Re: For the hardware guys...

[Adam Williams <awilliam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>>Things like CD-ROM drives should never be on the same bus as hard 
drives
>>anyway. Why some OEMs do this by default is mind boggling.  A "slower"
>>device can slow down all devices on it's bus, even when it isn't 
running.
>>If a IDE device doesn't understand a setting or a faster mode, it can
>>stop the other device on the bus from using it either (rather like 
putting
>>8 but devices on a 16 bit SCSI bus).  IDE was designed to be cheap and 
is
>>thus a very "stupid" technology.
>  So I've learned. In the Windows world it must use just the system 
defaults. I
>had the CD-ROM on the same bus so the CD-R could reside on the other 
one. CD-R
>& CD-ROM on the same bus is NOT a good idea..... A ggod way to make 
frizbies!

Nothing to stop you from putting in a third IDE bus.  Linux supports 
four,
and I've been told the kernel can be tweaked to support sixteen.

>So the obvious answer when I turn up the bus, the CD-ROM couldn't handle 
it.

Yep.

>>Most of that presentation has to do with diddling kernel parameters to
>>make
>>things more efficient for your app mix.  You REALLY need to backup 
first,
>>a lot
>>of settings that will make your machine faster will also make you more
>>vulnerable to unexpected resets/power outages causing file system 
damage
>>(your machine acts more like a commercial UNIX system).  This is mainly
>>due
>>to the fact that Linux is tuned for the low end machine,  most PC's 
sold
>>today
>>or in the recent past don't qualify as "low-end".
>Yup. I plan to have a FULL backup before I go tweaking it.
>>Your going to hate the new generation of PC's then (iPaq, etc...) 
they're
>>is no hardware to diddle with.
>I hear ya..... No more toys to play with! <G>

I wonder how the case/mobo/do-it-yourself market is doing given the
brutal price wars.  I always have nightwares of them drying up.

>>I bought a SCSI tape drive for $83 on onsale.com.  I had a ftape drive,
>>they are so slow and unreliable I'd pitch the thing unless you want to 
do
>>it as an experiment (plus the tapes are too bloddy expensive).
>Eh, I already own it and have the external controller for it to squeeze 
some
>more speed out of it..... Not a bad deal on that SCSI drive.... I 
noticed a
>SCSI based TR-4 drive in a national magazine ad.... Just might grab it. 
Not too
>expensive and I'm sure it's got to be faster! I'd love a DDS-3 drive 
liek at
>work, but no funds to afford that! <G>

How much to TR-4 tapes cost.  DAT tapes for my drive cost $4.99, tapes 
for my
floppy tape cost $19~23.  Don't overlook the long term cost of tapes,  a 
more
expensive drive that uses cheaper tapes is actually less expensive.  

What ever happened to IDE tape drives?  I saw them around for awhile but 
haven't
seen one lately.