***************************************************************************** 8XXNT.TXT ***************************************************************************** Installation Guide for the Symbios SDMS Drivers: SYMC8XX.SYS V4.11.00 SYM_HI.SYS V4.11.00 This file describes the features and use of the Symbios SDMS device drivers for the Windows NT 3.5x/4.x operating system environment. It is divided into the following sections: Introduction for Windows NT 3.5x/4.x Features Symbios Devices Supported Description Installing the SYMC8XX.SYS/SYM_HI.SYS Driver(s) New System Installation Existing System Installation Windows NT 4.x Windows NT 3.5x Performance Tuning for NT 4.0 Large Block Size Support Maximum Number of Concurrent I/Os Disk Mirroring PCI Hot Plug Support Troubleshooting ******************** Introduction for Windows NT 3.5x/4.x ******************** Windows NT is an operating system designed to run on processors using current technology. It provides a graphical user interface environment incorporating many high-level features (refer to the Microsoft Windows NT documentation for details). An I/O manager handles I/O requests in Windows NT. 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 NT. Other class drivers, provided by peripheral manufacturers, may be added to support new devices. Tape device support is built into the operating system itself and does not require a class driver. LSI Logic and Microsoft provide miniport drivers, called SYMC8XX.SYS and SYM_HI.SYS, to complete the path to a Symbios controller or processor with an optional SDMS SCSI BIOS. The following sections describe these drivers and their installation. * * * * * * * * * * * Features * * * * * * * * * * * * o Synchronous negotiation (including Fast/Ultra SCSI/Ultra2 SCSI) o Wide negotiation o Tagged command queuing o Supports multiple host adapters o Supports multiple Logical Unit Numbers (LUNs) o Allows Disconnect/Reselect o Supports Scatter-Gather o Provides Differential support o Supports SCSI pass-through functionality o Supports disk array configurations with no LUN 0 o Supports disk array configurations with non-contiguous LUNs o Supports target initiated negotiation o Auto request sense o Maximum block size support: NT 4.0 - 1 MB, NT 3.5x - 256K o NVRAM support (wide/sync parameters, SCSI Host ID) o PCI Hot Plug support (a special driver option) * * * * * * * * Symbios Devices Supported * * * * * * * * * The SYMC8XX.SYS driver is named "Symbios PCI (53C8XX)" for driver installation. It 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, (SYM8951U) The SYM_HI.SYS driver is named "Symbios PCI High Performance Driver" for driver installation. It supports the following device and associated Symbios host adapter: o SYM53C896 (SYM22910) * * * * * * * * * * * Description * * * * * * * * * * * SYMC8XX.SYS and SYM_HI.SYS are designed to Microsoft's specification for miniport drivers. These drivers allow connection of SCSI devices including disk drives, CD-ROMs, and tape drives for PCI-based machines. To support a new SCSI device, the Windows NT architecture requires that a class driver for that type device be present (usually supplied by Microsoft, or possibly by the peripheral manufacturer). No changes to SYMC8XX.SYS or SYM_HI.SYS are required. These drivers are only supported under Windows NT 3.51 and later versions (including NT 4.0). They do not run under earlier versions of Windows NT. SCSI commands are passed directly from a Windows application to the SCSI devices by using the SCSI pass-through facility (refer to the Microsoft Windows NT 3.5x/4.x documentation for details). This facility allows applications to directly control and access SCSI devices by filling in a data structure and calling into the port driver. The SYMC8XX.SYS and SYM_HI.SYS 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. These drivers also support Ultra2 protocol, providing quadruple the raw data transfer rate of Fast SCSI. CAUTION: Ultra SCSI requires more stringent SCSI bus cabling setups than Fast SCSI. Ultra2 SCSI requires low-voltage differential (LVD) termination. NOTE: The Symbios driver bundled in Windows NT 3.51 is named NCRC810.SYS. When Windows NT selects the bundled Symbios driver during setup, the driver information (that is, "NCR C810 PCI SCSI Host Adapter") appears. Although this implies that the driver only supports the SYM53C810, it actually supports