Seagate Computer Drive 275XE User Guide

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Medalist XE Family  
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275xe, 545xe  
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ATA Interface Drives  
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Installation Guide  
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Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
1
Read before you begin...  
®
Application. Your Seagate drive is designed for NRTL-listed  
personal computers. It uses the ATA interface.  
Warning. Turn off the computer before you open the case, touch  
any internal components or install the drive.  
Static discharge. Your drive and computer contain components  
that can be damaged by static discharge. Static electricity is  
generated from the friction of two contributors rubbing together.  
The charge is stored in your body and is discharged when you  
touch another conductor. Wool, synthetic clothing, carpets and  
plastics, including most bags, are common contributors. Observe  
these precautions to avoid damage from static electricity:  
Ground yourself before handling the drive. Wear a grounded  
wrist strap that is properly connected to earth ground, or touch  
the metal chassis of the computer power supply if it is plugged  
into a grounded outlet.  
Keep the drive in its antistatic bag until you are ready to install  
it. Do not attach any cables to the drive in the antistatic bag.  
Handle the drive gently and only by its edges or frame.  
Do not touchthe drive’sconnectorpins orprintedcircuitboard.  
Drive handling. The drive is extremely fragile—handle it with  
care. Do not remove any labels from the drive.  
Inspection. Hold the drive by the frame edges to inspect it. Call  
your distributorordealerimmediately if itappearsto bedamaged.  
Warranty. See your authorized Seagate distributor or dealer for  
the terms of the drive warranty.  
Note. With regard to the EZ-Drive software, there are no warran-  
ties, express or implied, including, but not implied, warran-  
ties of merchantablity orfitness fora particularpurpose. All  
such warranties are expressly and specifically disclaimed.  
 
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Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
Maintenance and repair. Seagate drives do not require mainte-  
nance. The head/disc assembly is factory-sealed; a broken seal  
voids the warranty. Seagate customer service centers are the  
only facilities authorized to repair Seagate drives. Seagate does  
not sanction any third-party repair facilities.  
Note. Throughout this manual, the Medalist 275xe is referred to  
by its model number, ST3295A, and the Medalist 545xe is  
referred to by its model number, ST3660A.  
ST3660A free installation software  
Files containing the free hard disc installation software and a  
program for extracting them, Seamove, are written on the  
ST3660A drive at the factory. The installation software is a  
version of EZ-Drive for Seagate. It provides a software solution  
for computers using DOS and some BIOS combinations that limit  
the hard disc capacity to 528 Mbytes. It allows the computer to  
access the ST3660A’s entire 544.8 Mbytes. Before you partition  
and format the drive, transfer the EZ-Drive files to a bootable  
diskette. Instructions for transferring the EZ-Drive files are on  
page 11 and in the README.EXE file on the drive.  
Note. The EZ-Drive software is authorized for installation only  
with the drive on which it is shipped.  
Quick software transfer  
Install the ST3660A drive.  
Boot the computer with a diskette that has 300 Kbytes avail-  
able for transferring the files.  
Select drive type 2 for the ST3660A in CMOS.  
Activate the prompt for the ST3660A.  
Type seamove. Seamove transfers the files to the diskette in  
Drive A, erases the drive partition and reboots the computer.  
 
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
3
4-pin  
power connector  
2-pin  
header  
Circuit board  
2
3
4
1
+5V  
+5V return  
+12V return  
+12V  
+
Front  
Drive activity  
LED  
Pin 1  
40-pin  
(optional)  
ATA interface  
connector  
8-pin  
master/slave jumper block  
Spare jumper  
across pin 1 and pin 3  
7
5
3
1
Front  
3-pin  
8
6
4
2
power connector  
(optional)  
The drive is a master;  
the slave is either a  
Medalist family drive or  
another ATA-compatible  
drive, or there is no slave.  
Keyway  
1
2
3
Ground  
+12V  
+5V  
Circuit  
board  
The drive is a master;  
a slave is present, but  
it is not ATA-compatible.  
The drive is a master; a  
slave is present that uses  
only the PDIAG– signal.  
The drive is a slave to an  
ATA-compatible master.  
Cable select  
Figure 1. Jumpers and connectors  
 
