[Info-vax] Disk drives for an AlphaServer 800

[Rich Jordan]

On Aug 24, 9:47 am, Tom Adams <tadams... at yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Aug 6, 3:56 pm, Tom Adams <tadams... at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Aug 6, 1:53 pm, Steven Schweda <sms.antin... at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > >tadamsmarwrote:
> > > > This AS 800 has a seagate st32171wc  2.1 GB ultra SCSI drives  (2
> > > > shadowed).
>
> > > > I wonder if I can get new bigger replacement drives?
>
> > >    2GB?  Bigger would be easier to find than not bigger.  I'd
> > > be a bit amazed if you couldn't find a "new" 36GB drive on
> > > Ebay (where I buy all my disks these days) for well under $50.
>
> > > > I can get seagate st32171wc, but I think they are all used.
>
> > >    I'm amazed that you can find any (working) 2GB disks these
> > > days.
>
> > > > This AS 800 has a hot swap cage, so all the pins have to be positioned
> > > > to match.
>
> > > > But, I guess any 80 pin ultra scsi will work?
>
> > >    That SCA connector is pretty well standardized.  I can't
> > > speak for an AlphaServer 800, but none of my hardware has
> > > rejected any Seagate drive I've stuck into it.
>
> > I got an itchy ebay finger and bought this set of 3 hard disks:
>
> >http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290336157111&ssPag...
>
> > The 800 has room for all 3 and I will put them all in the same shadow
> > set.
>
> > Hopefully, they will fit in the cages OK.- Hide quoted text -
>
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> I got the drives, but they were 68 pin, not 80 pin.
>
> There are adapters available on Ebay.
>
> Has anyone used a 68-80 pin scsi adapter?

68 pin drives used to be more expensive than SCA in the aftermarket
because they fit more systems than the SCA type.

I've used adapters to fit SCA drives into 68 pin-cabled chassis with
no problems, running them for years.  The only issue has been some
drives (IBM?) you have to be careful about mismatched drive settings
on the adapter versus the drive's own jumper settings.

I have never seen a reverse adapter to allow a 68 pin drive to plug
into an SCA chassis.