stress tests from floppy...

[The PIT]

Pretty impressive that.

[VJ]

Yes, I'll probabely go on Monday (they suggested next week would suit them better).

It is of course annoying to have issues with a system, but so far, I can only complement SuperMicro on their support.

BTW, regarding the cheapo SCSI controller: I'd need one with a bios, as I have no IDE drives to boot from. Oh, I didn't have issues with a single drive (the Seagate) connected... But as soon as I add one device (IBM or Plextor), I get errors and warnings on all SCSI devices (drives + controller).

I'll post SuperMicro's results here...


Jörg

[VJ]

This morning I went to SuperMicro (with the entire rig).

After some testing (and some strange reactions), they concluded that the problem was two-fold:
1. Channel A of the mainboard was defective
2. Plextor 4220 is too old to be put on a U320 bus (it causes problems). Strangely enough, it also posed problems when connected to a 2906 (errors in the logfile). The drive dates back to February 1999.

They replaced the mainboard , and they suggest not to use the 4220 on the onboard controller (mainly a performance issue, but also stability). According to them, if the writer works on a 2906 (despite the error messages), it is no cause for alarm. They tested the Plextor on a variety of controllers (29160, 2940U2W, 2906, onboard, ...) on both my mainboard and the replacement one; all with the same results.

Any comments on the Plextor-thingy ?
I'll contact Plextor with this problem, will be more of a notification than anything else... I will test it in my PII-450, to see if it results in the same errormessages.


Jörg

[The PIT]

Nothing worse than two duff peices of equipment. I'm impressed by Supermicro very good tech support.
Sounds like a new CD Writer and guess what? Scsi ones are hard too find.

[Paddy]

I have a plextor 1210S on an adaptec 1200s.
It always has generated errors in the event log, but i have never had any problems with it.

[Chucky Cheese]

Plextor 1210s

Paddy,

same here, mine generates this messages...

An error was detected on device \Device\CdRom2 during a paging operation.

it has given me no problems. i have tried different setting in the scsi bios but it won't clear up. it only generates this message when i burn cds' and when i read recordable media, not when i read masters.

cc

[VJ]

The Pit: There were three issues leading to the same error:
1. loose connector on a Quantum harddisk (it lost power every now and then, was sent back under warranty and I'm expecting it either this week or next week)
2. SCSI controller (only channel A seems to have been affected)
3. CDRW
(I found the first one, and figured the 2nd one... )

I already noticed SCSI ones are hard to find, allthough Plextor has some new ones in their range - if I'm not mistaken. I might be opting for some multi-DVD writer thingy though (prices have come down a lot, and the media-price is also acceptable now).

Paddy, Chucky Cheese:
I get the messages upon boot, and then at certain intervals (even with no CD inserted). He tested with a Plextor PX-W1210s, and there were no errormessages in the log. He also suggested that the errormessages could be an XP issue, and now I'm not sure if I had them before (don't remember when I made the step to XP, it could be that it only did it with my new system). He also suggested that having this on the boot controller could have lead to stability issues. Either way, I will try the Plextor in my PII-450 (where it came from) next weekend, to see if the errors persist.


All in all, I can say I'm very pleased with the way SuperMicro handled it...
(it took some time before, to get the error located, but if I'd gone there sooner, I'd probabely have it replaced sooner)


Jörg

[Chucky Cheese]

SCSI Controller

VJ,

it could very well be an XP issue, i did not have this error under win2k and i have installed pretty much the same software(..with updates of course!). my firewire burner does not generate this error!

the only thing that i noted was that my built-in scsi chipset(..see sig) is enumerated as an "Adaptec AIC-7899 Ultra160 PCI SCSI Card" in device manager. to me this implies that it is an add-in card verses a "chipset". i raised this issue with tech support at supermicro and they said it didn't matter.

i have terminated both scsi buses externally with diagnostic terminators from granite digital and i had them custom make my cables with twisted pair cables, very nice but expensive! i also purchased their cable tester so that could test their work.

cc

[The PIT]

Problem with buying scsi is that not many shops stock them. You'd probably have to buy directly from Plextor which is rather sad.

[VJ]

Well, I frequent a small, local, computer store; most of the things I ask aren't stocked by them. But they can order virtually anything I want at a very competitive price.

I'm somewhat amazed that the even DVD-writer thingies simply do'nt exist in SCSI anymore. Panasonic, Sony, ... all only carry IDE models for their latest ones...


Jörg

[Rakido]

Re: stress tests from floppy...

Originally posted by VJ
Are there any tests (cpu-tests, memorytests, ...) I could use to stress my system ? I'd like to make sure it is not a fault processor or a faulty mainboard causing the SCSI mayhem; so the test should preferably be ran from floppy.

I'm a bit late, but maybe that's what you looked for:
http://www.drhardware.de/english/pghpdrhd.htm

Since 1994 Dr. Hardware Sysinfo is a synonynom for reliable, precise and uncomplicated computer analysis. Although we released a Windows version in the meanwhile, the Dos version will be developped and used further on. Especially for elementary operations at the machine, like configuration or hardware upgrading but also in the software pre-installation time this tool will be resting your friendly test partner. Technicians will prefer a program like Dr. Hardware Sysinfo, that may be executed directly from a bootable floppy disk; vendors that are confrontated with the naked machine are even forced to use it. Besides this some of the very hardware related features are restricted to the Dos version - for example the EISA slot and the SCSI device analysis as far as a DOS ASPI or CAM driver rather than a WINASPI driver is loaded, detection of L2 cache via short time measuring, VGA retrace measuring or the list of BIOS copyrights. Both the DOS and Windows version keep their high relevance.

Rakido

[The PIT]

Originally posted by VJ
Well, I frequent a small, local, computer store; most of the things I ask aren't stocked by them. But they can order virtually anything I want at a very competitive price.

I'm somewhat amazed that the even DVD-writer thingies simply do'nt exist in SCSI anymore. Panasonic, Sony, ... all only carry IDE models for their latest ones...


Jörg

Costs and burn proof makes scsi unnessescary.

old ide burners == coasters as soon as you did anything else.
scsi burners == worked fine
new ide and burner proof == work fine

[VJ]

Rakido:
It is *never* too late to post an interesting tool.

The Pit:
Yes... I know. I just think it strange that scsi for this purpose had been abandoned so fast...

BTW, xortam posted interesting news here:

http://forums.murc.ws/showthread.php?s=&threadid=43497

LG launched a dvd-burner that supports all formats (dvd-ram only without the cartridge).


Jörg

[xortam]

Originally posted by VJ
... BTW, xortam posted interesting news here:

http://forums.murc.ws/showthread.php?s=&threadid=43497

LG launched a dvd-burner that supports all formats (dvd-ram only without the cartridge).

It does support cartridges ... both Type II and Type IV.

I just checked my usual local HW shop (they even carry Matrox) and the only SCSI optical they had was the Plextor PX-W1210TSE. I still like the flexibility of SCSI and the ability to place the drive in an external case. I haven't looked at the performance of the USB drives but they also provide this flexibility (as does FireWire).

[VJ]

Yes, but I meant you have to remove the disk from the cartridge... (not type-1)

I would prefer SCSI, but don't mind going IDE (had to compromise similarly for my DVD drive). Only two IDE-devices isn't bad... External use isn't a requirement for me.

Jörg