the SYM53C810, SYM53C810A, SYM53C815, SYM53C825, and SYM53C825A. In fact, the Symbios bundled driver controls all of the controllers listed that are in the system. Please keep in mind that the Windows NT 3.51 setup only displays the driver information, and not every controller found by that driver. The Symbios driver bundled in Windows NT 4.0 is named SYMC810.SYS. When Windows NT selects the bundled Symbios driver during setup, the driver information (that is, "Symbios C810 PCI SCSI Host Adapter") appears. Although this implies that the driver only supports the SYM53C810, it actually supports the SYM53C810, SYM53C810A, SYM53C815, SYM53C825, SYM53C825A, SYM53C860, and SYM53C875. In fact, the Symbios bundled driver controls all of the controllers listed that are in the system. Please keep in mind that the Windows NT 4.0 setup only displays the driver information, and not every controller found by that driver. *************** Installing the SYMC8XX.SYS/SYM_HI.SYS Driver ***************** * * * * * * * * * * New System Installation * * * * * * * * * This procedure installs the SYMC8XX.SYS or SYM_HI.SYS driver onto a Windows NT system. Use this procedure when installing Windows NT onto an unused SCSI drive. Windows NT automatically adds the driver to the registry and copies the driver to the appropriate directory. Follow these steps for a new system installation: 1. The driver that is bundled with Windows NT 4.0 is SYMC810.SYS. This driver supports controllers that are listed in the "NOTE" above. If the bundled driver will support the Symbios chip which is being used, please skip to step 3. Otherwise, continue with step 2. For an installation to a Multi-Processor system using Windows NT 3.51, follow steps A through D: A. On installation diskette #1 remove the file HAL486C.DLL. B. Copy HALMPS.DLL from the NT 3.51 CD to this diskette. (This file can be found under the /i386 directory on the CD.) C. Rename HALMPS.DLL to HAL486C.DLL. D. Continue to install Windows NT 3.51 with step 2. IMPORTANT: Read Step 2 before performing the instructions contained within Step 2. 2. Start the Windows NT installation by booting from the Microsoft Setup floppy disk. A black screen appears and displays this text: "Setup is inspecting your Computer's hardware configuration..." While this message is displayed on the screen (before entering the initial blue screen), press the F6 key. Windows NT setup will allow a SCSI driver to be added before the second disk is requested. Add the appropriate driver from a prepared floppy disk. Follow the instructions starting with Step 5 for Windows 3.51 installations or Step 7 for Windows NT 4.0 installations. 3. Start the Windows NT installation by booting from the Microsoft Setup floppy disk. 4. Press Enter when the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears. NOTE: Steps 5 & 6 occur with Win 3.51;for Win 4.0, go to Step 7. 5. With floppy disk 2, an initial setup screen appears that prompts the user to continue by pressing Enter. Press Enter to see the additional setup screens: Custom Setup or Express Setup. LSI Logic recommends that the user choose the Custom Setup option by pressing C to skip the automatic scan of SCSI adapters and drivers, which is done by the Express Setup option. Note: If Express Setup is chosen, the installation program scans for SCSI adapters and finds the Symbios PCI (53C810) driver (NCR810.SYS for NT 3.5x, SYMC810.SYS for NT 4.0), which is an older version of the SYMC8XX.SYS driver. Let the installation continue. When installation completes, change the driver. See the "Existing System Installation" section of these procedures to change the driver. 6. Press S to skip mass storage device detection. (If Enter is pressed, the installation program scans for SCSI adapters and finds the Symbios PCI (53C810) driver (NCRC810.SYS for NT 3.5x, SYMC810.SYS for NT 4.0), which is an older version of the SYMC8XX.SYS driver. Let installation continue. When the installation completes, change the driver. To change the driver, see the "Existing System Installation" section.) 7. When a screen displays the SCSI adapters found, choose S to configure additional SCSI adapters. 8. Move the highlight bar to Other and press Enter. 