Problem with Yamaha CRW2100S and Adaptec 2940UW/29160N

[RiP]

My Yamaha CRW2100S works fine with A2000-GVP HC+8 but doesn't work with PC Windows at all.
Windows detects it but as soon as it boots, the drive crashes/hangs even when there's no disc in it.
Other SCSI devices work fine on both though. I have searched a lot but found nothing since it's old problem

[Pat the Cat]

Drive probably needs assumes it is never going to be plugged into anything faster than 10MB single ended SCSI controller. If it is, it just can't "talk" that fast.

Controller probably assumes all devices can talk in UW mode (40MB/S) single ended mode..

One or both need a firmware update, I would blame the drive more than the controller but have always found Adaptec cards to be "fussy". As in Adaptec always assumed their faster controllers would only be used in severs, not user machines...

... Anyway, check the drive's firmware. Most shipped with 1.0h. Yamaha did release several updates, including a 1.0n. That might resolve the issue, as several people noticed the drive, while generally compatible, ran at its own speed, frequently slowing down. Possibly because of the internal IDE/SCSI bridge, which meant it was always slightly slower than it's ATAPI stablemates.

[paul1981]

I wonder if Windows is loading the wrong driver for it. Might be worth while going into safe mode or something and investigating from there. Other than that is there any settings on the adapter either jumpers or through it's bios (if it has one)?

[Pat the Cat]

No, drive is flagged as incompabible with fast 40-160MB Adaptec controllers, as well as fast Amiga controllers to a certain extent. Windows not problem.

Firmware change may cure or kill the drive. Always risky when you cannot backup the firmware currently in it first.

[RiP]

Drive probably needs assumes it is never going to be plugged into anything faster than 10MB single ended SCSI controller. If it is, it just can't "talk" that fast.

Controller probably assumes all devices can talk in UW mode (40MB/S) single ended mode..

One or both need a firmware update, I would blame the drive more than the controller but have always found Adaptec cards to be "fussy". As in Adaptec always assumed their faster controllers would only be used in severs, not user machines...

... Anyway, check the drive's firmware. Most shipped with 1.0h. Yamaha did release several updates, including a 1.0n. That might resolve the issue, as several people noticed the drive, while generally compatible, ran at its own speed, frequently slowing down. Possibly because of the internal IDE/SCSI bridge, which meant it was always slightly slower than it's ATAPI stablemates.

CRW2100S is SCSI-3. I disabled Wide Negotiation in Adaptec BIOS or set Async but no luck. The firmware is 1.0N too.

I wonder if Windows is loading the wrong driver for it. Might be worth while going into safe mode or something and investigating from there. Other than that is there any settings on the adapter either jumpers or through it's bios (if it has one)?

No, I have installed my driver from Adaptec site, tried both Windows 7 x86/10 x64 too.

No, drive is flagged as incompabible with fast 40-160MB Adaptec controllers, as well as fast Amiga controllers to a certain extent. Windows not problem.

Firmware change may cure or kill the drive. Always risky when you cannot backup the firmware currently in it first.

But my older NEC 4X CDROM works well!


Won't Adaptec 2915LP help? :confused:

[Pat the Cat]

CRW2100S is SCSI-3...


Won't Adaptec 2915LP help? :confused:

It's a problem with 40 MB/S SCSI controllers and the drive. If you use a slower controller, it works fine. There are only about 5 CD drives flagged as not working Adaptec 40-160 range SCSI controllers, and that particular model is one of them.

I'm going to have to assume it just doesn't like any faster SCSI controllers, and it's just down to the way the drive was built by Yamaha. Perhaps it is something simple like a jumper but it doesn't look good the way Adaptec flag it as incompatible with their faster cards.

SCSI-3 Fast and wide isn't Ultra. You would think all "SCSI-3" drives would be OK with Ultra controllers, but the fact is, some aren't. It's not like they could be tested with a future specification when they were built, and some items can't take the future standards.

If you got a nice SCSI controller, you don't want to strangle it and everything else on that SCSI bus with a slow unit. It defeats the object of having a nice controller at all. So it could be a blessing in disguise. The Yamaha 2100S is reported as not being able to copy from a unit playing at faster than X4, so it's not really that capable a device, as SCSI writers go, and as for a X4 drive on a SCSI bus... er... not quite the way I would do things.

[RiP]

Thanks, then I'll buy Adaptec 2915LP which is 20MB/s and hope it helps...

http://storage.microsemi.com/ja-jp/support/scsi/ultrascsi/ava-2915lp/

[Pat the Cat]

Should work well as well as the Amiga ever did - keep your opticals on the old slowc chain and your fast hard disks on the 40-160 fast chain.

I figure, because you have been copying from a very slow drive (X4) that has helped preserve the Yamaha. May they both serve you well in future.

[RiP]

Unfortunately, 2915LP didn't help too

[RiP]

Got an AdvanSys SCSI card and it works well with Yamaha, not sure what's wrong with Adaptec :confused: