                       EPSON AMERICA, INC.

PRODUCT SUPPORT                                  SERVICE DIVISION
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                              E-MAIL
                       ====================

  TO: All SERV, SERVICE, TMGRs             DATE: January 22, 1987

FROM: Mark Tomlinson                        REF: HDINIT.EML
      Product Support/Systems

SUBJ: Equity I/II HD Initialization
=================================================================

This is a basic guide for the installation and initialization of
hard drives for the Equity I and II. Those of you that have the
SPHDD.BAT may continue to use it; there are also a number of
excellent third-party utilities, such as SpeedStor, that may be
used. However, this method can used with just the systems
software as provided with each machine. 

1. Before physically installing the drive, either copy the
information from the defect list on the top of the drive or make
sure that you have the copy that was included with the drive.
What you'll be needing is the cylinder/head information - you
don't need the byte location.

2. Verify that the terminating resistor pack is installed and
that the drive select jumper or switch is correctly set. The
drive should be selected as the lowest number - i.e., DS0
assuming a range of DS0-DS3.

3. Some drive manufacturers do the physical or "low-level" format
at the factory. DON'T ASSUME THIS! One indication is this: start
the HDFMTALL program. If the cylinder count-down goes quickly
(approx. 1 sec. per cylinder), then the physical format is very
likely sound. If it takes longer than this, other measures are
called for. Re-boot the system and proceed to step 4.

4. Invoke the DEBUG program. At the dash (-) prompt, enter:

          g=c800:5

and press ENTER. At this point, DEBUG executes (Goes to) the
instructions at hex address c800, offset 0005. This is the ROM
BIOS on the HD controller card. Stored at this address is the
physical formatting routine provided by the controller
manufacturer. You may encounter two types: Western Digital or
National Computer Labs (NCL). The Western Digital is the simpler
of the two. It presents you with information about how the drive
number and interleave factor are stored in the AX register and
prompts "Press y to begin formatting drive C with interleave 03".
Press any key other than "y" and it aborts. If you enter "y", it
IMMEDIATELY proceeds with the format. DON'T PRESS "Y" UNLESS YOU
REALLY MEAN IT! It will then inform you when the format is
complete and return you to the A prompt.

The NCL format is somewhat more complicated. It will ask you for
drive number (0), number of cylinders (615), number of heads (4),
reduced write current (615), write precompensation (615) and
maximum ECC data error burst length (11). The numbers given here
in parentheses would be typical for the HMD-720-802. It will then
ask if all is correct; if yes, it proceeds with the format. If
not, it returns you to the top of the input menu. In any case,
when it completes the format, it may ask you if you wish to enter
alternate track selections. Tell it "no".

5. Invoke the program HDFMTALL. This program will allow you to
reconstruct the bad track table, which we just knocked out with
the physical format. HDFMTALL will ask if you want a "standard"
format; press "N". It will then ask if you want the default
interleave of 3; you can accept this or change it. (I've found
that an interleave of 6 seems to be pretty optimal on the I and
II.) HDFMTALL will then display the bad track table and give you
the chance to edit it. If any bad tracks are displayed, make sure
that any bad locations from the error list you took off of the
drive are indeed flagged. If not, enter them manually. If the
scan turned up an excessive (more than 50) number of bad tracks,
you might want to delete them and then manually enter the ones
from the error list. Press "F" when you are finished and HDFMTALL
will proceed with the warnings and then the actual format.

6. You're now ready to use HDPART. This program sets up the MS-
DOS partition and writes the DOS file structure to the disk.
Typically, you'll use the entire disk for DOS, so that simplifies
matters. Just make sure that the DOS partition is specified as
BOOTABLE. When you exit HDPART, the system automatically re-
boots.

7. The final step - HDFORMAT. From the A prompt, enter

          HDFORMAT C: /S/V

The /S switch transfers the operating system to the hard drive.
The /V switch causes HDFORMAT to prompt you for a volume name for
drive C. HDFORMAT now performs the logical format. When finished,
remove the floppy from drive A and press CTRL-ALT-DEL. The system
should boot from the C drive.

For those of you familiar with the IBM world, the DEBUG format is
the same. HDFMTALL is the equivalent to IBM's Diagnostics level
format; HDPART is our version of FDISK, and HDFORMAT is the same
as IBM's FORMAT.

Hopefully, this should make life a little easier for all
concerned.
   