9. When prompted for the manufacturer-supplied hardware support disk, insert the appropriate Symbios Driver diskette containing the Windows NT driver required to support your Symbios adapter(s) and press Enter. The diskettes are distributed with the adapters. Current Windows NT drivers can also be downloaded from the LSI Logic Web Site at: www.lsilogic.com. After being connected to this web site, click on the Products option in the menu bar. A new screen appears and lists available products. Go to the Symbios Storage I/O Components section, and click on the Technical Support, software and drivers link. NOTE: If both Symbios drivers need to be installed, they can be installed one after the other using steps 6 through 8. Installation order is not important. 10. Depending on the driver being installed, either "Symbios PCI (53C8XX)" or "Symbios PCI High Performance Driver" is shown highlighted. Press Enter to proceed. 11. Windows NT should now recognize the Miniport driver(s) and the SCSI hardware. Press Enter to continue. At this point, simply follow the Microsoft Windows NT installation procedure. * * * * * * * * * Existing System Installation * * * * * * * * This procedure installs the SYMC8XX.SYS or SYM_HI.SYS driver onto an existing Windows NT system. NOTE: Windows NT 4.x uses the Windows 95/98 user interface, resulting in minor changes to the procedure for updating SCSI drivers. Procedures for both NT 4.x and NT 3.5x are listed. * * * Windows NT 4.x * * * 1. Boot Windows NT and log on as Administrator. 2. Click on the Start button. Move to Settings, then to Control Panel, and click. 3. Double-click on SCSI Adapters. 4. Click on the Drivers tab. If NCRSDMS.SYS, NCRC810.SYS, NCRC8XX.SYS, or SYMC810.SYS drivers are listed, select the driver(s) and choose Remove before adding the new driver. Also, if the name of the driver you are installing (SYMC8XX.SYS or SYM_HI.SYS) is listed, remove it before adding the new driver. Select OK when the Remove Driver message prompts, "Are you sure you want to remove this driver?". Another message may appear and prompt for a response, "The SCSI Adapter has been marked as a boot device ...". If so, click on the OK button. 5. Click Add. A list of installed adapters is displayed. 6. Click the Have Disk button. 7. When prompted, insert the appropriate Symbios Driver diskette containing the Windows NT driver required to support your Symbios adapter(s). For the path to copy manufacturer's files from, enter A:\WINNT\MINIPORT Select OK. 8. Depending on the driver being installed, either "Symbios PCI (53C8XX)" or "Symbios PCI High Performance Driver" is shown highlighted on the Install Driver menu. If it is not highlighted, select it. Choose OK. At this point, the following message may occur: "The driver(s) for this SCSI Adapter are already on the system. Do you want to use the currently installed driver(s) or install new one(s)?" Selecting Current uses the driver already on the system, and selecting New uses the driver on the floppy disk. Unless you want to use the older version already on the system, choose New. If you chose Current, go to step 10. 9. For the path to the OEM SCSI Adapter files, A:\WINNT\MINIPORT should be displayed. Select Continue. Then remove the floppy disk from your A: drive. 10.The System Settings Change message displays "You must restart your computer before the new settings take effect. Do you want to restart your computer now?" Click on the Yes button to restart and reboot NT. If you choose Cancel, remember that you must restart the computer to load the new driver. 11.If both Symbios drivers need to be installed, they can be installed one after the other without rebooting for each one. Installation order is not important. 12.Rebooting loads your new miniport driver(s). Windows NT 3.5x 1. Boot Windows NT and log on as Administrator. 2. Open the Main window in the Program Manager. 3. Double-click on Windows NT Setup. 4. Choose Options, then choose Add/Remove SCSI Adapters.... If NCRSDMS.SYS, NCRC810.SYS, NCRC8XX.SYS, or SYMC810.SYS drivers are listed, select the driver(s) and choose Remove before adding the new driver. Also, if the driver name of the driver you are installing (SYMC8XX.SYS or SYM_HI.SYS) is listed, remove it before adding the new driver. Select OK when the Setup Message prompts, "Are you sure you want to remove the selected SCSI Adapter?" 5. Then choose Add, and select OK when the Setup Message prompts, "Are you sure you want to add a SCSI Adapter?" 6. On the SCSI Adapter list, go to the bottom and choose Other. 