Contents of Windows NT SETUP.TXT, Part 1

• Microsoft Windows NT operating system version 3.1
• Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1

SUMMARY

This article is part 1 of 2 articles that contain the complete text of the SETUP.TXT. These articles contain the following:

• Part 1 (this part) contains:

       1.0 Removing Previous Versions
       2.0 General Hardware Notes
       3.0 Specific Computer Systems
       4.0 General Disk Drive Information
       5.0 SCSI Devices
  

• Part 2, the companion article to this one, contains:

       6.0 Error Messages
       7.0 Video Display Drivers and Adapters (x86 Computers)
       8.0 Removable Media
       9.0 Supported Keyboard Layouts
       10.0 Installing Windows NT over NextStep
       11.0 Converting File Systems During
            Installation
       12.0 Reporting Problems
  
  

Introduction

Feedback from the thousands of Windows NT beta sites has shown that Windows NT Setup proceeds smoothly in the vast majority of cases. However, there are cases where you may experience difficulties with hardware incompatibilities or conflicts. SETUP.TXT contains information that you may need in order to install Windows NT or Windows NT Advanced Server (the article applies to both) on some hardware configurations.

For more information on installation, see the chapters "Installing Windows NT" and "Troubleshooting" in the "Windows NT System Guide" or the "Windows NT Advanced Server System Guide."

1.0 Removing Previous Versions

If you have installed a prerelease version of Windows NT, you should delete it before installing this version. Depending on the release, the Windows NT Boot Loader may not support booting both this release of the operating system and a previous release.

2.0 General Hardware Notes

Windows NT has a very wide range of hardware support--including support for over 1600x86 uniprocessor systems, over 25x86 multiprocessor systems, as well as supporting RISC systems (for details please see the Hardware Compatibility List). To cover a few outlying cases, we've included these notes.

2.1 Interrupt Conflicts

A common problem in a computer with several supported devices is conflicting interrupts, I/O ports, or memory usage. Where possible, we have identified such cases in this document. However, if one of the supported devices does not seem to work, it may be due to the particular hardware configuration. For more specific information, see your hardware manual or contact your system manufacturer.

2.2 ROM Shadowing

If you encounter persistent installation problems on multiprocessor systems, try installing with ROM shadowing disabled.

2.3 Intel EtherExpress 16 LAN Adapter

In some cases, selecting "early" in the I/O Channel Ready box can stop the network adapter card from functioning correctly and may require reconfiguring with the Intel SoftSet utility. If you are unsure whether your system can take advantage of this network setting, consult your hardware vendor.

3.0 Specific Computer Systems

3.1 ACER AcerFrame 3000 MP

Before installing Windows NT, disable shadow RAM Video BIOS.

3.2 IBM Personal System/2

On some IBM PS/2 systems only planar memory is recognized when booting from the Windows NT CD-ROM boot disk or Disk #1 of the floppy disk installation set. This is a memory card problem. You may encounter this problem if your system contains a card with the following part numbers:

FRU-88F0075 Option 87F9856 or 87F9860

Newer model cards are available that correct this problem. Part numbers for the newer cards are:

FRU-87F9916 or 34F2825 Option 34F3077 or 34F3011

Using Kingston expansion memory can also correct this problem.

It is recommended that before you install Windows NT, you update your system configuration using the PS/2 Reference Diskette version 1.21 or later

3.3 Installation on the IBM ThinkPad

The IBM ThinkPad 700c and 720c portables require an ABIOS patch to install and run Windows NT. Copy the following files from the ThinkPad Reference Diskette onto C:\

     ABIOS.SYS
     SF*.BIO

For the Olivetti LSX5030, disable all ROM shadowing.

3.5 Toshiba T4400SX Monochrome

The Toshiba T4400SX display is not supported when an external monitor is connected.

3.6 Gateway Nomad and TI Travelmate Notebooks

To successfully install Windows NT on these machines, you must choose "Custom Setup". If you encounter problems running setup while scanning for SCSI Adapters, you can delete the SCSI drivers from the setup diskette to solve the problem.

