***************************************************************************** WIN95.TXT ***************************************************************************** INSTALLATION GUIDE FOR THE SDMS DRIVERS: SYMC8XX.MPD V4.05.00 SYM_HI.MPD V4.07.00 This file describes the features and use of the Symbios SDMS device drivers for the Windows 95 operating system environment. It is divided into the following sections: Introduction for Windows 95 Features Symbios Devices Supported Description Installing Your SYMC8XX.MPD/SYM_HI.MPD Driver(s) Preparing a Symbios Driver Diskette New System Installation Existing System Installation Existing System Using ASPI8XX.SYS DOS ASPI Driver Verifying Correct Driver Installation Command Line Options Troubleshooting Important Additional Information Enabling/Disabling Ultra SCSI (Fast 20) Support Disabling Auto Request Sense Support Enabling SCAM Support Multiple Symbios Host Adapter Considerations ************************ Introduction for Windows 95 ************************ Windows 95 is an operating system designed to run on Intel processors using current technology. It provides a graphical user interface environment incorporating many high-level features (refer to the Microsoft Windows 95 documentation for details). I/O requests in Windows 95 are handled by an I/O manager. To address a SCSI peripheral, the I/O manager goes through the appropriate drivers. Class drivers for hard disk, floptical, CD-ROM, printer, and scanner peripherals are provided in Windows 95. Other class drivers, provided by peripheral manufacturers, are added to support new devices. Symbios/Microsoft provide a miniport drivers, called SYMC8XX.MPD and SYM_HI.MPD, to complete the path to a Symbios controller or processor with an optional SDMS SCSI BIOS. The following sections describe this driver and its installation. * * * * * * * * * * * Features * * * * * * * * * * * * o Synchronous negotiation (including Fast/Ultra SCSI) o Wide negotiation o Auto Request Sense o Supports multiple host adapters o Supports multiple Logical Unit Numbers (LUNs) o Disconnect/Reselect o Scatter-Gather o Differential Support o Supports SCSI pass-through functionality o Ultra SCSI (Fast 20) Support (20 MB/s narrow, 40 MB/s wide) o SCAM Support (SCSI Configured AutoMatically) o Target initiated negotiation support o NVRAM support (wide/sync parameters, SCSI Host ID, SCAM on/off) * * * * * * * * Symbios Devices Supported * * * * * * * * * The SYMC8XX.MPD driver supports the following devices and Symbios host adapters based on those devices: o SYM53C810, SYM53C810A, SYM53C810AE (SYM8100S, SYM8100ASP) o SYM53C815 (SYM815XS, SYM8150SP) o SYM53C825, SYM53C825A (SYM8250S, SYM8251S, SYM8251D, SYM8250ASP, SYM8251ASP, SYM8251AD) o SYM53C860, SYM53C860AE (SYM8600SP) o SYM53C875, SYM53C875E (SYM8750SP, SYM8751SP, SYM8751D) o SYM53C876 (SYM22801, SYM22802) o SYM53C885 o SYM53C895, SYM53C895A (SYM8951U) The SYM_HI.MPD driver supports the following devices and Symbios host adapters based on this device: o SYM53C896 (SYM22910) * * * * * * * * * * * Description * * * * * * * * * * * SYMC8XX.MPD and SYM_HI.MPD are designed to Microsoft's specification for miniport drivers. These drivers allow connection of SCSI devices including disk drives, CDROMs, and tape drives for PCI-based machines. To support a new SCSI device, the Windows 95 architecture requires that a class driver for that type device is present (usually supplied by Microsoft, or possibly by the peripheral manufacturer). No changes to SYMC8XX.MPD or SYM_HI.MPD are required. This driver is only supported under Windows 95. SCSI commands are passed directly from a Windows application to the SCSI devices by using the SCSI pass-through facility (refer to Microsoft Windows 95 documentation for details). This facility allows applications to directly control and access SCSI devices by filling in a data structure and calling in to the port driver. The SYMC8XX.MPD and SYM_HI.MPD drivers support Ultra SCSI protocol, providing twice the raw data transfer rate of Fast SCSI for disk drives and Symbios host adapters that support Ultra SCSI. However, Ultra SCSI requires more stringent SCSI bus cabling setups than Fast SCSI. **************** Installing Your SYMC8XX.MPD/SYM_HI.MPD Driver **************** * * * * * * * * Preparing a Symbios Driver Diskette * * * * * * Copy the files listed below for the appropriate driver (supplied to you on diskette) to the root directory of a clean floppy diskette, and