Q103284: Contents of Windows NT SETUP.TXT, Part 1
Article: Q103284
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): 3.1
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s): kbsetup
Last Modified: 26-FEB-2002
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 3.1
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 3.1
- Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server, version 3.1
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SUMMARY
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This article is part 1 of 2 articles that contain the complete text of the
SETUP.TXT. These articles contain the following:
- Part 1 (this part) contains:
1.0 Removing Previous Versions
2.0 General Hardware Notes
3.0 Specific Computer Systems
4.0 General Disk Drive Information
5.0 SCSI Devices
- Part 2, the companion article to this one, contains:
6.0 Error Messages
7.0 Video Display Drivers and Adapters (x86 Computers)
8.0 Removable Media
9.0 Supported Keyboard Layouts
10.0 Installing Windows NT over NextStep
11.0 Converting File Systems During
Installation
12.0 Reporting Problems
Introduction
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Feedback from the thousands of Windows NT beta sites has shown that Windows NT
Setup proceeds smoothly in the vast majority of cases. However, there are cases
where you may experience difficulties with hardware incompatibilities or
conflicts. SETUP.TXT contains information that you may need in order to install
Windows NT or Windows NT Advanced Server (the article applies to both) on some
hardware configurations.
For more information on installation, see the chapters "Installing Windows NT"
and "Troubleshooting" in the "Windows NT System Guide" or the "Windows NT
Advanced Server System Guide."
1.0 Removing Previous Versions:
If you have installed a prerelease version of Windows NT, you should delete it
before installing this version. Depending on the release, the Windows NT Boot
Loader may not support booting both this release of the operating system and a
previous release.
2.0 General Hardware Notes:
Windows NT has a very wide range of hardware support--including support for over
1600x86 uniprocessor systems, over 25x86 multiprocessor systems, as well as
supporting RISC systems (for details please see the Hardware Compatibility
List). To cover a few outlying cases, we've included these notes.
2.1 Interrupt Conflicts:
A common problem in a computer with several supported devices is conflicting
interrupts, I/O ports, or memory usage. Where possible, we have identified such
cases in this document. However, if one of the supported devices does not seem
to work, it may be due to the particular hardware configuration. For more
specific information, see your hardware manual or contact your system
manufacturer.
2.2 ROM Shadowing:
If you encounter persistent installation problems on multiprocessor systems, try
installing with ROM shadowing disabled.
2.3 Intel EtherExpress 16 LAN Adapter:
In some cases, selecting "early" in the I/O Channel Ready box can stop the
network adapter card from functioning correctly and may require reconfiguring
with the Intel SoftSet utility. If you are unsure whether your system can take
advantage of this network setting, consult your hardware vendor.
3.0 Specific Computer Systems:
3.1 ACER AcerFrame 3000 MP:
Before installing Windows NT, disable shadow RAM Video BIOS.
3.2 IBM Personal System/2:
On some IBM PS/2 systems only planar memory is recognized when booting from the
Windows NT CD-ROM boot disk or Disk #1 of the floppy disk installation set. This
is a memory card problem. You may encounter this problem if your system contains
a card with the following part numbers:
FRU-88F0075 Option 87F9856 or 87F9860
Newer model cards are available that correct this problem. Part numbers for the
newer cards are:
FRU-87F9916 or 34F2825
Option 34F3077 or 34F3011
Using Kingston expansion memory can also correct this problem.
It is recommended that before you install Windows NT, you update your system
configuration using the PS/2 Reference Diskette version 1.21 or later
3.3 Installation on the IBM ThinkPad:
The IBM ThinkPad 700c and 720c portables require an ABIOS patch to install and
run Windows NT. Copy the following files from the ThinkPad Reference Diskette
onto C:\
ABIOS.SYS
SF*.BIO
3.4 Olivetti LSX5030:
For the Olivetti LSX5030, disable all ROM shadowing.
3.5 Toshiba T4400SX Monochrome:
The Toshiba T4400SX display is not supported when an external monitor is
connected.
3.6 Gateway Nomad and TI Travelmate Notebooks:
To successfully install Windows NT on these machines, you must choose "Custom
Setup". If you encounter problems running setup while scanning for SCSI
Adapters, you can delete the SCSI drivers from the setup diskette to solve the
problem.
To properly use the floppy drive with Windows NT, configure the system using its
setup utility. Set the Advanced Operating System option to Auto. When power
management drivers for these machines are available from Texas Instruments,
using the Auto option will not be necessary.
