DOS Common Questions & Answers Document #39090 Q: My system works great with the adapter, but when I load the drivers the system hangs. A: Run with the minimum CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT to verify that there is no conflict with another driver or TSR. Run the ASPI(?)DOS.SYS driver as the first device driver in config.sys. Make sure you are running the latest drivers for the adapter. Most drivers can be upgraded via the BBS at 408-945-7727. Download UPGRADE.EXE. Copy UPGRADE.EXE to a \temp directory and then type UPGRADE. The files will self extract. Now type UPDATE. Follow instructions on the screen. (Refer to the READMEUP.TXT file that comes with the UPGRADE.EXE for detailed information about the upgrade.) Q: What does it mean when MSCDEX.EXE loads and I receive the error message "Incorrect DOS Version." A: DOS 6.0 and above contains its own version of MSCDEX.EXE located in the DOS directory. The solution for this error is to change the path of your MSCDEX in the AUTOEXEC.BAT to the \DOS directory instead of the \SCSI directory. Q: Why can’t I use the 32-bit disk access under Windows with my SCSI host adapter? A: You must have EZSCSI verion 3.11 or later and an Adaptec bus mastering card to use 32 bit disk access. Download the file UPGRADE.EXE from our BBS and follow the instructions for 32 bit access in the READMEUP.TXT file that comes with UPGRADE.EXE. Q: My CD-ROM will play audio in the DOS based CD player program but will not run the Windows version. The message "No CD!" appears in the track line. How can I get it to work? A: Windows requires the addition of the CD Audio driver. Follow these steps: 1. In Windows open the MAIN group 2. Click on CONTROL PANEL 3. Click on DRIVERS 4. Click on the ADD button 5. Select the driver “(MCI) CD Audio” from the list 6. Click on OK The system should respond with a statement asking for a Windows diskette. Once the drive has read off the diskettes another message will be displaced stating that a CD-ROM drive was found. You will be able to run your Audio CD player after restarting Windows. Q: What are Adaptec’s ASPI Managers used for? A: The ASPI Manager allows you to use a wide assortment of SCSI devices that have or use ASPI (Advanced SCSI Programming Interface) compliant device drivers. ASPI4DOS.SYS (ASPI4DOS is used for AHA-1540/42B, AHA-1640 and AHA-1740 in standard mode only) also gives you Virtual DMA Services (VDS) support and enhances the performance of your system. Q: How can I download the ASPI device drivers and managers from your BBS? A: Since these items are product offerings by Adaptec with an associated cost, they are not found on the BBS. They are available through your dealer, as part of an Adaptec kit, or through our Software Hotline at (800) 442-7274. If you already have an older version you can download the UPGRADE.EXE file from the BBS. It will replace any detected older drivers with up-to-date software. Q: My ASPIxDOS.SYS ASPI Manager does not install, but my Adaptec board BIOS initializes and installs okay. How can I fix this? A: The usual reason for this behavior is incorrect configuration of the card (i.e....jumpers, switches, and SCSISelect) on the Adaptec host adapter. Check the card configuration for I/O port address,IRQ, and DMA channel conflicts with other boards. Also check for correct termination on the board and other devices. Make sure that there is also enough memory to load all drivers. Re-install EZSCSI after any I/O port or IRQ changes. EZSCSI install will auto-detect the new board configuration and make the appropriate changes to your CONFIG.SYS. Q: Why am I unable to load any of my device drivers high without hanging my computer? A: For bus mastering boards you must have the ASPIxDOS Manager loaded in the CONFIG.SYS file before the memory management device drivers. Q: Why can't I get my Windows 3.1 to run in enhanced mode? It seems to run just fine in standard mode. A: Be sure to load ASPI4DOS.SYS (AHA-154xx, AHA-1640 and AHA-174x in standard mode), which will supply Virtual DMA Services (VDS) support to the application. This applies to any protected mode application. With the ASPI Manager loaded, remove the double buffering from the CONFIG.SYS file. Look for a line which reads: DEVICE=SMARTDRV.EXE /DOUBLE_BUFFER and remove it. For all other cards try to use IRQs 10, 11 or 15 for the Adaptec SCSI controller card. Other IRQs are known to have issues with Windows. Make sure you are on