To properly use the floppy drive with Windows NT, configure the system using its setup utility. Set the Advanced Operating System option to Auto. When power management drivers for these machines are available from Texas Instruments, using the Auto option will not be necessary.

The built in InPort/QuickPort mouse adapter requires a mouse driver from Texas Instruments to work properly under Windows NT. You can use a serial mouse until this driver is available from Texas Instruments.

In order to use the internal modem for these computers, you will need a power management driver and software from Texas Instruments.

The best configuration for the NE2000 Network Adapter under Windows NT is at IRQ5 and I/O Port 340H.

3.7 Gateway 2000 and Micronics Gemini 486 VESA Local Bus Motherboards

Windows NT may stop running on systems that use Ultrastor's U34F Local Bus controller with the Micronics Gemini 486 VESA Local Bus motherboard. Some older Gateway systems include this combination of hardware.

The problem is a timing issue that only appears with Windows NT, the Ultrastor U34F, and the Micronics Gemini 486 VESA Local Bus motherboard. Disabling the motherboard's external cache should allow Windows NT to run. The problem does not occur with ISA bus controllers from Ultrastor. This problem does not occur on Gateway 2000 or Micronics VESA Local Bus motherboards with a blue OverDrive socket.

If you encounter this problem, you can resolve it by an upgrade offered by Micronics for the Gemini 486 VESA Local Bus motherboard. The motherboard will need to be returned to Micronics for an upgrade. The Micronics reference number for this is VLBA03. Micronics can be reached at (510) 651-2300 for additional information. If you have a Gateway computer, contact Gateway 2000 at (800) 846-2301 for upgrade information.

3.8 Zeos Freestyle/SL Notebook Computer

When performing a Windows NT installation on this computer, you must power off the computer after the text- based portion of Setup is complete and you have been prompted to press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart the computer. Otherwise a keyboard controller failure may occur.

4.0 General Disk Drive Information

4.1 Volume Sets Created Via the BIOS

On controllers other than the UltraStor 124f, Windows NT does not support disk controllers that create volume sets via the BIOS (i.e., two different drives merged into a single drive letter).

4.2 Caching Disk Controllers and Drives

Windows NT supports caching disk controllers and drives only if one of the following is true:

• The controller has a driver that specifically supports caching (several of these exist: DPT and IBM SCSI Caching Adapter).
• Write-through is active (i.e., write caching is disabled) either by setting it manually or by default when the computer starts.
• The entire cache option is off, either by setting it manually or by default when the computer starts.

4.3 IDE/ESDI Drive Support

The Windows NT IDE/ESDI drive support is limited to two disk drives per controller. A second IDE/ESDI controller from Compaq (on Compaq machines only) or built in like the Gateway 2000 VESA local bus machines is supported by the standard Windows NT product. If you have a need to configure from 2 to 6 IDE or ESDI controllers in one system, contact MS Product Support Services for details on how to do so.

4.4 Installing onto Systems with an ESDI Drive Containing More Than 1024 Cylinders

In some cases, Windows NT installation proceeds normally until the first boot from the hard drive where Windows NT is installed. The Windows NT Boot loader will load various files and then produce a Fatal System Error: 0x0000006b with the message that Phase 1 Process Initialization failed. Following this message will be some type of hex dump and the system will be locked up. If you experience this difficulty the following information can help.

