SCSI Hard Drive Problems
SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) drives are mainly used in servers. Unlike their counterpart drives, IDE and ATA, SCSI drives can both read and write data at the same time. SCSI drives can be daisy chained (more than one drive on a connector) and not suffer from performance issues. These drives are also used in RAID system configurations and used as effective mirror drives when backing up large enterprise systems and networks.
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Types of SCSI Drives
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Knowing what types of SCSI drives are available and knowing the drive that is in your system can go a long way in preventing hard drive problems. First, determine if your main board or "motherboard" will support a SCSI hard drive interface. The type of SCSI drives that are available are Wide Ultra SCSI (40MB/sec), Wide Ultra 2 SCSI (80MB/sec), Ultra 160 SCSI (160MB/sec) and Ultra 320 SCSI (320MB/sec). Today's standard for SCSI drives is the SCA SCSI which has an 80 pin female cable to drive information from the drive to the system board.
SCSI Drive Spin Problems
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When a computer system "boots up," the ROM reads all the devices on the computer including the hard drive. You'll hear these devices powering up. If you hear a beep and notice that your SCSI drive is not turning on, there might be a configuration problem. Check the connection cable between the hard drive and the system board to see if it is disabled or if the cable was installed without Pin number 1 on the cable matching the Pin number 1 connector on the system board. Pin 1 on the cable is highlighted by a red line that runs down the side of the cable.
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SCSI Primary Disk Designation
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An improper SCSI hard drive designation in the system BIOS can keep the system from recognizing that there is a SCSI drive. In most machines, drive recognition is set to AUTO in the BIOS which means that the computer reads what type of drive is mounted on the system. The SCSI drive should be mounted with a drive designation as SCSI: 0 with 0 being the primary drive. Resetting the BIOS default should make the system recognize the drive.
System Does Not Recognize SCSI Drive
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Damaged pins can be the reason for error codes such as "no fixed disk", "error reading disk" or "disk boot failure." These are some of the "warnings" that involve a malfunctioning SCSI disk. You must be very careful when connecting cables to connectors and drives. Pin connectors that carry information can become bent and damaged from the slightest pressure when connecting your SCSI drive.
Drive "Clicking" Sounds
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If your SCSI drive is "clicking" loudly, it can signify that your drive is on its last leg. Just like a car engine that clicks when it gets ready to fail, a SCSI hard drive can do the same thing. You should back up all data immediately for safekeeping. Try to run a defragmentation program that also shows bad spots on the SCSI disk which can be causing the click. Just like a phonograph, a SCSI disk can get scratches on the disk from reading and writing data to the disk.
SCSI Drive Maintenance
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Preventive maintenance is a must for SCSI hard drives. There are programs in Windows (for example, Scandisk and Defragmenter) that can perform basic maintenance or you can opt for a third-party software package that is tailored toward the maintenance of SCSI disks.
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