Manuals

Setting up the Software: Promise® FloppyMAX LS-120 Controller Board User's Guide

	Considerations for PCI Plug and Play BIOS		Considerations for Windows 95 Version 4.00.950 B
	Drive Letter Choices		Considerations for Windows 98
	Considerations for Windows 95 Version 4.00.950 or 4.00.950 A		MS-DOS Compatibility Mode in OSR2

Considerations for PCI Plug and Play BIOS

On a PCI motherboard with a Plug and Play BIOS, you need to change the BIOS parameters to allow an IRQ to be used by an ISA slot. Depending on the BIOS manufacturer, the parameter description may vary. The parameter to look for is generally in the Advanced or Plug and Play section and is similar to Set IRQ n Used by ISA, where n is the FloppyMAX IRQ. Set it to Yes or Used by ISA.

Drive Letter Choices

Your LS-120 drive can be one of several different drive letters. For fast, easy installation we recommend you assign it to be drive A or B, since this assignment does not require any additional drivers. If you are using Windows 95 or Windows 98, be sure to follow the instructions in "Considerations for Windows 95 Version 4.00.950 or 4.00.950 A," "Considerations for Windows 95 Version 4.00.950 B," or "Considerations for Windows 98."

LS-120 as Drive A

To use the LS-120 as drive A, you must replace your current drive A. Perform the following steps:

1. Disconnect drive A and remove it from your system.
   
   You may opt to use your current drive A as drive B. In this case make sure to connect your now drive B to that connector on the floppy cable which is designed for drive B. Usually that is the middle connector. If you are unsure, consult your computer system�s manual.
   
   
2. Mount your LS-120 drive in an appropriate drive bay.
   
   
3. Connect the LS-120 to the FloppyMAX as "master" using the supplied 40 pin IDE cable.
   
   
4. Replace your system�s cover, reconnect power and disconnected peripherals, and turn on your system�s power. Be sure to consult your system�s manual if you are unsure how to do this.
   
   
5. Enter the system BIOS and set floppy A as NOT INSTALLED. Remember to configure drive B: if you have one. Save your changes and exit the BIOS. During system boot the FloppyMAX will install the LS-120 automatically as drive A.

LS-120 as Drive B

If you would rather keep your current drive A or if you have a drive B which you want to replace, FloppyMAX can install the LS-120 as drive B. Perform the following steps:

1. Disconnect and remove your current drive B from your system.
   
   
2. Mount your LS-120 drive in an appropriate drive bay.
   
   
3. Connect the LS-120 to the FloppyMAX as "master."
   
   
4. Replace your system�s cover, reconnect power and disconnected peripherals and turn on your system�s power. Be sure to consult your system�s manual if you are unsure how to do this.
   
   
5. Enter the system BIOS and set floppy B as NOT INSTALLED. Save your changes and exit the BIOS. During system boot your FloppyMAX will install the LS-120 automatically as drive B.

LS-120 as Drive D or Beyond

If you do not want to install the LS-120 as drive A or B, it can be installed after the last drive/device using the supplied device driver. Perform the following steps:

1. Mount your LS-120 drive in an appropriate drive bay.
   
   
2. Connect the LS-120 to the FloppyMAX as "master."
   
   
3. Disable the FloppyMAX BIOS by moving JP5 from 1-2 to 2-3.
   
   
4. Boot to a DOS prompt to install the FloppyMAX driver. Insert the utility diskette and type A:INSTALL.EXE where A is the drive letter of the floppy drive with the inserted utility diskette. Follow the directions of the setup program to install the driver.
   
   
5. Reboot your system. After system boot, the FloppyMAX driver will install the LS-120 drive after the last hard drive and assign it the appropriate drive letter.

Considerations for Windows 95 Version 4.00.950 or 4.00.950 A

The native mode floppy driver supplied with Windows 95 Version 4.00.950 and 4.00.950 A does not support an LS-120 drive in 32-bit mode, so additional steps are necessary to insure that your FloppyMAX works properly with the LS-120 drive. The steps depend on the drive letter of your LS-120.

LS-120 as Drive A or B

When installing Windows 95 through the Typical option, a Windows protection error in device IOS will be returned if the LS-120 and an additional floppy are attached.

1. Choose Custom from the setup options.
   
   
2. Enter your user information and product ID number.
   
   
3. In Analyzing Your Computer select No, I want to modify the hardware list and click Next.
   
   
4. Under the Hardware Types column, uncheck Floppy Disk Controllers and continue installing normally.

After installing Windows 95 or if Windows 95 is already installed, disable the Standard Floppy Disk Controller.

