Frequently Asked Questions about Windows NT 4.X This FAQ document is valid for the following Symbios Logic devices: 53C810, 53C810A, 53C815, 53C825, 53C860 and 53C875 chips. Many Windows NT installation problems are due to IRQs not being enabled properly. The subsequent sections will guide the reader through common setup steps to enable IRQs and general Windows NT 4.X driver questions. Most OEM cards that use our chipsets are not "TRUE" plug and play PCI-SCSI Host Adapters, that is why the manual settings of the IRQ in the system is required. System CMOS setup hints: The following section describes setup steps to take with 3 common System CMOS's. These are general procedures, since each Mother Board Vendor modifies the BIOS to configure their Mother Board. To get the best results. it is best to set Network cards to IRQ 9. This can be done via the software that comes with the card. Also set Sound cards to use IRQ 5. Award BIOS 1) While in the CMOS setup pick the "PCI Configuration Setup" or "PNP and PCI Configuration" menu. Change the settings for the slot number in which the Symbios Host Bus Adapter (HBA) is located if this option is available from "Auto Detect" to "INT A" or to an IRQ such as 10, 11, 12 or 15, leaving all other slots set to Auto. If there are no Slot options available then use the "MANUAL" setting. This will show all of the IRQs and will list them as either "Legacy ISA" or "NO/ICU" or "PNP/PCI" or "Yes/ICU". What you will do is set all IRQs below 9 to either Legacy ISA or NO/ICU. IRQ's 10, 11, 12 and 15 will be set to PNP/PCI or Yes/ICU. 2) The "Available IRQ" settings should be modified to 1st = 10, 2nd = 11, 3rd = 12, and 4th = 15. Ensure that any other device in the system (i.e., sound card or LAN card) are not set to the same IRQs as the Symbios Logic HBA. For example, if the LAN card is using IRQ 11, remove IRQ 11 as the 1st available IRQ in the CMOS setting and shift all of the available IRQs up one level. 3) Some versions have a statement that will say "PCI IRQ Activated by" set this to Level. Some versions have a statment that will say "PCI IDE MAP to" set this to ISA or Absent. 4) Save the configuration and reboot Windows 95. Check the performance tab located in the Control Panel->System Icon. Both file system and virtual memory should read 32-bit. AMI BIOS 1) While in the CMOS setup pick the "Chipset" or "Advanced" menu. 2) Some versions of the CMOS setup allow for the setting of IRQs referenced to the slot location of the Symbios Logic HBA. Other versions of the CMOS setup only allow for the IRQ to be set to "PCI/ISA" or "Used/Available". In any case, make sure that IRQ 9 is set to "Used", "not available", or "ISA". Keep IRQs 10, 11, and 15 free. 3) Save the configuration and reboot Windows NT. If the system goes passed the blue dump screen during boot up then the system is configured properly. Phoenix BIOS If you have the version of the Phoenix BIOS, that only has 2 pages to the CMOS setup and the only option for the SCSI is to enable or disable it. There is not much that can be done other than this. The system will do an Auto setting on its own. There is NO work-around to fix the problem. The only solution is to go to another SCSI card. ******************************************************************************** OEM SCSI HBA with Symbios Logic Chips Symbios Logic sells the controller chips to other vendors. Problems that we have encountered with specific vendor HBAs are listed below. MS-3805 HBA: JP2 comes default as INT A Edge pins 2&3. Change JP2 to INT A Level, pins 1&2. GA-410 HBA: JP3 is a setting for 1st controller and 2nd controller. The card comes default as pins 1&2. Change JP3 to pins 2&3, and the system will register the IRQ. SCSI-810P HBA: J1 comes default as INT B, pins 2&3. Change J1 to INT A, pins 1&2. Model P810 HBA: or PCI-SCSI 21-050020-11 HBA: This card will not allow an IRQ setting to be enabled for the Symbios Logic controller (which it needs for proper operation in Windows NT). There is no work around for this card in Windows NT. HSB KW801V10 HBA: This card will not allow an IRQ setting to be enabled for the Symbios Logic controller (which it needs for proper operation in Windows NT). There is no work around for this card in Windows NT*. * Note: The HSB card does allow IRQ's to be enabled if the host system is an Intel P5-66, a FIC P5-66, or a HSB motherboard. We were able to get the chip to see an IRQ on an old Intel Batman system P/66 and a P566 FIC Mother Board. HSB also has informed us that their Mother Boards also allow for an IRQ setting. ******************************************************************************** General Questions And Answers Q: I have a ISA card that has your 53C400 or 53C400A or 53C416 chip on it and need drivers to support the card. Where do I get them? A: We do not write drivers for these chipsets. The chips are sold to OEM's that build their own card and write their own drivers for the cards. You need to contact the vendor of the device that came with the card for any software or hardware support. Q: My scanner is not being seen by Windows NT. What driver do I load? A: The Scanner Manufacturer provides the Windows NT interface driver. Q: I need an ASPI driver to function devices outside of the hard drive? A: We do not provide the ASPI driver under Windows NT. There currently is a driver that we have made available at the FTP site called NTASPI.ZIP. This driver is from CO-COMP and is a generic ASPI manager. We do not support this driver, but have had success with it in test systems. If this driver does not work on your system and the device vendor did not supply an ASPI driver, then your only solution is to go with another Host Adapter thats provides an ASPI driver under Windows NT. Q: Windows NT will not install to my SCSI hard drive. I get an error that it cannot find any SCSI devices. How do I get NT to install? A: Check in the System CMOS setup and look for VIRUS WARNING: ENABLED. Disable this before starting the installation. Also disable any power management features during installation. After successfully installing Windows NT, you may re-enable both features. Q: What driver do I load for an NCR Computer that has a built-in 53C700 SCSI interface? A: Windows NT is supported by NCR. If you are experiencing problems, call NCR/AT&T at 800-774-7406. Q: What driver do I load for Windows NT that supports a video card using a 77C22E, 77C22E+, 77C32BLT? A: There is no driver available for Windows NT support. The only option is to get another video card that is supported under Windows NT. Q: Which driver do I use for a Compaq System with a Symbios Logic PCI-SCSI chip embedded? A: We do not support the Compaq Systems. Compaq writes their own drivers for our chipsets. You need to either load their driver or contact them for any updated drivers. ******************************************************************************** General Notes 1) All Symbios Logic PCI SCSI HBAs must be set to INT A, even if there are 2 or more cards being used. 2) The 53C810 HBAs DO NOT have a BIOS on the card. They rely on the System BIOS for BIOS support. 3) The Current Windows NT driver can be downloaded from either the BBS at (719) 533-7235 or at the Web site (www.symbios.com) click on the Diskette and then go to the bottom of the License Agreement and agree the to terms of the software to proceed. The file name is NTxxx.ZIP. (Where xxx is the current version number of the driver). 5) We do not provide an ASPI manager for devices such as Tape drives. The application that is being used must be Windows NT compatible and provide the Windows ASPI manager with it. 6) If you are using a SCSI HBA that has 3 SCSI ports, you can only use 2 ports at one time. If you are using all 3 ports and experienceing problems, then you need to remove the devices from one of the ports and hook those devices up to another controller. *********************************************************************************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.