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From: "John S. Dyson" <toor@dyson.iquest.net>
Message-Id: <199609020253.VAA00338@dyson.iquest.net>
Subject: Re: strange error with WD family disk
To: hlew@sequence.Stanford.EDU (Howard Lew)
Date: Sun, 1 Sep 1996 21:53:07 -0500 (EST)
Cc: dyson@freebsd.org, igor@cs.ibank.ru, freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
In-Reply-To: <Pine.SUN.3.91.960901142632.4000B-100000@vegemite.Stanford.EDU> from "Howard Lew" at Sep 1, 96 02:32:09 pm
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> 
> Hmm...  I checked their web site and I guess you were right... very odd
> problem... I wonder why it affects Asus motherboards and whether or not
> other hard disks brands also have this problem. 
>
It is a BIOS timing issue associated with the specific type of
Award BIOS used on the MB.  (I guess.)  It exersizes a bug in
the drive :-(.

> 
> I have several Western Digital drives here that according to the program I
> do not need to overlay it.  I wonder if that means the drives are not
> susceptible to that kind of problem or is it because do not overlay unless
> an Asus MB is used.  I wonder what the criteria is...
> 
It is a drive firmware rev issue there.

John