Really need some proper info on this HP scsi drive (soon if possible)

[Luke T_1]

Is there certain SCSI hard drives (modern style) like u320 and 15k that are incompatible with all other systems except the company designed ones ?

I'm interested in this:
HP 36.4GB SCSI Hot Plug Hard Disk Drive
15000 RPM
WIDE ULTRA320 SCSI
Model NO: BF03685A35

Can I get this to run on my desktop SCSI setup ? I know it's an SCA drive.

I heard Compaq only uses Seagate drives, can anyone verify this ?

The seller is claiming someone told him these use a different power than is standard for some reason.

Very confusing because of how little info there is on the web about these - mainly just prices.

Thanks again for any tips.

Heres a link that might help in verification.
http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/q.../11531_na.HTML

[sandeep_raman]

Hello Luke,

Well,scsi hot plug disks requires a drive cage and a scsi backplane and also a controller thats capable of handling the U320 disk.

I'm not too sure if the same setup is available in a Desktop.

The link is not working. http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/q.../11531_na.HTML

See if the attached pdf is of use.

SRH

[Luke T_1]

Thankyou for the reply!

I'll relink that, sorry.

I realise i'll need adapters or hotplug backplane to set this up as well as a u320 controller. I guess I was more worried about incompatible firmware (since it's Compaq). I know (at least i'm pretty sure) it's a Seagate manufactured drive with Compaq firmware.

I can't imagine their making their drives incompatible with anything but their own systems though.

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/11531_na/11531_na.HTML

[sandeep_raman]

I quite did'nt understand when you say
"I was more worried about incompatible firmware".

Are you saying that Hp/Cpq firmware will not work or the Seagate firmware would'nt?

SRH

[Luke T_1]

I'm no expert on SCSI or hardware. All i've heard is that while these may be Seagate manufactured hard drives, they have Compaq or HP firmware. Is it possible that firmware will only allow the drive to be run with certain controllers/system hardware ? If the answer is no then I suppose I have nothing to worry about.

[Luke T_1]

Are all SCSI drives compatible with all SCSI controllers ? I'm talking u160 or greater (modern) devices.

[sandeep_raman · Accepted solution]

Afaik, firmwares are released if there is a issue with the disk like timeout or read-write errors.
I don't think it has a impact on the controller.

Well,if the controller is capable of handling the disk(U160/U320) it should work.

If you feel the responses were of help,
http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/helptips.do?#34

SRH

[Aaron Blosser]

I've successfully used HP branded SCSI hard drives on other desktop (non HP/Compaq) systems with no problems.

Of course unless your controller has an SCA cable or something, you'll need an SCA (80-pin) to 68-pin + power converter. Those are available at alot of different places online (just search for "SCA 80 converter" or something to that effect).

I've also taken newer HP drives and installed them into the older style Compaq hot-plug drive carriers. Sure, those OOOLD Compaq storage array (like the U1/U2/F1/F2) are Ultra2 or something, but the drives still work, just a lot slower than they would at Ultra320. :)

I once even took an old Smart Array Controller 2P and installed that in a desktop system, hooked up 4 hot-plug HP drives (using SCA converters) in a big tower case, and it worked pretty decent, except the SCA converters were sometimes a bit wobbly in there.

Just remember that an HP drive backplane has termination on it, so if you're using the drives standalone with converters, use a terminator on your SCSI chain.