Testing has been done on the following ESDI controllers using a hard drive with a capacity exceeding 516 megabytes (MB) (MB=1,048,576 bytes) formatted. The MS-DOS limit of 1024 cylinders creates a situation where special BIOS mapping on the controller is used to change the geometry of the drive. ESDI drives are capable of being prepared with various values of "sectors per track" (spt) such as 53 or 63 spt geometry during a low-level format. Here is a brief example of a drive capacity using a different spt format:

    1024 cylinders  X  15 heads  X  53 spt  X  512 bytes
    per sector = 398MB formatted capacity

   -or-

    1024 cylinders  X  15 heads  X  63 spt  X  512 bytes
    per sector = 472MB formatted capacity

    1632 cylinders  X  15 heads  X  53 spt  X  512 bytes
    per sector = 634MB formatted capacity

DTC (Data Technology Corp)

    Model 6282-24:

    Model 6290-24:

    Model 6290 SEZ (Dual SCSI/ESDI Controller):

    Model 6295-24:

Adaptec

    Model 2322D:

1. Disable drive translation and the on-board controller bios. Then use a user defined drive type with the actual drive parameters. For example:

         Drive Type in CMOS=48 Cylinders=1632  Heads=15 SPT=53
   

   This will give 634MB capacity. MS-DOS will still be limited to the first 1024 cylinders which makes 398MB available. Windows NT will be able to access the cylinders beyond 1024 yielding another 236MB.

2. This option allows both MS-DOS & Windows NT to access the entire drive. Jumper the controller for Drive Splitting. Disable drive translation and the on-board controller BIOS. Set up the first physical drive in the CMOS as:

         Cylinders=1024  Heads=15  SPT=53
   

   which will give a drive capacity of 398MB. Set up the second drive (it appears as a physical drive) in the CMOS as:

         Cylinders=606  Heads=15  SPT=53
   

   This will yield another 236MB. Windows NT will actually see the drive as two physical drives.

All models with PROM versions less than #####-009

Maximum Windows NT compatible geometry is to use 63 spt and limit of 1024 cylinders under MS-DOS. Windows NT will be able to access the cylinders beyond 1024.

All models with PROM versions equal to or greater than #####-009

Maximum Windows NT compatible geometry is to use "Track mapping" during Low-Level formatting. Both MS-DOS and Windows NT will have access to entire drive capacity.

5.0 SCSI Devices

Windows NT supports over 60 SCSI host adapters, over 30 SCSI CD-ROM drives, over 40 SCSI tape drives, over 10 SCSI removable media systems, and SCSI scanners. Here are some detailed notes on Windows NT's SCSI support.

This section provides information on configuring SCSI devices when running Windows NT.

5.1 SCSI CD-ROM Devices

The SCSI and CD-ROM support built into Windows NT 3.1 requires that CD-ROMs provide SCSI parity to function properly. For many drives this is a configurable option or is active by default. Check the documentation for your CD-ROM to find specifics on how this is configured for your drive. Examples of drives which do not provide or support SCSI parity are the NEC CDR-36 and CDR-37 drives.

5.2 Installing from a SCSI CD-ROM Device

When you are installing Windows NT from a SCSI CD-ROM device, make sure that the device does not have an ID of 0 or 1. Some SCSI BIOS programs reserve 0 and 1 for hard disks. If you set your CD-ROM with an ID of 0 or 1, you will likely see an extra partition in Setup that does not exist.

If you have 2 CD-ROM devices connected to the same SCSI Host Adapter, then Windows NT Setup does not necessarily install using the CD-ROM that contains the higher SCSI ID. If using one CD-ROM results in Setup displaying a message "Please insert the CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive," then remove the CD and try the other CD-ROM. Setup chooses one CD-ROM drive and refers to it as 'the' CD-ROM drive.

5.3 Installing Windows NT with a Proprietary Adapter Driver

Some SCSI and proprietary CD-ROM adapter drivers are provided in the Driver Library on the Windows NT CD. These drivers are contained in a directory tree below the \DRVLIB directory. Some of the drivers will have a README.TXT containing additional configuration information.

Please read this information before installing.

To install using one of these drivers:

1. Using your current operating system, access the Windows NT CD-ROM, and change to the directory containing the driver that you want to use.

2. Copy all files in that directory to a blank, formatted floppy placed in drive A: (Windows NT Setup requires the driver to be on a disk in drive A). Label the disk "Driver Disk."

