Problems with my new SCSI hard drive

[Dave2]

I recently bought a Fujitsu MAN 36.7GB SCSI hard drive. I noticed that when I run HD Tach 2.61 sometimes the graph stops drawing and a few seconds later I get a read/write error. Also sometimes the burst rate test runs I end up with a blue screen with and error message and one time a Windows Protection error. Also one time I was installing a program on this new hard drive and I got a loud high-pitched pounding sound but the program installed okay. I have this connected to a 29160N SCSI card. I also wrapped the excess cable with a rubber band because it is too long and gets in the way of things inside my case if I don't wrap it. Could this cause interference with data signals? Should I return this and get the Maxtor 10K III?

[daveleau]

Wrapping the cable should cause no problems. Cable rounding is very similar and very popular. I have seen no accounts of problems associated with it. i have also seen no problems with banding the cables together or erounding them in my systems either. As for the cause of this problem, I am not sure. I would think it was a possible hard drive problem (ounding sound has me worried).
Sorry I cannot give more pertinent info aside from the cable info.
Good luck
Dave

[qball]

Go into the SCSI BIOS and run the drive test/diags/whatever. The drive may have probs, may....

Is the 'Fujitsu MAN 36.7GB' a U160 drive? Are any other devices on same channel/bus?

Is the bus terminated properly?

What about IDs?

Do have the latest drivers installed?

What OS, for crying out loud?

[cadetstimpy]

Sometimes extra connectors on the ribbon cable that is not in use can pickup noise like an antenna. Are there a lot of extra connectors on your cable that are not in use? If so try a new cable. If it still persists then it could be the drive. SCSI drives that are going bad will still operate and corrupt information longer than an EIDE/ATAPI drive will before completely failing.

[otheos]

Wrapping the excess should cause no problem is long as it's not all mangled up. Rounding of LVD cables is 100% NOT advisable. LVD cables are extremely sensitive to noise and if you notive they are built in a specific way to minimise noise and cross talk.

The MAN is an excellent drive (the best 10K drive at the moment). Your problems seem to be hardware related so I would go step by step to trouble shoot them.

First the drive. Check that only the jumpers that need to be enabled are. Check with the manual and if you don't understand somthing ask here.

Then check termination. Set the adapter to auto terminate (itself), then place the cable as straight as possible (take it outside the case if needed), place the drive on the first connector after the adapter and the terminator right after (unless it's fixed).

Dissable domain validation.

Set to scan only the hard drive and the adaptor. Set the speed correctly of the drive (not to Auto), i.e. 160MB/s

Test between each step with hdtach.

The Maxtor Atlas 3 is an inferior drive (not noticeably but you currently have the best in the category).

I hope you use W2K to benefit from the SCSI architecture.

[Dave2]

I'm using the LVD cable that came with my retail Adaptec 29160N card. The terminator is built-in at the end of the cable and I can't remove it. I used the first connector and last connector and I still get problems in HD Tach. The weird sound that I mentioned earlier is actually the hard drive making a buzzing sound like an electric shaver when installing some software. No bad clustors on the hard drive.

[qball]

The weird sound that I mentioned earlier is actually the hard drive making a buzzing sound like an electric shaver when installing some software

what? does that mean writing/reading from HD? what?

can you isolate HD and make it "buzzing sound" and determine if you have a drive motor/bearing issue.

imho, (gonna get hammered on this...) and imhe any HD that wobbles/vibrates/buzzes in any manner, anytime, is soon to be SOL.

[Dave2]

I think the sound is just the sound of vibration because I bought an Atlas 10K III and it sometimes made that sound even when installing the same program but only quieter. Most of the time it won't make that sound. I sometimes still get blue screening with HD Tach even on the Atlas 10k III so maybe it's not the hard drives. Also is there a way I can make the graph less jagged on the Atlas 10k III without lowering the SCSI transfer rate.

[MaxVal]

I remember an issue with the current version Of HD Tach concerning CD-ROM's on some MB's. The issue was a Blue screen error, and it was supposed to be caused by Auto Insert Notification.
I disabled that feature on my system, and still got the blue screen!
MAX