Booting SCSI drive when ID is not 0

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From - Fri Apr  9 06:00:34 1999
Xref: world comp.unix.sco.misc:93688
Newsgroups: comp.unix.sco.misc
Path: world!newsswitch.lcs.mit.edu!howland.erols.net!outgoing.news.rcn.net.MISMATCH!feed1.news.rcn.net!rcn!news.magicnet.net!bilver.magicnet.net!bill
From: bill@bilver.magicnet.netREMOVETHIS (Bill Vermillion)
Subject: Re: Installation problems ("free" UW 701)
Organization: W.J.Vermillion - Orlando / Winter Park FL
Message-ID: <F9wDoy.1Lpy@bilver.magicnet.netREMOVETHIS> 
References: <btFO2.56668$Eb.10583@nnrp2.clara.net> <370B2A34.FB493C86@pfxcorp.com> <XiGO2.56689$Eb.10534@nnrp2.clara.net> <370C101B.4CE896CC@pfxcorp.com> 
Date: Fri, 9 Apr 1999 01:05:22 GMT
Lines: 65
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In article <370C101B.4CE896CC@pfxcorp.com>, Gary R. Schmidt
<grs@pfxcorp.com> wrote:

>Herv� PARISSI wrote:
>
>> Gary R. Schmidt <grs@pfxcorp.com> a �crit dans le message : > >
>> Interesting, stuff usually only installs to the primary-master
>> IDE or a SCSI ID of 0.

>> Well that's what is called a "misfeature" (another M$ invention I
>> suppose) As far as I now, this a _feature_ of the BIOS, so blame
>> IBM.

And it's also an urban legended, only true if you have a totally
weirdo SCSI card.

You can boot SCO from almost any SCSI ID you wish.  Many of the
modern controllers have a setting to specify the boot drive,
however that's not a major limitation if you have something
as recent as an Adpatec 1542C (I've never tried from others).

If you try to install on another drive - say 1 for example -
and it is the first drive found in the system - and you don't
change the boot command on install, you will have problems.

The first drive seen is the boot drive.  So if you had
an HD (removeable perhaps) at ID0, another at ID1, and a Zip at
ID6, the systsem would try to boot from ID1.

However the OS 'thinks' it is drive 0.  At the install time
used the defbootstr option to set   Sdsk  to you adaptor
code (blc,ad,??) followed by the parameters in the form
of (0,0,0,0), which give the adator card number, the scsi bus, the
SCSI id, and the LUN.

Once you do that, anytime this drive appears as the first drive, it
will be used for boot.

On SCSI adpators that do not have the 'boot from drive xx' option,
and using the above caveat that you have something like a 1542c or
newer it's just as easy.

Go into the SCSI card set up and turn Scan for BIOS  OFF for all
devices prior to the drive you wish to boot from.  It's not black
magic, and there is no truth that SCO can ONLY boot from ID0.

I have a removeable HD (with power switch) as HD0.  When I turn
it's power off, the next ID - in this case 1, is listed
as the first hard drive, and ID6 - a zip drive - is listed as the
second hard drive.

If I turn SCAN for BIOS off on 1 and 2. the first drive found is
the ZIP at ID6, and I boot into MSDOS.  (I did it to try, not than
I run from it).

SCSI is far too flexible to be constrained as most people seem to
think it is.

You can boot from any drive that you can make see as the boot
PROVIDING you also supply the Sdsk parameters to boot: during the
initial install phase.  Then you never have to do that again.


-- 
Bill Vermillion   bv @ wjv.com 

Macworld Mac Security Superguide $9.99

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