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Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
Installing the drive  
1. Turn the computer off.  
Warning. Installing or removing the drive or adapter cards  
while the computer is powered on can damage  
your drive, adapter and computer.  
2. Remove the computer’s cover.  
Caution. Special training or tools may be required to service  
laptop computers. Removing the cover may void  
your warranty. Review the terms and conditions of  
your warranty before removing the cover.  
3. Ground yourself.  
Configuring the drive  
Your ST3295A or ST3660A is configured at the factory for single-  
drive operation. If you are installing two drives, you must recon-  
figure your Seagate drive as either the master or the slave. If you  
install the Seagate drive as youronlydrive butadd a seconddrive  
later, you must reconfigure it as the master or slave at that time.  
1. Remove the drive from its antistatic bag.  
2. Install master/slave jumpers. The master/slave configura-  
tion is set using the jumper block shown in Figure 1 on page  
3. The chart below the jumper block shows how to set the  
jumpers for different configurations. An extra jumper is in-  
cluded with the drive and is attached to pins 1 and 3 of the  
jumper block.  
Installing one drive: No jumper setup is required.  
Installing two drives: Your Seagate drive may be installed  
with another ATA-compatible drive. Your system may use  
either a standard ATA interface cable or the cable-select  
method. The chart in Figure 1 shows the jumper settings for  
the master and slave configurations.  
 
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
5
Attaching cables  
Refer to Figure 1 on page 3 for the locations of the connectors.  
1. Connect the remote LED (optional).  
2. Attach the power cable. Attach one of the cables from the  
power supply to the power connector on the drive.  
Caution. The cable and connector are designed to mate. Do not  
force a connection. Improper alignment may damage  
your drive.  
3. Attach the interface cable. The edge-stripe on the interface  
cable for the drive is used to denote pin 1. The cable length  
must be no longer than 18 inches.  
Caution. Cable misalignment can result in damage to the com-  
puter and the drive. Ribbon cables are delicate—be  
careful not to crimp or strain them.  
Installing one drive with a standard ATA 40-pin interface cable:  
Attach one end of the cable to the drive’s 40-pin ATAinterface  
connector. Align the cable’s edge-stripe with pin 1 of the drive  
shown in Figure 1. Attach the otherend of the cableto the host  
adapter card or to the hard drive connector located on the  
motherboard. Align thecable’sedge-stripewithpin1 (see your  
system user’s guide or host adapter user’s guide).  
Installing two drives with an ATA interface cable:  
You need an interface cable designed for two drives. Attach a  
cable connector to each drive’s 40-pin ATA interface connec-  
tor. Align the cable’s edge-stripe with pin 1 of the drive shown  
in Figure 1. Attach the other end of the cable to the host  
adapter card or to the hard drive connector located on the  
motherboard. Align thecable’sedge-stripewithpin1 (see your  
system user’s guide or host adapter user’s guide). You can  
attach the drives in any order on the cable.  
 
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Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
Installing drives in computers that use cable-select:  
If your computer uses the cable-select method, refer to your  
computer reference guideto determine which cableconnector  
or drive slot denotes the master drive and which the slave.  
Mounting the drive  
Your Seagate drive is designed to fit into a 3.5-inch bay. You can  
mount the drive securely in the computer in any orientation using  
either the side mounting holes or the bottom mounting holes.  
Position the drive so that you do not strain or crimp the cables.  
Your Seagate drive is not shipped with mounting screws. Use the  
screws in the current drive if this drive is a replacement.  
Drives that have an “S” stamped on the frame runner use  
6-32 UNC standard screws.  
Drives that have an “M” stamped on the frame runner use M3  
metric screws.  
Caution. To prevent drive mounting hole damage, use only the  
appropriate type of screws as specified. Tighten them  
gently using no more than 6 inch-lb of torque.  
Bottom mounting holes. Insert four mounting screws not more  
than 0.20 inches (6 full turns) into the drive frame.  
Sidemountingholes. Insert fourmountingscrewsnotmore than  
0.13 inches (4 full turns) into the drive frame.  
5.25-inch drive bay. You can mount your drive in a 5.25-inch  
drive bay with a Seagate 5.25-inch frame kit. Contact your dealer  
for the frame kit you need.  
 
