[gentoo-user] Re: Yikes, replacing sata 200gb with Sata 750gb .. no bootsky.

[Harry Putnam]

[...]

Harry wrote:

>> Also I don't see any evidence this upgrade would make the card work
>> with those 750 drives.

Paul replied:

> You could perhaps try giving Adaptec a call or e-mail and see if
> anyone there can tell you what that controller supports, since their
> website doesn't really say.

Yeah, but not all that likely.  I did write to them when I was trying
to research before buying that card and was told its been out of
production for some time....

Doesn't mean I wouldn't get some old hand who'd just know though.

>> Even worse, I'd have to install the card on a different machine since
>> the one I needed it for has no floppy.  And it appears I'd either need
>> to install it on a windows machine or install a little free dos
>> application that allows user to create a bootable floppy to get the
>> job done.
>
> If you can manage to get a floppy disk image via dosbox or wine or
> something, or by making the disk on a machine that does have a floppy
> drive, it should be possible to burn it to a CD or bootable USB
> device. This page has some instructions on how to burn a floppy image
> to CD:

Well that's good to know and maybe I'll try that.  But the server has
no cdrom either.  I took floppy and cdrom off to allow for more hdd.
So that leaves usb.

Actually seems like it would be about as much work as just braving
up and installing the card in my wifes' machine and doing the flash
there ... just to find out if will then recognize sataII or not.

That would be a really foolish move except that she is gone for
several hours... otherwise the fight would be on... hehe.

However, in the mean time I already went ahead and bought a Sil 3114
off ebay for $20 + $10 shipping.  And I've learned from some people on
an Australian `overclocker' forum that it will definitely work with
large new sata II drives.  Although it is a card from the sata I era.

They say if it doesn't just work out of the box, it definitely will
with a flash to newest bios.  That's the part no one has said about
Sil 3112a.  So I'll wait for it to arrive and try flashing them both.


> One last random idea; several years ago on my old 266MHz Pentium II,

That's an interesting story.. makes me want to think there would be
some way to trick the machine in this case too.

Of course the stumbling block is that the recognition happens during
bootup. 

But maybe if I'm brave enough to connect the satas while the machine
is running... it might have some chance of working.

And PROBABLY (famous last words) the worst that might happen is the
controller would get fried. (Hopefully not brand new 750 drives or
even worse.. the motherboard)..... er... I think I chickened out
already. 

Actually I've already connected and disconnected sata drives with the
machine running...

It came about trying to go back to using that 1205sa as I was before
attempting to move up to 750s.  I'd had 2 200gb sataI drives on it.

I put just one back on still trying to learn more about how the 1205sa
worked, but there was some error message I've forgotten now, but it
said enough to make me think I'd put it on the wrong channel.  So I
pulled the data port and plugged it into the other one which was not
on a power plug and then plugged in the power plug.  Seemed to work,
and apparently did no harm..

Probably a dumb move though.  And I got lucky.

Anyway... I don't think I'll do it with a brand new almost $90 wd750.