Adaptec AVA-1505A Product information sheet

USER’S
REFERENCE
SCSI CARD 1505

© 1998 Adaptec, Inc.
All rights reserved. Adaptec, and the
Adaptec logo are trademarks of Adaptec,
Inc. which may be registered in some
jurisdictions.
Printed in Singapore
STOCK NO.: 511493-00, Rev. B BKB 12/97

R
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ SCSI Card 1505
User’s Reference

iii
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ Contents
Understanding SCSI 1
SCSI IDs 2
SCAM Protocol 2
Terminating the SCSI Bus 3
Troubleshooting 4
Troubleshooting in Windows 95 4
Problems and Solutions 7
Using the SCSI Card 1505 and SCSI
Peripherals 9
Setting SCSI Card Jumpers 9
Using SCSI Peripherals 9
Hard Disk Drives 9
Scanners 10
Installing Multiple SCSI Cards 10
Using SCSI and IDE (or EIDE) Peripherals 10
Replacing a Non-Adaptec SCSI Card with an Adaptec SCSI
Card 11
Configuring the SCSI Card 1505 with
SCSISelect 12
Starting SCSISelect 13
Exiting SCSISelect 13
Using SCSISelect Settings 14
Basic Host Adapter Settings 14
SCSI Device Settings 15
Advanced Host Adapter Settings 15
Using SCSI Disk Utilities 16

iv
SCSI Card 1505 User’s Reference
Obtaining SCSI Cables 17
External Cables 17
External Connector Diagrams 17
Internal Cable 18
Internal Connector Diagram 18
Maximum Cable Lengths 18

1
Understanding SCSI
SCSI (pronounced “scuzzy”) stands for Small Computer Systems
Interface. SCSI is an industry standard computer interface for con-
necting SCSI peripherals (such as a hard drive, CD-ROM drive, or
scanner) to a common SCSI bus.
A SCSI bus is an electrical pathway that consists of a SCSI card (such
as the SCSI Card 1505) installed in a computer and one or more SCSI
peripherals. SCSI cables are used to connect the peripherals to the
SCSI card.
For the SCSI bus to function properly, SCSI IDs must be assigned to
SCSI devices (SCSI peripherals and SCSI card), and the SCSI bus
must be properly terminated.

2
SCSI Card 1505 User’s Reference
SCSI IDs
Each peripheral attached to the SCSI Card 1505, as well as the SCSI
Card 1505 itself, must be assigned a unique SCSI ID number from 0
to 7. A SCSI ID uniquely identifies each SCSI peripheral on the SCSI
bus and determines priority when two or more devices are trying to
use the SCSI bus at the same time.
Refer to the peripheral’s documentation to set the SCSI ID. Here are
some general guidelines for SCSI IDs:
■For internal SCSI peripherals, the SCSI ID is usually set by con-
figuring a jumper on the peripheral.
■For external SCSI peripherals, the SCSI ID is usually set with a
switch on the back of the peripheral.
■SCSI ID 7 has the highest priority on the SCSI bus. The priority
of the remaining IDs, in descending order, is 6 to 0.
■The SCSI Card 1505 is preset to SCSI ID 7 and should not be
changed. This gives it the highest priority on the SCSI bus.
■SCSI ID 0 is recommended for the first SCSI hard drive.
■In Windows®95, you can use the Device Manager to view the
SCSI ID (and other details) assigned to each SCSI device
installed.
■If you installed Adaptec®EZ-SCSI®Lite software, you can use
the SCSI Interrogator utility to view the SCSI ID (and other
details) assigned to each SCSI device installed.
SCAM Protocol
The SCSI Card 1505 supports the SCSI Configured AutoMatically
(SCAM) protocol, which assigns SCSI IDs dynamically and resolves
SCSI ID conflicts automatically when you start the computer. If your
computer includes SCSI disk drives or other peripherals that sup-
port SCAM, you do not need to manually assign SCSI IDs to these
peripherals. To enable SCAM support, see Configuring the SCSI Card
1505 with SCSISelect on page 12.

3
Understanding SCSI
Terminating the SCSI Bus
To ensure reliable communication on the SCSI bus, terminators must
be installed (or enabled) on the devices at the extreme physical ends
of the SCSI bus. The terminators on all devices between the physical
ends must be removed (or disabled).
Since the method for terminating a SCSI device can vary widely,
refer to the peripheral’s documentation for instructions on how to
enable or disable termination. Here are some general guidelines for
termination:
■Termination on internal SCSI peripherals is usually controlled
by manually setting a jumper or a switch on the peripheral, or
by physically removing or installing one or more resistor
modules on the peripheral.
■Termination on external SCSI peripherals is usually controlled
by installing or removing a SCSI terminator.
On some external peripherals, termination is controlled by set-
ting a switch on the back of the drive.
■Termination on the SCSI Card 1505 itself is controlled manu-
ally by removing or inserting termination resistors.
■Most SCSI peripherals come from the factory with termination
enabled.

