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From: szepesi@fluke.UUCP (Les Szepesi)
Newsgroups: net.micro,net.micro.pc
Subject: Re: Two hard disks on the PC... Help!!
Message-ID: <1428@vax3.fluke.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 8-Jul-85 22:21:16 EDT
Article-I.D.: vax3.1428
Posted: Mon Jul  8 22:21:16 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 10-Jul-85 23:58:59 EDT
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Organization: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc., Everett, WA
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Xref: watmath net.micro:10946 net.micro.pc:4481

> > 
> > 	Does anyone know if there is a Hard Disk 
> > 	controller out there for PC's (IBM and the like)
> > 	that will handle two or more HD's?

My Microscience 10M drive came with a Matsuba controller card that supposedly
supports two hard drives.

> had no problems when the machine is running but one user claims it hung once
> sitting a DOS prompt but we can't repeat this failure.

I get this problem fairly regularly. I run mostly Microsoft Word V1.1, and after
about two hours or so, I get a DOS prompt and hung so that only a power on reset
restores things to normal. I think it is in some way related to the HD or HD
controller, since I've never had it previous to installing the drive. I've come
to the conclusion that it is somewhat related to temperature, since I was 
running the system unit without cover at first till I was sure the HD worked.
I was getting failures then about ~half hour. My theory is that the convection
cooling is removed when the cover is not present to direct the air flow. 

Whether the problem is with the drive/controller itself or something marginal
that shows up with the additional loading is pretty hard to determine.

(I have a 256k AST combo, Cermetek internal modem, 8087, Hercules Color Card,
plus the floppy and hard drive controllers. There is an XT supply in the unit
and two half-height floppies.)

By the way, I've already been through two Hercules Cards, both of which have
died in text mode, with characters being fragmented, but graphics operation ok.
Am I just unlucky or is this common. (They have been very good about replacing
them under the two warranty. I'm concerned about when the two years are up...)



-- 
Les Szepesi		decvax\
John Fluke Mfg Co.	ihnp4  >!uw-beaver\
PO Box C9090    MS 274G		   allegra >!fluke!szepesi
Everett, WA 98206 USA	ucbvax >!lbl-csam /
(206) 356-6362		hplabs/