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Table of Contents
2. Introduction to PowerSCSI!
2.1 Keyboard and Mouse Support
3. Introduction to SCSI
3.1 SCSI Controller
3.2 SCSI Bus
3.3 SCSI Device Types
3.4 SCSI ID
3.5 SCSI Logical Unit Number (LUN)
3.6 SCSI Termination
3.7 Terminating a SCSI bus with external devices only
3.8 Terminating a SCSI bus with internal devices only
3.9 Terminating a SCSI bus with internal and external devices
3.10 SCSI Disconnect/Reconnect
4. Custom Installation
5. Future/CAM 8-Bit Windows CAM
6. ASPI Manager
7. Future Domain CD-ROM Support
8. Specifying the Target Path
9. Missing CD-ROM Extensions
10. Updating and Backing Up of System Files
2. Introduction to PowerSCSI!
PowerSCSI! is a universal application interface developed by Future
Domain that allows applications to work seamlessly with most SCSI
peripherals. PowerSCSI! can be thought of as "middleware" because it
functions between the application software and the SCSI device.
PowerSCSI! controls SCSI peripherals through the operating system
and the actual hardware consisting of the controller and cable.
Once PowerSCSI! is installed, it operates in the background, managing
input/output (I/O) calls from the application software to any number of
SCSI peripherals, including CD-ROM, hard disk drives, magneto-optical
drives, digital cameras, scanners, and tape drives.
PowerSCSI! provides device-level support for:
Hard Disk
CD-ROM
PowerSCSI! provides SCSI interface support for:
CAM (Int 4Fh)
ASPI
PowerSCSI! supports all the Future Domain controllers and ICs that
uses any of the following host-bus interfaces:
ISA
2.1 Keyboard and Mouse Support
Mouse support is available. To use the mouse, load the mouse driver
included with DOS or the mouse device driver included with the system.
Keyboard support is as follows:
Left Arrow: Moves the active item to the left within a control group
Right Arrow: Moves the active item to the right within a control
group
Tab Left: Moves the active item to the left within a control
group, or to a previous control group
Tab Right: Moves the active item to the right within a control
group, or to a the next control group
Enter Key: Selects active item
3. Introduction to SCSI
SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) is an intelligent interface
that allows computers to communicate with various types of devices.
A SCSI system is composed of a SCSI controller, a SCSI bus, one or
more devices located at different IDs, and termination.
3.1 SCSI Controller
The SCSI controller can be an ISA, MCA, EISA, PCI, or PCMCIA card
that fits into a slot in the computer. It provides the SCSI
interface between the computer and the SCSI devices. SCSI may also
be provided on a system motherboard, in which case a connector is
provided to attach SCSI devices to the system.
3.2 SCSI Bus
A SCSI bus is an electrical interface that connects SCSI devices with
a SCSI controller.
3.3 SCSI Device Types
SCSI supports a wide variety of devices which include hard disks,
tape drives, printers, processors, WORMs, CD-ROMs, scanners,
medium-changers (jukeboxes), magneto optical devices, and
communication devices.
3.4 SCSI ID
A SCSI bus can support up to eight devices. Each device on the SCSI
bus is addressed by a unique number between zero and seven, called
the SCSI (or Target) ID. The Future Domain SCSI controller is
located at SCSI ID 7, leaving IDs ranging from zero to six free.
3.5 SCSI Logical Unit Number (LUN)
Each SCSI ID may have up to 8 devices. These devices are addressed
by their Logical Unit Number (LUN). Typically only one device is
present at each ID, and is assigned a logical unit number of 0.
3.6 SCSI Termination
For SCSI to work properly, the SCSI bus must be terminated. To
terminate a SCSI bus, you must put terminating resistors at each end
of the bus. A bus may have three configurations: external devices
only, internal devices only, or external and internal devices.
3.7 Terminating a SCSI bus with external devices only:
Termination must be supplied on the last external device on the
chain, and on the SCSI controller.
3.8 Terminating a SCSI bus with internal devices only:
Termination must be supplied to the last device on the chain, and on
the SCSI controller.
3.9 Terminating a SCSI bus with internal and external devices:
Termination must be supplied to the last internal device on the
internal chain, and to the last external device on the external
chain. Also, termination on the SCSI controller must be removed.
3.10 SCSI Disconnect / Reconnect
Not all SCSI transactions can be processed immediately. For example,
rewinding a tape or scanning a document can take a long time, as can
seeking to a sector on a CD-ROM or hard disk. These operations can
tie up the CPU unnecessarily while waiting for the device to complete
the task. In these cases, the SCSI specification has defined a way
for a device to disconnect from the SCSI bus, thus freeing the SCSI
bus for other SCSI transactions or freeing the CPU from being tied to
the SCSI bus waiting for the operation to complete.
When the disconnected device completes its operation it can reconnect
to the bus, causing a hardware interrupt. When this interrupt
occurs, control is returned back to that SCSI operation, which then
completes.
The disconnect/reconnect mechanism provides overlapped I/O
functionality by allowing multiple outstanding SCSI requests with
different devices to be in process at the same time.
4. Custom Installation
The Custom Setup provides the advanced computer user more control
over the PowerSCSI! installation.
Select the box next to the option to be installed. The "More"
buttons will open the configuration screens that provide further
customization.
