EIDE2300PLUS README.TXT File +=====================+ | Release Information | +=====================+ Device Driver Diskette...............................(Version 3.31) On this diskette you will find device drivers for the EIDE2300PLUS VL-Bus IDE Disk Controller. EIDE2300.EXE (Version 3.30) is the installation utility. EIDE2300.SYS (Version 3.30) is the driver for DOS. EIDE2300.386 (Version 3.30) is the driver for Microsoft Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups 3.11 EIFDISK.EXE (Version 1.20) is the drives partition utility DISK1.NT is the information file for Windows NT driver setup WIN_NT is the subdirectory containing the driver for Microsoft Windows NT 3.1 and 3.5 OS2 is the subdirectory containing the driver for IBM OS/2 2.x and WARP NETWARE is the subdirectory containing the driver for Novell Netware 3.1x and 4.x UNIX is the subdirectory containing the driver for SCO UNIX 3.2.x and AT&T UNIX SVR 4.0 WIN95 is the subdirectory containing the driver for Microsoft Windows 95 +============================================================+ | DOS Driver for EIDE2300PLUS VL-Bus IDE Controller | +============================================================+ Your EIDE2300PLUS disk controller needs the device drivers to take advantage of the high performance 32-bit VL-Bus when running under assorted operating systems. You can use the installation program "EIDE2300.EXE" to install the DOS driver and Windows driver automatically (Please refer to the EIDE2300PLUS Installation Guide for details). If you want to install the drivers manually, please follow the procedures below: 1. Complete the installation steps from (1) to (8) which are described in the EIDE2300PLUS Installation Guide and boot to a DOS prompt. 2. Copy the driver EIDE2300.SYS to your system in the appropriate path. 3. Add the following statement to your CONFIG.SYS file: device=C:\EIDE2300\EIDE2300.SYS [/F] [/W] [/P] [/D0:n or /M0:m] [/D1:n or /M1:m] [/X2] The parameters F, W and P define the operating mode, and D0, D1, M0, M1, n, and m define the speed settings of the attached hard drives NOTE: Only one speed mode can be specified per VL-IDE device. Either D or M speed mode should be specified on the individual VL-IDE device, NOT both. It is possible to define different modes for separate VL-IDE devices. Example: /D0:d /M0:m is illegal /D0:d /M1:m is legal F : EIDE2300PLUS controller works in the Fast mode (Default operation is in Turbo mode). W : EIDE2300PLUS controller works in the 16-bit data access mode. Certain motherboard CPUs(for example, IBM 486 SLC2) have a 16-bit external data bus and cannot operate in the default 32-bit data access mode. P : EIDE2300PLUS controller works in the Power-Saving-Detection mode. This parameter is used when the IDE drive is not fully compatible with the power saving functions. D0 : drive 0 PIO speed setting D1 : drive 1 PIO speed setting n : drive speed from 0 to 8, or A 0 to 8 : PIO speed level A : IORDY indicator M0 : drive 0 DMA speed setting M1 : drive 1 DMA speed setting m : drive speed from 0 to 8 0 to 8 : DMA speed level X2 : Disable ISA-IDE IDE HD support (default: Enabled) To speed up booting, use this switch if you have no hard drives attached to the ISA-IDE channel of the EIDE2300PLUS In the Fast(F) mode, the EIDE2300PLUS disk controller supports 32-bit VL-Bus I/O access. In Turbo(T) mode, the EIDE2300PLUS not only supports 32-bit VL-Bus I/O access but also read/write multiple commands. Since read/write multiple commands allow the host to access disk data in multiple-sector blocks, the Turbo mode will usually be faster. Note that not all IDE drives support the read/write multiple commands. Usually, you may set your EIDE2300PLUS to run in the Turbo mode. When your system is brought up, the driver EIDE2300.SYS will automatically issue an Identify Drive command to check if the attached IDE drive(s) support the read/write multiple commands. In case your drive(s) does not support the read/write multiple commands, the EIDE2300PLUS disk controller will automatically be forced to run in the Fast mode. Please also note: While some IDE drives may respond to the Identify Drive command and confirm its capability to support the read/write multiple commands, they may not support the read/write multiple commands properly. In such cases, you will need to specify the operating mode as "F" explicitly to ensure reliable operation of such IDE drives. Example: The DOS driver EIDE2300.SYS resides in the root directory of drive C:. If you want your EIDE2300PLUS