7. When prompted, insert your Symbios Driver diskette containing the appropriate Windows NT driver required to support your Symbios adapter(s). For the path to copy manufacturer's files from, enter A:\WINNT\MINIPORT Select OK. 8. Depending on the driver being installed, either "Symbios PCI (53C8XX)" or "Symbios PCI High Performance Driver" is shown highlighted on the Select OEM Option menu. If it is not highlighted, select it. Choose OK. 9. On the Select SCSI Adapter Option menu, choose Install with the appropriate driver highlighted. At this point, the following message may be displayed: "The driver(s) for this SCSI Adapter are already on the system. Do you want to use the currently installed driver(s) or install new one(s)?" Selecting Current uses the driver already on the system, and selecting New uses the driver on the floppy disk. Unless you want to use the older version already on the system, choose New. If you chose Current, go to step 11. 10. For the path to the OEM SCSI Adapter files, A:\WINNT\MINIPORT should be displayed. Select Continue. 11. On the SCSI Adapter Setup menu, choose Close. 12. If both Symbios drivers need to be installed, they can be installed one after the other without rebooting for each one. Installation order is not important. 13. Rebooting loads your new miniport driver(s). * * * * * * * * * Performance Tuning for NT 4.0 * * * * * * * Windows NT 4.0 has registry entries that can be used to improve the performance of SCSI I/O for certain configurations. The tunable parameters are large transfer block size support and a guaranteed number of concurrent I/Os for a particular SCSI bus. * * * Large Block Size Support * * * The SYMC8XX.SYS and SYM_HI.SYS drivers can support up to a 1 MB transfer size in NT 4.0 and a 256K transfer size in NT 3.5x. This larger transfer size in NT 3.5x is enabled by default and cannot be changed. However, in NT 4.0 the default transfer size is 64K. To enable a larger transfer size, an entry must be added to the registry, using the file sym_256K.reg. This file will set a 256K maximum, but it can be edited to set other desired maximum transfer sizes. There are two methods to add this registry setting. 1. Locate the sym_256K.reg data file (supplied with the driver files) using Windows Explorer and double-click on the file. -OR- 2. Type at the command prompt: regedit sym_256K.reg This inserts an entry in the registry to enable 256K block size support. Editing the sym_256K.reg file can set any maximum block size between 64K and 1 MB (-8 KB). The formula to calculate the proper value for MaximumSGList is: MaximumSGList = (Maximum Block Size)/4K +1 For 256K: 256K/4K = 64, add 1 for 65 (decimal) or 0x41(hexadecimal). The maximum value allowed for MaximumSGLIst is 255 or 0xFF. This denotes an absolute maximum transfer size of 1040384, which is 8K less than 1 MB (1040384/4K = 0xFE, add 1 for 0xFF or 255). Be sure to read the information in the sym_256K.reg data file before editing it. The system must be rebooted for the new registry setting to be effective. To reset the maximum block size to the default of 64K, follow the instructions above, except use symdfblk.reg as the data file. * * * Maximum Number of Concurrent I/Os (Guaranteed) * * * Both Windows NT 3.51 and 4.0 only guarantee a maximum of 32 concurrent I/Os active on a particular SCSI bus. However, due to the method of memory allocation, the actual limit of concurrent I/Os can vary greatly between various drivers or versions of drivers. This can have a huge impact on performance benchmarking between different driver versions or adapter vendors. In effect, one adapter may actually be able to have 70 or 80 I/Os outstanding, while another adapter could only have 32. This can also affect systems with high performance storage subsystems, such as disk arrays. Note: Windows NT 3.51 cannot be tuned for this parameter. Only Windows NT 4.0 uses this setting. In order to have a guaranteed number of concurrent I/Os, an entry must be added to the registry, using the file sym100io.reg. There are two methods to add this registry setting. One is to locate the sym100io.req data (supplied with the driver files) using Windows Explorer and double click on the file. The other method is to type at the command prompt: regedit sym100io.reg This inserts an entry in the registry to guarantee a maximum of 100 concurrent I/Os per adapter. If a maximum other than 100 is desired, the