Windows Future/CAM(TM) Drivers
The Windows Future/CAM drivers provide a SCSI CAM interface to all
Future Domain controllers under Windows. Each of these drivers
execute in 32-bit protected mode which gives the best performance
under Windows.
Hard Disk Support
Hard disk support is normally provided by the ROM BIOS that comes
with the Future Domain controller. PowerSCSI! provides drivers that
improve hard disk performance under DOS and Windows.
SCSI Interface Support
PowerSCSI! supports most SCSI third party applications by providing
support for the various SCSI interfaces available today.
5. Future/CAM 8-Bit Windows Driver
PowerSCSI!'s Future/CAM drivers manage all SCSI transactions on the
SCSI bus. All SCSI I/O requests made by the applications are
processed by Future/CAM. This driver (V9FCAMD.386) provides
real-mode, 16-bit protected mode, and 32-bit protected mode CAM
interface for all controllers based on the 950/9C50 ICs, which
includes the following Future Domain controllers:
TMC-850M
TMC-850MER
TMC-850MEX
This driver is a 32-bit protected mode Windows VxD driver. This
means the driver is executed in 32-bit protected mode which is the
native operational mode in Windows.
To manually configure the V9FCAMD.386 driver in the [386 Enh] section
of the SYSTEM.INI file, use the following syntax:
DEVICE=[drive:][path]V9FCAMD.386
FDC950=[<Memory_Address>,<IRQ>..]
Where:
<Memory_Address> (C800, CA00, CE00, DE00, E800, or
EA00)
<IRQ> IRQ (11)
Example:
[386 Enh]
DEVICE=C:\PWRSCSI!\V9FCAMD.386
FDC950=CA00 11
6. ASPI Manager
Future Domain's ASPI manager (ASPIFCAM.SYS) interfaces ASPI based
drivers and applications to all Future Domain controllers and ICs.
If the ASPI driver or application to be used is capable of command
posting and/or disconnect/reconnect, turn these features on and use
the multitasking DOS Future/CAM driver and/or Windows Future/CAM
driver.
To manually configure this driver in the CONFIG.SYS file, use the
following syntax:
DEVICE=[drive:][path]ASPIFCAM.SYS [/D] [/O]
Where:
/D Enables SCSI disconnect/reconnect feature
/O Enables posting of ASPI commands
/M Disables the display of parameter option messages
7. Future Domain CD-ROM Support
PowerSCSI!'s CD-ROM driver (FDCD.SYS) supports CD-ROM data, Audio,
Photo-CD, CD-XA, and CD-I for SCSI-1 and SCSI-2 CD-ROM
devices. This driver supports up to a maximum of 24 SCSI CD-ROM
devices, only limited by the available drive letters in DOS/Windows.
To enable CD-ROM support, FDCD.SYS must be loaded in the CONFIG.SYS
and the CD-ROM Extensions must be loaded in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
To manually configure the CD-ROM driver in CONFIG.SYS, use the
following syntax:
DEVICE=[drive:][path]FDCD.SYS [/D:MSCD0001] [/R] [/Z] [/L] [/M]
[/P:<HBA>,<ID>:<DriveCount>]
Where:
/D:???????? Identification string to CD-ROM Extensions
/R Forces SCSI bus reset upon driver
initialization
/Z Displays drive size
/M Disables the display of parameter option
messages
Note 1: If the system is attached to a network, add the LASTDRIVE
statement in the CONFIG.SYS file. For example, if the last drive
letter allocated is drive E, add
LASTDRIVE=E
to the CONFIG.SYS file. In this case, network drive letters will be
added starting at drive F.
Note 2: The CD-ROM Extensions program is required to allow
DOS/Windows to assign a drive letter and to access the CD-ROM.
Example:
DEVICE=C:\PWRSCSI!\FDCD.SYS /D:MSCD0001
8. Specifying the Target Directory
PowerSCSI! Setup needs to know where to copy the drivers and
utilities on the hard disk. The default directory is C:\PWRSCSI!.
To have the PowerSCSI! drivers and utilities copied to a different
directory, type the new path in the box and click "OK". If the path
specified does not exist, Setup will create it.
9. CD-ROM Extensions
Support for CD-ROM devices requires the CD-ROM Extensions. One
version of the CD-ROM Extensions is called MSCDEX.EXE. It is
distributed with DOS v6.X and later. A similar version from Corel is
called CORELCDX.COM. Either one of these programs can be used to
provide full CD-ROM support for the system.
10. Updating and Backing Up of System Files
PowerSCSI! Setup will update the appropriate system files
(CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT, and SYSTEM.INI) with the necessary
changes for the user.
Copies of the old system files will be saved using the same file
names but with the .FDC extension (CONFIG.FDC, AUTOEXEC.FDC, and
SYSTEM.FDC). These backup files may be renamed by typing the new
names in the appropriate boxes.
To choose not to have PowerSCSI! Setup update a system file,
deselect the appropriate "Update" box
Multiple Configuration System Files
PowerSCSI! Setup handles multiple configuration system files created
under MS-DOS v6.0 and later in a different way. The multiple
configuration system files (CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT) allow
users to create multiple ways of configuring how the operating system
starts up. PowerSCSI! Setup can not presume how the user wants to
configure the operating system's start-up and will not update the
files. However, the modification that are required to enable the
PowerSCSI! drivers will be saved in files (with the .MCF extension)
which may be used to update the multiple configuration system files.
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.