Jodeman's SGI & Stuff - Installing a Disk Drive Inside an Enclosure

Installing a Disk Drive Inside an Enclosure - by Jodeman
On older enclosures, there are usually 5 pins where the cable plug connects to the SCSI ID # switch.
Plug the 5-slot plug into the part inside the enclosure that connects to the SCSI ID switch in the following order from top to bottom. Look on outside of enclosure at the SCSI id switch. The TOP is corresponding to the top of the SCSI id switch.
_____	Black 	  (Ground)   TOP (On the SCSI ID switch, the numbers are right side up)
_____	Nothing
_____	Green 	  (Scsi 4)
_____	Orange 	  (Scsi 2)
_____	Black 	  (Scsi 1)   BOTTOM of Switch
The cable inside the enclosure connects the above to the applicable plugs on the Disk/Tape Drive to enable the Enclosure to control which SCSI IDs the Disk Drive will take.
The Order in which to connect the plugs to the Disk/Tape Drive:
* * * (Black, Orange, Green) * * * (Black, Black, Black) (This are the ground wires)
In the above example: Black stands for the pin where SCSI ID 1 is. Orange for SCSI ID 2. Green for SCSI ID 4
There is usually a black and red wired plug (depending on the enclosure) which is plugged into the disk/tape drive to control the LED light on the front of the Enclosure so one can get a visual confirmation that the Disk/Tape Drive is actually being accessed. Usually, this plug is plugged into the 2nd plug from the three where the above plugs are in, tho' this is not always the case. Confirming with the technical specs of the drive is recommended.
I would recommend that you hook the enclosure up to a system to confirm that the SCSI id switch on the enclosure is hooked up correctly to your disk drive BEFORE screwing the disk drive to the bottom of the enclosure. The reason for this is that many times, the plugs will have been connected wrong and you'll have to re-plug them back in. If you've already screwed the drive into the bottom of the enclosure, then you'll see why I offered this warning in a few minutes. *grin*
From the PROM/Command Monitor of your SGI system (Option 5 on the System Maintenance Menu), type "hinv" to see what your disk drive shows up as.
If you see it shows up as the correct SCSI id, congratulations! Try the same with other SCSI id numbers just to make sure everything is hooked up correctly.
If, for example, you set it at SCSI ID 4 but it shows up as SCSI 7, then perhaps the Black, Orange, Green plugs connected to the disk drive are plugged incorrectly.
"But it's plugged in exactly as it is shown on the diagram in the Technical Specs!" Yeah, I know.. it happens. Try exchanging the plugs into the disk drive in the following fashion:

* * * (Black, Black, Black) (This are the ground wires) * * * (Black, Orange, Green)

Where the plug with the three black cables was previously on the bottom & the red/yellow/green cable was previously on top. Now the 3 black cables will be on the top and the RYG cable will be on the bottom.
Now, turn the system on again and repeat the procedure to see what SCSI id it is on.
If it shows up as SCSI id 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, AND 7 then check what SCSI ID your enclosure is set at. It's most likely set at SCSI ID 0. Try switching it to SCSI id 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 to see if they all work. NOTE: On newer enclosures with newer drives that can support it, all the SCSI IDs from 0 to 15 will show up. For simplicity of this procedure, I'll be referring to enclosures with SCSI ID switches that only go up to 7.
Once all the fun of troubleshooting is over and the disk drive shows the correct SCSI ID no matter what number you change it to, it's time to screw the disk drive to the bottom of the enclosure and close it up.
Be sure to check the drive at least once more before you box and send it out just to make sure that everything is working. I highly recommend this last step.
Are you sure you've got everything now?

Are all the screws screwed into the bottom of the enclosure and to the back?
Did you enclose the proper Terminator, SCSI cable and power cord with the box?
Did you forget to take down the Serial Number of the drive? Oops.. Hey, it happens. Don't worry about it.
Did the black and red LED cable pop loose from the drive? Is the hard drive LED light working?
Did you test to see if the drive is recognized at the other SCSI id addresses? (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
Did you mark down the size, brand, model of the drive and the serial number?
Did you test the drive to make sure it works?
The procedure with many of the newer drives and enclosures is pretty much the same except there are 4 plugs for the SCSI. This enables the drive to be set at up to SCSI id 15 instead of Scsi id 7 like on the older drives.
Depending on the system, the 4th jumper pin for SCSI ID will either be used or ignored. Older systems like the Indy & Indigo2, the controllers are unable to see any SCSI Ids higher than 7. O2, Octane and Origin systems can see up to SCSI ID 15.
Sometimes, the enclosure may need to be terminated externally or the drive may not get recognized.

JODEMAN NOTE: This is a guide ONLY. Please use it as such. There are many different types of enclosures out there. Some SCSI ID plugs have blocks of 6 differently colored wires on them. Please don't email me about the procedures on your particular enclosure. You can use this page as a starting point but you will have to use good ol' "TRIAL AND ERROR" to figure out the proper sequence for your drive & enclosure.

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