"Couldn't write root sector"

[Copticrain]

Hello,
I try to install a internal scsi hard drive in my TT
Is it a SEAGATE ST39140N

If I try to partitionning it I have this message: "Couldn't write root sector"
If I try to formating it, it format 6 or 7 minutes and this message : "Couldn't write root sector"

Is the hard drive is dead ?


Many thanks in advance,

[uweseimet]

The drive might be dead, but often wrong termination or bad cables are actually causing such a problem, not a dead drive.
You should check whether your drive and your TT are terminated correctly. If there is only an internal and no external drive the TT has to be terminated and the drive has to be terminated. If there is an internal and an external drive the TT must not be terminated because it is in the middle and not at the end of the SCSI chain anymore, i.e. the terminators on the TT's motherboard have to be removed.
Also ensure that HDDRUTIL's ID check reports the correct name of your drive, with no characters garbled, and that the result of the ID check is always the same, regardless of how often you run it. Garbled characters now and then indicate a hardware connection problem. Check the last error message sent by the drive with HDDRUTIL. This may also provide helpful information.
Finally, trying the drive with a different computer, be it an Atari or a PC, is also a good idea. This way you can check if the problem is actually related to your TT setup or not.

[Copticrain]

YES !!!

I enable "Term Enable" and "TP From Drive" and it works !!

Many thanks for your answer, and many thanks for your hddriver


-Vincent

[protek]

I'm getting the same error, when I try to partition a CF microdrive with HDDriver 8.20. Microdrives are IDE, so it's not a termination issue. The drive formats to FAT in Windows and is accessible there. HDDriver does detect the drive when booting from floppy and in HDDUtils. It doesn't find any partitions though when booting from floppy. With a real CF card everything works ok with the IDE interface and CF adapter I use.

[uweseimet]

Looks as if there is something special with this kind of hardware. HDDRIVER does not make a difference between real IDE drives, memory cards etc. connected to the IDE port. I'm afraid I cannot provide more help, but maybe somebody else who has the same kind of hardware can help.
HDDRIVER 8.2 is quite old, so you should check whether the current demo version of HDDRIVER behaves differently. And you should try HDDRIVER 8.23, which you can download as a free update of HDDRIVER 8.20 after entering your registration data on the HDDRIVER website.

[protek]

I updated to 8.23 and got the microdrive working. Thanks for help!