*BSD News Article 35007


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From: jody@interlog.com (Jody)
Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.questions,comp.os.386bsd.misc
Subject: Re: Support for IDE CD-ROMs?
Followup-To: comp.os.386bsd.misc
Date: 26 Aug 1994 19:49:49 -0400
Organization: InterLog Internet Services
Lines: 30
Sender: jody@interlog.com (Jody Lemoine)
Message-ID: <33lv2t$701@gold.interlog.com>
References: <33beim$osg@xanth.cs.odu.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: gold.interlog.com
Keywords: IDE CD-ROM

In article <33beim$osg@xanth.cs.odu.edu>,
Jonathan Sturges <sturges@dustdevil.cs.odu.edu> wrote:
>Hiya,
>I was considering buying a CD-ROM soon, and like the idea of getting an
>AT-BUS (IDE) CD-ROM drive that I can just connect to my existing HD
>controller.

Hmmm.   Well, for starters...  last I checked, there was no such thing as
in IDE CD-ROM.  There are plenty of proprietary-interface CD-ROMs made by
such companies as Mitsumi, Panasonic, Sony, etc.  If you try to plug them
into a standard IDE/ATA controller, you'll find out just how compliant they
are with the IDE specification.  }8)  Don't try it...  I can't guarantee
that it won't have unpredictable and possibly irrepairable results.

>Will FreeBSD find such a CD-ROM, if you wanted to install from it?  I know
>it picks up on SCSIs and some Mitsumis.  FreeBSD does support all IDE
>controllers, so it should support these drives, right?

It'll support the Mitsumis, but only on their own controller cards.
Running them through a SoundBlaster 16 Multi-CD wasn't supported last I
checked.  The Mitsumi proprietary interface is supported through it's
own driver set and is *much* slower than SCSI under FreeBSD.  FreeBSD's
support of IDE/ATA controllers is a moot point, for the reasons mentioned
above.

The SCSI investment is definitely worth it, if for notohing more than your
own spared headaches.

Regards,
Jody