4
SCSI Card 1505 User’s Reference
Troubleshooting
Have you reviewed the Troubleshooting Checklist provided in the
SCSI Card 1505 Installation Guide? You can resolve most problems by
following the recommendations in the checklist. If you still experi-
ence problems, continue with this section.
Troubleshooting in Windows 95
When I start Windows 95, the system locks up when the Windows logo
is displayed. How can I get the system to start so that I can verify the
SCSI card is functioning normally?
1Start or restart your computer. View the messages that appear
onscreen.
2When the message “Starting Windows 95” appears, press and
release the F8 function key while the text is on your screen.
3From the menu displayed, select Safe Mode. (It may take sev-
eral minutes for Windows 95 to load.)
4Verify the SCSI Card 1505 software driver is loading properly
(see below).
How can I tell if the SCSI Card 1505 software driver is loading
properly?
1Click the Start button, point to Settings, then click Control
Panel.
2Double-click the System icon.
3Click the Device Manager tab.
4Double-click the SCSI Controller icon. The driver for the SCSI
Card 1505 is listed as “Adaptec AVA-1505 SCSI Host Adapter.”
■If the driver is listed, the SCSI Card 1505 driver is loading
properly.
■If the driver is listed but has an exclamation mark inside a
yellow circle, the software driver may be in conflict with
other hardware using the same resources. Double-click the
icon to see the device status and possible solutions.

5
Troubleshooting
■If the driver is listed but has an “X” inside a red circle, the
SCSI Card 1505 software driver is disabled and isn’t load-
ing (see below).
■If the SCSI Controller icon or the SCSI Card 1505 driver is
not listed, reinstall the driver (see below).
Note: Software upgrades (including downloadable drivers)
for Adaptec products are available on the Adaptec Web Site
at http://www.adaptec.com .
An “X” inside a red circle appears with the SCSI Card 1505 software
driver in Device Manager. What does this mean?
The SCSI Card 1505 software driver is disabled and isn’t loading. To
enable the driver:
1Double-click the SCSI Card 1505 software driver in Device
Manager.
2Under the General tab, check the Original Configuration (cur-
rent) box.
What if there is no SCSI controller icon under Device Manager, or the
software driver for the SCSI Card 1505 does not appear under Device
Manager?
If the SCSI controllers icon or the software driver do not appear:
1Double-click the Add New Hardware icon in Control Panel.
2Select Yes on the second screen of the Add New Hardware
Wizard to have Windows®search for the SCSI Card 1505.
3Follow the onscreen instructions.
If Windows 95 does not detect the SCSI card, run the Add New
Hardware Wizard again:
1Double-click the Add New Hardware icon in Control Panel.
2Select No on the second screen of the wizard.
3Select SCSI controllers on the next screen.
4Select the model of your Adaptec SCSI Card.

6
SCSI Card 1505 User’s Reference
If your Adaptec SCSI Card model is not on the list, you may be able
to install a SCSI card driver from the Windows 95 CD-ROM (or from
the Adaptec EZ-SCSI Setup Diskette). Follow these steps:
1Place the Windows 95 CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive (or
insert the Adaptec EZ-SCSI Setup Diskette in the floppy disk
drive) and run the Add New Hardware wizard.
2Select No on the second screen of the wizard.
3Select SCSI controllers on the next screen.
4Click the Have Disk button, then click the Browse button.
5Look in the
\drivers\storage directory of the CD-ROM (or the
root directory of the EZ-SCSI Setup Diskette) and select the
model of your SCSI card if it appears.
How can I check the status of a resource (for example, IRQ,
Memory, I/O)?
1Click the Start button, point to Settings, then click Control
Panel.
2Double-click the System icon.
3Click the Device Manager tab.
4Click Computer, and then click Properties.
5On the View Resources tab, click the option button for the type
of resource you want to check.
6The setting and the hardware using the setting is displayed.
■If a specific resource is not listed, the resource is not used
by a device.
■If a resource is listed more than once, the resource is used
by more than one device.
■If a resource is used by an unknown device, the resource is
used but the device using the resource cannot be detected.