the latest EZSCSI drivers. Download UPGRADE.EXE from our BBS to upgrade your existing drivers. Q: Why is my floppy drive taking so long to do a backup using SCSI devices? A: You may need to make an adjustment on the ASPIxDOS Manager device line in the CONFIG.SYS file. Add the following switches to the ASPIxDOS.SYS Manager statement: /N04/F11. Q: After installing my Bernoulli box using an Adaptec host adapter, I am no longer able to read any of my old disks. Is there any software missing? A: Unfortunately, Bernoulli disks formatted with another vendor’s card may not be readable using our host adapter. Formatting the disks using our host adapter will allow reading and writing with your older Bernoulli card. Q: I am using a high-performance video adapter with the S3 accelerator chip. Do I need to exclude any memory ranges from use by a memory manager? A: Some experimentation may be needed here. Consult your video card manual. Two areas to try are A000-C7FF or B000-B7FF. Q: Do I need a double buffer statement on my SMARTDRV entry if I am loading ASPIxDOS.SYS in my CONFIG.SYS? A: No, the ASPIxDOS manager supplies the double buffering for most Adaptec cards. However, the following cards require ASPIBUF.SYS ( EZSCSI file found in your \SCSI directory) to be loaded directly after ASPI4DOS.SYS in your CONFIG.SYS if your computer has more than 16 MB of RAM installed: AHA-154xx, AHA-1640 and AHA-174x in standard mode. This driver will have no affect if you have 16 MB or less RAM so do not use it unless you have over 16MB of RAM. Do not use SMARTDRV double buffering when using ASPIBUF. Q: When should I disable the BIOS on the adapter? A: The host adapter BIOS should be disabled when the adapter is going to be used with SCSI devices other than hard drives. Disabling BIOS in this case will speed system boot. Adaptec BIOS provide boot capability to SCSI hard drives. Booting from other controller types (ie..IDE/EIDE/ESDI) can cause BIOS conflicts. Disable the Adaptec controller BIOS and install EZSCSI to your boot drive when conflicts arise. EZSCSI will detect all SCSI devices and install all device drivers for you. Q: When ASPIDISK.SYS loads, I get an error "too many block devices". Why? A: The error indicates that there are not enough drive letters available. Increase the last drive statement in CONFIG.SYS. Example: LAST DRIVE=Z Q: Can ASPIDISK.SYS be revised to assign or change logical drive letters? A: No, it will automaticly give the hard drive(s) the next availble drive letter(s) when it loads. Q: I am running a Pinnacle Micro optical drive with the ASPIDISK.SYS driver. When I change the media, I receive an error "Lost Allocation Table". A: APSIDISK.SYS v3.03 is the cause of this problem. Upgrade your ASPI drivers to get ASPIDISK v3.32 or later. Download UPGRADE.EXE from the BBS. Q: Where can I get the following drivers? - ASPI2DOS.SYS - ASPIDISK.SYS - ASPI4DOS.SYS - ASPICD.SYS - ASPIEDOS.SYS - VASPID.386 - ASPI7DOS.SYS - WINASPI.DLL A: All of these drivers are in the software package called Adaptec EZ-SCSI. EZ-SCSI is not available on the BBS. You can order this software directly from Adaptec by calling: (800) 442-7274 In the US and Canada, (408) 957-7274 International Q: I have EZ-SCSI v2.0 and I want to upgrade to the latest EZSCSI. How do I do that? A: On our BBS is a file called UPGRADE.EXE which will upgrade the following files for people who have EZ-SCSI v2.0 or later: Filename Version ============================= - ASPI2DOS.SYS 3.5 - ASPI4DOS.SYS 3.31 - ASPIEDOS.SYS 1.31 - ASPI7DOS.SYS 1.32 - ASPIDISK.SYS 3.32 - ASPI8DOS.SYS 1.01 - ASPICD.SYS 3.12 - VASPID.386 1.1 For user’s of EZ-SCSI v1.0, only the ASPI Managers will be updated. The ASPICD.SYS file will not be updated for users of EZ-SCSI v1.0. To order a full copy of EZ-SCSI as an upgrade please call: (800) 442-7274 In the US and Canada (408) 957-7274 International (408) 945-7727 BBS Q: What devices does EZ-SCSI support? A: For a complete compatibility list of peripheral devices compatible with EZ-SCSI please download EZLIST.TXT from the Adaptec BBS at (408) 945-7727. The list can also be accessed on Adaptec's Interactive Fax System at (408) 957-7150 Request document # 21095. Q: What is EZ-SCSI? A: EZ-SCSI is a software package which provides broad support both for SCSI peripherals and for I/O application software in a manner that makes installation of SCSI devices easy by automatically installing drivers and modifying system files