============================================================================= FirePort Series Windows 95 / Windows NT 4.0 / DOS Drivers README.1ST ============================================================================= 6/26/97 - Version 2.0 Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. -------------------------------- A. Windows 95 Installation Notes -------------------------------- Late breaking notes regarding the use and installation of your FirePort PCI SCSI Host adapter. A.1 Installing Windows NT 4.0 from Windows 95 or MS-DOS: YOU MUST HIT F6 when the message "Setup is inspecting your computer's hardware configuration" appears on your screen. Otherwise the machine will crash with an "INACESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE" message. If you encounter the crash, reboot your machine and press "F6" when the "Setup is inspecting..." message appears. A.2 Adding the FirePort to a Windows 95 system with an older Symbios SCSI host adapter: You may see a problem with the Symbios driver not loading after the addition of the FirePort card. This occurs when the Symbios driver detects the SCSI chip used on the FirePort and decides to unload itself. (The FirePort is based on a newer, custom version of the Symbios chip, which is not supported by the Symbios driver.) To correct this, you must obtain the latest driver from Symbios Logic and perform the change driver function from the system properties panel. This version of the Symbios driver will cooperate with the FirePort driver and allow both products to function properly. Symbios can be reached at "http://www.symbios.com". A.3 Using Cd-Recordable drives with Windows NT 4.0: Many CDR drives are brought into the Windows NT system as standard CD-ROM drives. The CD-ROM class driver handles access to the device and prevents the CDR applications from accessing the CDR unit. There are 2 ways to work around this... One is to replace the CD-ROM class driver (cdrom.sys) with one that allows write access. The other is to manually disable the CDROM class driver while using the device as a writer. Below are specific instructions for each of these options: A.3.1 Replacing the CDROM.SYS driver for Windows NT 4.0: For your convenience, Diamond provides a replacement CDROM.SYS driver on the FirePort Utilities CDROM. This is a Beta version of an Elektroson driver and is provided without warrantee or support. Any use is at your sole risk and neither Diamond nor Elektroson is responsible for any effects of using this driver. To install the replacement CDROM.SYS driver, execute the CDRINST.EXE program located on the FirePort Utilities CDROM under the \NT4READ subdirectory. A.3.2 Manually disabling the CDROM.SYS driver for Windows NT 4.0: There are two main steps to disabling the driver. You must first set the driver to "manual" startup and then the system will allow you to manually stop and start the driver. The following is a step by step procedure for this. - Select "My Computer" - Select "Devices" - Scroll down to "Cdrom" and highlight it. - Select the "Startup..." button - Select the "Manual" setting - Select "OK" - Select "Close" - Reboot your system. When you are ready to use one of the CDR applications, you must stop the Cdrom driver before running the application. Do so via the following steps: - Select "My Computer" - Select "Devices" - Scroll down to "Cdrom" and highlight it - Select "Stop" - Select "OK" After this, the CDR applications will function properly, but you will not have normal access to any CD-ROM devices until you re-start the Cdrom driver. After exiting your CDR application you should restart the Cdrom driver via the above procedure. A.4 BIOS load problems with IBM Aptiva systems: Some older versions of IBM Aptiva systems will not load the BIOS from the FirePort card. This only affects systems running DOS or otherwise using the Int 13 BIOS code. (It is possible to run Windows 95 using the BIOS, but there is a significant performance penalty.) This problem can be corrected by downloading a new system BIOS from IBM. You should check with your IBM representative or look on the IBM web page at "http:\\www.ibm.com". This problem was experienced on an IBM Aptiva C73, P5-200 with a BIOS version of BGAUS4E. The system paused with an 1805 Resource conflict error message. The problem was corrected by downloading BIOS version BSTUS4B dated 8-15-96. A.5 Motherboards with Symbios SCSI controllers and Award BIOS: Some versions of Award system BIOS contain an older version of the Symbios SCSI controller code that conflicts with the FirePort BIOS. If the system BIOS does not provide an option to disable the onboard SCSI controller, it may be necessary to download a new system BIOS with a newer version of the Symbios code. Contact your system vendor for information on how to upgrade your system BIOS. ------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- B. Upgrade Instructions: B.1 Upgrading the SCSI Miniport driver under Windows NT 4.0: 1 Select "My Computer" 2 Select "Control Panel" 3 Select "SCSI Adapters" 4 Select "Drivers" tab 5 Select "Add" 6 Select "Have Disk" button 7 Insert floppy and browse to "winnt" directory or browse to new driver location 8 You should see "Diamond Multimedia FirePort PCI SCSI Host Adapter" in the SCSI Adapter window. Select "OK" 9 When prompted to restart your computer, select "Yes" B.2 Upgrading the SCSI miniport driver under Windows 95: 1 Select "My Computer" 2 Select "Control Panel" 3 Select "System" 4 Select "Device Manager" tab 5 Select "SCSI Controllers" 6 Select "Diamond Multimedia FirePort PCI SCSI Host Adapter" 7 Select "Properties" 8 Select "Driver" tab 9 Select "Change Driver" button 10 Select "Diamond Multimedia FirePort PCI SCSI Host Adapter" 11 Select "Have Disk" button 12 Insert floppy and browse to "win95" directory or browse to new driver location 13 Select the "fireport.inf" file and hit "OK" 14 Select "OK" as needed to continue up the menu tree and complete the upgrade 15 When prompted to restart your computer, select "Yes" B.3 Upgrading the FLASH BIOS on the FirePort card: Instructions for using FLASHDMD.EXE to upgrade the FLASH BIOS for the Diamond Multimedia FirePort PCI SCSI Host Bus Adapter Cards. ********************* IMPORTANT ********************** This Flash utility is meant to be used ONLY with the Diamond FirePort product. ********************************************************* Directions: 1 After acquiring the file FIREPORT.ROM (from the Diamond web site or from the FirePort installation diskette) create a bootable DOS diskette. You must use DOS 5.0 or higher. 