Text 1448, 154 rader
Skriven 2004-12-29 17:31:00 av JIM HOLSONBACK (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av WAYNE CHIRNSIDE
Ärende: Installing UDMA Card
============================
Hello, Wayne.  We've already gone over most of this in emails, but maybe
a few new thoughts here -

 -> Something is wrong here - -  the Promise Ultra66 card _does_ support
 -> ATAPI devices.  What makes you say that it doesn't?

 WC> Lack of mention of any such support in the manual.
 WC> When I had a Promise ISA EIDEMAX card in my 486 it clearly stated ATAPI
 WC> support.

Bad assumptions lead to wrong conclusions.  The ATA and ATAPI standards
have been combined since 1998, with publication of ATA/ATAPI-4, which
introduced UDMA Mode 2 (called UDMA/33).  Your Promise Ultra66 card
supports ATA/ATAPI-5, which was published in early 2000, and introduced
up to UDMA Mode 4 (called UDMA/66).  Under that, an 80 conductor cable
is required for UDMA/66 operation,  40 and 80 conductor cables are
autodetected, and faster than UDMA/33 is enabled only if an 80 conductor
cable is detected.

 ->  WC> Windows starts to install just fine but when it calls
 ->  WC> for reboot it fails for lack of a driver.

 -> You remember exactly what the error msg said?

 WC> It was looking for the Promise driver but given the OEM
 WC> CD and blank formatted drive there was no way to install
 WC> the driver until Windows had loaded following reboot,
 WC> that's where it failed with the message.

Heck, couldn't you tell it to skip installing the missing driver and to
boot to Win98 anyway?

 ->  WC> The driver is still available from from Promise download, archive
 ->  WC> however to to install it?

 -> I haven't messed with the download from www.promise.com, but I do know
 -> that the file "promise.exe" from the MicronPC website is a
 -> self-extracting zipfile, and I put it in a separate "Promise" directory
 -> and unzipped it (there are 10 or more files in there).  To "install" the
 -> driver from within windows, I would have to send Windows there to look
 -> for the driver file(s).  For your install, it might be easier to unzip
 -> it to a Floppy diskette. I would assume that the Promise card defaults
 -> to non-UDMA mode for compatibility before the UDMA66 driver is
 -> installed. Maybe not?

 WC> Appears NOT :-(

Nope, appears YES, since if the Promise card did not default to a slower
mode before the UDMA/66 driver is installed, you could not have
installed Win98 on the drive.

 WC> I only gave c: 8 Gig too.

Mox nix.  That is more than enough to install Win98 and get it up and
running.

 ->  WC> The manual specifies it be installed from withing an operating Windows
 ->  WC> environment, a catch 22 situation.

 -> How to get an operating Windows environment?  If your existing onboard
 -> controller will recognize that 8GB partition you set aside for Win, you
 -> could install Win on the new drive in your existing machine, get Win
 -> working just right, and _then_ worry with installing the Ultra66 card
 -> and driver for it?

 WC> Nope, the BIOS reads the drive wrong, allows FDISK but fails
 WC> on format after going through the motions.
 WC> Right after it reads 99 percent formatted it fails.

I already knew you had formatted the drive using your Linux utilities.
Your machine BIOS wouldn't have to read the whole drive correctly, just
the 8GB partition. You mis-understood what I was trying to suggest as a
work-around when you seemed convinced the Promise card would not
support ATAPI CDROM drives.

 -> WC>I know it will if I disable the on motherboard existingI/O controller
 -> WC> but then how to load my software from a CD the Promise card doesn't
 -> WC> support, catch 22 again.

 -> Again, there is something wrong here, unless the CDROM drive is an
 -> older, slower (maybe 4x) drive which is not ATAPI compliant - - maybe
 -> the Ultra66 card would not support that.

 WC> 32x LG drive.

That would be ATAPI compliant for sure.  Should work like a charm with
your Promise card.

 ->  -> Have you carefully studied the
 ->  -> Installation Guide for your Promise card, and correctly loaded the
 ->  -> Windows DRIVER for it? I'd also think you may need to disable your
 ->  -> onboard IDE controller - - have you done that?

 WC> That deprives me of the CD drive and without documentation
 WC> saying the Promise card supports ATAPI I'll not risk the drive.
 WC> Can't afford  mistakes here

You got that documentation now - - I emailed you the specs for the
Promise card.  It does support ATAPI devices.

 WC> Simpler, cheaper and more rational to wait until February
 WC> when I can purchase the Belkin's I'O card.

I disagree.  Not simpler since you will encounter the same roadblocks
which you have heretofore perceived.  Not cheaper, since you say the
Belkin card is $50.  Not more rational, since both the Promise and the
Belkin card should readily support your 32X CDROM drive.

 WC> Drive already sees C partition as first partition, active Win 9x.
 WC> In fact Windows _starts_ to load, first formats the drive successfully
 WC> from CD, then installs software, calls for reboot to complete
 WC> and only then fails with the driver error message.
 WC> Like I said it's a Catch 22 situation.

Trying to be patient and not trying to be insulting - - sounds to me
more like a 'Wayne's world' situation.  You ever watch SNL?
But a lot of times, when winders 'finds' new hardware and wants a new
driver for it, you can tell it to "skip" installation of the missing
driver, and proceed to boot.  That is why I asked you about the details
of the error msg you saw. I'll again recommend you have the driver files
'exploded' from the download file, and have them on a 1.44 floppy for
insertion in A:.

 -> I think for any hope of success, you'll want to get Windows working
 -> first, next disable the onboard IDE controller, and then slog through
 -> the Linux problems.

 WC> Actually it would likely be possible to get Linux to work first
 WC> but Windows appears out of the question.

Well, you probably _could_ get Linux to working on your other partitions
first, but I disagree that Windows is out of the question with the
Promise card.

 -> If you give up on the Ultra66 and go get yourself the UDMA133 card
 -> you've been craving, I'd expect you to come across the same bunch of
 -> problems you've already seen. (Just my guess, now from about 600 miles
 -> away).

 WC> Naw, the Belkin's I/O card explicitly states > 136 Gig and ATAPI
 WC> support AND I can switch off the existing motherboard I/O in CMOS
 WC> so the card will offer up C: on first IDE channel.
 WC> I expect all shall go well then.

OK.  Now please 'pretend' you have the Belkins card in there already,
and _try_ that with the Promise card, which supports ATAPI, but "only"
up to 128GB drives.

Good luck.
- - -  JimH.

... Any problem can be made to seem more difficult than it actually is.-Bubba
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