The built in InPort/QuickPort mouse adapter requires a mouse driver from Texas
Instruments to work properly under Windows NT. You can use a serial mouse until
this driver is available from Texas Instruments.
In order to use the internal modem for these computers, you will need a power
management driver and software from Texas Instruments.
The best configuration for the NE2000 Network Adapter under Windows NT is at IRQ5
and I/O Port 340H.
3.7 Gateway 2000 and Micronics Gemini 486 VESA Local Bus
Motherboards:
Windows NT may stop running on systems that use Ultrastor's U34F Local Bus
controller with the Micronics Gemini 486 VESA Local Bus motherboard. Some older
Gateway systems include this combination of hardware.
The problem is a timing issue that only appears with Windows NT, the Ultrastor
U34F, and the Micronics Gemini 486 VESA Local Bus motherboard. Disabling the
motherboard's external cache should allow Windows NT to run. The problem does
not occur with ISA bus controllers from Ultrastor. This problem does not occur
on Gateway 2000 or Micronics VESA Local Bus motherboards with a blue OverDrive
socket.
If you encounter this problem, you can resolve it by an upgrade offered by
Micronics for the Gemini 486 VESA Local Bus motherboard. The motherboard will
need to be returned to Micronics for an upgrade. The Micronics reference number
for this is VLBA03. Micronics can be reached at (510) 651-2300 for additional
information. If you have a Gateway computer, contact Gateway 2000 at (800)
846-2301 for upgrade information.
3.8 Zeos Freestyle/SL Notebook Computer:
When performing a Windows NT installation on this computer, you must power off
the computer after the text- based portion of Setup is complete and you have
been prompted to press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart the computer. Otherwise a
keyboard controller failure may occur.
4.0 General Disk Drive Information:
4.1 Volume Sets Created Via the BIOS:
On controllers other than the UltraStor 124f, Windows NT does not support disk
controllers that create volume sets via the BIOS (i.e., two different drives
merged into a single drive letter).
4.2 Caching Disk Controllers and Drives:
Windows NT supports caching disk controllers and drives only if one of the
following is true:
- The controller has a driver that specifically supports caching (several of
these exist: DPT and IBM SCSI Caching Adapter).
- Write-through is active (i.e., write caching is disabled) either by setting
it manually or by default when the computer starts.
- The entire cache option is off, either by setting it manually or by default
when the computer starts.
Using a caching controller or drive in other situations risks loss of data if the
computer is rebooted or a power failure occurs before the cache has flushed
itself. You can minimize risk by waiting at least 1 minute (less if you know the
maximum time the cache waits before flushing itself) after all system activity
stops before rebooting. The disk activity light is a good indicator of how write
caching is being done on your system. This applies to the initial Windows NT
installation as well as shutdown. Note that unexpected power failure at any time
can potentially corrupt data on the disk, possibly to the extent that the disk
becomes unreadable. Making the delay time that write data is cached before being
flushed to disk as small as possible reduces this risk.
4.3 IDE/ESDI Drive Support:
The Windows NT IDE/ESDI drive support is limited to two disk drives per
controller. A second IDE/ESDI controller from Compaq (on Compaq machines only)
or built in like the Gateway 2000 VESA local bus machines is supported by the
standard Windows NT product. If you have a need to configure from 2 to 6 IDE or
ESDI controllers in one system, contact MS Product Support Services for details
on how to do so.
4.4 Installing onto Systems with an ESDI Drive Containing
More Than 1024 Cylinders:
In some cases, Windows NT installation proceeds normally until the first boot
from the hard drive where Windows NT is installed. The Windows NT Boot loader
will load various files and then produce a Fatal System Error: 0x0000006b with
the message that Phase 1 Process Initialization failed. Following this message
will be some type of hex dump and the system will be locked up. If you
experience this difficulty the following information can help.
Testing has been done on the following ESDI controllers using a hard drive with a
capacity exceeding 516 megabytes (MB) (MB=1,048,576 bytes) formatted. The MS-DOS
limit of 1024 cylinders creates a situation where special BIOS mapping on the
controller is used to change the geometry of the drive. ESDI drives are capable
of being prepared with various values of "sectors per track" (spt) such as 53 or
63 spt geometry during a low-level format. Here is a brief example of a drive
capacity using a different spt format:
1024 cylinders X 15 heads X 53 spt X 512 bytes per sector = 398MB formatted
capacity
-or-
1024 cylinders X 15 heads X 63 spt X 512 bytes per sector = 472MB formatted
capacity
Thus using 63 spt will yield 74MB more space. Windows NT is perfectly compatible
with either geometry, and depending on the drive/controller can access the
remaining cylinders beyond 1024. This space can be partitioned and formatted but
not accessed by MS-DOS as the boot OS. However, some controllers can
successfully remap the remaining cylinders beyond 1024 so that either MS-DOS or
Windows NT can use the entire capacity. An example would be:
1632 cylinders X 15 heads X 53 spt X 512 bytes per sector = 634MB formatted
capacity
Testing has been done on the following ESDI controllers with their Windows NT
compatibility results:
DTC (Data Technology Corp)
Model 6282-24:
