#Ultrastor 14F & MSCDEX
8 messages in this thread
Bob–
You are correct: you do need a specific driver for the ASPI-to-MSCDEX to
work, which Ultrastor has(along with the correct version of MSCDEX). I
would recommend calling them directly at 510-623-8955, or try their
distributors like Tech Data 800-237-8931 or Hard Drives International. The
retail price of the kit is $39.
Eric
Thanks, Eric.
Called Ultrastor today for the kit, apparently they sell it for $29,
although the tech support guy I talked to said they preferred us to go
through the normal distribution channels. I got an exception because I
made noise enough. So, to Ultrastor's credit, they've been extraordinarily
helpful.
I'll keep your message, though, in case I need those phone numbers in the
future.
Later,
Bob
Bob–
I'm glad to hear that Ultrastor is sending you the kit for $29. Is that
the regular price? If it is, I'll make a note of the new price. Please
let me know how it all works out once you get.
Eric
Eric,
I don't know if that's the regular price, $29 for the Ultrastor driver kit,
but that's what the guy on the phone said. I placed the order yesterday,
and they'll do 2nd day mail, so I expect the package any time between
tomorrow (FRI) and Monday. Once I check it out, I'll post on this forum
some indication of my success with it.
Bob
Bob—
Great! I'm very interested in hearing if you get the kit working,
especially since I'm thinking about purchasing it!
Eric
Eric,
Having received the kit only two days after asking for it, and after
getting a high level of personal attention from Ultrastor Tech Support
people, I wish I could say something positive about having the card run my
CD-ROM drive. From all indications, including the blurb on the envelope
containing the floppy disk and short manual, I would have guessed that
configuration for my NEC CDR-83 to be easy.
Well, their driver recognized my CD-ROM drive easy enough, and access to
data on the drive works just fine. However, there's no audio. Not from
multimedia disks (i.e. Mammals, MPC Battlechess), nor does their audio-only
CD player recognize music disks. And I've got a shareware program for
Windows called WIN-CD, and with their driver it also can't find audio
disks. So, what's the point? I might as well go back to my old SCSI
controller, a Trantor, and just let the Ultrastor run the hard disk, which
it does very well.
I have to say I'm disappointed, though. I'd hoped that by upgrading to a
superior SCSI controller–the one I bought for my brand-spanking new
Toshiba 1.2GB drive–that I'd be able to get improved CD-ROM access and
reclaim a slot in my PC. Alas it was not to be, and I'm going to have to
live with both controllers. I'm not going to go out and buy another
controller, but at this rate, I doubt if I'd get this particular brand if I
were doing it all over again. I'd probably go for an Adaptec or similar
brand. And later, I'll hope that Ultrastor will add support for audio on
my CD-ROM drive.
(Note to Ultrastor, if you're reading this: If I've made a mistake
somewhere, please let me know. I'd rather not lose you folks any customers
if there's no reason for it. Still, I would have thought that support for
as common a drive as the NEC CDR-83 would be almost a requirement.)
Later,
Bob
Bob—
I'm suprised to hear about the audio problem. That doesn't sound right, as
I know other people who have the kit and audio from CDs. Perhaps you
should contact Ultrastor's technical support….
Eric
Eric,
Yeah, I'll probably try again, although I can't think of any reason why
everything _but_ audio works. I'll let you know what if any success I
have. Could be that my model CD-ROM drive isn't yet supported. The NEC
CDR-83 wasn't in their list in the UltrOpt documentation; they had the
CDR-84, but not the 83, a slightly older model–but only on the order of 6
months.
Later,
Bob