sym100io.reg file can be edited. However, setting this value to a high number uses increasing amounts of non-paged pool memory, a critical NT resource. High values for this setting can degrade system performance. Be sure to read the information in the sym100io.reg data file before editing it. The system must be rebooted for the new registry setting to be effective. To reset the guaranteed number of concurrent I/Os to the default of 32, follow the instructions above, except use symdefio.reg as the data file. * * Auto Request Sense * * Enabling and Disabling Auto Request Sense is found in the section titled "Troubleshooting." * * * * * * * * * * * Disk Mirroring * * * * * * * * * * Note: This section applies only to Intel x86-platforms where the Symbios 4.XX PCI SCSI BIOS is used. Symbios 4.XX PCI SCSI BIOS loads only one image into the system memory at boot time regardless of how many host adapters are used in the system. All of the disk drives on all host adapters will be recognized through the INT13h function call. Because of this implementation, disk mirroring under NT needs to be done via the following instructions which might be different from Microsoft's documentation. To create an NT Fault Tolerant (FT) floppy so that you can boot from the mirrored partition in case the primary partition fails, follow these steps: 1. Format a floppy disk in drive A: using NT (File Manager or Windows Explorer) for use as a Fault Tolerant boot floppy. 2. From the root directory of the primary partition, copy NTLDR, NTDETECT.COM, and BOOT.INI to this floppy disk. 3. Temporarily remove the read-only attribute of the BOOT.INI file so that it can be modified and saved. 4. Edit the BOOT.INI file on the FT floppy and modify the following line where you want to boot the mirrored partition. multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(x)partition(y)\ where multi(0) and disk(0) should always remain same. x = the drive number of the mirrored partition in the INT13 chain minus 80h. The drive number of the mirrored partition can be found during system bootup of the Symbios 4.XX PCI SCSI BIOS when the primary partition does not exist. It should say either BOOT (=80h), 81h, 82h, and higher. Therefore, the value of x would be 0 when BOOT, 1 when 81h, 2 when 82h, etc. y = the partition number on the drive (starts at 1 which equals single partition on the drive) For example, let's say there are two Symbios 8xx host adapters in the system. The first HBA, HBA #0 which is the boot path, has two SCSI hard drives on ID 0 and ID 5. The second host adapter,HBA #1, has two SCSI hard drives on ID 2 and ID 4. Assuming that the SCSI bus scan starts from ID 0 and goes up, the drive number of INT13h will look like this: HBA #0, ID 0= BOOT (which is 80h) HBA #0, ID 5= 81h HBA #1, ID 2= 82h HBA #1, ID 4= 83h Now Windows NT is installed on the boot drive, HBA #0 ID 0, and a mirrored partition is established on HBA #1 ID 2. If the primary partition fails, for example due to power failure, then the drive number of INT13h will change: HBA #0, ID 5= BOOT (which is 80h) HBA #1, ID 2= 81h HBA #1, ID 4= 82h Therefore, the following line should be used in the BOOT.INI file on the NT Fault Tolerant boot floppy to boot from the mirrored partition, HBA #1 ID 2. Note that rdisk(1) was calculated from x=81h minus 80h. multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\ 6. Save the BOOT.INI and restore the "read-only" attribute. * * * * * * * * * * PCI Hot Plug Support * * * * * * * * * PCI Hot Plug functionality is available in a few special server systems. In systems designed to the Compaq PCI Hot Plug Specification, a special build of the SYMC8XX.SYS or SYM_HI.SYS drivers will support PCI Hot Plug under NT 4.0. This feature is optional and is not included in the standard drivers that are available from the LSI Logic web site. To determine if a Symbios driver supports PCI Hot Plug, view the driver file in Windows Explorer, right-click on the file, and click Properties. In the Properties dialog box, click on the Version tab, then click on Internal Name. If the name is followed by PCI Hot Plug, then this feature is supported by the driver. Refer to the system documentation for installation and configuration details about PCI Hot Plug software and services. For a Symbios driver that supports PCI Hot Plug, one registry entry must be added in the registry path. See the example