3. Shut down your current operating system (if necessary), and reboot with the Windows NT CD-ROM Boot disk in drive A.

4. When Setup asks for Custom or Express setup, choose Custom.

5. When choosing an adapter press 'S' for additional SCSI adapters.

6. Choose "Other (requires disk provided by hardware manufacturer)."

7. Setup prompts for the driver disk. Insert the "Driver Disk" in drive A.

Please refer to the chapter "Installing Windows NT" in the Windows NT System Guide or Windows NT Advanced Server System Guide for information on installing Windows NT from MS-DOS when your system has an unsupported CD-ROM drive.

5.5 Adding a CD-ROM After Installing Windows NT

If you add a CD-ROM drive after you have installed Windows NT, use the Devices option in Control Panel to configure device startup. For all CD-ROM drives, set the Startup value of Scsicdrm to System. If your drive does not support SCSI-2 Audio, also set the Startup value of Cdaudio to System. Cdaudio should also be set to System for some SCSI-1 CD-ROM drives, including the Denon DRD- 253; Pioneer-DRM-600; NEC Intersect 73, 73m, 74, 84; and Hitachi 1750s, 1650s, 3650.

For more information on starting devices, choose the Help button in the Devices dialog box.

5.6 NEC Intersect CD-ROM

NEC Intersect CD-ROM readers have a switch that enables disconnects during accesses to the reader. This switch is off by default, disabling disconnects. Because of this, while your CD-ROM is being read, no other devices on that SCSI bus can be accessed. Since reads from a reader can take a significant amount of time, having this switch off can noticeably degrade system performance. This slow-down may occur even if you are not using the CD-ROM reader. To avoid this problem, set switch number 5 ON. The switch is located with switches labeled SW1.

5.7 SCSI Termination

The SCSI bus must be properly terminated on both ends. If you are using both an external and an internal SCSI device, it is best to terminate the devices and remove the terminators on the SCSI adapter.

For the SCSI adapter to operate effectively, termination power must be provided on the SCSI bus either by the adapter or by a SCSI device connected to the bus. Some adapters provide termination power with no configuration options. Others do not provide termination power (for example, Future Domain 1660 and Trantor 128). Still others provide termination power only if a jumper is set on the adapter (for example, Future Domain 850M).

Please consult the documentation for your SCSI adapter and SCSI device to make sure that termination power is present on the SCSI bus.

5.8 Adaptec

An Adaptec adapter might use conflicting memory addresses with other cards such as network adapters. This requires reconfiguring the hardware by changing jumpers.

DMA speed cannot be set on an Adaptec 154x SCSI controller. Currently the AHA154X.SYS driver supports a DMA transfer rate of 5.0 MB.

The Adaptec AHA154xC card is extremely sensitive to termination and cabling. Systems with this card should use SCSI-II cables and/or SCSI-II active terminators. SCSI-II cables are available from Amphenol Quintec and Icontec. If these recommendations are not followed, unreliable operation, including data corruption, is possible.

The Adaptec AHA-1542C and Denon DRD-253 are incompatible under Windows NT. The AHA-1542C requires active termination and the Denon DRD-253 CD-ROM has built in passive termination.

The Adaptec 1640 Micro Channel adapter does not support the Maynard 2000 or 1300 DAT drives in this release. The 1640 adapter is not supported on IBM PS/2 Model 70 computers.

There is a known problem using Micronics VL bus motherboards with Adaptec 1542x adapters.

The 1988 version 3.08 Adaptec 154x BIOS has a problem with the Scatter/Gather feature. This problem is detected by the Adaptec driver and the feature is disabled. If you have this BIOS version a message is displayed informing you that the Scatter/Gather feature has been disabled. If you get this message, you can contact the Adaptec Technical Support at (408) 945-2550 for information on the most recent version, 3.20, of the BIOS. BIOS versions after 3.08 do not have this problem. The latest 154x BIOS also supports drives that are larger than 1 GB under both BIOS/MS-DOS and Windows NT. Windows NT will be able to access drives larger than 1 GB even without this upgrade provided and extended partition is used.

