Getting Started - RadiSys EXM-9 Reference

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1. Getting Started

This manual contains the information you will need to install and use the EXM-9 disk
controller.
The EXM-9 disk controller allows you to use external floppy disk and IDE
(integrated device electronics) hard disk devices. It is designed to plug into any slot
in an EXMbus carrier. The floppy and IDE interfaces in the EXM-9 are independent
from each other and can be individually enabled or disabled.
Note that if your system is to contain both an IDE drive and a floppy diskette drive,
both must be connected to the EXM-9; you cannot use a different controller for the
floppy drive. Thus you cannot use an EXM-9 in a system containing an integrated
EXP-MS/MX drive.
If you are using an external floppy drive that receives power form a power source that
has its own on/off switch (separate from the processor), it is possible that data
corruption can occur on a floppy diskette in the external floppy drive. When the
system is powered off, the controller chip asserts the WRITE ENABLE bit.
Two possible ways to prevent this data corruption are:
1. Remove the floppy diskette from the external floppy drive before powering off
the system.
2. Turn off the power to the floppy drive before powering off the system.
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