TITLE
    NeXTSTEP 3.3 Driver: Adaptec 154x Family And Compatible SCSI
Article ID:
Created:
Modified: 		71758
3/3/99
3/3/99
TOPIC

    This document discusses a device driver for the NeXTSTEP operating system, version 3.3. This driver will not work with any version of OPENSTEP.

DISCUSSION

    NEXTSTEP for Intel Processors Release 3.3
    SCSI Driver Overview

    Driver: Adaptec 154x family and compatible
    Driver Overview: NeXTanswer #1758
    Last Update: April 23, 1997

    Availability Information

    An updated release version of this driver, version 3.35, is avaiable on Apple's FTP servers at:
    ftp://ftp.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_Software_Updates/MultiCountry/Enterprise/nextstep/drivers/beta/Adaptec1542BSCSI.pkg.compressed

    Driver Name / Installer .pkg: Adaptec1542B
    Driver Type: SCSI
    Driver Scope: Product Family
    Supported Components: Adaptec AIC-6251, Adaptec AIC-7970
    PC Bus / Interface Supported by Driver**: EISA, ISA

    General Overview notes: The Adaptec154x compatible driver is designed to support a variety of SCSI adapters from Adaptec and several third parties.

    Supported Products / Add-on Adapters:
    Adaptec 154xB (ISA)
    Adaptec 154xC (ISA)
    Adaptec 154xCF (ISA)
    Adaptec 174x (EISA) in standard 154x mode only



    Supported Products / Systems (ie integrated into PC System):


    Special Features of Driver / Driver Notes:
    The onboard floppy controller, available on the 1542 cards, is not supported.

    SCSI Driver Details

    Supported Connectors: 50-pin Centronics (Standard SCSI), 50-pin Header (Internal SCSI), 50-pin High Density (SCSI-2)
    Access Mode: DMA
    Attributes**: SCSI-2
    Cache Size Supported**: N/A

    Known Problems

    · For setup and installtion of the 154xB see
    NeXTanswers document number 1107.

    · For setup and installtion of the 154xC/CF see
    NeXTanswers document number 1108.

    · NEXTSTEP does not officially support the floppy controller integrated into the 1542B. Use the floppy controller integrated into your system's motherboard.

    · When installing NEXTSTEP onto an IDE hard disk drive, the CD-ROM drive's SCSI ID number should be zero.

    · Some users have reported problems during the installation process if the CD-ROM drive's SCSI ID number is set to zero. NEXTSTEP will freeze after displaying the message rootdev 608 when this problem is encountered. Setting the CD-ROM drive's SCSI ID to six has fixed the problem when nothing else seemed to work.

    · Improper SCSI termination can cause strange, unreproducible errors. Be certain that the first and last devices on the SCSI bus (and only these two devices) are terminated.

    · Avoid system configurations combining an Adaptec 154xB/C/CF and an ATI Ultra Pro EISA card. A hardware conflict exists which causes data corruption on SCSI hard disks.

    · If your system includes an Adaptec 1542B and you do not have jumper six enabled it will hang. It will boot off the floppy and recognize the SCSI drives, but instead of starting the install process, it will hang with the messages:

    fdisk: bogus bios info
    some bios' can't handle non-sequential targets.

    · The Adaptec 1542B does not support 2.88MB floppy drives attached as SCSI devices.


    Driver Version Notes

    ** - Indicates information that is inclusive of the entire capability of this driver. Not all devices supported by this driver may include all features listed. Check any available NeXTanswers and the hardware manual for the device for additional information.

    Product Vendor
    Adaptec Inc.
    691 South Milpitas Blvd.
    Milpitas, CA 95035
    USA

    +1 (408) 945 8600 international phone number
    +1 (800) 959 7274 USA toll-free (customer support) phone
    +1 (408) 945 7727 bulletin board system
    +1 (408) 957 7150 faxback system
    +1 (408) 262 2533 fax
    WWW: http://www.adaptec.com/

Document Information
Product Area: Apple Software
Category: NeXTSTEP
Sub Category: Drivers

Copyright © 2000 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved.