NetNews Offline 2/NetNews Offline Volume 2.iso/news/comp/sys/amiga/hardware-part1/4138

Internet Message Format | 1996-08-05 | 3.3 KB

Path: newshost.wildnet.co.uk!usenet
From: [e-mail] (John Marchant)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Subject: Re: Oktagon SCSI Controller
Date: 9 Feb 1996 00:22:52 GMT
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In a message on 05-Feb-96 10:59:01, Frederick V. Heitkamp wrote:

> In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
> says...
>>
>>Well I have just this setup and I use MRBackup flawlessy with the
>>Viper. I did have some problems with the mountlist for the MRTape
>>using the Viper, but after I changed it to use the correct buffer

Forgive me for chipping in, but this interests me and I may be able to
shed some light on the subject (notta lot).

> Where do you change this parameter?

In the MRBackup configs.  There are notes about it in MrTape.doc.  I
can't run MrB just now to check where it is set, as I have a number of
progs including Thor and a BBS and Trapdoor running, and my tape drive
isn't mounted.  It'd likely cause a crash.  But if you look through the
MrBackup config windows & options, I'm sure you'll find "Buffer size".
You might even just edit the "bufsize" entry in the file
Mrbackup:prefs/MRBackup.init

>>size it has been just fine. The problems I used to have were Phase
>>errors on the SCSI bus which then GURUd the Amiga.

> How do you know if you have phase errors?

You know all too well. An error message appears :-)

> The problems I have are that I get unrecoverable tape errors and bad
> blocks etc.  When reading the tape, it usually reads between 4 and 13
> megabytes, and then the SCSI buss locks up.  Thinking the tapes are bad,
> I try them on my PC and they work fine.  I am using GNUtar and Quarterback
> for the backup software on my Amiga.

Try setting MrBackup to run Synchronously, and prohibit reselection in
the Oktagon config for the tape device.  You set it in the config window
for that unit number.  So you prevent the tape drive from releasing the
bus when it's busy writing, and then asking for it again.  When I ran
async, I found MrB was assuming prematurely that the backup was finished
after sending the last file to tape, and it dropped the bus.  The result
was that the last file or part-file never got written to tape.  You can
tell if this happens, as the "Bytes out" count is less than the "Bytes
in" count in the MrB window.

I can't at the moment discover where I set the Sync/Async option. Maybe
that too was done in the Oktagon config for the tape unit.

> Since I made a 6.10 ROM for the Oktagon, Quarterback won't run, but GNUtar
> and, Maxtor HD and the CDROM drive, work as before.

Interesting.  I can't get Amiback or Quarterback to run on my 4000/40
with the Oktagon.  They crash as soon as they load.  MrBackup works
faultlessly.  But on my A500, the same tape drive works ok with Amiback
or Quarterback/

 John

--
 John Marchant ('Gnome'). Bedford UK.            [e-mail]
 (Fidonet 2:2500/167.15)                  [e-mail]
 By the time I think I've got the answer I've forgotten the question
--