below. CAUTION: Care must be exercised when using the Registry Editor (regedt32). Some modifications to the registry can result in a non-bootable system. Be sure to maintain a current copy of the Emergency Repair Disk in case the system must be repaired using the NT Setup Repair option. Here is an example of the registry entry for Compaq PCI Hot Plug systems: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Compaq/Cpqrcmc/ClassDLLs/ScsiMiniPort This registry path should already exist when the system PCI Hot Plug sofware is installed. Add the Symbios driver name as a key under ScsiMiniPort by following this path: Edit, Add Key, either SYMC8XX or SYM_HI. Then in the Symbios driver key (either SYMC8XX or SYM_HI) add the following value: Edit, Add Value, HPPSignature, REG_SZ, CPQHPP (the string value is CPQHPP). This registry string enables the PCI Hot Plug system service to communicate with the Symbios driver. * * * * * * * * * * Troubleshooting * * * * * * * * * * * The following are some potential problems and their suggested solutions: * * * Problem * * * During installation, no SCSI devices are found. * * * Solution * * * a. Ensure that the custom setup is chosen on the Setup Method screen. b. Ensure that all devices are powered on and terminated correctly. c. Check that no devices have duplicate SCSI IDs. d. Make sure INT A is assigned for the PCI slot(s) where your SCSI host adapter(s) are installed. e. Ensure that all devices can be seen in the display banner of the SDMS SCSI BIOS at boot time. * * * 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 adapter to use a different interrupt. b. A virus sometimes causes this error that infects the Master Boot Record of the boot device. Use a write-protected DOS bootable flex containing virus scanning and cleaning software to check for any viruses on the boot device, and remove if any are found. * * * Problem * * * A disk drive is recognized as seven different devices when only one is physically connected to the SCSI bus. * * * Solution * * * a. Older SCSI devices that incorrectly indicate to Windows NT that they support multiple LUNs usually cause this error. Contact the device manufacturer for a firmware upgrade. * * * Problem * * * Problems with SCSI devices installation or operation * * * Solution * * * a. If a SCSI device is not operating properly (either the device is not found or a SCSI interface error occurs during scanning), it is possible that the third-party device drivers do not support the auto request sense feature of Symbios host adapters. Disable the auto request sense feature as described below and try the device operation again. Using the file "symno_ar.reg" (supplied with the Symbios NT driver files), either double click the file in Windows Explorer or File Manager or type "regedit symno_ar.reg" at the command prompt. This inserts a registry entry that disables the auto request sense feature. The system system must be rebooted for this change to take effect. To re-enable the auto request sense feature, use the file "sym_auto.reg" and perform one of the update methods described in the preceding paragraph. * * * Problem * * * Problems with certain SCSI devices when using an Ultra SCSI adapter. * * * Solution * * * a. Some SCSI devices do not function properly when the adapter attempts to negotiate Ultra SCSI transfer rates. If a device is not operating properly, check the transfer speed setting using the SDMS4.XX PCI SCSI BIOS Configuration Utility (press Control-C when the Symbios PCI BIOS banner is displayed during the system boot process). Devices that do not support Ultra SCSI should be set to a maximum of 10 MB/sec for 8-bits bits), and 20 MB/sec for 16-bits. * * * Problem * * * Problems with Ultra SCSI devices using Ultra SCSI protocol. * * * Solution * * * a. If the system is configured with a Symbios host adapter that supports Ultra SCSI and an Ultra SCSI device is on the SCSI bus, intermittent problems and possible system crashes can occur if the SCSI bus cable and terminators do not conform to the Ultra SCSI specification. b. Disable Ultra SCSI support for all devices via the SDMS 4.XX PCI SCSI BIOS Configuration Utility (press Control-C when the Symbios PCI BIOS banner is displayed during the system boot process). c. 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 host adapter User's Guide for information on Ultra SCSI cabling requirements.