32-BIT SUPPORT FOR WINDOWS 3.1/3.11 […]
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32-BIT SUPPORT FOR WINDOWS 3.1/3.11
Adaptec EZ-SCSI includes 32-Bit Disk Access support for Windows 3.1, Windows 3.11, and
Windows for Workgroups 3.11. To enable this support, simply run the "32-Bit Disk Access" utility (FASTSCSI.EXE), and follow the instructions. Please note the following:
Our 32-Bit Disk Access device drivers only support Adaptec's busmastering line of SCSI host adapters and Adaptec's AIC-6360/6370 based SCSI host adapters. These host adapters use the following ASPI managers:
ASPI2DOS.SYS
ASPI4DOS.SYS
ASPI7DOS.SYS
ASPI8DOS.SYS
ASPIEDOS.SYS
If your host adapter does not use one of these ASPI managers, our 32-Bit Disk Access utility will still allow you to enable or disable SCSI write caching.
If you are running Windows for Workgroups 3.11, and you are not able to get 32-Bit File Access to work properly, the following comes from Microsoft's Windows for Workgroups resource kit:
"32-bit File Access will not enable on a drive on which there are open files during the initialization process of 32-bit File Access. Because of this, 32-bit file access cannot be enabled through the Control Panel Virtual Memory dialog when using a temporary swap file. The temporary swap file is opened before 32-bit File Access initializes and 32-bit File Access will not be able to enable on the drive where the temporary swap file is located. There normally should not be any open files at the time when 32-bit File Access is initializing. If there are open files, they are probably the result of some real mode TSR or a 3rd-party VxD."
When 32-Bit Disk Access is enabled, you need to have the latest WINASPI.DLL file in your Windows' SYSTEM subdirectory. If an older revision is being used, you will experience protection faults when running "ASPI for Windows" applications. EZ-SCSI 3.11 (and later) will automatically install the correct WINASPI.DLL file. There are, however, a few older packages that install the older WINASPI.DLL file. If you are experiencing protection faults, while running "ASPI for Windows" applications, you should check the date of WINASPI.DLL in your Windows' SYSTEM subdirectory. If it is dated 1995 or later, you have the correct file.
32-Bit Disk Access, in general, does not significantly improve performance under Windows 3.1 or Windows 3.11. To get optimal disk performance, you should use Windows for Workgroups 3.11 which, in addition to 32-Bit Disk Access, includes support for 32-Bit File Access. We are seeing the larger performance gains by enabling 32-Bit Disk Access, 32-Bit File Access, and SCSI write caching.
Our 32-Bit Disk Access driver cannot be used if you are also using our SCSI Power Management driver. If you attempt to load both drivers, an appropriate error message will appear when you run Windows. If you encounter this message, and if you prefer 32-Bit Disk Access over SCSI Power Management, simply run Adaptec's 32-Bit Disk Access utility and select the "Install" option. It will detect the conflict and remove the SCSI power management device driver.
32-Bit Disk Access only supports drives under BIOS control (INT 13h drives). This does NOT include drives under the control of ASPIDISK.SYS. Most of our SCSI host adapters allow you to have up to 8 SCSI drives under BIOS control.
There is a known problem in Windows 3.1 and Windows 3.11 (does not affect Windows for Workgroups 3.11) in that its 32-Bit Disk Access solution only supports up to two hard drives. For example, if you have three hard drives under BIOS control, only the first two would be under 32-Bit Disk Access. If you encounter this situation, you can upgrade to Windows for Workgroups 3.11 which does not exhibit this limitation.
Adaptec's 32-Bit Disk Access utility provides an uninstall option that will remove our 32-Bit device drivers. If you would like to manually remove the drivers, remove the following entries from the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file:
device=fastscsi.386 device=aha1540.386
device=aha1740.386
device=aic7770.386
device=aic7870.386
device=aic6x60.386
(NOTE: Not all of these drivers will be present in your SYSTEM.INI file. Depends on what type of host adapter you have.)
Enabling SCSI write caching can improve the overall performance of your system. Many SCSI hard drives ship factory default with SCSI write caching disabled. Our 32-Bit Disk Access utility will allow you to enable or disable SCSI write caching on a per device basis. We have found a few older drives causing system hangs, under intense disk I/O, when write caching is enabled. In the unlikely event that you encounter this situation, you can disable SCSI write caching at any time by running our 32-Bit Disk Access utility.
On some systems, when you enable 32-Bit Disk Access, Windows' Control Panel incorrectly loads the IDE 32-Bit Disk Access driver even if you only have SCSI disk drives. This will typically result in an error message, while loading Windows, similar to the following:
"The Microsoft Windows 32-bit disk driver (WDCTRL) cannot be loaded on this computer because of interrupt conflicts."
If you encounter this, simply remove the line "device=*wdctrl" from the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file. Another option is to run our 32-Bit Disk Access utility. It will detect that your configuration is incorrectly loading the IDE device driver and ask if you would like us to remove it.
For the technical user: If you select to turn on SCSI write caching, we will also turn on the AWRE (Automatic Write Reallocation Enabled) bit in the Read/Write Error Recovery Page. If you select to turn off SCSI write caching, the AWRE bit is set back to the factory default setting (some drives ship factory default with AWRE set).
If you have an AVA-2825 or AHA-1520A/1522A, with BIOS support for floptical drives enabled, and you have a floptical drive connected to your system, 32-Bit Disk Access is not supported under Windows 3.1/3.11.
