Katana kit arrived with damage

I have been powering up the Katana, walking away for a while and then booting the PC as have been busily doing other things. No SCSI terminators. I was reliably informed that they were not necessary.

The only thing that comes up as the PC boots is <<CTRL+A to configure SCSI settings>> and the name of the card (Adaptec 2940U)

If I removed the Katana HDD and stuck it into my Win2k PC as a secondary HDD, what would the PC find? Anything of interest or can it not be read?

The next stage is stripping the Katana right down and checking all the connections and IC are ok.

Other than that, it looks increasingly like a paperweight!

 

Yes, if you received the ribbon cable with the card, then you can plug the HD right into it and view the files (it's a FAT-based file system). If you go that route, be sure to run a file recovery application to see if there's anything on the disk that could be saved.

Do you have a multimeter to check that the power supply is outputting the correct amperage / voltage to the molex connectors? The power supply was the first thing I was going to recommend if you were seeing the DA device on SCSI 3. If you have active SCSI terminators that you can use, they're a good indication that the unit isn't receiving sufficient power (the lights won't illuminate if it isn't).

The airflow inside of the unit is terrible and I'm pretty sure that's why there have been so many issues with the power supplies.

 

PSU tested as outputting correctly. That was the first thing I thought of. Actually, the unit has been poured over by two very highly qualified technicians. Both of whom I have a great deal of respect for. Neither of them could find an 'electrical' reason for the unit not functioning properly.

Any recommendations as to the most suitable recovery app?

One thing I was going to mention is that due to the piss poor Internet connection speed, Win2k has not been updated or any service pack applied to it. Would this perhaps have any baring on the outcome?

I also don't think that device manager, although accepting and stating that the SCSI card is an Adaptec, that it is entirely happy with the drivers I installed.

 

When you went to install the drivers through Adaptec's driver installation program: link, did you select the 2940AU as the card you're using? Did the EXE extract files to a folder? You may want to manually navigate to the folder containing the specific driver.

The service packs shouldn't be a problem as developers were most likely using the Katana kits with versions of Windows 2000 that had yet to have them installed, but you can try.

Also, have you installed the ASPI drivers? link.

ASSEMbler posted a thread where he tried to recover data from a few hard drives. Some good file recovery recommendations were made there. I'll see if I can find the thread.

Edit: here's the thread mentioned above: link

 

Yeah, I installed the ASPI drivers (sorry, it's just gone 4:20am here and I think I just called them APSI drivers earlier on... I need to rest!)

They were accepted no problem.

I selected the particular drivers in question, I even tried taking them out of the folder and manually dropping them into the correct drivers folder in System32. The only thing I haven't attempted it sticking the files onto floppy disc and trying it that way, although I cannot see for the life of me what difference that would make.

I initially missed the U folder and tried installing 2930U drivers thinking that was my closest bet....nope! lol

I then went back in again and selected the U folder and appropriate driver. Once I wake up tomorrow I'll check precisely which one!

However, right now I am going to bed. It's way too late for my brain to contemplate this stuff.

Thanks for all your assistance ! ;-)

 

SCSI terminator is the key component, I didn't see it mentioned in your 'list of things', Parris.

 

Ahhhhhh, okay, I don't think I have one here. Back to the drawing board. If you go back 5 posts I did mention I had no SCSI termination and asked whether it was necessary, so that answers that one!

Thanks for confirming at last 1 of my suspicions.

 

Terminate your SCSI chain and all will be well with the world

 

I presume this is what I am looking for:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SCSI-II-50-Pin-HP-D-Sub-Male-Passive-Terminator_W0QQitemZ250223207599QQihZ015QQcategoryZ31494QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQ_trksidZp1638.m118.l1247QQcmdZViewItem

Just not at the BIN price! ;-)

 

Yep thats the kiddie!

 

No, you don't need two SCSI terminators for the Katana DA and Katana GD-M devices to show up in the list, acknowledging that the unit is working. Instead of seeing ID numbers assigned to each device (three and four respectively), you should see "LUN" when it's not terminated. You can even view the contents of the hard drive in this state. I'd recommend terminating the unit before attempting to flash firmware, etc, but you don't need the SCSI terminators to determine if the hardware is being acknowledged.

That isn't the SCSI terminator you would use. The manual recommends two active SCSI terminators. The ones you linked to are passive. ;-)

This is the active terminator I recommend (SUN brand): link, but again, if you aren't already seeing the two devices at boot, this won't change anything (except your running total. :icon_bigg).

 

So no further forward then? Pooh! Given the amount of time, effort and the rising cost of getting this thing going it's not looking good. I'll try looking at the HDD however, see whether anything is on it.

 

I know when I recived mine. I had to try with two differesnt SCSI cards before I finally got the computer to detect it.

 

Babu, do you remember what makes / models those SCSI host adapters were? It'd be good to start compiling a list of working / incompatible SCSI host adapters going.

 

It's not looking good at this end. I've had to clear everything off my desk as I have other (job related) work to do and the desk had disappeared under a pile of bits. One of my daughter's friends caught a glimpse of the set-up on Friday night and dead pan asked 'My God, are you in the secret service or something...' - yeah, called me Bond....Brooke Bond!

Back again when I have finished off the work in a couple of days time. :thumbsup:

If in the meantime anyone has any suggestions. Oh, and also, I noticed Babu saying 'I had to try a couple of different SCSI cards before I got one to work', does that also include it being 'seen' by the PC?

Mine is definately registering with the PC. It gives me SCSI set-up options on BOOT, plus in device manager it appears to be happy, it knows who / what it is, however the various drivers I have attempted give various indications that they might not be as suitable as I'd have hoped. The specific drivers mentioned to use are not being displayed in device manager under 'drivers'.

I know from previous experience setting up the Raptor EMU card for the Xbox that having 1 missing driver can send you off course for a long time!

Can anyone confirm whether the Adaptec 2940U is supposed to light the red LED when it is inserted, or does that only happen when you strike the correct drivers, or is it to indicate that the HDD is attached internally?

Just like to hear what people found 'in practice' rather than what Adaptec say as sometimes the reality is different when setting up a specific set up. Over to you...

 

Apologies, yes it must be an active terminator!

 

No worries!

 

The problem shouldn't be drivers. I only have experience with the Adaptec 2940 series, so I'm not sure if the post POST initializtion is a feature only found with Adaptec cards, but because it boots before Windows, you should know whether the card is working with the Katana without having to install any.

I'll check the manual when I get a chance to see what the LED is supposed to mean.

 

Just top help: My Adaptec 2940U always have the red LED ON, and works well, plugged into a dvd-drive, I don't have a katana as of now =-(

---> BUT I never managed to make it works on Windows XP, in fact my XP computer wouldn't even boot to windows with this card plugged in. It works fine on Windows 98SE btw.

FG

 

Thanks for that. I've running Win2k on this PC linked to the Katana. Interesting to hear the LED is always on. Another dead SCSI board? That would make 2 thus far that I've had, however Babu did suggest a similar fate!