Qic117.sys Driver May Make Drive A Inaccessible (177353)

SYMPTOMS

When you try to access a floppy disk drive to read the contents of a disk, the following error message is displayed:

A:\ is not accessible. The requested resource is in use.

NOTE: Substitute "B:\" if you are using a second floppy drive.

When you click the floppy disk drive, the light does not come on. Other operating systems such as MS-DOS or Windows 95 can access the drive with no errors.

CAUSE

The Qic117.sys driver can be used on the following tape devices; each of these devices runs off the floppy controller:

HP Colorado T3000
HP Colorado T1000
Wangtek QIC-3010 floppy

Qic117.sys will load if the driver startup type is set to SYSTEM, or a Tape Devices/Detect is performed. When the driver loads, it makes the following calls:

kdi_GetFloppyController() - acquires resources
kdi_ReleaseFloppyController() - releases resources
kdi_GetFloppyController() - acquires resources

At this point, the driver stops and waits until it is needed again.

After the calls are made, the user cannot use the floppy disk drive because the tape device is using all the resources.

When using a tape device that runs off the floppy controller, the floppy disk drive and tape device cannot be used simultaneously. This will ensure maximum performance for the tape drive and prevent changes to the hard disk drive caused by someone using the floppy disk drive while the backup or restore is in progress.

WORKAROUND

To work around this issue, perform the following steps:

In Control Panel, double-click Devices.
From the list of devices, select the corresponding tape device.
Click Startup.
Select Automatic from the Startup Type list.
Click OK.
Click the Close button for the Devices tool.

This procedure should effectively set the startup type for the Qic117.sys driver so that it does not load until a backup is started.

MORE INFORMATION

The floppy disk drive will now work until a backup starts, but, after the backup completes, the error message listed above will appear when you try to access the floppy drive. The only way to again gain access to the floppy disk drive is to restart the computer.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 4.0. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.