Some SCSI Disk Drives Generate Unneeded Error Messages

 Last reviewed: March 21, 1997
Article ID: Q139357

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5 and 3.51 and 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5 and 3.51 and 4.0

SYMPTOMS

When you start your computer running Windows NT and using a SCSI hard disk, an error message similar to the following appears in your system log (as seen with Event Viewer): 

   Date: 11/2/95                    Event ID: 9
   Time: 10:02:04 AM                Source: aic78xx
   User: N/A                        Type: Error
   Computer: Machine1               Category: None

   Description:
   The device, \Device\ScsiPort0, did not respond within the timeout period
These error messages often occur at boot time. You can identify when the error message is issued by comparing the SCSI timeout event to when your computer was restarted. Usually, one of the first few messages in the system log is a message similar to the following: 

   The Event log service was started.
If the SCSI timeout message occurred at boot time, the date and time of the log service starting should be very close to the timeout message (within seconds).

CAUSE

The problem is that the SCSI disk class driver (SCSIDISK.SYS) is looking for SCSI drives that need special handling. SCSIDISK.SYS issues a SCSI Mode Sense command. The timeout value on the I/O is set to zero, which means that there is a chance the I/O may time out before the drive can complete the operation. If the timeout occurs, an error message is logged.

Disk drives that are known to cause timeout messages include, but are not limit to, the following: 

   TOSHIBA  MK538FB
   CONNER   CP3500
   OLIVETTI CP3500
   SyQuest  SQ5110
   SEAGATE  ST41601N
   SEAGATE  ST3655N
   SEAGATE  ST3390N
   SEAGATE  ST12550N
   FUJITSU  M2652S-512
   MAXTOR   MXT-540SL

RESOLUTION

For the drives in question, these timeout message are not serious if they occur at system boot. However, if several of these messages appear in the system log during normal system operation, they should be investigated.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 3.5. We are researching this problem and will post new information in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

When examining the error message in the Event Log, the last four ULONG values in the Data section represent the SCSI PathId, SCSI TargetId, SCSI Lun, and a SCSIPORT ErrorCode. Normally, the PathId, TargetId, and Lun would help identify a particular SCSI device. However, in this situation, PathId, TargetId, and Lun are always zero, and the ErrorCode is always 00000007.

The Data at offset 0x28 would look similar to this: 

   0028: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   0030: 00 00 00 00 07 00 00 00
So if a system has a drive mentioned previously and the system logs an error message, the error message will always indicate PathId, TargetId, and Lun zero, regardless of the true settings of the SCSI device.

Additional query words: prodnt
Keywords : kbbug3.50 kbbug3.51 kbhw ntdriver
Version : 3.5 3.51
Platform : WinNT

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Last reviewed: March 21, 1997
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