Presales Common Questions and Answers General Hardware: Q: Which host adapter contains floppy controllers and which ones do not? A: Any Adaptec host adapter which has a "2" as the last number in the product name has an on board floppy controller. For example, the AHA-1542CF has floppy support, while the AHA-1540CF does not. Q: How many devices can I have on the host adapter? A: You can have up to seven (7) SCSI devices per host adapter. The AHA-274XAT can support up to fourteen (14) SCSI devices. This board has a twin channel. The AHA-274XW and the AHA-2940W can support up to fifteen (15) SCSI devices. They are fast and wide and have 2 internal ports and one external port. Q: Which host adapters support bus mastering? A: All host adapters support bus mastering except for the AHA-1510, AHA-1510A, AHA-152X, AHA-152XA, AVA-1505, AVA-1515, AVA-2825, AMM-1510M, and AMM-1570. These all have PIO mode (Programmed Input/Output). Q: Do you have a PCI Local Bus Controller? A: Yes, they are called the AHA-2940 Kit and the AHA-2940W Kit. (The 2940W supports a wide SCSI bus). They are based on Adaptec-designed RISC technology which maximizes system I/O performance and utilizes the PCI local bus to transfer data up to 133 MB/second. The kit includes: either the AHA-2940 or the AHA-2940W PCI-to-Fast SCSI host adapter with SCSI Select , ASW-7800 Family Manager Set v2.1, EZ-SCSI v3.x (for DOS/Windows support with Tape Backup and CD-ROM utilities), internal ribbon cable, and all documentation. The AHA-2940W kit also includes a 68-Pin "P" style internal ribbon cable. Q: How many host adapters can you have in one system? A: You can have two AHA-152X series host adapters in your system at one time. You can have up to four AHA-154X series host adapters in your system at one time. You can have up to four AHA-174X series host adapters in Standard Mode. In Enhanced mode you are limited to the number of bus mastering slots in your system. With the AHA-274X series, you are limited by the number of available bus mastering slots. With the AHA-284X series, you are limited by the number of available VL-Bus slots. Most systems have two or three VL-Bus slots. The AHA-284X series requires the VL-Bus slot to be a master slot. With the AHA-2940 series, you are limited by the number of available PCI-Bus slots. Q: Is there a way to disable the floppy controller on the host adapter? A: Yes. Check your User's Guide or Installation Manual for details. Q: What host adapters can come without drivers? A: The AHA-152X series, the AHA-154X series, the AHA-1640 series, and the AHA-274X series can be purchased as singles from your local dealer or distributor. The single comes with a board and an Installation Guide. Purchasing the kit (which contains software drivers) is the most convenient way of obtaining a complete solution. The drivers are copyrighted and cannot be legally copied. Q: What is Altra? A: Altra is the brand name of a new line of kits (TotalConnect and TotalCD), including the new 16-bit PIO ISA SCSI host adapters AVA-1505 and AVA-1515. Q: What is AVA? A: AVA is an acronym identifying all products being marketed under the Adaptec Altra brand. AVA stands for Adaptec Value Adapter. Q: What is the difference between the TotalCD Kit (AVA-1505 Kit) and the TotalConnect (AVA-1515 Kit)? A: The Altra TotalCD Kit includes the AVA-1505 board, EZ-SCSI Lite software, and documentation. The Altra TotalConnect Kit includes the AVA-1515 board (with BIOS for booting support), EZ-SCSI Lite software, TapeMate software, internal cable, and documentation. Q: Do you have to buy the kit if you are only going to be using it for two hard drives? If not, what operating system will allow you to do this? A: DOS v4.0 (and earlier versions) will support two hard drives without the need for software drivers. Adaptec host adapters, (except for the AHA-1510, AHA-1510A, AVA-1505, and AMM-1510M) have a BIOS on board that will support at least two hard drives under DOS without the need for any software drivers. Under DOS v5.0 (and newer versions), the AHA-1540CF will support up to seven hard drives under the BIOS without any software drivers. The AHA-1740A/42A, in enhanced mode, will support up to seven hard drives without the use of any software drivers. The AHA-274X, AHA-274XA, AHA-284XA, AHA-2840X, and AHA-2940/40W will support up to seven hard drives without the use of any software drivers. Q: Where can you get the specifications on these host adapters? A: You can order literature or flyers on any Adaptec product by calling (800) 