Subject: Re: SCSI CD changers supported?
To: None <current-users@NetBSD.ORG>
From: Tom I Helbekkmo <tih@Hamartun.Priv.NO>
List: current-users
Date: 09/13/1996 18:03:45
On 13 Sep 1996, Christoph Badura wrote:

> BTW, what type of SCSI controller are you using?  You didn't mention
> it in this thread.

Sorry about that -- I didn't think it mattered at the time.  Anyway,
it's an old Buslogic BT445S, and I'm beginning to think that the
problem is right there.  I've found a DOS executable "scsitool.exe" on
Buslogic's FTP site, and while it's not much of a tool, it does show
some information on the controller and disks beyond the normal boot
messages.  Everything looks right, except for this one statement (in
the controller section) that says: "disconnect: no".  This leads me to
believe that the controller itself is refusing devices on the bus to
do disconnect/reconnect.

I discovered this tonight, so I haven't gotten any further, but I do
know that there _is_ one single undocumented switch (well, two, but a
technical note from Buslogic documents the other one) on the board,
and I'm going to be opening the box ut (again!) to try booting with
that switch in the "don't set this switch to this position" position.

If the controller itself is keeping the CD player from disconnecting
while it changes disks, could there be a software way of telling it
not to do this?  Would such a thing even be within the bounds of
reason?

-tih
-- 
Popularity is the hallmark of mediocrity.  --Niles Crane, "Frasier"