Exabyte tape drive installation

[Ken Greer]

Important information about booting a system with Exabytes...

I learned this from a knowledgable technician, after months of wierd
problems and of support calls.  It ain't in the manual and may apply to
BSD UNIX systems with autoconfigure code only, not sure...

1. When booting your system, you must(!!) have a tape in the Exabyte unit.
   A tape must be in the unit to pass the self test!!!!

2. After power up, the controller gets tickled and goes through a
   self test procedure which takes 1-2 minutes!  I shall repeat --
   a tape must be in the Exabyte unit to pass the self test!

   The Exabyte drive lights should go from
		Off
		Yellow+Green
		Off
		Green Only

3. It is only at the "Green Only" state that you can load UNIX
   and have it do its auto-configure thing!

Failure to wait for the Green-Only light leads to chaos.

Our procedure on a MicroVax is to leave the auto-boot switch to manual:

	1. Power on.
	2. Inital boot load, and get the prompt:
			>>>
	3. Wait a couple minutes while the Exabytes thinks.
	4. When the Green light only comes on, boot UNIX.

It's been working like a charm ever since!

Ken Greer
Elan Computer Group, Inc.
{ames,uunet}!elan!kg
415-964-2200