Maximum Windows NT compatible geometry is to use 63 spt and limit of 1024
cylinders under MS-DOS. Windows NT will be able to access the cylinders beyond
1024. Do not low- level the drive using Head Mapping Mode.
Model 6290-24:
Maximum Windows NT compatible geometry is to use 63 spt and limit of 1024
cylinders under MS-DOS. Since this card does not have an onboard BIOS, Windows
NT cannot access the remaining cylinders beyond 1024.
Model 6290 SEZ (Dual SCSI/ESDI Controller):
Maximum Windows NT compatible geometry is using BIOS translation in the EISA
configuration using 63 spt and limit of 1024 cylinders under MS-DOS. Windows NT
can access the remaining cylinders beyond 1024.
Model 6295-24:
Maximum Windows NT compatible geometry is to use 63 spt and limit of 1024
cylinders under MS-DOS. This model does have an onboard BIOS so Windows NT can
access the remaining cylinders beyond 1024. Do not low-level the drive using
Head Mapping Mode.
Adaptec
Model 2322D:
Several methods that can achieve maximum drive capacity are as follows:
1. Disable drive translation and the on-board controller bios. Then use a user
defined drive type with the actual drive parameters. For example:
Drive Type in CMOS=48 Cylinders=1632 Heads=15 SPT=53
This will give 634MB capacity. MS-DOS will still be limited to the first 1024
cylinders which makes 398MB available. Windows NT will be able to access the
cylinders beyond 1024 yielding another 236MB.
2. This option allows both MS-DOS & Windows NT to access the entire drive.
Jumper the controller for Drive Splitting. Disable drive translation and the
on-board controller BIOS. Set up the first physical drive in the CMOS as:
Cylinders=1024 Heads=15 SPT=53
which will give a drive capacity of 398MB. Set up the second drive (it appears
as a physical drive) in the CMOS as:
Cylinders=606 Heads=15 SPT=53
This will yield another 236MB. Windows NT will actually see the drive as two
physical drives.
UltraStor:
All models with PROM versions less than #####-009
Maximum Windows NT compatible geometry is to use 63 spt and limit of 1024
cylinders under MS-DOS. Windows NT will be able to access the cylinders beyond
1024.
All models with PROM versions equal to or greater than #####-009
Maximum Windows NT compatible geometry is to use "Track mapping" during Low-Level
formatting. Both MS-DOS and Windows NT will have access to entire drive
capacity.
5.0 SCSI Devices:
Windows NT supports over 60 SCSI host adapters, over 30 SCSI CD-ROM drives, over
40 SCSI tape drives, over 10 SCSI removable media systems, and SCSI scanners.
Here are some detailed notes on Windows NT's SCSI support.
This section provides information on configuring SCSI devices when running
Windows NT.
5.1 SCSI CD-ROM Devices:
The SCSI and CD-ROM support built into Windows NT 3.1 requires that CD-ROMs
provide SCSI parity to function properly. For many drives this is a configurable
option or is active by default. Check the documentation for your CD-ROM to find
specifics on how this is configured for your drive. Examples of drives which do
not provide or support SCSI parity are the NEC CDR-36 and CDR-37 drives.
5.2 Installing from a SCSI CD-ROM Device:
When you are installing Windows NT from a SCSI CD-ROM device, make sure that the
device does not have an ID of 0 or 1. Some SCSI BIOS programs reserve 0 and 1
for hard disks. If you set your CD-ROM with an ID of 0 or 1, you will likely see
an extra partition in Setup that does not exist.
If you have 2 CD-ROM devices connected to the same SCSI Host Adapter, then
Windows NT Setup does not necessarily install using the CD-ROM that contains the
higher SCSI ID. If using one CD-ROM results in Setup displaying a message
"Please insert the CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive," then remove the CD and try the
other CD-ROM. Setup chooses one CD-ROM drive and refers to it as 'the' CD-ROM
drive.
