[rescue] Converting Ultra 10 from IDE to SCSI HD

Lionel Peterson lionel4287 at verizon.net
Thu Feb 22 12:57:26 CST 2007


I just wanted to share with folks that might be interested that I
found a great step-by-step instruction page on converting an Ultra
5/10 from IDE to SCSI - it covers both CD-ROM and HD replacement,
and it enabled me to convert an Ultra 10 to SCSI HD (retaining IDE
CD-ROM drive) in about 15 minutes.

Here's the link:

http://homepages.cae.wisc.edu/~gerdts/ultra10-scsi.html

I put a 1.6" Seagate 73 Gig HD in (and it is REAL CLOSE to the
power connector block on the MB), and as I write this the box is
happily installing SOlaris 10 over the network...

I used a Symbios SYM22801 SCSI controller and the previously
mentioned Seagate drive, attached to the 68 pin internal SCSI
controller for Channel A. The cable I'm using is WAY TOO LONG,
but I tucked the excess inside the 2nd 5 1/4" drive bay, and
all is fine.

I expect with 1 Gig of RAM, a SCSI HD, and a UPA framebuffer,
this should be a pretty nice Ultra 10 - of course, I'll have to
swap the current 300 MHz CPU for something "snappier" (I have
a spare 440 MHz CPU), but I'll want to update the OpenBoot from
3.11 to something more current first...

Looks good so far - I pulled the system "off the heap" about 45
minutes ago, and I am already well into the OS installation (10%).

Just an FYI for anyone considering doing the same thing - the controller was about $20, and mine included the internal 68 pin
SCSI cable, the 4x 256 Meg RAM DIMMs were about $30-40 (for the
two pairs, all four DIMMs), and th eHD was from a scrapped external
drive from a surplus sale (BTW, anyone want an external 68 pin
HD case? It takes one 68 pin internal 3 1/2" drive, includes ID
selector switch and front panel activity light, and is available
for actual S/H)...

Lionel



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