WD1007V-SE2 controller -- 15Mb/s or not? Wren VI -- 650MB or 1.1GB?

[Wm E. Davidsen Jr]

In article <1576 at redsox.bsw.com> campbell at redsox.bsw.com (Larry Campbell) writes:
| I'm using a CDC/Imprimis/Seagate Wren VI on a WD1007V ESDI controller.  The
| controller claims to be a 15Mb/s board.  

  I believe there are 10 and 15 versions of this board. All of ours are
10 so far.

| Now, the drive *does* have a jumper labelled 93 sectors/track.  

| Now, if the WD1007V can't hack 54 sectors, I suspect it *certainly* can't
| hack 93.
| 
| So here (finally) is my question.  Is the WD1007V a bozo controller, or am
| I doing something wrong?  Can I actually use 93 sectors/track on my drive,
| and if I need a new controller to do so, which controller will work?

  We have had good luck with the CompuAdd cached controller. It's
pricey, but seems to work. Warning! If you have enough memory in your
system to provide a few MB of disk buffers, you will see precious little
improvement using the CA. You will get a LOT of improvement if you are
running a small memory system.

  The 744MB is 93 sectors, 16 heads, 1024 tracks. The 1.2GB model is
another part number. I am told that the 766MB model is a 1.2GB unit
which would not run 93 sectors in the tracks>1024. I have no idea if
that is true, but the numbers fit. If I had one of these (and I'm so
sick of being out of disk that's it's getting close), I would definitely
give it a try.

  Lots of disks run beyond spec, the ST4096 (usually) runs RLL, the
Maxtor 1140 usually runs 1224 tracks (but I never saw one run RLL). I
would certainly try it.
-- 
bill davidsen - davidsen at sixhub.uucp (uunet!crdgw1!sixhub!davidsen)
    sysop *IX BBS and Public Access UNIX
    moderator of comp.binaries.ibm.pc and 80386 mailing list
"Stupidity, like virtue, is its own reward" -me