Adaptec APA-348 User manual

APA-348 Installation Guide

Part Number: 510603-00, Rev. A

Print Spec Number: 492716-00

Current Date: 5/19/94 ECN Date: 5/31/94

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Installation Guide

APA-348 MiniSCSI Plus

Parallel-to-SCSI Host Adapter

APA-348 Installation Guide

Part Number: 510603-00, Rev. A

Print Spec Number: 492716-00

Current Date: 5/19/94 ECN Date: 5/31/94

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Overview

This Installation Guide explains how to physically

install and configure Adaptec APA-348 MiniSCSI™

Plus Parallel-to-SCSI host adapters. The MiniSCSI

Plus has been designed to provide simple, flexible

control of most SCSI devices. The adapter’s high-

speed operation is fully compatible with bidirec-

tional parallel ports, offering excellent performance

while remaining compatible with unidirectional

ports found on many older computers. Both SCSI

and parallel printer interfaces may be operated

simultaneously, with no performance degradation.

Hardware Requirements

■The parallel port must be standard—i.e., have a

fully IBM®-compatible hardware design, includ-

ing all ground lines. For highest performance, the

computer’s parallel port must be capable of bidi-

rectional operation.

■The SCSI device chain must be properly termi-

nated as per ANSI SCSI specifications.

■The SCSI device(s) connected to the MiniSCSI

Plus must have the standard ANSI SCSI-

specification TERMPOWER implemented, since

the adapter draws its power from this line.

■IBM or compatible AT®, PS/2®, or similar

computer.

■A 100% IBM-compatible BIOS. Operation with an

incompatible BIOS may be possible but is not

guaranteed.

Checklist

■APA-348 MiniSCSI Plus host adapter

■3.5-inch, 1.44-MBytes software diskettes

■APA-348 MiniSCSI Plus Installation Guide

■Software User Guide

■Product Registration card

■Microsoft®MSCDEX Registration card

If anything is missing, please contact your dealer.

APA-348 Installation Guide

Part Number: 510603-00, Rev. A

Print Spec Number: 492716-00

Current Date: 5/19/94 ECN Date: 5/31/94

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Host Adapter Layout

This diagram shows the APA-348 components.

Default Settings

The MiniSCSI Plus operates correctly with the fac-

tory default settings in most PCs:

Installation

Hardware installation involves plugging the

MiniSCSI Plus adapter into a parallel printer port

and connecting it to the applicable SCSI device(s).

Follow the steps carefully in each subsection below

to correctly install the MiniSCSI Plus.

1See Maximizing Performanceon page 5 to increase speed.

Parameter Default Setting

Host Adapter SCSI ID 7

Host Adapter Termination Enabled

Port Address 378h (Options: 278h, 3BCh)

Speed Selection Most Compatible1

Extended Translation for Drives Over

1 GByte Automatic (Enabled)

APA-348 Installation Guide

Part Number: 510603-00, Rev. A

Print Spec Number: 492716-00

Current Date: 5/19/94 ECN Date: 5/31/94

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Connecting the MiniSCSI Plus

WARNING: Turn OFF the computer, printer,

and SCSI devices when connecting or dis-

connecting the MiniSCSI Plus. This protects

against damage to any components.

Connect the MiniSCSI Plus parallel port connector to

a parallel printer port on your computer. You may

use either LPT1, LPT2 or LPT3—the MiniSCSI Plus

drivers automatically detect which port is in use.

If your parallel printer port has a copy-protection

device (commonly known as a dongle) or other non-

printer product connected to it, you should remove

the device from your printer port and connect it to

the printer passthrough connector on the MiniSCSI

Plus. If this arrangement causes any problems, either

the dongle or the MiniSCSI Plus must be relocated to

a different parallel port.

Connecting SCSI Peripherals

1Connect the first SCSI device to the SCSI connec-

tor on the MiniSCSI Plus.

2Connect other SCSI devices (up to seven total) by

daisy-chaining them to the first SCSI device.

SCSI devices are daisy-chained by connecting

cables in a single, continuous series called the

SCSI bus. SCSI bus cables must run directly from

one device to the next, with no branches. The

SCSI connector on the MiniSCSI Plus is a 50-pin

Centronics-type external connector.

Caution: The MiniSCSI Plus supports only

single-ended SCSI devices. Do not connect

differential SCSI devices to it. Read the

device’s documentation to determine

whether it is single-ended or differential.

APA-348 Installation Guide

Part Number: 510603-00, Rev. A

Print Spec Number: 492716-00

Current Date: 5/19/94 ECN Date: 5/31/94

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Assigning SCSI IDs

If you connect more than one SCSI device to the

MiniSCSI Plus simultaneously, make sure that each

device’s SCSI ID (device number between 0 and 6) is

different; ID 7 is reserved for the adapter and cannot

be changed. IDs must be different to prevent conflicts

when the MiniSCSI Plus communicates with the

devices. See your SCSI device documentation for

details.