controller to run in the TURBO mode, drive 0 at speed 3 and drive 1 at speed 5. Please add the following statement to the file CONFIG.SYS. device = c:\EIDE2300.SYS /D0:3 /D1:5 If your EIDE2300PLUS controller has to run in the Fast mode, the statement must be changed to: device = c:\EIDE2300.SYS /f /D0:3 /D1:5 If the DOS driver is installed manually, you might have one of the following types of prompt messages when you boot up the system. (a) HDD 0 setting: FAST Mode, Speed 5 by DEVICE DRIVER AUTOMATICALLY HDD 1 setting: Turbo Mode, DMA Speed 5 by DEVICE DRIVER AUTOMATICALLY Where the operating mode and the speed parameter may vary with the hard drive(s) attached. This message will be shown when the device driver is installed without any user specified parameters and the drive(s) attached can be found in the internal speed table of the DOS driver. (b) HDD 0 setting: FAST Mode, Speed 2 by HARDWARE JUMPER SETTING HDD 1 setting: Turbo Mode, Speed 2 by HARDWARE JUMPER SETTING +-----------------------------------------------+ | Notice | | To optimize the performance of your HDD | | please execute the Installation Utility | | to reconfigure your device driver | +-----------------------------------------------+ Where the operating mode and speed parameter may vary with the hard drive(s) attached. This message will be shown when the HDD(s) can't be found in the internal speed table. It might appear when the drive(s) are brand new models, or the device driver is copied from another PC's hard drive. The Installation Utility stands for EIDE2300.EXE. (c) HDD 0 setting: FAST Mode, Speed 5 by USER DEFINED SETTING HDD 1 setting: Turbo Mode, Speed 5 by USER DEFINED SETTING Where the operating mode and speed parameters may vary with the hard drive(s) attached. This message will be shown when user defined parameters are entered with the DOS device driver. Four IDE Drives Note -------------------- 1. The DOS Device driver "EIDE2300.SYS" loads and supports the IDE hard disks on the secondary ISA-IDE connector. You can connect up to four IDE Hard disk Drives on your EIDE2300. 2. The Master/Slave drive settings for drives on the ISA-IDE connector are the same as for the VL-IDE connector. There should be only one master and one slave on the ISA-IDE connector. 3. The ROM BIOS on the EIDE2300PLUS controller supports large IDE drives on the VL-IDE (J1) connector ONLY. 4. If you would like to connect 3 (or 4) IDE hard disks, make sure the DOS driver EIDE2300.SYS is installed. Then you can use the EIFDISK.EXE partitioning utility enclosed in the "Drivers and Installation Utilities" diskette to partition the 3rd and 4th IDE drives before formatting them. IDE CDROM and other IDE Devices -------------------------------- Other devices such as IDE CDROM and TAPE MUST support IDE ATAPI interface. The drive manufacturer provides software drivers to attach these drives. Be sure to configure the proper master/slave drive settings. On BOTH PRIMARY and SECONDARY connectors, there is one master and one slave on EACH connector. On either PRIMARY or SECONDARY connector, ATAPI IDE devices are supported by their supplied drivers. The EIDE2300.SYS driver does not load support for IDE devices besides IDE hard disks. When installed on the PRIMARY connector, set in the Mainboard Bios drive type "Not Installed" for the ATAPI IDE device and when necessary, indicate the parameters IRQ14 PORT 1F0 for the driver installation. When installed on the SECONDARY connector, indicate IRQ15 and PORT 170 for the driver installation. [Fast IO driver installation] There is a utility COMS.EXE under the \UART\DOS.DRV sub-directory of the Device Driver Diskette. Please browse the README.TXT file in the same sub-directory and install the utility as described to utilize the UART16550 fast IO. +============================================================+ | EIDE2300PLUS device driver for Microsoft Windows 3.1 and | | Windows for Workgroups 3.11 | +============================================================+ The file EIDE2300.386 is the Microsoft Windows 3.1 disk driver for the EIDE2300PLUS disk controller. While Microsoft Windows version 3.1 supports 32-bit disk access, the disk data transfer between host and the IDE adapter is still limited by the 16-bit ISA bus. If you want to speed up your hard drives under Windows through the 32-bit VL-Bus, you need this driver. In addition, the driver also allows your host to access the disk data through the faster "read/write multiple" commands. If you choose to install the Windows driver manually, you should complete the installation steps from (1) to (8) which are described in the EIDE2300PLUS Installation Guide, then follow the steps below: 1. Copy the driver EIDE2300.386 to your system in the appropriate path. It is recommended that the driver EIDE2300.386 be copied to the Windows SYSTEM directory. 