Adaptec 7800 Family Manager Set v1.02 - Windows NT
==================================================
Driver v1.01 release for Windows NT v3.1
Directory Structure:
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The files on this diskette which are required for the installation of
the 7800 series Windows NT driver are as follows:
\DISK1 - Disk tag file
\TXTSETUP.OEM - Install script used during NT installation
\WINNT\AIC78XX.SYS - Adaptec 7800 series driver v1.01 for Windows NT
\WINNT\README.TXT - This file
\WINNT\OEMSETUP.INF - Install script used by Windows NT Setup
Installation instructions for the AIC-7870 WIN/NT driver:
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Read this to find out about
===========================
Adding, swapping, and removing Adaptec 7800 Family host adapters
in computers running Microsoft Windows NT
Installing Windows NT with an Adaptec 7800 Family host adapter(s)
Using software parameters to change the configuration of Microsoft
Windows NT drivers
Installation and Product Overview
=================================
The Adaptec 7800 Family driver, aic78xx.sys, allows the Windows NT
operating system to recognize the Adaptec AHA-2940/2940W, single-chip
AIC-7870, and single-chip AIC-7850 host adapters. These host adapters
are referred to collectively as the Adaptec 7800 Family host adapters.
At the time of this writing, the Windows NT drivers are supplied by
Adaptec only. In the future, however, Windows NT will supply Adaptec
drivers to function with the Adaptec 7800 Family of host adapters.
Adaptec always ships the latest Windows NT driver in the 7800 Family
Manager Set. This driver enables the Adaptec 7800 Family host adapters
to perform at an even higher level under Windows NT. The procedures in
this readme explain how to install Windows NT with the latest Adaptec
driver.
Requirements
============
A PCI computer, with an installed and configured Adaptec AHA-
2940/2940W host adapter(s); or a PCI computer with an embedded AIC-
7850 or AIC-7870 single-chip host adapter.
An installed primary (boot) floppy diskette drive. A 3.5-inch
(1.44 MByte) or 5.25-inch (1.2 MByte) high-density floppy
diskette drive is required.
An installed and configured CD-ROM drive (optional) for installing
from the compact disc. See your computer and peripheral documentation
for details.
The Windows NT distribution software and documentation.
The Adaptec 7800 Family Manager Set Diskette for NetWare, OS/2,
and Windows NT.
The Adaptec AHA-2940/2940W User's Guide.
Performing a Windows NT Installation
====================================
Follow these instructions if you are installing an Adaptec AHA-
2940/2940W host adapter and Windows NT at the same time. You may install
Windows NT from a floppy drive or from a CD-ROM drive; whichever you
choose, make sure the hardware installation is completed prior to following
these steps.
If you know that Adaptec drivers are supplied with your Windows NT
version, follow these procedures exactly to install the new driver. The
install program tries to access the old driver on other Windows NT
floppy disks or from the CD during installation.
1 If you choose to install Windows NT from a floppy drive, locate
the Windows NT Disk 1 for Floppy Installation. Make a backup
copy of this diskette.
If you are installing from a CD-ROM drive, locate the Windows NT Setup
Disk for CD-ROM Installation. Make a backup copy of this diskette.
2 Delete the file aic78xx.sys on the backup diskette you just
created. This file may not be on the disk; if it is not, skip this
step.
3 Put the backup diskette into drive A (not drive B) and turn
on your computer.
4 When prompted, select Custom setup.
Caution: If you choose Express setup, the installation process is unable
to detect your Adaptec host adapter and the installation fails.
5 Windows NT setup cannot recognize the adapter and displays
none. Press S to configure additional SCSI adapters.
6 From the list of additional SCSI adapters, select Other
(Requires disk provided by a hardware manufacturer).
7 Insert the Adaptec 7800 Family Manager Set Diskette for
NetWare, OS/2, and Windows NT into drive A and press Enter.
8 The screen displays the adapter similar to Adaptec Driver
for AIC78xx SCSI Controller. Press Enter.
9 If you want to add other host adapters (that are not a part
of the 7800 Family), do so at this time by following steps 6 through
8 for each additional adapter. The 7800 Family of host adapters
uses the same driver, so this step is not necessary for them.
10 Press Enter to continue with the Windows NT operating system
setup. Follow the instructions given onscreen and in the Windows NT
Installation documentation.
Updating Windows NT with the New Driver
=======================================
This section explains how to make the following hardware changes to your
computer without reinstalling Windows NT:
Add an Adaptec host adapter that uses the same driver as one
already installed in your computer, and add an Adaptec host adapter
that uses a different driver
Swap an Adaptec host adapter for one that uses a different driver
Remove an Adaptec host adapter
Note: These operations are similar but have important distinctions, as
described in the following sections. Read the instructions carefully
before you change your computer configuration.