The Adaptec AHA164x driver logs unnecessary errors. These occur while NTBACKUP is in use with a tape connected to the AHA164x. The entries look like:

7/10/93 2:41:40 AM      AHA154x Error   None    11

These entries may be ignored. Also when too many of these entries are generated a pop-up is created indicating the error log is full. This can be avoided by setting the system event log settings to overwrite the events as needed.

5.9 Buslogic

When using a Buslogic 747 SCSI Adapter with an AST Manhattan SMP computer, you must disable the adapter's BIOS. For more information on disabling the BIOS, refer to the adapter's documentation.

5.10 Compaq Smart SCSI Array

The Compaq Smart SCSI Array must be configured to use any possible interrupt other than IRQ 2 to function properly under Windows NT.

5.11 Dell Drive Array

The Adaptec emulation mode on the Dell Drive Array (DDA) must be disabled for compatibility with the hardware's Windows NT driver.

5.12 Future Domain

The Windows NT driver that supports the Future Domain 845, 850, and 885 adapters assumes operation on IRQ 5. If the adapter is set for another interrupt, the Future Domain driver will continue to work, but in a polling fashion that may slow down operation of the system. Further, the Future Domain driver will register to the system claiming the use of IRQ 5 and this may disrupt operation of another device that is actually configured for IRQ 5. If you are using one of the above mentioned Future Domain adapters, please complete the Windows NT installation normally, then change the IRQ information for the driver in the registry. If the IRQ is incorrect, the driver will log an event viewable in the Event Viewer Administrative Tool.

If you have a 16-bit Future Domain card or an 8-bit M series card configured with an external SCSI device, make sure that SCSI termination is correct. You must set a jumper on the card for this setting. Check the cards documentation for details.

A Future Domain SCSI adapter might use conflicting memory addresses. This requires reconfiguring the hardware by changing jumpers.

5.13 IBM PS/2 SCSI Adapter

To configure an IBM SCSI adapter with a BIOS dated before 1991 for use with Windows NT, use a PS/2 Reference Diskette version 1.21 or later.

5.14 Maynard SCSI Adapter

You cannot use Express Setup to install Windows NT onto a hard disk attached to a WD33C9C SCSI host adapter (Maynard SCSI adapter) because Setup cannot identify this adapter. However, you can use Custom Setup to install this adapter card. Or, after Setup, you can use the Setup icon to install the adapter card.

5.15 Mylex DCE376 and Tangent 48933 USA

The Tangent and Zeos 433 EISA system comes standard with a Mylex 376 controller which operates in WD1003 emulation mode by default. This will be no longer be necessary when a SCSI driver for this card becomes available for Windows NT.

5.16 UltraStor SCSI Controllers

If you experience a problem in tape functionally with a supported 4mm DAT Tape Device and an UltraStor 14F or 24F controller, contact UltraStor for an upgrade to resolve this.

If you have an UltraStor 34F controller installed into a Micronics VLB motherboard, it is recommended that you turn the motherboard external cache off.

The UltraStor 124 adapter is compatible with removable media drives, but does not allow the user to remove and replace media. For this reason, Windows NT does not support removable media drives when used with this controller.

The combination of the UltraStor 14F and DEC Talk Speech Synthesizer Card can cause Windows NT Setup to fail due to an I/O port conflict. To avoid this problem, either set the DEC I/O to 350, or delete the file ULTRA14F.SYS from the boot floppy while leaving the DEC card at default settings.

5.17 Trantor

These adapters are SCSI-termination sensitive. If Windows NT hangs upon booting, or if Windows NT Setup cannot find devices attached to a Trantor adapter, verify that the SCSI termination occurred and that one of the SCSI devices attached to the Trantor adapter is providing termination power.

The Trantor T228 MCA SCSI adapter is not supported on the IBM PS/2 Model 95.

5.18 Texel or Plextor DM-5024 CD-ROM

A firmware level of 1.10C is required to make the DM-5024 CD-ROM compatible with Windows NT. Contact Texel at 1- 800-886-3935 for information on this upgrade.