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NTCONFIG.TXT
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This file presents general information about the Symbios, Inc. NTCONFIG
Utility.
It is divided into the following sections:
NTCONFIG
General Information
Installing the NTCONFIG utility
x86 platforms
Alpha platforms
Starting the NTCONFIG utility
Main Menu
File
Options
Help
Save/Exit
Cancel
Adapter Settings Menu
Device Selections Menu
To exit the NTCONFIG Utility
* * * * * * * * * * * General Information * * * * * * * * * *
If you have Windows NT version 4.0, and you have installed the latest Symbios
Windows NT Flint driver (ver. 4.05.00 or later), you can change selected
configuration parameters of your Symbios SCSI host adapters by using the
NTCONFIG utility. You may decide to alter these values if there is a conflict
between device settings or if you need to optimize system performance. The
system must be rebooted for the changes to take effect.
Note: During boot, the version number of Windows NT appears in a banner on the
computer monitor.
Since Windows NT and the Symbios Windows NT Flint driver do not need the adapter's
BIOS to operate, only a limited number of the configuration parameters that can
be changed by this utility will have any impact on the system once rebooted.
These parameters are:
o SCSI ID of the adapter
o Wide data bits setting
o Synchronous rate (MB/sec)
* * * * * * * Installing the NTCONFIG utility (x86 platforms) * * * * * * *
To install the NTCONFIG utility using the x86 platforms, follow these steps:
1. Insert the NTCONFIG utility setup diskette into drive A.
2. Click the Start button on the taskbar and choose Run.
3. Type A:\SETUP.EXE in the Open field.
4. Click the OK button and follow the on-screen instructions
to install the NTCONFIG utility.
A shortcut icon is automatically placed on the desktop at the end of the
installation process.
* * * * * * Installing the NTCONFIG utility (ALPHA platforms) * * * * *
The executable program, NTCONFIG.EXE, can be copied to a directory of the users
choice. It can then be executed from a command line or a shortcut can be created
for it and placed on the desktop.
* * * * * * * * * Starting the NTCONFIG utility * * * * * * * *
To start the NTCONFIG utility, double click on the shortcut icon. After a brief
pause, your computer monitor displays the Main Menu of the utility.
To make changes with this menu driven utility, one or more Symbios SCSI
host adapters installed in the system must have NVRAM (non-volatile random
access memory) to store the changes. Also, due to Windows NT constraints,
each of the adapters must have at least one hard drive attached to it so
that NTCONFIG can properly identify the adapter.
IMPORTANT: This utility is a powerful tool. The system can be rendered inoperable
if care is not taken when reconfiguring the parameters.
* * * * * * * * * * * * Main Menu * * * * * * * * * * *
When you start the Symbios NTCONFIG Utility, the main menu appears. This menu
displays a summary list of all Symbios PCI to SCSI host adapters in your system
and information about each of them.
The main menu screen looks similar to this:
+-------------------------------------------------------+
| NTCONFIG - NVRAM Configuration Utility |
| File Options Help |
| |
| |
| Devices Port Irq NvRAM |
| Found Num Level Found |
| |
| SYM53C895 FC00 9 Yes |
| SYM53C875 F800 9 Yes |
| SYM53C875 F400 11 Yes |
| |
| |
| |
| Save/Exit Cancel |
| |
+-------------------------------------------------------+
* * * * * * * * * * * * Main Menu Bar * * * * * * * * * * *
The menu bar offers three items: File, Options, and Help. Each item has a
drop-down menu displaying more choices. To familiarize you with this menu bar,
a brief description of the menu items are discussed.
* * * File * * *
The menu path that appears after clicking on File displays Save and Exit choices.
o To save NVRAM data pertinent to the adapters via the NTCONFIG utility, select
the Save choice.
o To exit the NTCONFIG utility, select the Exit choice.
Note: No automatic update to the adapter(s) is done. All changes
are lost if not already saved by clicking on the Save menu
choice above or clicking on the Save/Exit button.
* * * Options * * *
The menu path that appears after clicking on Options displays adapter
configuration options. The two choices available at this time are
Adapter Settings and Device Selections. Use Options to change adapter
values. When the values of the adapters in the NVRAM Found column indicate
YES, then changes are allowed. If the value is NO, the adapter can be
selected and default values are displayed, but no changes are allowed.
o To change settings for adapters, select the Adapter Settings choice.
o To change settings for SCSI devices, select the Device Selections choice.
In each case, the selected choice displays a menu with adapters found. Click
on the adapter whose related values are to be changed. Depending on the
selection, either the Adapter Settings Menu or Device Selections Menu appears.
See below for further information regarding these menus.
* * * Help * * *
To display information pertinent to a particular menu screen, click on the Help
menu selection.
* * * Main Menu Button Options * * *
At the bottom of the main menu screen, two button options are available:
Save/Exit, and Cancel. Clicking on the Save/Exit button simultaneously saves
the configuration change(s) and exits from the Main Menu. Clicking on the
Cancel button allows exit from a particular menu level, and discards any changes
that may have been made.
