AST RESEARCH, INC.         TECHNICAL BULLETIN #0882               12-15-93




          POWEREXEC DRIVE BAY ADAPTER AND GATEWAY 2000 4/33 SYSTEM


PROBLEM:       The PowerExec Drive Bay Adapter will not function correctly in
               a Gateway 2000 4/33 system.  The Gateway 2000 internal 200MB
               IDE hard drive and the drive adapter will cause the system to
               lock up after counting the system memory.  An error message
               "Hard disk read failure - strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for
               setup utility" is displayed.

CAUSE:         There is an incompatibility at this time between the default
               drive type (AUTO CONFIG) under the Gateway system setup
               utility and the PowerExec Drive Bay Adapter.

SYSTEMS
AFFECTED:      PowerExec Drive Bay Adapters (AST part number 202540-002) in a
               Gateway 2000 system that has a Micronics system board (with a
               part number of 09-00081-02).

SOLUTION:      Change the drive type for the 200MB IDE drive, from a AUTO
               CONFIG to a drive type of 43 (987 Cylinders, 12 Heads, 35
               Sectors and 202 Size).  This will allow the internal 200MB IDE
               drive to be recognized as drive C: and the Drive Bay Adapter
               as drive D:.