Devices Not Detected with Intel 82371SB PIIX3 Controller

• Microsoft Windows 95

SYMPTOMS

When you are running Windows 95 on a computer with an Intel 82371SB PIIX3 IDE hard disk controller, Windows 95 may not detect devices installed on the secondary IDE channel. If the devices are initially detected and appear in Device Manager, they may no longer appear in Device Manager the next time you restart the computer.

CAUSE

The Intel 82371SB PIIX3 IDE hard disk controller is not included in the Mshdc.inf file included with Windows 95. Therefore, although the controller is detected by Windows 95 and appears in Device Manager, it may not be properly configured. This may prevent devices on the secondary IDE channel from being detected or installed properly.

The following computers are known to contain Intel 82371SB PIIX3 IDE hard disk controllers:

• Dell Dimension Pentium Pro 200
• Hewlett-Packard Vectra VL 5/xxx Series 4

STATUS

This situation is most likely caused by design changes in Windows 95. Microsoft has confirmed that this situation is not caused by problems in Windows 95.

RESOLUTION

For information about how to work around this problem, please contact Intel.

MORE INFORMATION

This problem affects all Intel motherboards that contain the 82371SB PIIX3 onboard IDE hard disk controller. When you install Windows 95 on a computer that contains an 82371SB PIIX3 controller, the controller is detected and installed by Windows 95. However, because the Mshdc.inf file does not contain configuration information for the controller, the secondary IDE channel on the controller may not be configured properly.

Because the secondary channel is not configured properly, it is typically disabled by the BIOS the next time you restart your computer. This causes Windows 95 to determine that the devices installed on the secondary channel have been removed from your computer, and causes Windows 95 to remove the devices from Device Manager.

To determine if the 82371SB PIIX3 IDE hard disk controller in your computer is configured properly, double-click the System icon in Control Panel, click the Device Manager tab, and then double-click the Hard Disk Controllers branch to expand it. If the following devices appear under the Hard Disk Controllers branch, the 82371SB PIIX3 controller is not configured properly and the problem described in this article is likely to occur:

• Primary IDE Controller (single FIFO)
• Standard Dual PCI IDE Controller
• Standard IDE/ESDI Hard Disk Controller