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
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Configuring the computer  
Your computer maintains records representing the hardware in  
thesystem.Thisrepresentationincludesthe translationgeometry  
that is used by the BIOS to map the drive surface and that is  
stored in CMOS memory. During the boot cycle, a test is run  
comparing the record to the hardware. When you install a new  
drive, you must update this record to include a representation of  
the new drive. This is done in your computer’s System Setup.  
This section tells you how to configure your computer. It also  
discusses drive capacity limitations imposed by some computers  
and available solutions. If you are installing a ST3295A, go to the  
“Standard installation” section on page 8.  
528-Mbyte system-capacity limit  
Computers using DOS and some BIOS impose a 528-Mbyte  
capacity limit on ATA hard discs. This occurs because the BIOS  
is designed to use up to 1,024 cylinders in the translation geome-  
try for mapping the data surface of the drive. The ST3660A has  
1,057 cylinders. If your computer’s BIOS limits the drive capacity  
to 528 Mbytes, you have several options for installing the drive.  
Install the drive using the standard installation procedure on  
page 8. This assures you the maximum capacity allowed by  
your computer.  
Use a host adapter that supports more than 528 Mbytes.  
Upgrade the BIOS to one that uses logical block addressing  
(LBA) or an extended cylinder-head-sector (ECHS) address-  
ing scheme that allows for more than 528 Mbytes.  
Use the hard disc installation software, EZ-Drive, included on  
your ST3660A drive. Instructions for extracting the software  
are on page 11. Instructions for using EZ-Drive start on page  
12. (Only ST3660A drives with part number 958002-4xx are  
shipped with EZ-Drive.)  
 
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Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
Standard installation  
1. Turn the computer on.  
2. Enter the System Setup routine. (Refer to your computer  
user’s guide. System Setup may be called Setup, BIOS Setup  
or CMOS Setup.) If your computer uses an automatic setup  
utility, see the caution below.  
3. Find the hard disc configuration in the System Setup screen.  
4. Selectadrive type thatmatchesthe drivetranslation geometry  
for your drive as shown in the following table.  
Translation geometry  
CMOS  
CHKDSK  
Mbytes  
Model  
(Setup)  
Mbytes  
Sectors  
per track  
Cyl  
Heads  
ST3295A  
ST3660A*  
ST3660A**  
272.7  
545.5  
528.5  
761  
1057  
1024  
14  
16  
16  
50  
63  
63  
260  
520  
504  
*
Use this translation geometry if you know your computer  
can accept more than 1,024 cylinders.  
** Use this translation geometry if you are not sure your  
computer can accept more than 1,024 cylinders.  
Note. CHKDSK and CMOS capacities are approximations.  
The capacities your computer reports may vary slightly.  
Caution. If your computer is capable of automatic System  
Setup, it may read the total number of physical  
cylinders into the translation geometry chart in  
System Setup. If your system does not acknow-  
ledge more than 1,024 cylinders, it may overwrap  
the initial cylinders in its representation. This re-  
duces the effective drive capacity to only the over-  
wrapped cylinders. The effective cylinder count is  
 
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
9
1,057 – 1,024 = 33, or 17.3 Mbytes. To avoid this  
problem, configure your System Setup manually.  
If none of the standard drive types offered in System Setup  
match the translation geometry of your Seagate drive, select  
the user-defined or custom drive type, if available, and enter  
your drive’s translation geometry.  
If your System Setup routine does not offer a user-defined  
drive type, select a standard drive type with a capacity that  
approximates, but does not exceed, the capacity listed in the  
table on page 8 under CMOS (Setup) Mbytes.  
If System Setup does not list the drive types it supports, you  
can get assistance choosing an appropriate drive type by  
downloading the FindType utility from the Seagate Sea-  
BOARD bulletin board (see page 25).  
The drive does not use write precomp and landing zone. If  
these parameters are listed, make their value zero.  
If you upgrade your system at a later date to achieve the  
drive’sfullcapacity, youmust repartition and reformat thedisc.  
Be sure to save your data first.  
5. When you havecompletedsetting the translationgeometry for  
your drive, save the values and exit System Setup. Reboot  
your computer. Refer to your user’s guide for assistance on  
saving your changes.  
Partitioning and formatting the drive  
Before you can use your Seagate drive, you must partition and  
format it. In this guide we discuss partitioning and formatting your  
drive with DOS; have your DOS user’s guide available for refer-  
ence. If you are using another operating system, consult your  
operating system user’s guide for formatting instructions.  
Low-level formatting  
Your drive is low-level formatted at the factory to 512 bytes per  
sector. Low-level formatting is not required.  
 
