[Geoman]

So Crimson's 50-pin-scsi-disk died on me (one of IBM deathstars). I put an 18GB Quantum SCA 80pin drive into the machine via adapter and got massive, not disk-associated errors trying to invoke fx. First I thought there were problems with the external SCSI-CROM. Then I downgraded to a 4gb Disk SCA-disk, with then having no errors.

Are the older machines somehow limited for disk-size? 

And here for later reference:

Code:

boot -f dksc(X,Y,8)sashIP17 dksc(X,Y,7)stand/fx.IP17 --x

this was the only variation that worked for me using an original 5.3 media ....

[jan-jaap]

IIRC I once tried to install a Cheetah 15K.3 or 15K.4 in a Crimson and that didn't work either. SCA model with an adapter.
I don't think it's a size problem. It may have to do with the way the adapter terminates 8 of the 16 data bits of a wide-SCSI bus, or maybe there IO board is simply not completely standards compliant.

My Crimson has a 'real' 50pin 18GB Seagate harddisk. They were already hard to find / expensive 10 years ago, I imagine a working one is proper unobtanium these days.

[robespierre]

via adapter

This detail can't pass so silently. What adapter? Was it tested to work before, with what drives and computer?

Miscellaneous passive boards to convert different SCSI connector types seem like they would be impossible to get wrong, but most of them were produced without any understanding and are not wired correctly, especially when it comes to the DIFFSENSE line. Ian Mapleson noticed this decades ago.

[jan-jaap]

FWIW: I've had no trouble at all using the same SCA-to-narrow adapters in Indys, Indigo2, Indigo, external enclosures...  Once upon a time I bought a batch of at least a dozen of these things so I'm using exactly the same adapter everywhere. Of course, in theory at least, there could be a flaw in them that only trips up the Crimson.

[Geoman]

Yes - that seems to be the problem: the adapter tested good on Indy and Indigo2 - but it produces errors in Crimson. I‘m going to try an ancient 4gb 80pin SCA Drive later this evening in Crimson, the newer 4gb IBM+Adapter gives me a “no room in volume header for sash” error during install.

[Geoman]

Yes, a DCHS works. A newer DDRS-34560 produces errors. So it is not only the adapter, but also interface of the harddisk.

[vishnu]

August 1997 date stamp, only 25 years old, do you know if it was used previously or is new/old stock? For what it's worth, I've got a 1991 IDE disk in my same year Pentium 90 that still works...

[Geoman]

August 1997 date stamp, only 25 years old, do you know if it was used previously or is new/old stock? For what it's worth, I've got a 1991 IDE disk in my same year Pentium 90 that still works...

This Harddrive was originally shipped with an Octane/SI, which I have upgraded to SI-T and newer Harddisk.
This IBM-HDD is running quite silent, and has a scorpion-logo on its PCB on the back. I find therse quite robust in comparison to the later models. There are many 68 and 80pin variants on ebay, which appareantly work with older SGI machines like Crimson with the cheap chinese SCA-to-50PIN adapters.