Terminating the SCSI Bus

The SCSI devices on both ends of the SCSI bus must

be terminated. See the following subsections for

details on termination.

Terminating the Host Adapter

MiniSCSI Plus termination is set to Enabled by

default. This setting cannot be changed.

Terminating SCSI Peripherals

1Read the manufacturer’s documentation to deter-

mine how to enable or disable termination on

SCSI device(s).

2Install or enable terminators on the last SCSI

devices at the end of the SCSI bus.

3Remove terminators or disable termination on all

other peripheral devices in the middle of the SCSI

bus.

4Be sure the SCSI cables are connected securely.

They may have been loosened if you changed

jumper or switch settings on the peripherals.

Termination Power

The SCSI device(s) connected to the MiniSCSI Plus

provides power to the adapter and, thus, must be

equipped with the standard TERMPOWER output

(which is part of the SCSI connector interface specifi-

cation). See your SCSI device manual or dealer to

confirm this. The MiniSCSI Plus must have

TERMPOWER to operate.

APA-348 Installation Guide

Part Number: 510603-00, Rev. A

Print Spec Number: 492716-00

Current Date: 5/19/94 ECN Date: 5/31/94

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Caution: If you disconnect your SCSI

device(s) from the MiniSCSI Plus while in

use, the adapter loses power and does not

recognize the SCSI device(s) when recon-

nected. Reboot your computer in this case.

Connecting the Printer

Connect a standard parallel printer cable to the

MiniSCSI Plus printer passthrough connector if you

wish to simultaneously use a parallel printer with

your MiniSCSI Plus. No special configuration or

switching is needed to use your printer.

For U.S. Residents Only:Use the printer cable

included in your kit to connect your

MiniSCSI Plus to your printer. This cable is

shielded to comply with FCC-mandated

requirements for a Class B computing

device. Use of any other printer cable may

result in noncompliance with FCC shielding

requirements and undesirable electronic

interference with other devices.

The printer port on the MiniSCSI Plus is operable

only while it is powered up. The printer passthrough

port on the adapter cannot function if you discon-

nect or turn OFF the connected SCSI device.

Completing the Installation

1Turn ON the power for the PC and peripheral(s).

2Load the software, as explained in the Software

User Guide.

In most cases your PC, MiniSCSI Plus, and peripher-

als are now ready to use.

Maximizing Performance

After your MiniSCSI Plus and software have been

installed, tested, and are working properly, you

may be able to achieve even better performance. In

APA-348 Installation Guide

Part Number: 510603-00, Rev. A

Print Spec Number: 492716-00

Current Date: 5/19/94 ECN Date: 5/31/94

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many system configurations, implementing a spe-

cial data-transfer mode can result in a 15-20% speed

improvement.

Before trying the techniques described below, make

sure your SCSI hardware and software are properly

installed and configured, and running without prob-

lems. Attempts to improve performance may not

work on your particular installation. Knowing that

the basic installation is working will aid in determin-

ing whether performance enhancements will work

as well. In addition, there is a small chance that data

corruption may occur with incompatible configura-

tions, so make sure that important data on your SCSI

device(s) is backed up before trying this technique.

What is this Technique?

By default, your software is configured to operate in

full handshaking mode, meaning that data transfer via

the MiniSCSI Plus is performed in a manner that

automatically confirms its accuracy. If there are tim-

ing, electrical noise, or other problems that disturb

accurate data flow, the error is automatically

detected and corrected without any user interven-

tion. This mode assures that movement of informa-

tion back and forth is error-free. Full handshaking

requires more interaction by the software, resulting

in somewhat lower performance than if handshaking

were disabled.

You can disable full handshaking and operate your

SCSI installation in blind mode. Many MiniSCSI Plus

configurations operate perfectly and at a much faster

rate in blind mode. The /M software switch allows

you to turn full handshaking mode OFF to test

whether you can use the faster blind mode.

The /M switch has four possible settings and is set in

your

config.sys

file on the ASPI manager line (see

Additional /M Switch Options on page 9 for more

explanations):

/M0 Standard full handshaking mode (default)

1Blind mode enabled for higher performance

2Full handshaking, force unidirectional

3Blind mode, force unidirectional

APA-348 Installation Guide

Part Number: 510603-00, Rev. A

Print Spec Number: 492716-00

Current Date: 5/19/94 ECN Date: 5/31/94

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The /M1 setting enables blind mode, and /M0 (or no

/Mentry) is standard full handshaking. The change is

made to the line device=[

path

]ma348.sys in your

config.sys

file, using any standard text editor. For

example, to turn full handshaking off for better per-

formance, the line should look something like this:

device=\tscsi\ma348.sys /m1

After making this change and saving your

config.sys

to your boot drive, reboot your computer for the

change to take effect.

