Non-Existent SCSI Adapters Appear in Device Manager When You Use Unattended Setup (299302)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional

This article was previously published under Q299302

SYMPTOMS

When you perform an unattended Windows 2000 installation, SCSI controllers that are not physically present in the computer may appear in Device Manager when you view hidden devices. When you view the properties of one of the devices, the device status shows that it is working properly. However, if you view the Resources tab, it reports that the device is not using any resources because it has a problem.

CAUSE

This problem can occur when there are multiple mass storage devices listed in the [MassStorageDrivers] section of your answer file. This is usually done to reduce the number of different answer files that are needed for computers that require third-party mass storage controller drivers. For example, a computer may require three different mass storage device drivers. To use one common answer file for these computers, you could create the following [MassStorageDrivers] section in your answer file:

[MassStorageDrivers]
"OEM_Scsi_HBA1" = "OEM"
"OEM_Scsi_HBA2" = "OEM"
"INBox_Scsi_HBA3 = "RETAIL"

Text mode Setup will install all of the these drivers in preparation for GUI mode Setup. When the devices are installed, they are of a legacy devnode type (ScsiAdapter), so the computer can no longer determine if the devices are physically present in the computer.

RESOLUTION

To work around this problem, either remove the devices from Device Manager in the Computer Management Snap-in, or list only the mass storage device drivers in the [MassStorageDrivers] section of the answer file that are physically installed in the computer.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

During the Text mode portion of Setup, the Setup loader detects and installs the mass storage controller drivers so that it can load the kernel and prepare the disk for the GUI mode portion of Setup.

However, when mass storage drivers are specified in the [MassStorageDrivers] section of an answer file, Setup installs only these drivers regardless of what was detected by the Setup loader. When these devices are installed, they are of a legacy devnode type (ScsiAdapter), and because of this, the computer cannot determine if the devices are physically present in the computer.

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:11/20/2003
Keywords:kbbug kbenv kbsetup kbui KB299302