Seagate MEDALIST 275XE User manual

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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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© 1994 Seagate Technology, Inc. All rights reserved
Publication Number: 36294-001, Rev. A
December 1994
Seagate, Seagate Technology and the Seagate logo are registered
trademarks of Seagate Technology, Inc. Medalist, SeaFAX, SeaFONE,
SeaBOARD and SeaTDD are trademarks of Seagate Technology, Inc.
EZ-Drive and Maximum Overdrive are trademarks of Micro House
International, Inc. Other product names are registered trademarks or
trademarks of their owners.
Seagate reserves the right to change, without notice, product offerings
or specifications. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any
form without written permission from Seagate Technology, Inc.
Contents
Read before you begin... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
ST3660A free installation software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Quick software transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Installing the drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Configuring the drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Attaching cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Mounting the drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Configuring the computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
528-Mbyte system-capacity limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Standard installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Partitioning and formatting the drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Transferring and using the installation software . . . . . . . 11
Transferring the installation software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Using the installation software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Basic troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Advanced troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Technical support services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Storing and shipping your drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Read before you begin...
Application. Your Seagate® drive is designed for NRTL-listed
personal computers. It uses the ATA interface.
Warning. Turn off thecomputer before you openthecase, touch
any internal components or install the drive.
Static discharge. Yourdrive 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 mostbags,arecommoncontributors.Observe
these precautions to avoid damage from static electricity:
•Ground yourself before handling the drive. Wear a grounded
wriststrap thatisproperlyconnectedtoearthground,ortouch
themetal chassis ofthe computer powersupplyifitis plugged
into a grounded outlet.
•Keep the drivein 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.
•Donottouchthedrive’sconnectorpinsorprintedcircuitboard.
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 distributorordealerimmediatelyifitappearstobedamaged.
Warranty. See your authorizedSeagate distributor or dealer for
the terms of the drive warranty.
Note. With regard to the EZ-Drive software,thereare no warran-
ties, express or implied, including, but not implied,warran-
ties ofmerchantablityorfitnessforaparticularpurpose.All
such warrantiesareexpresslyand specificallydisclaimed.
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A 1

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 facilitiesauthorizedto 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 theMedalist 545xeis
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
versionof EZ-DriveforSeagate. Itprovides asoftware solution
forcomputersusingDOSandsomeBIOS combinations thatlimit
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.EXEfile 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.
2 Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A

Front
4-pin
power connector
8-pin
master/slave jumper block
Front
Cable select
40-pin
ATA interface
connector
4
3
2
1
Circuit board
+5V
+5V return
+12V return
+12V
The drive is a master; a 
slave is present that uses
only the PDIAG– signal.
2-pin
header
Drive activity
LED 
(optional)
3-pin
power connector 
(optional)
123
Keyway
Ground
+12V
+5V
The drive is a master;
a slave is present, but
it is not ATA-compatible.
The drive is a slave to an
ATA-compatible master.
The drive is a master;
the slave is either a
Medalist family drive or 
another ATA-compatible 
drive, or there is no slave.
2
1
4
3
6
5
8
7
Circuit
board
Pin 1
Spare jumper 
across pin 1 and pin 3
+
–
Figure 1. Jumpers and connectors
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A 3

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 trainingor tools mayberequired toservice
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
YourST3295Aor ST3660A is configured at the factoryforsingle-
drive operation. If you are installing two drives, you must recon-
figure your Seagate drive as either the master orthe slave. If you
installtheSeagatedriveasyouronlydrivebutaddaseconddrive
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.
4 Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A

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. Donot
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 oneendofthe cabletothedrive’s40-pinATAinterface
connector. Alignthecable’s edge-stripewith pin 1 of thedrive
shown inFigure1.Attachtheotherendofthecabletothehost
adapter card or to the hard drive connector located on the
motherboard.Alignthecable’sedge-stripewithpin1(seeyour
system user’s guide or host adapter user’s guide).
Installing two drives with an ATA interface cable:
You needan interface cable designedfor two drives. Attach a
cable connector to each drive’s 40-pin ATAinterface connec-
tor. Align thecable’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.Alignthecable’sedge-stripewithpin1(seeyour
system user’s guide or host adapter user’s guide). You can
attach the drives in any order on the cable.
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A 5

Installing drives in computers that use cable-select:
If your computer uses the cable-select method, refer to your
computerreferenceguidetodeterminewhichcableconnector
or drive slot denotes the master drive and which the slave.
Mounting the drive
YourSeagate drive isdesignedto fitinto a3.5-inchbay.You can
mount the drivesecurely in thecomputer 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.
YourSeagate driveisnotshippedwithmountingscrews.Usethe
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” stampedon the framerunner 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.Insertfourmountingscrewsnotmorethan
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
drivebay with a Seagate 5.25-inch frame kit.Contact your dealer
for the frame kit you need.
6 Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A

Configuring the computer
Your computer maintains records representing the hardware in
thesystem.Thisrepresentationincludesthetranslationgeometry
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 includea 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 drivecapacitylimitationsimposedby some computers
and available solutions. If youare installing aST3295A,go tothe
“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
isdesigned touseup to1,024 cylindersinthe translationgeome-
try for mapping the data surface of the drive. The ST3660A has
1,057cylinders. If your computer’s BIOS limits the drivecapacity
to 528 Mbytes, you have several options for installingthe 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 958002-4 xx are
shipped with EZ-Drive.)
Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A 7

Standard installation
1. Turn the computer on.
2. Enter the System Setup routine. (Refer to your computer
user’s guide.SystemSetup maybecalledSetup,BIOSSetup
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. Selectadrivetypethatmatchesthedrivetranslationgeometry
for your drive as shown in the followingtable.
Model CHKDSK
Mbytes
Translation geometry CMOS
(Setup)
Mbytes
Cyl Heads Sectors
per track
ST3295A 272.7 761 14 50 260
ST3660A* 545.5 1057 16 63 520
ST3660A** 528.5 1024 16 63 504
*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.
Thecapacitiesyourcomputerreportsmayvaryslightly.
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
8 Medalist XE Family Installation Guide, Rev. A