Testing Blind Mode Operation

After modifying your

config.sys

file and rebooting,

immediately conduct some simple tests to determine

whether your installation is compatible with blind

mode. Follow this sequence:

1Observe the system bootup closely. As the

CD-ROM and/or hard disk drivers load, watch

for messages like No SCSI devices detected, No

Boot Record Found, etc. As

MSCDEX

loads,

watch for a CDR103: CDROM not High Sierra or

ISO-9660 format error message. If any of these

messages appear, your system configuration does

not support blind mode.

2If step 1 reveals a problem, you might be able to

operate in blind mode by setting your computer’s

CPU speed to a lower value. This change is gener-

ally done with a software setup routine—see your

computer’s documentation for details.

If a computer speed decrease does not help, then

you must remove the /M1 switch from

config.sys

immediately and reboot. Continued operation of

an incompatible system will result in SCSI data

corruption.

3If step 1 reveals no problems during bootup, we

recommend the following additional tests:

aPerform a dir command on all SCSI devices to

see if the directory structure is correctly

reported. Do not run any other DOS com-

mands yet. If a problem is evident (such as

incorrect file names, garbage characters in the

directory listing, etc.), you probably do not

APA-348 Installation Guide

Part Number: 510603-00, Rev. A

Print Spec Number: 492716-00

Current Date: 5/19/94 ECN Date: 5/31/94

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have blind mode compatibility and should

remove the /M1 switch from

config.sys

. If no

problems are noted, proceed to the next step.

bPerform a chkdsk command on all hard disk

drives (without the /F option) and/or a chkcd

(supplied with your software) command on all

CD-ROM drives. If a problem is evident (such

as absurdly wrong numbers being reported),

you probably do not have blind mode compat-

ibility and should remove the /M1 switch from

your

config.sys

. If no problems are noted, pro-

ceed to the next step.

cTry copying a large (greater than 100 KBytes, if

possible) file from the SCSI device to a non-

SCSI hard disk or floppy drive. After the copy

is complete, use the DOS comp command to

compare the new copy to the original file. If a

problem is evident (such as the file compari-

son failing), you probably do not have blind

mode compatibility and should remove the

/M1 switch from your

config.sys

. If no prob-

lems are noted, proceed to the next step.

dCopy a large file from your non-SCSI drive to

a SCSI hard disk device. Again, compare the

two files with the comp command and if a

problem is evident (such as the file compari-

son failing), you probably do not have blind

mode compatibility and should remove the /

M1 switch from your

config.sys

4If, after following these procedures, you have

found no problems, it is likely that your system is

fully compatible with blind mode and your

MiniSCSI Plus will now operate considerably

faster than before (see Additional /M Switch

Options on page 9).

5If you change your computer’s SCSI device con-

figuration, you should rerun the above test

sequence to make sure any newly-added devices

are compatible with blind mode. It is possible that

your system will not operate correctly in blind

mode after you add a new device.

APA-348 Installation Guide

Part Number: 510603-00, Rev. A

Print Spec Number: 492716-00

Current Date: 5/19/94 ECN Date: 5/31/94

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6If you share your MiniSCSI Plus adapter among

several systems or carry it for use on other sys-

tems, do not use the /M1 switch unless you are

absolutely sure that the other systems are com-

patible. Changes may take place to the system

configuration in your absence. It is better to run a

little slower than to take a chance on corrupting

your data.

Additional /M Switch Options

Switch settings /M2 and /M3 correspond to /M0 and

/M1 but force the adapter to operate in undirectional

mode. A few computers (such as the NEC Prospeed

SX/20) are incorrectly seen by the MiniSCSI Plus as

being equipped with a bidirectional parallel port,

instead of the actual unidirectional configuration.

This situation can cause data corruption, but using

/M2(instead of /M0) or /M3 (instead of /M1) forces the

MiniSCSI Plus to use unidirectional mode and

should fix the problem.

Troubleshooting

If you have a problem during installation, check the

items below. Be sure to read the Troubleshooting sec-

tion in the Software User Guide for other related error

messages and remedies.

Note: You cannot boot from a device con-

nected to your MiniSCSI Plus, because your

computer does not expect to boot from a

device connected to the parallel port. There-

fore, your MiniSCSI Plus device drivers

must be loaded during the boot process from

another disk.

■Make sure all cables are properly connected.

■Make sure all SCSI devices have unique SCSI IDs.

■Make sure the SCSI bus is correctly terminated.

Network Installations

If your computer is part of a network installation,

your printer port may be redirected to a network

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