Hi,
 
Michael writes:
> I currently have a non-HP SCSI disc drive installed on a system that I use
> for De-Frag/X testing.  It's labeled "NCA Barracuda", but if you need more
> specific info I'll have to try and track it down somewhere (Stan picked it
> up for us, and *might* know the model number etc.).  MPE thinks it's an
 
The drive Michael refers to is a Quantum or Seagate drive of some kind,
but it is *not* a Seagate Barracuda.  NCA "names" its disk drive line
"Barracuda", which is unfortunate since Seagate also has a disk drive
(with a bad reputation!) called Barracuda.
 
> We haven't had any problems with it, but I don't know if I would ever
> suggest ANY non-HP drive for mission-critical data.
 
We have 3 non-HP SCSI disk drives at our site, all on test HP3000s
 
One is a 4GB Seagate ... no problems.
 
One is a 2GB Quantum ... no problems.
 
One is a 2GB Quantum ... replaced once within first 30 days,
                         and about to be replaced again (within the
                         first month too!)
 
In short, if you use HP drives you have a higher likelihood of support
from your hardware support provider, whoever they might be.
 
However, keep in mind that HP itself ships Seagates and Quantums
in some HP3000s (I think), and in some HP9000s (I know).  They say they've
asked the manufacturer to fine tune / alter the firmware for various
reasons.
 
Note also that HP drives claim to have "sector atomicity" ... but it
would appear that only a subset of HP's drives do (e.g., not the drives
sold into the PC, over-the-counter, or 9000 markets?)
 
--
Stan Sieler                                          [log in to unmask]
                                     http://www.allegro.com/sieler.html