7
Troubleshooting
How do I use the Hardware Conflict Troubleshooter in Windows 95?
1Click the Start button, then click Help.
2From the Contents tab, double-click Troubleshooting.
3Double-click If you have a hardware conflict.
4Follow the step-by-step instructions in the Windows Help
window.
Problems and Solutions
When installing EZ-SCSI, my DOS/Windows 3.x system does not find
the SCSI Card 1505.
This indicates a resource conflict. Try a different I/O Port Address
and/or IRQ and try installing EZ-SCSI again.
I have both a Soundblaster card with a SCSI controller embedded on it,
and an SCSI Card 1505 installed in the same computer. Am I going to
experience any resource conflicts?
The SCSI controller on the Soundblaster card is typically set, by
default, to use I/O port address 340 and IRQ 11. To avoid resource
conflicts, check the current setting of the SCSI Card 1505 and make
any required changes with the J3 jumper and SCSISelect.
When trying to run the Format/Verify SCSI disk utility in SCSI Select , I
get an Unexpected SCSI Command Failure pop-up box with error
information.
The utility probably encountered a problem with the disk drive or
the media and therefore cannot run. You can determine from the
Sense Key information (for example, 06h - Unit Attention) both the
cause of the problem and its solution. Here are some of the more
common Sense Key values and their meanings:
■02h - Not ready—The media is not ready to format. Be sure
media is inserted in the drive and the media is spun up.
■03h - Medium error—The disk media may be defective. If it is a
removable-media drive, try using a different disk media. If it is
a hard drive, the drive may be physically damaged. Verify the
hard disk drive and format the media with SCSISelect.
■04h - Hardware error—The disk drive may be defective. Con-
sult the hardware documentation and contact the manufacturer.

8
SCSI Card 1505 User’s Reference
■05h - Illegal request—The Adaptec formatting utility does not
support a low-level format of this drive; however, the drive
may already be low-level formatted by the manufacturer. (This
error rarely occurs.)
■06h - Unit attention—The removable media may be write-pro-
tected. Disable write protection and run the utility again.
I have some older SCSI-1 peripherals installed and my computer is
operating erratically or hangs.
Try changing the following SCSI setting in SCSISelect for your older
SCSI-1 peripheral: Set Initiate Sync Negotiation to No.
The screen is difficult to read when I run the SCSI Select utility.
Press F5 to toggle the display between color and monochrome
modes. This may make it easier for you to read the screen.
I cannot use my SCSI card in a non-Plug-and-Play system.
Check for possible resource conflicts between the SCSI card and
other cards installed in your computer; the cards may have conflict-
ing I/O port address and IRQ settings. Try changing these settings
on the SCSI card one at a time, with Jumper 3 and SCSISelect to iso-
late the conflict.
I cannot use my SCSI card in a Plug-and-Play System.
Try setting ISA Plug-and-Play Mode to Disable in the Advanced
Configuration Options of SCSISelect. Your SCSI card is now a Legacy
card, and you must configure the I/O Port Address and Host
Adapter Interrupt (IRQ) channel manually with the Jumper J3 and
SCSISelect.

9
Using the SCSI Card 1505 and SCSI Peripherals
Using the SCSI Card 1505
and SCSI Peripherals
This section provides useful information on using the SCSI Card
1505 and your SCSI peripherals. For specific information, refer to the
documentation that came with your SCSI peripheral.
Setting SCSI Card Jumpers
There is one jumper on your SCSI Card 1505. Jumper J3 controls the
I/O Port Address. You do not need to change the J3 Jumper setting
in a Plug-and-Play system (that is, a system with a motherboard
Plug-and-Play BIOS and Windows 95, Windows NT or OS/2).
If your system is not Plug-and-Play, you may need to change the I/O
address if it conflicts with another device installed in your system. To
change the I/O Address, remove the shunt from Jumper J3.
Using SCSI Peripherals
Hard Disk Drives
■Every SCSI hard disk must be physically low-level formatted,
partitioned, and logically formatted before it can be used to
store data. SCSI hard disks are physically low-level formatted
at the factory and do not usually need to be formatted again.
If you connected a new SCSI hard disk drive to your SCSI card,
you must partition and logically format the drive. For DOS and
Windows (3.x, 95, NT or OS/2) use the DOS Fdisk and Format
commands (see your computer, DOS, Windows, or OS/2 docu-
mentation).
Table 1. Default Settings
Settings J3
I/O Port Address—140h* On
I/O Port Address—340h Off
*Default Setting

10
SCSI Card 1505 User’s Reference
■The SCSI Card 1505 does not support the boot option. To boot
your system, a bootable hard disk drive must already be
installed on a different SCSI card or IDE card.
■If both SCSI and non-SCSI (for example, IDE) disk drives are
installed, then the non-SCSI disk drive is always the boot drive.
Scanners
■You may need to install the scanner manufacturer’s propri-
etary software drivers. See your scanner’s documentation for
details.
Installing Multiple SCSI Cards
■You can install multiple SCSI cards in your computer; you are
limited only by the available system resources (for example,
IRQ settings, I/O port addresses, BIOS addresses, and so forth)
not used by other cards installed in your computer.
■Each SCSI card you install forms a separate SCSI bus with a
different set of SCSI peripherals. SCSI IDs can be reused as
long as the ID is assigned to a peripheral on a different SCSI
bus (for example, each SCSI card can have a peripheral with
SCSI ID 2).
■If you have two or more SCSI cards, enable the BIOS on the boot
SCSI card only; disable the BIOS on the remaining SCSI cards.
Using SCSI and IDE (or EIDE) Peripherals
■All Adaptec SCSI cards can co-exist with another controller
(IDE, EIDE, RLL, etc.) installed in the computer.
■If you have both an IDE hard disk drive and a SCSI hard disk
drive, the IDE drive will always be the boot drive.
■You cannot connect an IDE peripheral to a SCSI card, or a SCSI
peripheral to an IDE card (controller).