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Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
Partitioning  
You must partition the drive into one or more logical drives before  
you can use it.  
Caution. Partitioning or formatting a drive at any level erases all  
data on it. Before you repartition or reformat your drive,  
make a backup of your existing files on another disc or  
media. Seagate assumes no liability if you erase your  
data.  
You can partition a drive as follows:  
1. Insert a bootable DOS diskette and boot the computer.  
2. At the prompt, type fdisk. Press ENTER to run the FDISKutility.  
3. Selectcreate DOS partitionorlogical DOS drive. Press ENTER.  
If there are two drives on your system, make sure your  
selection is for the correct drive.  
4. Select create primary DOS partition. Use the maximum avail-  
able size for your primary partition and make the partition  
active. This puts the entire drive on one partition and allows  
the computer to boot (load DOS) from the partition. Press  
ENTER after every selection.  
After you make all the appropriate selections, the computer  
automatically reboots itself.  
High-level formatting  
High-level formatting verifies the information written by the low-  
level format and builds the file allocation table (FAT) that DOS  
uses to access filesonthe drive. If you put more than one partition  
on the drive, you must high-level format each partition. Refer to  
your DOS reference guide forinstruction. Use the DOS FORMAT  
utility to high-level format the drive as follows:  
1. Type the following command at the DOS prompt:  
format drive: /v /s  
 
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
11  
drive: designates the drive you are formatting. Type c: if you  
are formatting the boot drive or if your system contains only  
one drive. Type d: to format a second drive.  
/v tells the computer you want to label the drive after it is  
formatted. Labeling the drive can prevent someone from ac-  
cidentally deleting the partition and losing your data.  
/s tells the computer to make the drive bootable and copy the  
necessary system files to the drive.  
2. When the computer prompts you for a volume label, type any  
valid name you want to designate the partition.  
Transferring and using the installation  
software  
Before you partition and format the drive, you must transfer the  
hard disc installation files on the drive to a bootable diskette in  
Drive A. The diskette must have 300 Kbytes available. To create  
a bootable diskette:  
1. Put your DOS diskette into Drive A.  
2. Type format a:/s.  
The drive will read the DOS diskette and ask you to insert the  
diskette you want to format into Drive A.  
3. Insert the blank diskette. Press ENTER. When the format is  
complete, you can transfer the installation software files to the  
diskette.  
Transferring the installation software  
1. Boot the computer with the diskette to which you want to  
transfer the installation software files.  
2. Enter the System Setup routine. (Refer to your computer  
user’s guide. System Setup may be called Setup, BIOS Setup  
or CMOS Setup.) If your computer uses an automatic setup  
system, go to step 5.  
3. Find the hard disc configuration in the System Setup screen.  
 
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Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
4. Select drive type 2 for your new ST3660A. If your computer  
does not offer drive type 2, use the following values: 615  
cylinders, 4 heads and 17 sectors.  
Note. These are interim drive type values that allow you to  
access the drive for extracting the installation files.  
5. Activate the prompt for the ST3660A drive.  
6. Type seamove.  
This command transfers the files from the ST3660A to the  
diskette in Drive A. When the transfer is complete, the filesare  
erased, the drive partition is removed and the computer is  
rebooted. The computer returns an invalid drive specification  
error when you try to access the ST3660A.  
This completes the file extraction.  
Using the installation software  
The EZ-Drive installation software allows your computer to ac-  
cess the ST3660A’s full 545 Mbytes. It works by bypassing the  
BIOS during the boot sequence and using information it creates  
on Drive C to identify the drive prior to loading DOS. During the  
installation, EZ-Drive:  
Determines how many drives are installed  
Sets the drive type in System Setup so that the computer  
knows the drive is available  
Modifies the Drive C boot record with the new drive’s transla-  
tion geometry  
Partitions and formats the new drive  
Copies the boot files to the new drive if it is Drive C  
Enables Maximum Overdrive on drives that use this feature.  
Maximum Overdrive enables the read/write multiple com-  
mand, enhancing performance. The Change Installed Fea-  
tures option that appears in the dialog box when the format is  
complete allows you to disable Maximum Overdrive.  
 
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
13  
EZ-Drive iseasy andsafeto use andversatile.If you alreadyhave  
a drive installed, EZ-Drive will not alter its format and files unless  
youinstruct it to overridethe partitionand format. You can choose  
a fully automatic installation that establishes one partition and  
quick formats the drive or a custom installation that lets you set  
multiple partitions of equal size (see page 15 for instruction on  
creating multiple partitions of unequal size). You can choose a  
full format and other options.  
Note. You must have DOS 4.0 or later to use EZ-Drive. It works  
in most computers but does not support:  
Toshiba laptops, XT or Micro Channel computers  
Some Local Bus adapters that use 32-bit mode  
Some systems that have PIO mode 3 active  
OS/2 and NT above 528 Mbytes  
Caution. Because EZ-Drive uses about 4 Kbytes of conven-  
tional memory, some older virus-detection programs  
may misidentify EZ-Drive as a virus. If all 640 Kbytes  
of conventional memory are not free when these virus  
programs inspect conventional memory, they assume  
a virus is present and clean and restore the memory.  
If this happens, information about the EZ-Drive in-  
stalled drive is destroyed and the drive cannot be  
identified by the computer. Do not use these programs.  
Note. The Seagate versionof EZ-Drive cannotinstall a non-Sea-  
gate drive without a Seagate drive present.  
1. Boot your computer with the EZ-Drive diskette. This is a  
precaution to ensure that the EZ-Drive installation does not  
conflict with any terminate-and-stay resident (TSR) programs  
that may be in memory.  
Caution. Do not write protect the EZ-Drive diskette. The system  
must write important information back to the diskette.  
 