1. Open the Control Panel and click the System icon.
   
   
2. Select the Device Manager tab and double click Floppy disk controllers.
   
   
3. Select Standard Floppy Disk Controller, click Properties and uncheck Original Configuration in the General tab.
   
   
4. Save and reboot.

LS-120 as Drive D or Beyond

It is necessary to modify the ios.ini file to boot to DOS from Windows 95 while still using a 32-bit driver for IDE disk access. To modify ios.ini, perform the following steps:

1. Open Notepad from the Accessories menu.
   
   
2. Open ios.ini, located in your Windows directory.
   
   
3. Scroll down to the [SafeList] section and add the Promise driver ls120.sys to the list of drivers. It is not necessary to add a colon or a description.
   
   
4. Save the changes and reboot.

Considerations for Windows 95 Version 4.00.950 B

Windows 95 Version 4.00.950 B and later, by default, does not install the driver necessary for a device attached to the FloppyMAX to operate in 32-bit mode, so additional steps are necessary to insure that your FloppyMAX works properly. To install the driver, perform the following steps:

1. Open the Control Panel and select Add New Hardware.
   
   
2. Click Next.
   
   
3. Choose No when asked if Windows 95 should search for new hardware and click Next.
   
   
4. Select Hard Disk Controllers and click Next.
   
   
5. Select Standard IDE/ESDI Hard Disk Controller and click Next.
   
   
6. Follow the on-screen prompts and restart when prompted.

After rebooting, perform the following steps:

1. Right-click the My Computer icon and choose Properties from the menu.
   
   
2. Select the Device Manager tab and double-click Hard Disk Controllers.
   
   
3. Double-click the last Standard IDE/ESDI Hard Disk Controller driver in the list and click the Resources tab.
   
   
4. Uncheck the Use automatic settings box and choose Basic configuration 3.
   
   
5. Select Input/Output Range and click the Change Setting... box.
   
   
6. Using the scroll bars, scroll UP until the range reads 0168 - 016F (if JP3 is set to quaternary) or 01E8 - 01EF (if JP3 is set to tertiary) and press OK.
   
   
7. Follow the same procedure to change the Interrupt Request to whatever IRQ the FloppyMAX is set to (IRQ 9, 10, 11).
   
   
8. Confirm the settings and reboot.

Considerations for Windows 98

Windows 98, by default, does not install the driver necessary for a device attached to the FloppyMAX to operate in 32-bit mode, so additional steps are necessary to insure that your FloppyMAX works properly. To install the driver, perform the following steps:

1. Open the Control Panel and select Add New Hardware.
   
   
2. Click Next.
   
   
3. Click Next again and let Windows 98 search for PnP devices.
   
   
4. Choose No when asked if Windows 98 should search for new non-PnP devices and click Next.
   
   
5. Select Hard Disk Controllers and click Next.
   
   
6. Select Standard IDE/ESDI Hard Disk Controller and click Next.
   
   
7. Follow the on-screen prompts and restart when prompted.

After rebooting, perform the following steps:

1. Right-click the My Computer icon and choose Properties from the menu.
   
   
2. Select the Device Manager tab and double-click Hard Disk Controllers.
   
   
3. Double-click the last Standard IDE/ESDI Hard Disk Controller driver in the list and click the Resources tab.
   
   
4. Uncheck the Use automatic settings box and choose Basic configuration 3.
   
   
5. Select Input/Output Range and click the Change Setting... box.
   
   
6. Using the scroll bars, scroll UP until the range reads 0168 - 016F (if JP3 is set to quaternary) or 01E8 - 01EF (if JP3 is set to tertiary) and press OK.
   
   
7. Follow the same procedure to change the Interrupt Request to whatever IRQ the FloppyMAX is set to (IRQ 9, 10, 11).
   
   
8. Confirm the settings and reboot.

MS-DOS Compatibility Mode in OSR2

Table 1 is a copy of a basic [386Enh] section in the SYSTEM.INI file. To view and edit this file, perform the following steps:

1. Go to the Start Menu.
   
   
2. Click Run.
   
   
3. Type sysedit.
   
   
4. Click the window that says C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI.
   
   
5. Scroll down until you see this section. Compare what you have to what you see here and put a semicolon ( ; ) in front of all the lines that do not appear here.

Table 1. 386Enh Portion of the SYSTEM.INI File

After you make those changes, save, exit, and restart. If the system is still using MS-DOS Compatibility Mode, there are other fixes that you can still try:

• Rename your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files to AUTOEXEC.PTI and CONFIG.PTI. Restart the computer and see if the problem still exists.
• The only other thing found to cause MS-DOS Compatibility Mode with the FloppyMAX is if the Standard Floppy Disk Controller has been disabled.

Please read all restrictions and disclaimers.

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