Removable SCSI Media Not Visible in Windows Explorer

• Microsoft Windows 95

SYMPTOMS

When you start Windows 95 on a computer with a SCSI adapter and two removable-media devices on the SCSI chain, the removable-media devices may have no drive letter in My Computer or Windows Explorer.

Or, if you start Windows 95 without a disk in the last drive on the SCSI chain, neither drive letter is available in My Computer or Windows Explorer.

CAUSE

The Windows 95 protected-mode SCSI drivers do not map a drive letter for an INT13h removable SCSI drive if the removable media is not present.

Windows 95 can map a drive letter for a removable-media drive on a SCSI chain if the following conditions are true:

• There is a real-mode ASPI or CAM driver that can be used to allocate the drive letter.
• There are no drive letters available in real mode that cannot be accessed correctly for any reason.

RESOLUTION

The following four workarounds are listed in order of preference. These workarounds allow you to access removable media in Windows 95:

• Assign a permanent drive letter to each removable drive. To do so, follow these steps:

  a. In Control Panel, double-click the System icon.

  b. On the Device Manager tab, double-click the SCSI device, click

        the SCSI adapter, and then click Properties.
  

  c. On the Settings tab, set the Reserved Drive Letter parameters.

  d. Click OK. When you are prompted to restart your computer, do so.

• Place the removable media in the drive before you start Windows 95 and do not remove it until Windows 95 starts.
• Load the real-mode ASPI drivers included with the SCSI adapter in the Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files. For information about how to do so, please consult the adapter's documentation or manufacturer.
• Turn off the BIOS on the SCSI adapter. For information about how to do so, please consult the adapter's documentation or manufacturer.

MORE INFORMATION

The Windows 95 protected-mode SCSI adapter drivers always enumerate the devices through the SCSI chain. Therefore, all devices on the SCSI chain are child devices of the SCSI adapter. All drives and devices on the SCSI chain need to be working correctly and have full protected-mode support through Windows 95 before they can be visible in the user interface.