2 Insert the diskette into drive A:. Boot the system to the DOS prompt A:\>. Insert the FirePort installation diskette into drive A:. 3 Type FLASHDMD and press Enter. 4 The first screen displayed indicates what files are necessary to upgrade and general instructions to upgrade. Press Enter to continue. 5 The Main window has 7 command lines. First View Board Summary(3). Make certain that the utility identifies your SCSI controller. 6 Backup the old version of the BIOS to the diskette. Give the file a unique name with a .CSB, .ROM, or .BIN extension. 7 Update current SCSI BIOS. Enter the file name of the BIOS to upgrade or press F2 to view the available files. There should be 2 files available: the BIOS file that was just backed up, and FIREPORT.ROM. If you downloaded a new BIOS file, insert the diskette containing that version. 8 Highlight the file FIREPORT.ROM for the Diamond FirePort Host Adapter and press Enter. It will then display the file name and notify you that the file has been successfully read. Press Enter again. The system will prompt you whether or not to overwrite the BIOS that is currently flashed. Select "Y" to upgrade. The system will then display the card information and verify that the new BIOS is installed. Press any key. Reboot(6). 9 Verify the new BIOS has been installed by viewing the 3rd line of the SDMS banner (which should read PCI-4.xx.xx.xxx) when displayed. ** A bootable DOS diskette can be created by formatting it with the /s option (e.g., format a: /s). Do not install any memory managers or SCSI drivers on the diskette. A minimum of 200K of conventional memory is needed to execute the flash utility. Add the DOS mouse driver to AUTOEXEC.BAT for mouse control of the flash utility. ------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- C. Features Added -------------- C.1 BIOS v4.05.00.00d - Support for the BIOS Boot Specification (BBS). - Enhanced support for the El Torito CD-ROM boot specification. - Staggered spin-up for attached devices. C.2 New Windows NT and Windows 95 SCSI mini-port driver. - Improved performance during mulit-disk/multi-tasking system use. D. Problems Addressed ------------------ 1. Windows 95 Shutdown Issue: - New version of FirePort.mpd (Windows 95 SCSI mini-port driver) In some circumstances, Windows 95 would not properly shutdown. The shutdown process would not get past the "Please wait while your computer shuts down" screen. 2. Teac 16X CDROM Drive did note work under Windows 95: - New version of FirePort.mpd (Windows 95 SCSI mini-port driver) This included the Teac 16X CDROM Reader. 4. Multi-LUN device support: - New version of symcd.sys (MS-DOS CD-ROM driver) Certain multi-LUN devices would not function properly under MS-DOS. This included the Panasonic model LF-1004 PD/CD-ROM. 5. IBM model DCHS-39100-09W disk drive: - New version of FirePort.rom (FLASH BIOS image file) The IBM model DCHS-39100-09W disk was not recognized during the boot process. Known Limitations ----------------- None ------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- Contacting DIAMOND ------------------ Diamond can be reached through a number of ways: DIAMOND - USA ---------------- Postal Service : Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. 2880 Junction Avenue San Jose, CA 95134 Voice (Main) : (408) 325-7000 FAX (Main) : (408) 325-7070 FAX (TechSppt) : (408) 325-7171 Fax-On-Demand : (800) 380-0030 BBS (to 28800) : (408) 325-7175 WWW : http://www.diamondmm.com FTP : ftp://ftp.diamondmm.com Voice (TechSppt): [M-F 5-7; Sat 8-4 Pacific] ISDN Prods : (408) 325-7110 Fire GL Prods : (408) 325-7120 General / Other : (408) 325-7100 Tech Support E-mail Accounts: SCSI Adapters : fireport@diamondmm.com ISDN Prods : isdn@diamondmm.com Fire GL Prods : cad_cam@diamondmm.com General / Other : techsupt@diamondmm.com CompuServe Forum : (type) GO DIAMOND DIAMOND - Europe ---------------- Postal Service : SPEA Software GmbH, a Diamond Multimedia Company Moosstr.18b 82319 Starnberg, Germany : Diamond Multimedia Systems Ltd. 610 Wharfedale Road Winnersh Triangle, Wokingham Berkshire RG41 5TY, UK Voice (Main) : +49-8151-266 0 (Germany) : +44-1189-444 400 (UK) FAX (Main) : +49-8151-212 58 (Germany) : +44-1189-444 401 (UK) Voice (TechSppt)/General: : +49-8151-266 330 (Germany) : +44-1189-444 444 (UK/English) : +44-1189-444 433 (UK/French) Voice (TechSppt)/Fire GL Prods: : +49-8151-266 336 (Germany) : +44-1189-444 446 (UK/English) FAX (Support) : +49-8151-266 331 (Germany) Fax-On-Demand : +49-8151-266 332 (Germany) : +44-1189-444 460 (UK) BBS (to 28800) : +49-8151-266 333 (Germany) : +44-1189-444 415 (UK) BBS (k56flex) : +49-8151-266 356 (Germany) BBS (ISDN, x.75): +49-8151-266 334 (Germany) CompuServe : GO SPEA WWW : http://www.diamondmm.de FTP : ftp://ftp.diamondmm.de All product names listed are trademarks or copyrights of their respective owners. ======================================================================= Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. 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