934-2766 (or 510-732-3829) or you can call our Interactive FAX Service at (408) 957-7150 and choose option #4. Q: What is the Audio Edge? A: The Audio Edge is called the AMM-1510M Kit. The primary difference between the AMM-1570 and the AMM-1510M is that the AMM-1570 Kit has a BIOS, a microphone. Q: Do you have a full SCSI Audio Host Adapter? A: Yes, it is called the AMM-1570 Kit or SCSI Audio Machine Kit. This host adapter has full SCSI functionality and advanced audio. The kit includes the AMM-1570 with on-board Wave Table Synthesis and high performance DSP, internal SCSI cable, internal-to-external SCSI cable and bracket, EZ-SCSI AMM, EZ-Audio, Microsoft Windows Sound System v2.0 software, a reference CD-ROM with XA-Audio demonstration, a high quality omni-directional microphone with stand, and easy to use documentation. Q: What is the difference between the AHA-154XB and the AHA-154XC series host adapters? A: Enhancements with the AHA-154XC series include: - The BIOS-resident SCSISelect software eliminates the need to handle jumpers and termination resistors while installing the board or peripherals. In addition, a dip switch block is mounted on the upper left hand corner of the host adapter board for selecting port address, BIOS base address, floppy enable/disable, and termination enable/disable. - Embedded support for greater than a gigabyte hard drives under DOS v5.0 and later. - BIOS support for up to seven hard drives without the use of software drivers in DOS v5.0 and later. - Embedded VDS (Virtual DMA Services) in the BIOS ROM, which enables an ASPI DOS manager to be loaded into high memory. - Up to 25% higher performance, depending on the environment. - SCSI disconnects and synchronous/asynchronous mode can be handled on a per target basis. * The AHA-154XB host adapter is no longer in production or distribution. Q: What is the difference between the AHA-154XC and the AHA-154XCF series host adapters? A: Enhancements with the AHA-1542CF series include: Fast SCSI to 10 MB/second Bootable floptical support Q: What is the difference between the AHA-152XA and the AHA-154XCF series host adapter? A: The AHA-152XA host adapter supports PIO (Programmed Input/Output) mode, is hardware configurable, and has a sustained transfer rate on the ISA bus of 3 MB/second. The AHA-152XA is optimized for a DOS/windows environment. The AHA-154XCF host adapter supports bus mastering, is software configurable (using the BIOS-resident SCSISelect ), and has a sustained transfer rate on the ISA bus of 5 MB/second. The AHA-154XCF gives a higher performance in multitasking applications compared to the AHA-152XA. Both host adapters support fast SCSI, a 10 MB/second synchronous burst rate on the SCSI bus. Q: How can I find out which type of Parallel Port I have? A: You will need to either look in your manual, check your CMOS settings, or call the manufacturer of your system. Most Intel 386SL and 486SL computers have EPP Ports. Most desktop computers do not. Q: Can I use your Parallel to SCSI adapters on a desktop system? A: Yes, as long as your system is IBM compatible (i.e., 286, 386, 486), not Macintosh or Amiga. Q: What is the difference between the MiniSCSI Plus (APA-348) and the MiniSCSI EPP (APA-358)? A: With the APA-358 you can get up to 1 MB/sec transfer rate while running on an Enhanced Parallel Port, while the transfer rate of the APA-348 on the same port is only up to 260 KB/sec. The APA-358 will also run on a Uni-directional or Bi-directional parallel port, but at a reduced rate. Q: Can I install my Novell software from CD-ROM using the APA-348, APA-358 or APA-460 SlimSCSI? A: Yes. Just install the APA-xxx on your computer under DOS and reboot your system to load the CD-ROM drivers. Then you can use the Install program off the CD-ROM to install Novell software onto your host computer. Q: Do you have a PCMCIA to SCSI adapter? A: Yes, we have an adapter that will allow you to hook up to 7 SCSI devices through a type-2 or type-3 PCMCIA slot, or a Toshiba type 4 slot. It is called the APA-460 SlimSCSI. Q: What are the names of the external cables for each controller? A: For the AHA-1510 series, AHA-152X series, and AHA-154X series of host adapters you will need a standard 50-pin SCSI cable (Centronics-style). For the AHA-1640, AHA-174X series, AHA-274X series, AHA-284X series and AHA-2940 series of host adapters you will need a high-density 50-pin SCSI Cable. The AHA-274XW and AHA-2940W use a 68-pin "P" style connector to hook up the wide devices. Adaptec now offers cable kits. The part