Adding a Host Adapter
=====================
This section details installing a host adapter in a computer. If you are
adding an Adaptec host adapter to a computer that already has an
installed host adapter of the same family (for example, if you have
added an AHA-2940 to a computer that already has an installed AHA-2940),
perform steps 1 through 5 only.
If you are adding a host adapter that uses a different driver, you must
perform all the steps in this section to ensure that the device driver
for the new host adapter is both installed on your system disk and is
enabled.
The steps are as follows:
1 Shut down Windows NT if your computer is ON.
2 Power OFF your computer and physically install the new host
adapter in an available slot. Refer to the host adapter hardware
documentation for installation.
WARNING: Always refer to your computer's documentation for instructions
on opening the computer cover and adding boards.
3 Verify that there are no system resource conflicts (e.g.
interrupt request level or DMA channel) between the new host adapter
and other hardware installed in the computer. Refer to the host
adapter hardware documentation for instructions; changes may be
necessary to the CMOS Setup.
Note: Depending on the BIOS for the PCI system, this step may not be
necessary.
4 Restart the computer.
5 Boot Windows NT. If you have just added an Adaptec host
adapter to a computer that already has an installed host adapter of
the same family (for example, if you have added an AHA-2940 to a
computer that already has an installed AHA-2940), your installation
is complete, do not perform steps 6 through 15.
6 Select and start the Windows NT Setup program. (Its icon is
usually found in the Main program group.) There is a brief pause while
Windows NT Setup scans your hardware -configuration.
7 Select the Options pull-down menu and then select Add/Remove
SCSI Adapters. The SCSI Adapter setup program displays a list of the
types of host adapters currently installed.
8 Click on the Add button to add another host adapter type to
the list. Expand the list and select the type of host adapter to be
added. For this example, we assume you are adding an AHA-2940 to a
computer that already has an AHA-1540C.
9 Click on the Install button.
At this point, Windows NT Setup checks to see if the specified driver
(in this example, aic78xx.sys) has already been copied to the system
disk. If this type of host adapter was previously installed, the
following message appears:
The driver(s) for this SCSI adapter are already on the system
10 Click on Current if you want to use the existing device
driver or click on New if you want to replace it. If you select
Current, skip to step 12.
If the device driver has never been installed, this message appears:
Please enter the full path to the Windows NT SCSI Adapter files.
11 Change the path to the directory with the desired device
driver, then click on Continue.
The device driver is copied to your system disk and the
Windows NT configuration is updated so that the new device driver loads
when Windows NT reboots.
12 When the installation is complete, Windows NT Setup again
displays a list of currently installed host adapter types. Verify
that the new host adapter appears on the list; the string should
look similar to:
Adaptec Driver for AIC78xx SCSI Controller
13 Add other types of host adapters if necessary (see steps 8
through 12 above), or click on Close to exit the SCSI adapters
portion of Windows NT Setup, and then close the program.
14 When you see this message, click on OK to exit:
The changes you have made will not take effect until the computer is
restarted
If this message does not appear, no changes have been made to the
Windows NT system configuration.
15 Restart your computer and Windows NT. It is possible that
some drive letter assignments may change from the previous
configuration.
Swapping a Host Adapter
=======================
Swapping one type of host adapter for another is similar to the
procedure for adding a host adapter. The important distinction is that
you make all software configuration changes while Windows NT is running
and before you make the hardware changes.
1 Install the driver for the new host adapter by following
steps 6 through 15 in the section Adding a Host Adapter on page 3-5.
It is not essential to remove the device driver for the host adapter you
are replacing. Windows NT dynamically detects the absence or presence of
host adapter hardware, and no problems should arise if you leave the
existing device driver installed. You may remove the device driver
later, after you have successfully rebooted Windows NT. However, if you
leave the driver in, the system alerts you with an error message of the
extra device driver every time you boot.
2 Once the new device driver is installed, shut down Windows
NT and replace the existing host adapter, as described in steps 1
through 5 of Adding a Host Adapter on page 3-5.
3 Restart your computer and Windows NT. It is possible that
some drive letter assignments may change from the previous
configuration.
Caution: If the host adapter you are swapping controls the computer boot
device, you must follow the additional steps in the next section in
order for Windows NT to work correctly.
Swapping the Boot Host Adapter
==============================
If the host adapter you are swapping controls the system disk from which
your Windows NT loads, you must update the device driver in two locations
(because Windows NT boots in a two-stage process): the Windows NT device
driver directory (i.e. \winnt\system32\drivers) and c:\ntbootdd.sys.
