This message is from the T13 list server.
The firmware update stuff is mostly used during development and qual cycles at customer sites. Correct, most end users would never use the feature. But it can be invaluable to someone like a TiVo or someone developing RAID systems to not have to pull the drive(s) out, find a PC and do an FW update than put the drives back if it ever is. I know on occasion there is a need to do FW updates at end user sites, albeit never on a drive I developed, but it does happen. PS: We were talking about FW updates because someone asked if there was a ATA command to do update so they could write their own utility rather than using the canned "EXE's" provided by the vendors. Besides the reflector has been way to quiet.... gary laatsch [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: "Hale Landis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2003 10:03 PM Subject: RE: [t13] ATA Drive firmware update. This message is from the T13 list server. On Thu, 9 Jan 2003 01:32:28 +0100, Thomas Kj�rnes wrote: >How about a Firmware-protection jumper on the drive? Most drives don't have extra unused jumper positions. Additional pins for jumpers are not free. Lets just say it would probably less difficult to get "Star Wars" (aka SDI) to work than to get drive manufacturers to add a jumper for this reason. But then lets looks at this a little more... 180 million (may not be the current number but probably close) ATA drives manufactured each year. 178 million are used in personal computer systems. 2 million are used in other things (game boxes, embedded systems, RAIDs, etc, oh yea, don't forget the few thousand that go into TiVo and similar boxes). How many of these drives require a firmware update once they are in the final customers hands? Probably none, or maybe a few thousand at most. Oh yea, how many drives have their firmware in ROM? Why are we even talking about firmware upgrades anyway? Hale *** Hale Landis *** www.ata-atapi.com ***
