HP Workstation xw4100 Adaptec SCSI RAID 2120S: Software User's Guide - Page 31

Using the Disk Utilities

Page 31 highlights

Using Adaptec RAID Configuration ■ Initiate Wide Negotiation - Determines whether the SCSI channel attempts 16-bit data transfer instead of 8-bit data transfer. The effective data transfer rate is doubled when 16-bit data transfer is used. The default is yes. ■ QAS - Determines whether QAS (Quick Arbitration and Selection) is used to eliminate overhead and speed up data transfers on the SCSI bus. The default is yes. ■ Packetized - Determines whether SCSI packetization (encapsulation) is used to reduce overhead and speed data transfer. The packetized SCSI protocol provides a method for transferring command and status information at the maximum rate. The default is yes. Using the Disk Utilities The BIOS-based Disk Utilities enable you to low-level format or verify the disk media of your SCSI hard disks. To access the disk utilities: 1 When you turn on or reboot your system, press Ctrl+A to access the Adaptec RAID Configuration (ARC) utilities when prompted by the following message: Press for Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility 2 If multiple controllers are installed, select the controller you want to configure and press Enter. 3 From the ARC menu, select Disk Utilities. 4 Select the desired channel and press Enter. After the option is selected, a list of all SCSI IDs and the devices at each ID is displayed. After selecting a specific ID and device, a small menu appears, displaying the following options: ■ Format Disk-Performs a low-level format on a hard disk drive. Each hard disk drive must be low-level formatted before you can use your operating system's partitioning and file preparation utilities, such as MS-DOS Fdisk and Format. Most SCSI disk devices are preformatted at the factory and do not need to be formatted again. The Format Disk option is compatible with the vast majority of SCSI disk drives. 2-15

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2-15
Using Adaptec RAID Configuration
Initiate Wide Negotiation
— Determines whether the SCSI
channel attempts 16-bit data transfer instead of 8-bit data
transfer. The effective data transfer rate is doubled when 16-bit
data transfer is used. The default is
yes
.
QAS
— Determines whether QAS (Quick Arbitration and
Selection) is used to eliminate overhead and speed up data
transfers on the SCSI bus. The default is
yes
.
Packetized
— Determines whether SCSI packetization
(encapsulation) is used to reduce overhead and speed data
transfer. The packetized SCSI protocol provides a method for
transferring command and status information at the maximum
rate. The default is
yes
.
Using the Disk Utilities
The BIOS-based Disk Utilities enable you to low-level format or
verify the disk media of your SCSI hard disks.
To access the disk utilities:
1
When you turn on or reboot your system, press
Ctrl+A
to access
the Adaptec RAID Configuration (ARC) utilities when
prompted by the following message:
Press <Ctrl><A> for Adaptec RAID Configuration Utility
2
If multiple controllers are installed, select the controller you
want to configure and press
Enter
.
3
From the ARC menu, select
Disk Utilities
.
4
Select the desired channel and press
Enter
.
After the option is selected, a list of all SCSI IDs and the devices
at each ID is displayed. After selecting a specific ID and device,
a small menu appears, displaying the following options:
Format Disk
—Performs a low-level format on a hard disk
drive. Each hard disk drive must be low-level formatted
before you can use your operating system’s partitioning and
file preparation utilities, such as MS-DOS Fdisk and Format.
Most SCSI disk devices are preformatted at the factory and
do not need to be formatted again. The Format Disk option
is compatible with the vast majority of SCSI disk drives.