Visual 1050 Winchester Drive User's Notes (Rev: 16 July 1984)



Introduction

These notes provide information for the setup and use of the 
Visual 1050 10 Mbyte Winchester hard disk drive.  

Each Winchester shipment includes the Winchester drive assembly, 
a flat "ribbon" interface cable, an AC power cord, and this 
floppy diskette which contains the following files: 

     * README.TXT - This text file

     * FMTWINCH.COM - The Winchester formatting utility

     * SHIPTRAK.COM - The utility which may be used to move the 
       read-write head of the Winchester to the inner-most point 
       of the drive platter; the recommended position for use 
       when transporting the Winchester

     * WINCHBAK.COM - A Winchester back up program.  

     * WINCHBAK.DOC - A text file containing user's notes to 
       support the use of WINCHBAK.COM.  This file may be output
       on a printer for a hard copy by entering the following 
       command in response to the CP/M prompt:

          A>pip lst:=winchbak.doc[p55 t6]


     * COPYSYS.COM - The utility which may be used to copy the 
       operating system included on the floppy diskette to other 
       diskettes which you may have


System Requirements

Early versions of the Visual 1050 operating system do not support 
the use of Winchesters.  The portion of the operating system 
called the BIOS must have a version number of 1.3 or above.  As 
shown on page 4-2 of the Visual 1050 User's Guide, the system 
displays information about the operating system each time the 
computer is powered up or cold booted.  The BIOS version is 
indicated along with other information.  

If the BIOS version number of your Visual 1050 is not 1.3 or 
higher, you must obtain an updated version.  A suitable version 
of the operating system has been provided on the diskette 
provided with the Winchester shipment.   Use this diskette to 
format the Winchester.  The system copy utility COPYSYS.COM has 
been included on this diskette so that you may update all of your 
diskettes which have the operating system on them.  Simply place 
each of the old diskettes in the B: drive, then run COPYSYS for 
each diskette.  Be sure to copy both files CPM3.SYS and CCP.COM 
in the copying process.


Booting From the Winchester Drive (More System Requirements)

You may cold boot the computer system from the Winchester drive, 
as long as the Visual 1050's CPU boot firmware has a version 
number of 1.2 or higher.  The CPU boot firmware version within 
your computer may be determined by powering on the computer 
without a diskette in the A: drive.  As shown on page 1-17 of the 
Visual 1050 User's Guide, the system displays the version number 
just below the "Insert system diskette in left drive" message.  

If the boot firmware version number of your Visual 1050 is not 
1.2 or higher and you wish to boot from the Winchester drive, you 
must obtain an updated version.  Call the Customer Support Group 
at Visual Technology Incorporated to arrange for a free update of 
your CPU boot firmware. 

If your boot firmware supports booting from the Winchester, 
simply copy the complete operating system from the diskette which 
is included in the Winchester shipment with the utility 
COPYSYS.COM.  Be sure to copy both files CPM3.SYS and CCP.COM in 
the copying process.

Note that the boot firmware "looks to" the Winchester first when 
it cold boots, and then looks to the A: drive if the Winchester 
is not connected or turned on, or if a copy of the operating 
system is not on the Winchester.  Therefore, you do not always 
have to use the Winchester even if you copy the operating system 
over to it.  As long as you have a copy of the operating system 
on either the A: drive or the Winchester, the computer can be 
used. 


Winchester Drive Name of C: 

The name the operating system uses to deal with the Winchester, 
which is the name you must use, is drive C:.  This name was 
chosen because many CP/M programs which are commercially 
available (many of which cannot be changed) refer to the 
Winchester as drive C:.  


Handling Winchester Drives

Although the particular drive chosen for the Visual 1050 is a 
well-built and dependable device, Winchester drives have 
traditionally been prone to failure due to rough handling.  Care 
should be exercised at all times when handling the Winchester 
hard disk drive unit.  Be sure to gently place the drive on its 
table when moving it; a slip of the hand which causes a fall from 
an inch or two may ruin the drive!  


Unpacking and Installation Procedure

NOTE: Save the shipping box and packing materials should the need 
      arise to ship the Winchester drive. 

     1. Remove the Winchester drive from its shipping box, and 
        carefully place it on a secure surface such as a table or 
        desk.  Remove the flat "ribbon" interface cable and the 
        AC power cord from the shipping box.  Note the length of 
        the interface cable.  

     2. The cable is fitted with connectors on either end which 
        are identical.  Press either connector onto the jack at 
        the rear of the Winchester drive.

     3. Ensure that the power switch at the rear of the 
        Winchester drive is in the OFF position (the down 
        position), and connect the modular AC power cord into the 
        rear connector.

     4. Place the Winchester drive in an appropriate position 
        relative to the Visual 1050 system unit, keeping in mind 
        the length of the interface cable.

     5. Connect the free end of the interface cable to the 
        connector marked "WINCHESTER" at the rear of the 
        Visual 1050 system unit.

     6. Connect the AC power cord to a properly grounded AC 
        receptacle.

     7. Turn on the Winchester drive with the rear power switch.  
        The platter inside the drive should start spinning, which 
        will create a whirring noise.  Turn the drive off.  If 
        the Winchester does not perform as indicated above, check 
        the power connections and try again.  If there is still a 
        problem, contact the Customer Support Group at Visual 
        Technology Incorporated.


Formatting the Winchester Drive

As does a floppy disk, the Winchester hard disk must be formatted 
before it can be used to store data.  Unless something goes wrong 
with the Winchester, the program need only be run once, when the 
Winchester is initially set up for use.  

The file FMTWINCH.COM is the formatting program.  The program has 
been written so that it supports both 5Mbyte and 10Mbyte 
Winchesters which are currently in use with Visual 1050 computer 
systems.  (All Winchesters currently being shipped are of the 10 
Mbyte variety.)

Invoke the formatting program by entering FMTWINCH in response to 
the CP/M prompt 'A>'.

The program will present a warning that it will DESTROY any data 
which may be currently stored on the Winchester.  It will give 
you a chance to exit without continuing with the reformatting 
process.  Enter a 'Y' to continue, then specify the 10 Mbyte 
drive for formatting.  Enter a 'C' to begin the formatting 
process. 

The formatting program will format, then check the tracks 
of the drive.  Once the job is done, FMTWINCH will terminate 
itself, and you will be presented with the CP/M prompt 'A>'.

At this point you will have a properly formatted Winchester.  


Using the SHIPTRAK Program

The file SHIPTRAK.COM is a utility which may be used to move the 
read-write head of the Winchester to the inner-most point of the 
drive platter.  When the head is in this position, the effect of 
any damage which may occur to the platter is minimized because 
the innermost tracks are the ones last used by the drive for 
storage of data.  In addition, the normal resting point of the 
read-write head is over tracks which contain critical directory 
information.  If you need to move the Winchester, use SHIPTRAK to 
help ensure that no damage to your directories or other files 
occurs.  

Invoke the program by entering SHIPTRAK in response to the CP/M 
prompt.  

Note that no program is required to "undo" the effect of 
SHIPTRAK; the read-write head will be moved to the appropriate 
locations as soon as you power up the Winchester and begin to use 
it in the new location.


*********************** End of README.TXT ***********************