SCSI HDD (80pins) + Back plane (both from SUN server) use on an Amiga ??

[dougal]

I found a SUN Microsystems server thingy in a skip. It was broken (physically) but before dumping it I removed x2 80 pin SCSI hard drives (Seagate 1.06GB each) and a SCSI Backplane which as a cable attached to it and the end cable to plug into the system is a standard 50 pin SCSI connector.

This is the backplane: http://www.amazon.com/Sun-5012462-SPARCSTATION-BACKPLANE-270-2462-03/dp/B00450ILB6


The hard drives are both Seagate ST31200WC

Can I use this on my A2000 ?

I don't have any other 80pin HDD to 50pin converters.

 

[sunos4]

It's worth try it. Does the cable look similar to this? The disks will slot into the backplane and the 68pin end of the cable goes onto the D shaped connector on the backplane. The 50 pin connector will go onto your SCSI controller. The ID of the disks might be set via jumpers on the hard drives, or auto-configured as 0 and 1 by the backplane. Make sure you plug the 50 pin connector on the correct way around. The backplane will need power from the power supply. The backplane unit will probably auto-terminate as well.

I never used a Sparcstation 5. I think the disks would have slotted in and out of the backplane on rails for easy replacement. I would imagine if it was thrown in a skip though, the hard drives might be damaged and unusable. I have had one of these working on an Amiga 2000 before, although as an external unit.

 

[dougal]

The hard drives look in good condition. The cable is similar to the one you showed me, its got one end which is a 50 pin connector and then two 68pin plugs, one says P1 and the other P3 which looks like written with a marker. The P1 was plugged in.

I tried it on the A2000, did not try the jumpers. The result is either the lights of the HDD stay on throughout, or else with different configuration like changing the hard disks round (top and bottom switched) and the light goes on and then out. When i tried HDToolbox it lights the disk lights and then they go out and make a sound but not detected.

 

[salaxi54]

It appears you got yourself a rather 'nasty' SCSI drive, meaning that this WC model is dependant on the host computer for setup parameters.
What this means, is that you cannot set termination by means of a jumper. This is very important if you have no other drive plugged on the same cable.
Whichever SCSI device is last on the cable should be terminated. Unfortunately this means that you need to plug something else, like a CDROM or streamer for example that has the termination jumpers. Luckilly, you can at least set the device ID from J6 jumper set.
This manual might come in handy: http://www.seagate.com/staticfiles/support/disc/iguides/scsi/h1lpwgde.pdf
I'm not sure if there's a software means of enabling termination through the Amiga OS. Good luck!