2. Check if the following lines exist in the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.ini file. [386Enh] 32BitDiskAccess=ON device=*int13 If the statements do not exist, add them into the [386Enh] section. If the statements exist, but 32BitDiskAccess is set to "OFF", change it to "ON". 3. Delete the "device=*wdctrl" device setting. Delete the command line "device=*wdctrl" from the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file, if it exists. 4. Install the virtual device "EIDE2300.386". Add the following command lines in the [386Enh] section of the SYSTEM.INI file: device=[drive:][\path\]EIDE2300.386 DisksAccessMode=[Fast|Turbo] [/W] [/D0:n|/M0:m] [/D1:n|/M1:m] The [drive:] and [\path\] point to the directory that contains the EIDE2300.386 file. Note that the setting must specify the full path of the device driver EIDE2300.386. The setting of disks_access_mode specifies the disk access mode as follows: Fast : EIDE2300PLUS controller works in the Fast mode Turbo : EIDE2300PLUS controller works in the Turbo mode (default mode) W : EIDE2300PLUS controller works in the 16-bit data access mode. Certain motherboard CPUs(for example, IBM 486 SLC2) have a 16-bit external data bus and cannot operate in the default 32-bit data access mode. D0 : drive 0 PIO speed setting D1 : drive 1 PIO speed setting n : drive speed from 0 to 8, or A 0 to 8 : PIO speed level A : IORDY indicator M0 : drive 0 DMA speed setting M1 : drive 1 DMA speed setting m : drive speed from 0 to 8 0 to 8 : DMA speed level Note : If no parameter is specified, the EIDE2300PLUS disk controller will be set to run under the default Turbo and 32 bit data access mode. In the Fast(F) mode, the EIDE2300PLUS disk controller supports 32-bit VL-Bus I/O access. In the Turbo(T) mode, the EIDE2300PLUS not only supports 32 bit VL-Bus I/O access but also read/write multiple commands. Since read/write multiple commands allow the host to access disk data in multiple-sector blocks, the Turbo mode will usually be faster. Note that not all IDE drives support the read/write multiple commands. Usually, you may set your EIDE2300PLUS to run in the Turbo mode. When your system is brought up, the driver EIDE2300.386 will automatically issue an Identify Drive command to check if the attached IDE drive(s) support the read/write multiple commands. In case your drive(s) does not support the read/write multiple commands, the EIDE2300PLUS disk controller will automatically be forced to run in the Fast mode. Please also note: While some IDE drives may respond to the Identify Drive command and confirm its capability to support the read/write multiple commands, they may not support the read/write multiple commands properly. In such cases, you will need to specify the operating mode as "Fast" explicitly to ensure reliable operation of such IDE drives. [Note] 1. If there is a ROM BIOS on the EIDE2300PLUS controller, the EIDE2300.386 supports LBA mode only on the VL/IDE (J1) connector and when it is set as the primary controller. [Fast IO driver installation] NOTE: Normally, it is not necessary to load the the serial drivers described below. Use these drivers only if you experience any difficulties with serial devices attached to your EIDE2300PLUS. If you are using Windows 3.1, there is a device driver COMM.DRV under the \UART\WIN.DRV sub-directory of the Device Driver Diskette. Please browse the README file in the same sub-directory and install the device driver as described. If you are using Windows for Workgroups 3.11, there is a device driver SERIAL.386 under the \UART\WG.DRV sub-directory of the Device Driver Diskette. Please browse the README.TXT file in the same sub-directory and install the device driver as described. +=============================+ | Trademark Acknowledgments | +=============================+ VESA is a registered trademark of the Video Electronics Standards Association. VL-Bus is a trademark of the Video Electronics Standards Association. MS-DOS and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. PC, PC-AT and OS/2 are registered trademarks of IBM Corporation. UNIX is a registered trademark of American Telephone and Telegraph Corp. Netware is a registered trademark of Novell Corporation.