Newsgroups: comp.periphs.scsi
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!uunet!xstor!iverson
From: iverson@xstor.com (Tim Iverson)
Subject: Re: Faster boot with AHA 1542 SCSI controller?
References: <1992@styx.sta.sub.org> <ben.3234@epmooch.UUCP> <4283@polari.UUCP>
Reply-To: iverson@xstor.com
Organization: Storage Dimensions, Inc.
Message-ID: <1991Jun03.225530.13007@xstor.com>
Date: Mon, 03 Jun 91 22:55:30 GMT

In article <4283@polari.UUCP> lampi@polari.UUCP (Michael Lampi) writes:
>In article <ben.3234@epmooch.UUCP> ben@epmooch.UUCP (Rev. Ben A. Mesander) writes:
>>Is there a way to shorten the boot time on a machine with an Adaptec SCSI
>>controller? On my machine it takes almost a minute, an ESDI machine with
>>the same autoexec and config is up in less then 15 seconds.
>
>It is too much if you have to reboot your machine (for various reasons)
>several times an hour (or even several times a day), especially if you
>know the devices are ready!

I agree, it is annoying.  Unfortunately, it's better than the consequences.
Some SCSI drives, most notably the cheaper Seagate drives (non-Imprimis ones)
have an extremely long start up time.  Much longer than the maximum in the
SCSI spec..  If the Adaptec board was true to spec., instead of true to
reality, these drives would never be usable.

This is a rather expensive solution, but there is one way to improve boot
time: install two drives, at ID 0 and ID 1.  The BIOS in the 1540 series
checks these ID's for drives and if they're found, it won't have to wait
for the time-out to occur.

>Michael Lampi            lampi@seattle.UUCP


- Tim Iverson
  iverson@xstor.com -/- uunet!xstor!iverson
