SyQuest SyJet external drive

Low-Cost High-Performance Removable Storage

Buyer's Guide

SyQuest SyJet external drive

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The external or "portable" SyJet drive can be used with both PCs and Macs, and is compatible with nearly every operating system currently used on those platforms. It can be connected to a SCSI port, or through a SCSI adapter to a parallel port or PC Card slot. The drive can be moved easily from one computer to another when all of the equipment is turned off.

System requirements

Macintosh SE30 or later, or Macintosh-compatible system; or an IBM-compatible '386, '486, or Pentium-class PC with a compatible SCSI host adapter and operating system; compatible PC operating systems include (according to the installation guide):

MS-DOS or PC-DOS 5.0 or higher
Novell DOS 7.0 or higher
Windows 3.1 or higher
Windows 95
Windows NT 3.51 or higher
OS/2 2.1 or higher
Novell NetWare
UNIX

I would expect SyJet drives to work with Linux systems, too. Linux users may be able to find useful information in Patrick Reijnen's Linux Hardware Compatibility HOW-TO.

Users with old PCs (built before about 1994) may need to investigate whether their system supports SCSI hard disks of this size. I can't provide any technical support on questions like this, which pertain to the user's system rather than the drive.

Technical summary

Manufacturer: SyQuest Technology, now called SYQT
Average seek time: 12 milliseconds
Sustained data transfer rate: 3.7 - 6.9 MB/s (when connected to a fast enough SCSI host adapter)
Size of drive (approx.): 7 inches long, 5 inches wide, 1.5 inches high
Interface: Fast SCSI-2 with two female 50-pin high density connectors on the back of the drive; the second connector allows the drive to be placed in the middle of a SCSI chain when desired
SCSI termination: Automatic termination allows the drive to be placed at the end of a SCSI chain without attachment of a separate terminator.
Power input: 5V and 12 V DC through a special cylindrical connector (SyQuest SparQ/SyJet power supply required for each drive)

Compatible cartridges

SyJet drives are compatible with 1.5 GB SyQuest SyJet cartridges only.

Software

On a system configured to recognize SCSI drives, you will usually be able to use a SyJet SCSI drive without installing additional software. However, useful utilities are found on new 1.5 GB cartridges and can also be downloaded from the SyQuest FTP site as follows.

PC users who want to connect a SyJet drive to a SCSI port should download s_352_1.exe, s_352_2.exe, and s_352_3.exe. These files will create a set of installation disks that includes

The Online Manual (SCSI.EXE)
CHKSCSI utility to assist in configuring your SCSI chain
EZBackup utility
Additional support for Windows 95 & 98, Windows 3.1x, DOS, and OS/2

PC users who want to connect a SyJet drive to a parallel port using SyQuest's adapter cable should download ps_352_1.exe, ps_352_2.exe, and ps_352_3.exe. Presumably these files will create a set of installation disks similar to the PC SCSI installation disks.

Macintosh users should download SyQuest Utilities.hqx instead.

Documentation

Manufacturer's product information
Installation Guides
Online Manual -- included with the software described above
Technical Bulletins
- SCSI help files for Windows NT, Windows 95, DOS/Win 3.x, and OS/2
- Parallel port help files for Windows NT, Windows 95, DOS/Win 3.x, and OS/2
- Macintosh Information
- Care and Operation of SyQuest Drives/Cartridges
- SyJet Drive Geometry
On-line Support and Troubleshooting

Availability

For information on the availability of this and other models of the SyJet drive, click here.

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