use this Symbios Driver diskette during installation. For the SYMC8XX.MPD driver: SYMC8XX.MPD SYMC8XX.INF For the SYM_HI.MPD driver: SYM_HI.MPD SYM_HI.INF * * * * * * * * * New System Installation * * * * * * * * * This procedure installs the SYMC8XX.MPD or SYM_HI.MPD driver onto a Windows 95 system. Use this procedure when initially upgrading to Windows 95. Windows 95 automatically adds the driver to the registry and copies the driver to the appropriate directories. NOTE: Some Symbios PCI SCSI host adapters are supported by a driver bundled in Windows 95. For these adapters, the bundled driver is automatically installed during Windows 95 Setup. To change to the SYMC8XX.MPD driver, follow the instructions for Existing System Installation after Windows 95 installation is completed. 1. Initiate Windows 95 Setup according to the Microsoft instructions. 2. Setup enters the hardware detection phase after a system reboot. (The "Setting up Hardware" message box is displayed.) If the message "Symbios Logic PCI SCSI Host Adapter" displays, then the host adapter supports the bundled driver, and it installs automatically. After the Windows 95 installation completes, you can install the SYMC8XX.MPD and/or SYM_HI.MPD drivers according to the "Existing System Installation" instructions. 3. If the host adapter is not supported by the bundled driver, Setup displays a New Hardware Found - PCI SCSI Bus Controller dialog box. Select "Driver from disk provided by hardware manufacturer" and click OK. Note: If ASPI8XX.SYS (the Symbios SDMS 4.0 DOS ASPI driver) is loaded when beginning the Windows 95 installation, no messages about PCI SCSI Bus Controllers is displayed. The installation completes, but real- mode disk drivers are used. See Verifying Correct Driver Installation below. To install the SYMC8XX.MPD or SYM_HI.MPD drivers, (which disable loading of the ASPI8XX.SYS driver under Windows 95) see Existing System Using ASPI8XX.SYS DOS ASPI Driver below. 4. Insert the Symbios Driver diskette into drive A: (or B:) (the one prepared in * Preparing a Symbios Driver Diskette *) and click OK. If using drive B:, you must select it from the pick list. 5. Windows 95 automatically copies the appropriate driver files and rebuilds its driver database. 6. A "System Settings Change" dialog box is displayed. Remove the flex disk from the drive and click Yes to restart the computer. At this point, Windows 95 Setup completes and the new driver is operational. To verify this, see the section "Verifying Correct Driver Installation" * * * * * * * * * Existing System Installation * * * * * * * * This procedure installs the SYMC8XX.MPD or SYM_HI.MPD driver onto an existing Windows 95 system. 1. Boot Windows 95. 2. Click Start. Move to Settings, Control Panel, and click. 3. Double-click on the System icon. 4. Click on the Device Manager tab. Note: If the SCSI controllers entry, or the PCI Symbios C8xx SCSI Host Adapter entry do not exist, the system is probably using the ASPI8XX.SYS DOS ASPI driver. See the Existing System Using ASPI8XX.SYS DOS ASPI Driver section below. 5. Either double-click on the SCSI controllers entry, or click once on the plus sign to the left of it. 6. Select the PCI Symbios C8xx SCSI Host Adapter entry. Click the Properties button. 7. Click the Driver button. The version of the currently active driver should display in the File details section. Note: In certain versions of Windows 95, the version of the active driver is displayed as Not available. This is an OS issue and is fixed in later versions of Windows 95. To verify the version of the driver, click on the Properties field of the SYMC8XX.MPD file under the Version tab. The MPD driver is generally found in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM\IOSUBSYS\ directory. 8. Click the Change Driver... button. 9. Even though you may have previously installed the SYMC8XX.MPD or SYM_HI.MPD drivers, click the Have Disk... button to install a newer version. 10. Insert the Symbios Driver diskette in drive A: (or B:) (the one prepared in * Preparing a Symbios Driver Diskette *) and click OK. If using drive B:, you must select it from the pick list. 11. The Select Device dialog box should display "Symbios Logic 8xxxx PCI SCSI Host Adapter", where 8xxxx matches the installed adapter. Click OK. 12. The Driver tab is updated to display the new driver files. To install these driver files, click OK. (Do NOT click the Change Driver... button.) The driver files are copied and a new driver database is built. 