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Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
2. Type ez.  
3. Disregard the Notice dialog box. The EZ-Drive software is  
authorized for installation only with the drive on which it is  
shipped. Press ENTER to continue.  
4. Locate the bottom box on the screen. The model number of  
each drive EZ-Drive identifies is listed in this box. If a drive is  
missingorthe orderisincorrect orthere is a drivenotidentified  
message, make sure the master and slave jumpers are set  
correctly on the drives and the cablesare properly connected.  
Caution. Turn off your computer before resetting the jump-  
ers or removing the cables.  
5. If the drives are correctly identified, choose Select Fully Auto-  
matic Installation in the top box.  
Note. Additional information about EZ-Drive is offered in the  
Installation Helpoption. Installation andtroubleshooting  
information is available there also.  
If you are installing the drive as Drive C, EZ-Drive automat-  
ically writes the system files to the drive to make it bootable.  
6. When the format is complete, EZ-Drive presents an options  
dialog box. Select and read the Important Information option.  
This instruction tells you how to boot from a floppy and still  
retain the use of the EZ-Drive installed drive.  
7. Select Reboot to reboot the computer and to save the instal-  
lation. Remove the EZ-Drive diskette and put it away. It  
contains information about the drive setup. The computer  
should boot to the C: prompt.  
Toward the end of the boot sequence, your screen should  
display a prompt for booting with a diskette followed quickly  
bythe Micro Housebannerandthe C:prompt. If theinstruction  
and the banner fail to appear, your computer has not found  
the EZ-Drive installed drive.  
 
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
15  
Booting with a diskette after EZ-Drive is installed  
To boot your computer with a diskette:  
1. Boot the computer with the diskette-drive door open.  
2. Press the CTRL key when the followingmessage appears near  
the end of the boot sequence:  
Hold the CTRL key down to boot from a floppy  
3. Insert the boot diskette. The computer boots to the diskette  
drive.  
Installing multiple partitions  
The custom installation option in the installation menu allows you  
to create up to ninepartitions of equal size on the drive. To create  
partitions of unequal size on your EZ-Drive installed drive, use  
the FDISK and format commands on a DOS diskette. Refer to  
your DOS manual if you need assistance deleting, creating and  
formatting partitions. This instruction assumes you have already  
installed the drive with EZ-Drive.  
1. Boot your computer from Drive C. If the EZ-Drive banner does  
not appear, the EZ-Drive installed drive is not recognized.  
2. Insert the DOS diskette into the diskette drive and change the  
prompt.  
3. Type fdisk.  
4. Delete the Primary partition from the EZ-Drive installed drive.  
Caution. If you have two drives, be sure you choose the  
correct drive before deleting the partition. Deleting  
the partition erases everything on the drive.  
Note. EZ-Drive puts a volume label on the partition it creates.  
You must enter the label to delete the partition.  
5. Repartition the drive with the partitions in the sizes you want.  
Refer to your DOS manual if you need assistance creating  
extended partitions. Remember to make the primary partition  
active for Drive C.  
 
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Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
The computer will reboot when the partitioning process is com-  
plete. However, you must make sure the EZ-Drive installed drive  
is present to continue with the format. (The EZ-Drive banner  
appears when the drive is recognized.)  
1. Open the diskette-drive door whenyou reboot. Press theCTRL  
key when the following message appears:  
Hold the CTRL key down to boot from a floppy  
The message is very quick and you may need to boot several  
times before you succeed. (Some computers allow you to  
press the CTRL key early.) If you get an “Invalid OS” error  
message, the computer has not found the EZ-Drive installed  
drive and you must start the boot process again.  
2. Insert a DOS diskette with the format program.  
3. Type format drive: for each partition you have created.  
Note. DOS automatically assigns a letter to each partition.  
Use the appropriate letter in the format statement.  
If you are formatting Drive C, you must copy the system  
files for the computer to bootfromthe drive. To copy the  
system files during the format, type format c: /s.  
4. Reboot the computer when you are done formatting.  
Windows 32-bit disk access.  
®
If 32-bit disk access is enabled in your Microsoft Windows, a  
device conflict message appears when you load Windows after  
you install your drive with EZ-Drive. To resolve the conflict:  
1. Press ENTER to open Windows.  
2. Open the Main menu.  
3. Open the Control Panel.  
4. Select Virtual Memory.  
5. Select Change.  
6. Disable 32-Bit Disk Access at the bottom of the screen.  
7. Select OK. Follow the screen instructions to reboot.  
 