* * * * * * * * * * Adapter Settings Menu * * * * * * * * * *
When you click on an adapter, the Adapter Settings menu appears:
+-------------------------------------------------------+
| Adapter Settings |
| Help |
| |
| |
| SCAM Support On |
| Parity Enabled |
| Host SCSI ID 7 |
| Scan Order Low to High <0..Max> |
| |
| Set Defaults Ok Cancel |
| |
+-------------------------------------------------------+
To change a setting, double click on it. For example, if you double
click on SCAM Support, a window appears with two options: On and Off.
Once you click on an option, this window closes and the new values appear
on the Adapter Settings screen.
To set default values, click on the Set Defaults button, and then click on
the Ok button to accept the values. To set changed values, click on the OK
button. To abort any changes made on this screen, click on the Cancel button.
When you click on Ok or Cancel, the system returns to the Main Menu.
The settings in this menu are global settings that affect the selected host
adapter and all SCSI devices attached to it. A brief description of each
setting follows.
* * * SCAM Support * * *
This BIOS will issue or not issue SCSI Configured AutoMatically (SCAM)
negotiations during initialization based on this parameter.
* * * Parity * * *
The Symbios PCI to SCSI host adapters always generate parity, but some
older SCSI devices do not. Therefore, you are offered the option of disabling
parity checking.
Note: When disabling parity checking, it is also necessary to disable
disconnects for all devices, as parity checking for the reselection
phase is not disabled. If a device does not generate parity, and it
disconnects, the I/O never completes because the reselection never
completes.
* * * Host SCSI ID * * *
In general, it is suggested that you not change your host adapter ID from
the default value of 7, as this gives it the highest priority on the SCSI
bus.
* * * Scan Order * * *
This option allows you to tell your device drivers to scan the SCSI bus from
low to high (0 to max) SCSI ID, or from high to low (max to 0) SCSI ID. If you
have more than one device on the SCSI bus, changing the scan order changes the
order in which drive letters are assigned by the system.
Note: This scan order option may conflict with operating systems that
automatically assign a drive order.
* * * * * * * * * * Device Selections Menu * * * * * * * * *
When you select the Device Selections option, the corresponding menu appears:
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Device Selections |
| Help |
| |
| |
| Sync Data Disc Time Scan Queue |
| Rate Width Out Bus LUNS Tags |
| +-------------------------------------------------------------------+-+ |
| | 0-Dev0 N/A 80 16 On 10 Yes Yes Enabled |-| |
| | 1-Dev1 N/A 80 16 On 10 Yes Yes Enabled | | |
| | 2-Dev2 N/A 80 16 On 10 Yes Yes Enabled | | |
| | 3-Dev3 N/A 80 16 On 10 Yes Yes Enabled | | |
| | 4-Dev4 N/A 80 16 On 10 Yes Yes Enabled | | |
| | 5-Dev5 N/A 80 16 On 10 Yes Yes Enabled | | |
| | 6-Dev6 N/A 80 16 On 10 Yes Yes Enabled | | |
| | SYM53C895 80 16 On 10 Yes Yes Enabled |-| |
| +-------------------------------------------------------------------+-+ |
| |
| Ok Cancel |
| |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The settings in this menu affect individual SCSI devices attached to the
selected host adapter. Double clicking on one of the displayed devices will
allow the user to change the listed options. Use the scroll bar on the
right side of the Device Selections menu to scroll down the list of possible
SCSI IDs/devices.
* * * Sync Rate (mega bytes/sec) * * *
The value set with this option defines the maximum data transfer rate the
host adapter attempts to negotiate. The host adapter and a SCSI device
must agree to a rate they can both handle.
* * * Width (bits) * * *
This option sets a value to define the maximum SCSI data width the host
adapter attempts to negotiate. The host adapter and a SCSI device must
agree to a width they can both handle. Only host adapters that can do
16-bit data transfers have this option enabled.
* * * Disconnect * * *
This option tells the host adapter whether or not to allow a device to
disconnect. SCSI devices have the ability to disconnect from the initiator
during an I/O transfer. This disconnect frees the SCSI Bus to allow other I/O
processes. Some devices run faster with disconnects enabled (mostly newer
devices), while some run faster with disconnects disabled (mostly older
devices).
* * * Read Write I/O Timeout (secs) * * *
This option sets the amount of time the host adapter waits for a read, write,
or seek command to complete before trying the I/O transfer again. Since this
provides a safeguard allowing the system to recover if an I/O operation fails,
it is recommended that you always set the time-out to a value greater than
zero.
* * * Scan for Device at Boot Time * * *
When there is a device you do not want to be available to the system, set
this option to "No" for that device. Also, on a bus with only a few devices
attached, you can speed up boot time by changing this setting to "No" for
all unused SCSI IDs.
* * * Scan for SCSI Logical Units (LUNs) * * *
This option can be set to "No" if you have problems with a device that
responds to all LUNs whether they are occupied or not. For example, if there
is a SCSI device with multiple LUNs but you do not want all of those LUNs
to be available to the system, then set this option to "No." This will limit
the scan to LUN0 only.
* * * Queue Tags * * *
This option allows you to enable or disable the issuing of queue tags
during I/O requests when your device driver can do this.
* * * * * * * * To exit the NTCONFIG Utility * * * * *
Since changes only take effect after your system reboots, it is important that
you exit this configuration utility properly. Return to the Main Menu and exit
either by clicking the Save/Exit button, or follow the menu path: File-->Save
and then click on the Exit choice. If you reboot the system without properly
exiting the utility, these changes may not take effect.
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.