13. A "System Settings Change" dialog box is displayed. Remove the flex disk from the drive and click Yes to restart the computer. At this point, the new driver is operational. To verify this, see the section "Verifying Correct Driver Installation" * * Existing System Using ASPI8XX.SYS DOS ASPI Driver * * This procedure installs the SYMC8XX.MPD or SYM_HI.MPD drivers onto an existing Windows 95 system which is using the ASPI8XX.SYS DOS ASPI driver. You can check this by using the Verifying Correct Driver Installation instructions below. 1. Boot Windows 95. 2. Click Start. Move to Settings, Control Panel, and click. 3. Double-click on the System icon. 4. Click on the Device Manager tab. 5. Either double-click on the Other entry, or click once on the plus sign to the left of it. 6. Select the PCI SCSI Bus Controller entry. Click the Properties button. 7. Click the Driver button. A message should state that no drivers are installed for this device. 8. Click the Change Driver... button. 9. In the Select Hardware Type dialog box, select SCSI Controllers. 10. In the Select Device dialog box, click the Have Disk button. 11. Insert the Symbios Driver diskette in drive A: (or B:) (the one prepared in * Preparing a Symbios Driver Diskette *) and click OK. If using drive B:, you must select it from the pick list. 12. The Select Device dialog box should display "Symbios Logic 8xxxx PCI SCSI Host Adapter", where 8xxxx matches the installed adapter. Click OK. 13. The Driver tab is updated to display the new driver files. To install these driver files, click OK. (Do NOT click the Change Driver... button.) The driver files are copied and a new driver database is built. 14. A "System Settings Change" dialog box is displayed. Ignore the message saying to turn off your computer and change hardware settings. Remove the flex disk from the drive and click Yes to shut down the computer. Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete or the system reset button to restart the system. At this point, the new driver is operational. To verify this, see the section "Verifying Correct Driver Installation" * * * * * * * Verifying Correct Driver Installation * * * * * * After installing/updating with the SYMC8XX.MPD or SYM_HI.MPD drivers, you should verify proper operation of the driver. 1. Check that all devices on the SCSI bus are available via My Computer. Double click on the My Computer icon. Check that all logical SCSI hard drives and CD-ROM drives are shown. 2. Click the Start button, move to Settings, Control Panel, and click. Double click on the System icon. Click the Device Manager tab. Check that no host adapter is displayed with a yellow or red symbol under the SCSI controllers entry. If there is, continue with the steps below to help determine the problem. 3. Either double-click on the SCSI controllers entry, or click once on the plus sign to the left of it. One entry for each host adapter installed in the system is displayed. Select an entry, then click the Properties button. The Device Status message should read "This device is working properly." If any other messages appear, continue with the steps below to get more information on the problem. 4. Click the Driver tab. Two entries should appear, one for the INF and one for the MPD file. The INF file does not contain embedded version information, so the File Details are all Not Available. Select the MPD file. The file version of the driver is displayed. 5. Click Cancel to leave the Host Adapter Properties dialog box. Click on the Performance tab. A list of performance attributes is displayed. Below the list, you should see the message "Your system is configured for optimal performance." If any other messages appear, select each message and click the Details button. This provides more information on why the system is not performing optimally and methods to correct the problem. If no problems are encountered in the above steps, the new driver is operating properly. Otherwise, consult the section on Troubleshooting for additional information. * * * * * * * * * * Troubleshooting * * * * * * * * * * * The following are some problems their suggested solutions: * * * Problem * * * During Installation, No SCSI Devices Are Found. * * * Solution * * * a. Ensure that all devices are powered on and terminated correctly. b. Check that no devices have duplicate SCSI IDs. c. Make sure INT A is assigned for the PCI slot(s) where your SCSI host