5.3 Installing Windows NT with a Proprietary Adapter Driver:
Some SCSI and proprietary CD-ROM adapter drivers are provided in the Driver
Library on the Windows NT CD. These drivers are contained in a directory tree
below the \DRVLIB directory. Some of the drivers will have a README.TXT
containing additional configuration information.
Please read this information before installing.
To install using one of these drivers:
1. Using your current operating system, access the Windows NT CD-ROM, and change
to the directory containing the driver that you want to use.
2. Copy all files in that directory to a blank, formatted floppy placed in drive
A: (Windows NT Setup requires the driver to be on a disk in drive A). Label
the disk "Driver Disk."
3. Shut down your current operating system (if necessary), and reboot with the
Windows NT CD-ROM Boot disk in drive A.
4. When Setup asks for Custom or Express setup, choose Custom.
5. When choosing an adapter press 'S' for additional SCSI adapters.
6. Choose "Other (requires disk provided by hardware manufacturer)."
7. Setup prompts for the driver disk. Insert the "Driver Disk" in drive A.
5.4 Installing with Unsupported CD-ROM Drives:
Please refer to the chapter "Installing Windows NT" in the Windows NT System
Guide or Windows NT Advanced Server System Guide for information on installing
Windows NT from MS-DOS when your system has an unsupported CD-ROM drive.
5.5 Adding a CD-ROM After Installing Windows NT:
If you add a CD-ROM drive after you have installed Windows NT, use the Devices
option in Control Panel to configure device startup. For all CD-ROM drives, set
the Startup value of Scsicdrm to System. If your drive does not support SCSI-2
Audio, also set the Startup value of Cdaudio to System. Cdaudio should also be
set to System for some SCSI-1 CD-ROM drives, including the Denon DRD- 253;
Pioneer-DRM-600; NEC Intersect 73, 73m, 74, 84; and Hitachi 1750s, 1650s, 3650.
For more information on starting devices, choose the Help button in the Devices
dialog box.
5.6 NEC Intersect CD-ROM:
NEC Intersect CD-ROM readers have a switch that enables disconnects during
accesses to the reader. This switch is off by default, disabling disconnects.
Because of this, while your CD-ROM is being read, no other devices on that SCSI
bus can be accessed. Since reads from a reader can take a significant amount of
time, having this switch off can noticeably degrade system performance. This
slow-down may occur even if you are not using the CD-ROM reader. To avoid this
problem, set switch number 5 ON. The switch is located with switches labeled
SW1.
5.7 SCSI Termination:
The SCSI bus must be properly terminated on both ends. If you are using both an
external and an internal SCSI device, it is best to terminate the devices and
remove the terminators on the SCSI adapter.
For the SCSI adapter to operate effectively, termination power must be provided
on the SCSI bus either by the adapter or by a SCSI device connected to the bus.
Some adapters provide termination power with no configuration options. Others do
not provide termination power (for example, Future Domain 1660 and Trantor 128).
Still others provide termination power only if a jumper is set on the adapter
(for example, Future Domain 850M).
Please consult the documentation for your SCSI adapter and SCSI device to make
sure that termination power is present on the SCSI bus.
5.8 Adaptec:
An Adaptec adapter might use conflicting memory addresses with other cards such
as network adapters. This requires reconfiguring the hardware by changing
jumpers.
DMA speed cannot be set on an Adaptec 154x SCSI controller. Currently the
AHA154X.SYS driver supports a DMA transfer rate of 5.0 MB.
The Adaptec AHA154xC card is extremely sensitive to termination and cabling.
Systems with this card should use SCSI-II cables and/or SCSI-II active
terminators. SCSI-II cables are available from Amphenol Quintec and Icontec. If
these recommendations are not followed, unreliable operation, including data
corruption, is possible.
The Adaptec AHA-1542C and Denon DRD-253 are incompatible under Windows NT. The
AHA-1542C requires active termination and the Denon DRD-253 CD-ROM has built in
passive termination.
The Adaptec 1640 Micro Channel adapter does not support the Maynard 2000 or 1300
DAT drives in this release. The 1640 adapter is not supported on IBM PS/2 Model
70 computers.
There is a known problem using Micronics VL bus motherboards with Adaptec 1542x
adapters.
The 1988 version 3.08 Adaptec 154x BIOS has a problem with the Scatter/Gather
feature. This problem is detected by the Adaptec driver and the feature is
disabled. If you have this BIOS version a message is displayed informing you
that the Scatter/Gather feature has been disabled. If you get this message, you
can contact the Adaptec Technical Support at (408) 945-2550 for information on
the most recent version, 3.20, of the BIOS. BIOS versions after 3.08 do not have
this problem. The latest 154x BIOS also supports drives that are larger than 1
GB under both BIOS/MS-DOS and Windows NT. Windows NT will be able to access
drives larger than 1 GB even without this upgrade provided and extended
partition is used.
