Hardware Installation
By itself, your CD-ROM drive is incapable of communicating with your computer.
You must use a hardware link that enables your drive to ‘‘talk’’ with the rest of your
computer.
Plextor’s 12/20PleX drives use a SCSI interface as their link. If you own a PC, there
are four ways in which you can make the SCSI connection:
1) Use a separate SCSI interface board. This is the most common method for
both internal and external drives. We recommend using a 32-bit PCI bus
mastering SCSI interface board to maximize the drive’s potential. Older 8-bit
SCSI interface boards are not recommended. More cost-effective, but with
a decrease in video performance, are 16-bit ISA bus mastering SCSI interface
boards. Both these bus mastering interface technologies also allow you to
take advantage of SCSI multitasking in 32-bit operating systems such as
Windows 95, Windows NT, UNIX, SCO, Solaris, etc. Another possibility is
to use an ISA-PIO SCSI interface board, but performance will suffer, as will
multitasking.
2) Use a soundboard that also has a SCSI interface built onto it. This helps save
a slot in your computer by combining the functions of two boards (SCSI
interface board and soundboard) into one.
Caution:
Many older sound-
boards use only an 8-bit SCSI chip. If you need the performance a 16-bit
SCSI interface board provides (see page 33), you’ll have to buy a separate
SCSI board or a soundboard with a 16-bit SCSI interface built into it.
3) If you have an external drive, you can also use a parallel-to-SCSI interface.
This is a device that plugs into the parallel port (the one your printer normally
is connected to) of your computer. It is convenient, but typically at a cost of
reduced performance to your CD-ROM drive.
4) If you have an external drive and a portable computer with a PCMCIA slot
(Type II or III), use a PCMCIA-to-SCSI card. This is a small, credit-card size
device that plugs into the PCMCIA slot. It too is convenient, but also provides
less performance than a direct connection to a 32-bit or 16-bit SCSI interface
board. PCMCIA connections should, however, provide better performance
than a parallel-to-SCSI interface.
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12/20PLEX OPERATION MANUAL
21