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
17  
You can re-establish the 32-bit disk access capability using the  
SETUP program on the EZ-Drive diskette as follows:  
1. Load Windows.  
2. Open the Program Manager menu and select File.  
3. Select Run.  
4. Load the EZ-Drive diskette.  
5. In the command line box, type drive:Setup.  
6. Select Install Driver. This loads the MH32BIT.386 replace-  
ment driver designed to work with EZ-Drive.  
7. Select Restart Windows.  
 
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Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
Basic troubleshooting  
Warning. Always turn off the computer before changing jumpers  
or unplugging cables and cards.  
Caution. Your drive and computer contain static-sensitive de-  
vices. Wear a ground strap or take other antistatic  
precaution while handling your drive.  
If you have installed your drive and it does not function properly,  
perform the following basic checks.  
Verify compatibility. Verify that the host adapter and the  
drive are appropriately matched to each other and to your  
computer. Refer to relevant documentation for details.  
Check all cards. Verify that all cards are seated in their slots  
on the motherboard and are secured with mounting screws.  
Check all cables. Make sure all ribbon and power cables are  
securely connected. Ribbon cables are easily damaged, es-  
pecially at the connector. Try a new cable or a known good  
cable. Make sure no socket pins were bent when the cable  
was inserted. For each cable, verify that cable-connector pin  
1 is aligned with equipment-connector pin 1. The edge-stripe  
on the ribbon cable is used to denote pin 1.  
Caution. Do not reverse-plug connectors. This can damage  
the computer and the drive.  
Verify equipment configuration. Review the instructions in  
this guide and the host adapter installation guide and make  
sure that all appropriate jumpers are installed, or removed, to  
suit your application.  
Check the power-supply specifications. If new devices are  
installed, your computer’s power supply may not support the  
new total power requirement. Consult your dealer.  
Verify the drive type setting in System Setup. The drive  
type stored in CMOS memory by your System Setup program  
must notexceedthe physical specifications of yourdrive. Also,  
 
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
19  
if you have a large capacity drive, the translation geometry  
settings must not exceed the limitations set by the operating  
system and BIOS. Refer to the caution in “Standard installa-  
tion” on page 8.  
Check for viruses. Before you use someone else’s diskette  
in your system for the first time, scan the diskette for viruses.  
Advanced troubleshooting  
If you have performed the preceding basic checks but the prob-  
lemhasnotbeen solved, follow theseguidelines fortroubleshoot-  
ing specific cases:  
The system does not recognize the drive.  
Check all cables.  
Make sure the power supply is adequate for system needs.  
Reboot the computer and make sure the drive motor runs. If  
yourdrive is very quiet, itmay be difficult tohearits discs reach  
operating speed. Recheck all drive cables if the drive is not  
running.  
Verify the System Setup drive type values.  
Try a warm boot (arebootwithoutturningoff computerpower).  
To do this, press CTRL, ALT, and DELETE at the same time.  
If the drive is recognized after the warm boot, the computer  
BIOS’ setup test may be completing before the drive is ready.  
One possible solution is to slow your computer’s processor  
speed during startup. If your computer has a turbo switch, set  
it to slow speed before turning the computer on. If there is no  
turbo switch, you may be able to use keyboard commands to  
slow the processor speed; see your computer manual for  
details. After the computer is up and running, return the  
processor to the fast speed.  
Another solution is to warm-boot your computer after every  
power-on.  
 