The Adaptec AHA164x driver logs unnecessary errors. These occur while NTBACKUP is
in use with a tape connected to the AHA164x. The entries look like:
7/10/93 2:41:40 AM AHA154x Error None 11 N/A [MachineName] The driver detected a
controller error on \Device\ScsiPort1.
These entries may be ignored. Also when too many of these entries are generated a
pop-up is created indicating the error log is full. This can be avoided by
setting the system event log settings to overwrite the events as needed.
5.9 Buslogic:
When using a Buslogic 747 SCSI Adapter with an AST Manhattan SMP computer, you
must disable the adapter's BIOS. For more information on disabling the BIOS,
refer to the adapter's documentation.
5.10 Compaq Smart SCSI Array:
The Compaq Smart SCSI Array must be configured to use any possible interrupt
other than IRQ 2 to function properly under Windows NT.
5.11 Dell Drive Array:
The Adaptec emulation mode on the Dell Drive Array (DDA) must be disabled for
compatibility with the hardware's Windows NT driver.
5.12 Future Domain:
The Windows NT driver that supports the Future Domain 845, 850, and 885 adapters
assumes operation on IRQ 5. If the adapter is set for another interrupt, the
Future Domain driver will continue to work, but in a polling fashion that may
slow down operation of the system. Further, the Future Domain driver will
register to the system claiming the use of IRQ 5 and this may disrupt operation
of another device that is actually configured for IRQ 5. If you are using one of
the above mentioned Future Domain adapters, please complete the Windows NT
installation normally, then change the IRQ information for the driver in the
registry. If the IRQ is incorrect, the driver will log an event viewable in the
Event Viewer Administrative Tool.
If you have a 16-bit Future Domain card or an 8-bit M series card configured with
an external SCSI device, make sure that SCSI termination is correct. You must
set a jumper on the card for this setting. Check the cards documentation for
details.
A Future Domain SCSI adapter might use conflicting memory addresses. This
requires reconfiguring the hardware by changing jumpers.
5.13 IBM PS/2 SCSI Adapter:
To configure an IBM SCSI adapter with a BIOS dated before 1991 for use with
Windows NT, use a PS/2 Reference Diskette version 1.21 or later.
5.14 Maynard SCSI Adapter:
You cannot use Express Setup to install Windows NT onto a hard disk attached to a
WD33C9C SCSI host adapter (Maynard SCSI adapter) because Setup cannot identify
this adapter. However, you can use Custom Setup to install this adapter card.
Or, after Setup, you can use the Setup icon to install the adapter card.
5.15 Mylex DCE376 and Tangent 48933 USA:
The Tangent and Zeos 433 EISA system comes standard with a Mylex 376 controller
which operates in WD1003 emulation mode by default. This will be no longer be
necessary when a SCSI driver for this card becomes available for Windows NT.
5.16 UltraStor SCSI Controllers:
If you experience a problem in tape functionally with a supported 4mm DAT Tape
Device and an UltraStor 14F or 24F controller, contact UltraStor for an upgrade
to resolve this.
If you have an UltraStor 34F controller installed into a Micronics VLB
motherboard, it is recommended that you turn the motherboard external cache
off.
The UltraStor 124 adapter is compatible with removable media drives, but does not
allow the user to remove and replace media. For this reason, Windows NT does not
support removable media drives when used with this controller.
The combination of the UltraStor 14F and DEC Talk Speech Synthesizer Card can
cause Windows NT Setup to fail due to an I/O port conflict. To avoid this
problem, either set the DEC I/O to 350, or delete the file ULTRA14F.SYS from the
boot floppy while leaving the DEC card at default settings.
5.17 Trantor:
These adapters are SCSI-termination sensitive. If Windows NT hangs upon booting,
or if Windows NT Setup cannot find devices attached to a Trantor adapter, verify
that the SCSI termination occurred and that one of the SCSI devices attached to
the Trantor adapter is providing termination power.
The Trantor T228 MCA SCSI adapter is not supported on the IBM PS/2 Model 95.
5.18 Texel or Plextor DM-5024 CD-ROM:
A firmware level of 1.10C is required to make the DM-5024 CD-ROM compatible with
Windows NT. Contact Texel at 1- 800-886-3935 for information on this upgrade.
Additional query words: prodnt
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