In the first stage of booting, no software configuration is available
and Windows NT loads the device driver to control the computer boot disk
from the file c:\ntbootdd.sys. Therefore, when you perform the steps
described above to swap a host adapter you must also explicitly copy the
aic78xx.sys device driver to c:\ntbootdd.sys (meaning that aic78xx.sys
is copied over and renamed as c:\ntbootdd.sys).
Note: The c:\ntbootdd.sys file is system, hidden, and read only; you
must use an attribute change program to disable the hidden and read only
attributes. For example, using DOS, enter attrib -h -r -s c:\ntbootdd.sys
to disable the these attributes before c:\ntbootdd.sys can be modified.
ntbootdd.sys is always located on your C drive, even if the system disk
once Windows NT boots is a different disk. For example MS-DOS is
installed on your IDE disk C, and Windows NT is installed on SCSI disk D.
Removing a Host Adapter
=======================
Removing a host adapter can be as simple as physically removing it from
the slot when your computer is shut down. Windows NT boots and functions
properly in this configuration, but a warning message is generated every
time you boot Windows NT.
Caution: If you have removed a host adapter but still have other host
adapters of the same type installed in your computer, do not use Windows
NT Setup to remove the device driver.
To eliminate the warning message, you must update the Windows NT
software configuration, as described in these steps:
1 Select and start the Windows NT Setup program. (Its icon is
usually found in the Main program group.) There is a brief pause
while Windows NT Setup scans your hardware -configuration.
2 Select the Options pull-down menu and select Add/Remove SCSI
Adapters. The SCSI Adapter setup program displays a list of the
types of host adapters currently installed.
3 Select the type of host adapter you want to remove and click
on the Remove button. When the Windows NT Setup program asks you for
confirmation, click on OK.
Because SCSI device drivers are loaded during system bootup and because
they may be needed to load Windows NT itself, the following warning
message appears:
The SCSI adapter has been marked as a boot device. Removing it may cause
the system not to boot.
4 If you are sure you are removing the correct host adapter
type, click on OK.
5 Return to step 3 if you want to remove driver support for
other types of host adapters, or click on Close to exit the SCSI
adapters portion of Windows NT Setup.
6 Close the Windows NT Setup program. When the following
message appears click on OK to exit:
The changes you have made will not take effect until the computer is
restarted.
If this message does not appear, no changes have been made to the
Windows NT system configuration.
7 Restart your computer. Note that Windows NT Setup does not
delete the device driver from your system disk; it only updates
Windows NT software configuration information so that the device
driver is no longer loaded during system bootup.
Updating a Device Driver
========================
If a software update is available for a particular host adapter device
driver, you may update your Windows NT system without any hardware or
software configuration changes by following these steps:
1 Copy the new device driver to the directory -
Xxxxx\System32\Drivers, where Xxxxx is the system root of Windows NT
(typically named \winnt).
2 If you are updating the device driver that controls the
computer boot device, copy the same driver to the file
c:\ntbootdd.sys.
Note: The c:\ntbootdd.sys file is system, hidden, and read only; you
must use an attribute change program to disable the hidden and read only
attributes. For example, using DOS, enter attrib -h -r -s
c:\ntbootdd.sys to disable the these attributes before c:\ntbootdd.sys
can be modified.
3 Shut down and restart your computer.
Troubleshooting
===============
The boot manager for Windows NT contains recovery logic to allow you to
return to the last known good configuration. If you have changed your
host adapter configuration and Windows NT no longer boots, follow these
steps to recover:
1 Undo any hardware changes you have made to the computer
since it was last operational.
2 Reboot the computer. Watch the display carefully during
bootup. If the following message appears, press the Spacebar and
follow the instructions on the screen to continue booting with
the last known good configuration:
Press spacebar NOW to invoke the Last Known Good menu
3 Once your computer is operational again, double check all of
the hardware and software configuration changes you want to make.
Look specifically for conflicts with parts of the existing system
configuration that are not being changed.
If you cannot determine the source of the error, contact Adaptec
Technical Support for assistance at the telephone numbers listed below.
Adaptec Phone Numbers
---------------------
Technical Support (800) 959-7274
M-Th: 6:00am to 5:00pm, F: 6:00am to 3:00pm
Pacific Standard Time
Bulletin Board Service (BBS) (408) 945-7727
24 hours a day (up to 14400 baud, using
8 bits, 1 stop bit, no parity)
Literature Hotline (800) 934-2766
M-F: 5:00am to 6:00PM Pacific Standard Time
Software Ordering (U.S.A. and Canada) (800) 442-7274
M-F: 5:00am to 6:00pm Pacific Standard Time
International Software Ordering (818) 365-6264
M-F: 5:00am to 6:00pm Pacific Standard Time
Interactive Fax Service (408) 957-7150
24 hours a day
Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.