11
Using the SCSI Card 1505 and SCSI Peripherals
Replacing a Non-Adaptec SCSI Card with an
Adaptec SCSI Card
■SCSI is standard, but how data is translated on to a hard disk
drive is not. Each SCSI card manufacturer uses its own transla-
tion schemes for writing data to a disk. To use a hard disk
drive previously connected to a non-Adaptec SCSI card, low-
level format the drive after connecting it to the Adaptec SCSI
card. (See Using SCSI Disk Utilities on page 16.)
Caution: A low-level format destroys all data on the drive.
Be sure to back up your data before performing a low-level
format.

12
SCSI Card 1505 User’s Reference
Configuring the SCSI Card
1505 with SCSISelect
SCSISelect®, included with the SCSI Card 1505, enables you to
change SCSI settings without opening the computer or handling the
card. SCSISelect also enables you to low-level format or verify the
disk media of your SCSI hard disk drives. Table 2 lists the available
and default settings for each SCSISelect option.
Note: The default settings are appropriate for most systems.
Run SCSISelect if you need to change or view current set-
tings, or if you would like to run the SCSI disk utilities. See
the descriptions of each option on page 14 and 15.
Table 2. SCSISelectSettings
Host Adapter Interface Definitions Available Settings Default Setting
Host Adapter Interrupt (IRQ) Channel 9, 10, 11, 12 10
Host Adapter DMA Channel 5, ,6, 7 Disabled Disabled
Host Adapter SCSI ID 0-7 7
SCSI Channel Interface Definitions
SCSI Parity Checking Enabled, Disabled Enabled
Host Adapter SCSI Termination Automatic Automatic
Additional Options: SCSI Device
Configuration
Initiate Sync Negotiation Yes, No No (Disabled)
Maximum Sync Transfer Rate (MB/sec) 5.00 5.00
Enable Disconnection Yes, No No (Disabled)
Additional Options: Advanced Configuration
ISA Plug and Play Mode Enabled, Disabled Enabled
Plug and Play SCAM Support Enabled, Disabled Disabled

13
Configuring the SCSI Card 1505 with SCSISelect
Starting SCSISelect
Follow these steps to start SCSISelect:
1Insert the SCSISelect diskette in a bootable floppy disk drive.
(Save this diskette. You may need to run SCSISelect in the
future.)
Note: The SCSISelect utility is an executable file named
1505acfg.exe on the diskette. If you cannot boot from
this diskette for whatever reason, but you can run
DOS on your system, you can run SCSISelect by run-
ning this file under DOS.
2Turn on or restart your computer.
3From the menu that appears, use the ↑ and ↓ keys to move the
cursor to the option you want to select, then press Enter.
Note: If you have difficulty viewing the display, press F5 to
toggle between color and monochrome modes. (This feature
may not work on all monitors.)
Exiting SCSISelect
Follow these steps to exit SCSISelect:
1Press Esc. A message prompts you to exit (if you changed any
settings, you are prompted to save the changes before you
exit).
2At the prompt, select Yes to exit, then press any key to reboot
the computer. Any changes you made in SCSISelect take effect
after the computer boots.

14
SCSI Card 1505 User’s Reference
Using SCSISelect Settings
To select an option in a SCSISelect menu, use the ↑ and ↓ keys to
move the cursor to the option, then press Enter.
In some cases, selecting an option displays another menu. You can
return to the previous menu at any time by pressing Esc.
To restore the original SCSISelect default values, press F6 from the
main SCSISelect screen.
Basic Host AdapterSettings
■Host Adapter Interrupt (IRQ) Channel—Sets the SCSI card’s
IRQ. Each add-in card installed in your system, including the
SCSI Card 1505, must have a unique IRQ. In Plug-and-Play
systems, the IRQ is set automatically. In non-Plug-and-Play
systems, you must set the IRQ manually.
■Host Adapter SCSI ID—Sets the SCSI ID for the SCSI card.
The SCSI Card 1505 is set at 7, which gives it the highest
priority on the SCSI bus. We recommend you do not change
this setting.
■SCSI Parity Checking—When set to Enable, verifies the accu-
racy of data transfer on the SCSI bus. Leave this setting
enabled unless any SCSI peripheral connected to the SCSI card
does not support SCSI parity.