adapter(s) are installed. * * * Problem * * * System Crashes During Installation With A Message Indicating Inaccessible Boot Device. * * * Solution * * * a. This error is usually associated with an IRQ, DMA channel, I/O (chip) address, or BIOS address conflict. Set the SCSI host bus adapter board to use a different interrupt. * * * Problem * * * Problems With Ultra SCSI Devices Using Ultra SCSI Protocol. * * * Solution * * * a. If the system is configured with a Symbios Logic host adapter that supports Ultra SCSI, an Ultra SCSI device is on the SCSI bus, and Ultra SCSI support by the SYMC8XX.MPD or SYM_HI.MPD driver is enabled, intermittent problems and possible system crashes can occur if the SCSI bus cable and terminators do not conform to the Ultra SCSI specification. b. If the system is bootable, disable Ultra SCSI support using the procedure described below. c. If the system is not bootable to Windows 95, hold down F8 when Starting Windows 95... is displayed. At the menu, select Safe Mode. Once the system is booted, disable Ultra SCSI support using the procedure described below. d. If the system operates properly without Ultra SCSI enabled, it is highly likely that the SCSI bus cable and terminators are not configured correctly for Ultra SCSI. See the Symbios Logic host adapter hardware manual for information on Ultra SCSI cabling requirements. * * * Problem * * * Problems With Scanners a. If a scanner is not operating properly (either the scanner is not found or a SCSI interface error occurs during scanning), it is possible that the third-party scanner drivers do not support the auto request sense feature of Symbios Logic host adapters. Disable the auto request sense feature as described below and try the scanner operation again. **************************** Command Line Options **************************** * * * * * * Enabling/Disabling Ultra SCSI (Fast 20) Support * * * * Ultra SCSI (Fast 20) support is controlled by settings in the adapter NVRAM. These settings can be viewed or changed via the Configuration Utility. During system boot, after the Symbios PCI BIOS banner, the message "Press Control-C to start Configuration Utility" is displayed for a few seconds. By pressing Control-C, this utility is started. Select one of the adapters displayed, then "Device Selections". This shows the Sync Rate for each device and the selected adapter. To set a device to Ultra, the speed should be set to 20 MegaBytes/second (for width of 8) or 40 MegaBytes/second (for width of 16). To disable Ultra, the speed should be no higher than 10 MegaBytes/second (for width of 8) or 20 MegaBytes/second (for width of 16). If the speed of the adapter itself is changed, the speed for all devices will be set no higher than the adapter speed. * * * * * * * Disabling Auto Request Sense Support * * * * * * * When the SYMC8XX.MPD and/or SYM_HI.MPD drivers are installed, support for auto request sense is enabled. Auto request sense is a feature of the adapter where certain device information is obtained automatically without system control, thereby increasing overall performance. However, some third-party peripheral drivers do not support the use of auto request sense, resulting in perceived device failures. Therefore, to allow these devices to operate properly, the auto request sense feature can be disabled using the Device Manager on a per adapter basis. Use this procedure for disabling auto request sense support: 1. Click the Start button, move to Settings, Control Panel, and click. Double click on the System icon. Click the Device Manager tab. 2. Either double-click on the SCSI controllers entry, or click once on the plus sign to the left of it. One entry for each host adapter installed in the system is displayed. Select the adapter desired, then click the Properties button. Click the Settings tab. 3. In the Adapter settings entry, type "DisableAutoReqSense=1;", without the quotes. If there is already an entry displayed, type the above at the end of the existing entry. Be sure to include the semi-colon. 