker. The tag from
> > that board states "Removed from IRIS Suspect U/S - no diagram". The
> > 'U/S' might actually be 'U/5', but it is somewhat hard to read. The
> > board is a standard Multibus board. It was made by Data Systems Design
> > (Qualogy) and has a part number of 805215-08. Does anyone have a
> > databook or even prints for this board? I'm going to assume for now that
> > there is indeed something wrong with it, since it appears someone
> > "borrowed" the original ST-506 interface from this 1400 for another
> > system. This particular board might have come from a later IRIS system,
> > but it appears the 2000s and later used a 5217 instead of a 5215.
>
> Maybe replying to my own emails is a little "different", but oh well :)
>
> Tonight, armed with the user's manual for the DCD 5215, I managed to run
> various diagnostics in order to help troubleshoot the board. Test 1F (8085
> Environment Self-Test) seemed to pass, and test 1A (CR1, CR2 Blinking
> Wakeup Address) seemed to pass as well. When I ran test 1B (R/WC
> Self-Test), I got an error 45 (Read/Write Controller Error). Further
> investigation seemed to indicate the hard drive itself wasn't spinning, so
> I removed the top panels and powered up the drive. It seems to spin up ok
> for about a minute, then shuts down completely. At this point, it
> certainly looks like I'm looking at a malfunctioning drive instead of the
> DCD 5215. Due to the fan noise, I never even heard the drive spin down
> until I pulled the top panels back off, sigh...
>
> This system uses a Vertex V170 (60MB?) ST-506 drive. Is anyone familiar
> with them? I'm guessing I may just end up having to replace the drive with
> something else. Does anyone have any brands/models they'd suggest trying
> in this system?
>
> -Toth

Vertex was apparently taken over by Priam and the PC Ref shows the V170
as: cap 60
        hds 7
        cyl 987
        spt 17
        rwc 988
        wpc 988
        intfc ST412/506

If your drive spins up and then stops shortly, it is likely that it
either does not come fully up to speed or it is unable to unlock (or
unstick) the heads from the park position. (I'd bet on the heads.)
Can you hear the usual clickety noises that a drive makes when it
initializes?
                                                 - don
Received on Sat Jul 20 2002 - 16:09:01 BST

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