number for the Centronics style is ACK-L2L. The part number for the high-density style is ACK-H2L. The part number for the internal cable with 5 connectors on it is ACK-INT5. The AVA-1505/15 uses a DB25 external connector (Apple compatible). The cables can be ordered by calling (800) 442-7274. Q: How do I get a cable for my Pro Audio sound card? A: You will need to call Media Vision to get any cables for the Pro Audio cards. The only product we have for that card is SCSIWorks! software. We have never supplied any type of cables for their cards. The number to Media Vision's Technical Support is (800) 638-2807. Software and Driver: Q: What is EZ-SCSI Lite? A: EZ-SCSI Lite is specifically created for the Adaptec Altra line. It is a software package which provides broad support both for SCSI peripherals and for I/O application software in a manner that makes installation of SCSI devices easy. It automatically installs drivers and modifies system files containing the latest ASPI managers for DOS and Windows. ASPI2DOS.SYS and ASPIDISK.SYS are in this package to support the AVA-1505 and AVA-1515. EZ-SCSI Lite supports Photo CD-ROMs, Magneto Optical Drives (including 1024 bytes/sector), Floptical drives, and HP SCSI scanners. Note: It does not include the photo CD viewer, nor the backup utility included in EZ-SCSI v3.x Q: What is EZ-SCSI v3.0? A: EZ-SCSI v3.0 is a software package which provides broad support both for SCSI peripherals and for I/O application software. It makes installation of SCSI devices easy by automatically installing drivers and modifying system files containing the latest ASPI Managers for DOS and Windows. In addition to the already extensive support for SCSI disks, audio, data, and photo CD-ROMs, and Magneto Optical Drives, EZ-SCSI v3.0 adds even more SCSI peripherals. Also included are two utilities: a tape back-up and a photo CD viewer. The long list of supported devices now includes SCSI tape drives, floptical drives, and HP SCSI scanners. ASPI2DOS.SYS, ASPI4DOS.SYS, ASPIEDOS.SYS, ASPI7DOS.SYS, ASPI8DOS.SYS, ASPICD.SYS, and ASPIDISK.SYS are also in this package. Q: What is the difference between EZ-SCSI v3.0x and v3.1x? A: EZ-SCSI v 3.1x has four new full feature applications for advanced management. In particular, laptop customers will appreciate this new feature which conserves battery power by automatically spinning down drives, and then powering them back up according to user-defined parameters. Q: If I am running under Novell v3.11 (or earlier versions), what drivers do I need? A: If you are using the AHA-1520/22, or AHA-1520A/1522A host adapter, you will need the ASW-1240 v1.5 or earlier version. If you have the AHA-1540B/42B, AHA-1540C/42C, AHA-1540CF/42CF, AHA-1640, or an AHA-1740A/42A host adapter, you will need the ASW-1440 v3.5. These drivers are available on Adaptec's bulletin board under the Netware Library. If you have the AHA-274x or AHA-284x series host adapter, you will need the ASW-7700 Manager Set or the AHA-2740 Family Manager Set. If you have the AHA-2940/40W adapter, you will need the ASW-7800 Manager Set. Q: How do I get hard disk drivers for my Media Vision Pro Audio Studio (or Pro Audio Spectrum) or Sigma Designs sound card? A: You will need to purchase SCSIWorks! software, which will allow you to connect your hard drive, as well as CD-ROMs, Magneto Optical drives, removable media, tape drives, and HP ScanJet II scanners. You will need to call (800) 442-7274 to order the SCSIWorks! software. Trantor Products: Q: Are Trantor products SCSI-1 or SCSI-2 compatible? A: All Trantor products are SCSI-1 and SCSI-2 command compatible. Q: How do I get OS/2 or Windows NT drivers for my Trantor product? A: If you have a Trantor product and only want OS/2 or Windows NT drivers, you can download them from our BBS (408-945-7727), or you can get them from Compuserve ("GO TRANTOR"). Q: How do I get OS/2 or Windows NT drivers for my Media Vision Pro Audio Studio (or Pro Audio Spectrum) sound card? A: You will need to contact Media Vision Technical Support to get OS/2 or Windows NT drivers for that card. We do not carry those drivers. Media Vision's Technical Support is at (800) 638-2807. Q: Does SCSI Works! work with my IBM PS/2 SCSI Host Adapter? A: No. You need the CD-295 driver. The CD-295 driver will only work on the IBM ABIOS SCSI host adapter. Q: Can you use SCSIWorks! with Adaptec AHA-series host adapters? A: No. You can only use EZ-SCSI drivers with Adaptec AHA-series or AVA-series host adapters. Revision date: 1/17/95 Document # W27060