20  
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
Check for I/O address conflicts. To isolate the conflict, first  
verify that the drive and host adapter are compatible with your  
computer by removing all the peripheral adapter cards (power  
must be off) except for the video card. Then reinstall the drive  
and host adapter card. If this is successful, reinstall the other  
peripherals one at a time until the conflict reoccurs.  
After you have isolated the source of the address conflicts,  
you can resolve the conflictby changingthe I/O address of the  
peripheral that appears to cause the conflict.  
If yourdrivewasinstalled with EZ-Drive, thespecial instruction  
in the boot sequence on Drive C may have been bypassed.  
Remove the diskette and reboot. Follow the instructions in  
“Bootingwith a disketteon page 15on booting witha diskette.  
The dealer partitioned and high-level formatted the drive for  
you in the store. Later, you installed the drive and it does not  
respond.  
Reboot the computer and make sure the drive spins up.  
Check all cables.  
Make sure the power supply is adequate for system needs.  
Use the same version of DOS within all partitions. Make sure  
the DOS version the dealer used to partition and high-level  
format the drive is the same as the version you have installed  
on your computer. If it isn’t, see your dealer.  
Verify the System Setup drive type value. You must install the  
drive using the same drive type or translation geometry that  
your dealer used to partition the drive.  
Check for I/O address conflicts between peripheral cards.  
Check for viruses.  
The screen remains blank when you power up the system.  
Make sure the monitor is plugged in and turned on.  
Check all cards. Make sure the video card is seated in its slot  
and secured with mounting screws.  
 
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
21  
Check all cables. Make sure the video card-cables are se-  
curely attached.  
While the computer is powered down, remove the drive host  
adapter. If the screen turns on after you reboot, the host  
adapter may be incompatible or defective. If so, see your  
dealer.  
The system hangs in FDISK or fails to create or save the  
partition record.  
Check all cables.  
The DOS utilities diskette may be corrupted. Try your backup  
DOS diskette.  
Make the partitions smaller.  
Tryanother drivetypeortranslationgeometry.Thecomputer’s  
BIOS may not accept a particular translation geometry for  
writing into the CMOS setup memory.  
Change the interrupt jumper setting on the host adapter.  
Check for media defects at the beginning of the drive. Use a  
third-party surface scan utility.  
System error message, “Drive not Ready,” appears.  
Check all cableconnections. Foreach ribbon cable, verify that  
pin 1 of the cable is matched to pin 1 of the connector. Pin 1  
is usually denoted by the edge-stripe on the ribbon cable.  
Make sure the power supply is adequate for system needs.  
Reboot the computer and make sure the drive spins up.  
The FDISK error message, “No Fixed Disk Present,” appears.  
Check all cables.  
Make sure the power supply is adequate for system needs.  
Reboot the computer and make sure the drive spins up.  
Verify the System Setup drive type values.  
Check for I/O address conflicts.  
 
22  
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
During the DOS high-level format, the drive does not format  
to full capacity.  
Verify your computer’s System Setup drive-type values. One  
of the following problems may have occurred: 1) the values  
may be set for an incorrect drive type or translation geometry;  
2)you may have entered a parametervaluethat exceeded the  
physical capacity of the drive; 3) you selected a translation  
geometry or drive type that does not take full advantage of the  
drive’s capacity; or 4) the drive’s physical specifications ex-  
ceeds the translation geometry limits imposed by the operat-  
ing system and BIOS. Refer to “Standard installation” on page  
8 if any of these cases is true.  
If you reset the System Setup drive type value, you must  
partition and high-level format the drive again.  
If you partitioned the drive into individual logical drives, you  
may need to make the partitions smaller so that the computer  
can use all of the drive’s capacity.  
DOS messages “Disk Boot Failure,” “Non-System Disk,” or  
“No ROM Basic - SYSTEM HALTED,” appear.  
Reinstall the DOS system files using the DOS SYS utility.  
Check all cables.  
Use FDISK to verify that the primary partition is active.  
Rerun the partition and high-level format. Make sure you use  
the same version of DOS for all partitions on your computer.  
Check for viruses.  
System error message, “HDD controller failure” appears.  
Confirm the jumper settings on the drive.  
Verify the System Setup drive values.  
 
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
23  
The error message “Microsoft Windows 32-bit disk driver  
(WDCTRL) phase 03, 3f” appears when you open Windows.  
A device conflict occurs between Microsoft Windows 32-bit  
access and the EZ-Drive driver. To resolve the conflict and  
enable 32-bit access, follow the instructions in the “Windows  
32-bit disk access” section on page 16.  
Disabling EZ-Drive  
You can remove the EZ-Drive boot information from the boot  
sector of Drive C. In doing so, you may lose access to the files  
on your EZ-Drive installed drive. Before you disable EZ-Drive,  
we recommend that you back up your files. To disable EZ-  
Drive:  
1. Insert a bootable diskette in the diskette drive and boot the  
computer. Do not open the diskette drive door to load the  
EZ-Drive installed drive.  
2. Insert a diskette with FDISK.  
3. Type fdisk/mbr. This command erases the EZ-Drive in-  
struction in the boot record on Drive C and restores the  
original DOS master boot record. The files on your drive  
are not affected. However, you can no longer access the  
EZ-Drive installed drive with EZ-Drive. To make the drive  
available, you must repartition and reformat it using an-  
other method. Any files written to the drive are erased  
during the repartition and reformat.  
 
