COMPUTECRAFT - THE POSSIBILITY OF LOST DATA ON 2.3 GIGABYTE SCSI TAPE DRIVE OPTIONS USED IN PS/2 SYSTEMS

THE POSSIBILITY OF LOST DATA ON 2.3 GIGABYTE SCSI TAPE DRIVE OPTIONS USED IN PS/2 SYSTEMS

PURPOSE:
AN UPDATED MICRO CODE MODULE NEEDED TO CORRECT AN EXPOSURE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF LOST DATA ON 2.3 GIGABYTE SCSI TAPE DRIVE OPTIONS USED IN PS/2 SYSTEMS.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
AFTER THE INSTALLATION, A SOFTWARE UPGRADE WILL BE REQUIRED BY USERS OF DOS VERSIONS OF THE "SYTOS PLUS" * DEVICE DRIVER. OMISSION OF THIS REQUIRED UPGRADE WILL RESULT IN OPERATIONAL FAILURES ONCE THIS NEW MICRO CODE IS INSTALLED. DO NOT INSTALL UNTIL THE REQUIRED SYTOS UPGRADE IS ON HAND AND READY FOR IMMEDIATE INSTALLATION.

PHYSICAL CHECK:
MOST OF THE AFFECTED DRIVES WERE INSTALLED IN 3532-023 EXTERNAL SCSI TAPE DRIVES. A VERY SMALL QUANTITY (APPROX. 40) OF THE AFFECTED TAPE DRIVES MAY BE INSTALLED INTERNALLY IN 8595'S AND 3511 SCSI ENCLOSURES (OPTION 6451121, 2.3GB SCSI TAPE DRIVE). THE AFFECTED EPROM MODULE, WHICH IS LOCATED ON THE "MX BOARD" INSIDE THE TAPE DRIVE, MAY BE POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED BY, "262S, P/N21F8723," ON THE LABEL ATTACHED TO THE MODULE. IF ANY OTHER LABEL IS FOUND ON THIS MODULE, THIS IS NOT APPLICABLE.

8595 AND 3511 MACHINE TYPES:
IF THE LABEL ON THE TOP OF THE TAPE DRIVE (ABOVE AND TO THE LEFT OF THE INSPECTION WINDOW) IS P/N21F8641, EC894913, THIS IS APPLICABLE AND THE MICROCODE SHOULD BE INSTALLED.

MACHINE TYPE 3532:
THE 3532-023 SCSI TAPE DRIVES WITH FAULTY MICROCODE ARE CONFINED TO MACHINE SERIAL NUMBERS 2602533 THROUGH 2603446. NOT ALL OF THE 3532'S WITHIN THIS SERIAL NUMBER RANGE WILL REQUIRE THIS ECA, AS SOME WERE UPGRADED PRIOR TO SHIPMENT. THE PHYSICAL CHECK WILL REQUIRE REMOVING THE 3532 COVERS TO ACCESS THE REAR OF THE TAPE DRIVE. IF THE LABEL LOCATED ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE REAR OF THE TAPE DRIVE SHOWS P/N21F8716, EC894908, THIS ECA SHOULD BE INSTALLED. THIS ECA IS NOT APPLICABLE TO ANY OTHER PART NUMBER OR EC LEVEL.

CONCURRENT:
BE ADVISED OF THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION: IN CONJUNCTION WITH THIS MICRO CODE PROBLEM, A CONFLICT WITH THE DOS VERSION OF THE "SYTOS PLUS FILE BACKUP MANAGER" HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED. ERRORS E130, E21 AND W32 ARE DISPLAYED WHEN RUNNING "SYTOS PLUS" WITH THE NEW VERSION (263X) MICRO CODE. NONE OF THESE ERRORS OR WARNINGS ARE DISPLAYED WITH PREVIOUS VERSIONS OF THE MICRO CODE. IN BACKUP DEVICE SETUP: EDIT, AFTER SELECTING OK, W32 IS DISPLAYED. THIS DOES NOT APPEAR WITH PREVIOUS VERSIONS OF MICRO CODE (262S) IN THIS DRIVE. TO RESOLVE THIS CONFLICT, "SYTOS PLUS" MUST BE UPGRADED FROM SPED-130IBA-927 TO SPED-130IBB-927. A DEALER CAN OBTAIN THE UPGRADE FROM SYTRON CORP.

DETAIL:
A LIMITED NUMBER OF TAPE DRIVES WERE SHIPPED WITH A VERSION OF MICRO CODE WHICH UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS COULD ALLOW A DATA BLOCK TO BE OVERWRITTEN ERRONEOUSLY, THEREBY CAUSING LOST DATA. APPLICATIONS THAT RE-WRITE SELECTIVE PORTIONS OF A PREVIOUSLY WRITTEN TAPE, THE TAPE COULD BECOME UNREADABLE. IF PREVIOUSLY WRITTEN TAPES ARE APPENDED, DATA COULD BE OVER-WRITTEN. FRU P/N21F8792 PROVIDES A BILL OF MATERIAL (B/M) WHICH INCLUDES AN UP-LEVEL EPROM, TORX T-8 AND T-10 WRENCHES, DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS AND UPGRADE IDENTIFICATION LABELS.

ORDER THE REQUIRED BILL OF MATERIAL, FRU P/N21F8792 REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF SYTRON CORPORATION