4. Click OK to exit the Settings tab. 5. Click OK again. If the entry was changed, the "System Settings Change" dialog box is displayed. Click Yes to restart the computer. After the system reboots, auto request sense is disabled for the selected adapter. To re-enable auto request sense, delete the entry that was made above. If other entries exist, be sure to leave them intact. * * * * * * * * * Enabling SCAM Support * * * * * * * * * SCAM (SCSI Configured AutoMatically) is a protocol that allows SCAM-compliant peripherals to assign their SCSI ID's dynamically at boot time, eliminating the need for the user to check and set unique SCSI ID's. This feature is disabled by default in the Symbios PCI BIOS and the SYMC8XX.MPD/SYM_HI.MPD drivers. Some legacy (non-SCAM) peripherals have problems with the SCAM protocol, resulting in the device either not being seen by the operating system, or not working correctly. However, if usage of the SCAM protocol is desired, there are two methods for enabling SCAM: Method 1 and Method 2. * * * Method 1 * * * This method is used when the adapter has NVRAM. During system boot, after the Symbios PCI BIOS banner, the message "Press Control-C to start Configuration Utility" is displayed for a few seconds. By pressing Control-C, this utility is started. Select the desired adapter, then "Adapter Setup". On the Adapter Setup menu, highlight "S-SCAM Support" and press Enter. Use the up/down arrows to select the ON setting, and press Enter. Exit from the menus and save the settings. This will turn on SCAM for both the PCI BIOS and the SYMC8XX.MPD or SYM_HI.MPD driver (whichever is controlling the selected adapter). To disable SCAM, repeat the above procedure to change the setting to OFF. * * * Method 2 * * * For adapters that do not have NVRAM, SCAM can be enabled within Windows 95: 1. Click the Start button, move to Settings, Control Panel, and click. Double click on the System icon. Click the Device Manager tab. 2. Either double-click on the SCSI controllers entry, or click once on the plus sign to the left of it. One entry for each host adapter installed in the system appears. Select the adapter desired, then click the Properties button. Click the Settings tab. 3. In the Adapter settings entry, type in "do_SCAM=1;", without the quotes. If there is already an entry displayed, type the above at the end of the existing entry. Be sure to include the semi-colon. 4. Click OK to exit the Settings tab. 5. Click OK again. If the entry was changed, the "System Settings Change" dialog box appears. Click Yes to restart the computer. After the system reboots, SCAM will be enabled for the selected adapter. To disable SCAM, delete the entry that was made above. If other entries exist, be sure to leave them intact. * * * * * * Multiple Symbios Host Adapter Considerations * * * * * * If multiple Symbios PCI SCSI host adapters are installed in the system, special actions are sometimes required to install or change drivers. This is due to the fact that some Symbios host adapters are supported by the bundled driver, and also that one Symbios driver can support multiple Symbios host adapters installed in the system. With multiple Symbios adapters, it is possible to have a situation where one adapter is assigned to one driver, and another is assigned to a different version of the same driver. This can cause conflicts that may cause the system to switch to real mode drivers, affecting performance and access to CD-ROM or tape drives. There are two methods for ensuring that all Symbios host adapters are controlled by only one version of the appropriate driver (when installing additional boards or updating drivers). * * * Method 1 * * * Using the Device Manager, change the driver for a particular host adapter to the desired driver, but when asked to reboot the system for the new settings to take effect, click No. Change drivers for all Symbios host adapters in the system supported by that same driver to the new driver, and reply No to rebooting until the final adapter is changed. If booting from a SCSI device, ensure that the adapter controlling this device is the last one changed. * * * Method 2 * * * Determine which driver file is active for all adapters through the Properties tab in Device Manager. Go to the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM\IOSUBSYS directory and rename the driver file to an extension other than MPD. Reboot the system. While booting, the system may ask to load the bundled driver file from the Windows 95 installation disk. Click OK, then when the system says it cannot find the file, click Skip File. Do this for all adapter messages while booting. After the system is booted, use the Device Manager to change the driver for each adapter to the desired driver. Do not reply Yes to reboot the system until the final adapter has been changed.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.