Mass storage device notes

This section contains information on mass storage devices that have known problems when used with SCO OpenServer.

UDMA mode with Acer Labs M1543 IDE controllers

If you are using an Acer Labs M1543 IDE controller, SCO OpenServer will not install if Ultra Direct Memory Access (UDMA) mode is turned on.

Start the installation by typing the following bootstring at the boot prompt:

defbootstr wd.udma=off

Installing on a machine with an Adaptec 1542CP

To install a system with an Adaptec 1542CP host adapter, you must disable ``Plug & Play'' on the card by setting DIP switch 1 to ON.

Adaptec 154x series clone devices

Adaptec 154x clone devices might not install properly using the ad(HW) driver. If you encounter problems, add ad.nocheck to your bootstring so that the device can be recognized. See bootstring(HW) for more information.

Some Adaptec 154x clone devices might also be recognized by the BusLogic driver. In this case, disable the blc driver by adding disable=blc to your bootstring.

This does not apply to BusLogic MultiMastering devices using the blc driver.

Adaptec 3960 dual channel SCSI host adapter

If you are using an Adaptec 3960 dual channel SCSI host adapter, there is a problem with the ad160 driver that results in devices attached to Channel B not working correctly.

This will be fixed in the future. In the meantime, you should restrict your use to Channel A only.

Adaptec Arrow SCSI chip sets

Intermittent disk errors occur on 284x cards. This will be fixed in a future release.

Adaptec SlimSCSI 1460/1480 PC Card adapters

You cannot install SCO OpenServer onto a SCSI hard disk if you are using an Adaptec SlimSCSI 1460 or 1480 PC Card host adapter in your system.

Adaptec Ultra160 series host adapters

If your system contains an Adaptec Ultra160 series SCSI host adapter (which uses the ad160 driver), and you are performing a Fresh installation of SCO OpenServer Release 5.0.7 onto a system that is currently installed with a previous version of SCO OpenServer Release 5, the installation may hang while the following progress message is displayed:

   Please wait while your SCSI disks are configured into the kernel...

If you experience this problem, you should restart the installation and enter the following bootstring at the initial boot prompt:

defbootstr scsi.noscan

DPT PM 2022 SCSI host adapter

SCO OpenServer installs correctly on a DPT PM2022 with SmartROM BIOS 2B and Firmware FW-0230-005E-E/O, but the kernel reboot fails. You can prevent this by upgrading to SmartROM BIOS 2.D1 and Firmware FW-0230-005E-E/O, which is the current release of the Firmware as of this writing.

The SCO OpenServer system is known to work correctly on the DPT PM2122 with SmartROM BIOS 2D and Firmware FW-0215-005E, which is the current Firmware as of this writing.

ISA bus support disabled for DPT SCSI host adapters

Default ISA bus support for DPT SCSI host adapters has been removed for this SCO OpenServer release. To re-enable ISA support for DPT SCSI devices, add dptr.isa=1 to the installation bootstring. See bootstring(HW) for more information.

The installation will update the driver configuration files, so you do not need to add the bootstring to your default boot file.

Disabled LSI Logic (formerly Symbios) controller

If an LSI Logic (formerly Symbios) controller is in the system and it is disabled in the BIOS, start the installation by typing the following bootstring at the boot prompt:

defbootstr disable=slha

Bootstring needed to boot off Mylex controller

To install with a Mylex controller, you must start the installation by typing the following bootstring at the boot prompt:

defbootstr Sdsk=mdac(0,0,0,1)

This bootstring specifies ID=0 LUN=1 as the first Mylex system drive and is needed because of a change in ID/LUN mapping in the Mylex mdac driver.