containing the latest ASPI Managers for DOS and Windows. In addition to the already extensive support for SCSI disks, audio, data, photo CD-ROMs, and Magneto Optical drives. SCSI also includes utilities such as: tape back-up, SCSI Interrogator, CD audio player, SCSI benchmark, scanner utility, disk partitioner, power management and a photo CD-viewer. The long list of supported devices includes CD roms,SCSI tape drives, Floptical drives, and HP IIc/p scanners. Q: What is EZ-SCSI Lite? A: EZ-SCSI Lite is specifically created for the Adaptec Altra line. It is a software package which provides broad support both for SCSI peripherals and for I/O application software in a manner that makes installation of SCSI devices easy by automatically installing drivers and modifying system files containing the latest ASPI Managers for DOS and Windows. EZ-SCSI Lite supports Photo CD-ROMs, Magneto Optical drives (including 1024 bytes/sector), Floptical drives, and HP scanners. It does Not include the photo CD-viewer, tape backup or other utilities included in EZ-SCSI. Q: I am trying to install EZ-SCSI and I don't know what to install first. A: If you have Windows installed on your system, follow the instructions for installing EZ-SCSI for Windows. (Windows|file|run|SETUP from first EZSCSI diskette) EZSCSI SETUP.EXE will install Windows and DOS files both. There is no need to install EZSCSI again in DOS. If you have a DOS system only and are not running Windows, just follow the instructions for installing EZ-SCSI for DOS.(DOSINST from first or second EZSCSI diskette) Q: Can I use Trantor SCSIworks! with Adaptec AHA series host adapters? A: No. You can only use Adaptec EZ-SCSI drivers with Adaptec AVA and AHA series host adapters. Q: Do You have an upgrade for the Sony laser Library? CDU-535 or CDU-7205? A: We did but that offer has ended and is no longer available from Trantor. You will need to contact Sony directly for any further assistance with that product. The number to Sony's Technical Support is 408-894-0555. Q: Is there a driver to back up removable devices in Trantor SCSIWorks! Tapemate? A: Select the DOS disk driver in the Tapemate Configuration Table. Q: During the Trantor SCSIWorks! TFORMAT process the drive reports a "CMD failure ##" message, why? A: The TFORMAT program may have a conflict with a TSR or MEMORY Resident program. Create a boot floppy with the correct ASPI manager in the CONFIG.SYS. For example: "DEVICE=MA13B.SYS". Copy the manager and TFORMAT program to the floppy. Reboot the computer from the floppy and run TFORMAT. Answer Y to make the drive bootable even if you are not booting from the drive. Once completed reboot from the normal C: drive. If this doesn't work, also try TFORMAT/S60. Q: I have an Adaptec controller and need to low level format my hard disk. How do I do this? A: If your Adaptec card has SCSI Select and the BIOS is enabled (you will see a CTRL-A message during boot) you can enter SCSI Select during boot and access the low level format utility in "SCSI Disk Utilities" If you have a 274x series card edit your EISA configuration for the 274x card and use the "Disk Format Utility" in the AIC-7770 Utilities menu. All Adaptec cards can be low level formatted with SCSIFMT.EXE (Adaptec executable low level format utility) which is available from our BBS or in the \SCSI directory if EZSCSI is installed on your hard drive. Download SCSIFRMT.EXE from the BBS to get this file. Q: Which operating systems have embedded support for Adaptec cards? A: SCO UNIX, OS/2, Windows NT, and Novell v3.12 and v4.0 have embedded support for most of our host adapters. For a complete listing, request the Software/Peripheral Matrix from the Adaptec Interactive Fax System at (408) 957-7150 request document #21060 (15 pages). Q: When I install an AHA-2742 in a PC, I get a message "AMI Overlay Incompatible". What should I do? A: Contact AMI for latest E.C.U. AMI Phone 404-246-8645 FAX 404-246-8776 BBS 404-246-5825 Q: I am installing your mini-SCSI product APA 348/APA358 and I get the message "No Host Adapter Found". A: Make sure a SCSI device is attached and providing termination power. Lack of termination power is the most likely caused of the above error message. Q: I have a 3GIG-Hard Drive but DOS is only partitioned to a 2 Gig partition. A: This is a DOS limitation. Dos can only partition 2 Gigs per partition maximum. Therefore, you would have a 2 Gig and 1Gig partition on the drive. Updated 4/17/96