24  
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
Disabling Maximum Overdrive  
You can disable Maximum Overdrive during the installation proc-  
ess or anytime afterward.  
To disable it during the installation, select the Change Install  
Features option in the Options dialog box that appears when the  
format completes. This feature allows you to enable or disable  
Maximum Overdrive.  
To disable it after the drive has been installed.  
1. Insert the EZ-Drive diskette into the diskette drive.  
2. Type ez at the command line.  
3. Press ENTER until the Select Installation Type dialog box  
appears.  
4. Use the down arrow key to select Change Install Features.  
5. Press ENTER.  
6. The first selection gives the current Maximum Overdrive  
status. Press the ENTER key to change the status.  
7. Usethe down-arrow keyto select SaveChanges. Press ENTER  
to save.  
AdditionalEZ-Drive troubleshootingand help informationis avail-  
able when you select Information Help in the Select Installation  
Type dialog box.  
Answers to frequently asked troubleshooting questions are avail-  
able in the EZ-HELP.EXE file on the diskette.  
 
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
25  
Technical support services  
If you need assistance installing your drive, consult your dealer.  
Your dealer is knowledgeable of computer system configurations  
andcanhelpyouwithsystemconflicts and other technical issues.  
If you need additionalassistance with your Seagate drive orother  
, SeaFAX  
Seagateproduct, youcancallSeaBOARD  
TechnicalSupport FAX,SeaFONE orSeaTDD services. Sea-  
, Seagate  
gate technical support is also available on CompuServe.  
SeaBOARD  
Using your modem, you can:  
Access documentation, drive specifications and jumper set-  
tings for Seagate’s entire product line.  
Download software for installing and analyzing your drive.  
Request a return phone call from the technical support staff.  
SeaBOARDis available 24 hours and supports up to 9,600 baud.  
Set your communications software to eight data bits, no parity  
and one stop bit (8-N-1). SeaBOARD phone numbers are listed  
in the following table:  
Location  
United States  
England  
Modem number  
408-438-8771  
44-62-847-8011  
33-140 67 10 34  
49-89-140-9331  
65-292-6973  
France  
Germany  
Singapore  
continued  
 
26  
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
continued from previous page  
Location  
Thailand  
Australia  
Korea  
Modem number  
662-531-8111  
61-2-756-2359  
82-2-556-7294  
SeaFAX  
You can use a touch-tone telephone to access Seagate’s  
automated FAX system to receive technical support informa-  
tion by return FAX. This service is available 24 hours daily.  
Location  
Telephone number  
408-438-2620  
United States  
England  
44-62-847-7080  
Seagate Technical Support FAX. 408/438-8137  
You can FAX questions or comments to technical support  
specialists 24 hours daily. Responses are sent between  
8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. (Pacific time) Monday through Friday.  
SeaFONE. 408/438-8222  
You can talk to a technical support specialist between  
8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. (Pacific time) Monday through Friday.  
SeaFONE provides recorded technical information on se-  
lected Seagate products while you are on hold. You can  
access the recordings 24 hours daily.Before calling,note your  
system configuration and drive model number (STxxxx).  
SeaTDD. 408/438-5382  
Using a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you  
cansendquestions or comments24hours dailyandexchange  
messages with a technical support specialist between 8:00  
A.M. and 5:00 P.M. (Pacific time) Monday through Friday.  
 
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
27  
Seagate CompuServe forum  
Online technical support for Seagate products is available on  
CompuServe. To access the Seagate technical support fo-  
rum, type go seagate. Thisforum provides information similar  
to that found on SeaBOARD.  
 
28  
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A  
Storing and shipping your drive  
Keep your original box and packing materials for storing or  
shipping your drive. The box has a Seagate Approved Package  
label. Shipping a drive in an unapproved container voids the  
warranty. Call your authorized Seagate distributor to purchase  
additional boxes.  
The following figure shows how a drive fits in an approved  
single-pack box, including the packing materials.  
Foam  
Antistatic bag  
Drive  
Foam  
Figure 2. A drive in an approved package  
 
 
Seagate Technology, Inc.  
920 Disc Drive, Scotts Valley, CA 95066, USA  
Publication Number: 36294-001, Rev. A, Printed in USA  
 

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