VL-IDE README File +=======================+ | Release Information | +=======================+ Device Driver Diskette...............................(Version 2.60) On this diskette you will find device drivers for the VL-IDE VL-Bus IDE Disk Controller. VLIDE.EXE (Version 1.10) is the installation utility. VLIDE.SYS (Version 2.20) is the driver for DOS. VLIDE.386 (Version 2.20) is the driver for Microsoft Windows 3.1. VLIDE.ADD (Version 2.10) is the driver for IBM OS/2 2.0 and 2.1 VLIDE310.DSK (Version 2.20) is the driver for Netware 386 3.10. VLIDE311.DSK (Version 2.20) is the driver for Netware 386 3.11. VLIDE401.DSK (Version 2.30) is the driver for Netware 386 4.01. VLIDE401.DDI is the installation information file for Netware 386 4.01. VLIDENT.SYS (Version 2.10) is the driver for Microsoft Windows NT 3.1. NTINS.BAT is the installation batch file for Windows NT 3.1. NTUNINS.BAT is the removal batch file for Windows NT 3.1. PTIREG.EXE is the internal utility for Windows NT 3.1. PTIUREG.EXE is the internal utility for Windows NT 3.1. CITURBO.EXE is the set mode utility for Windows NT 3.1. +===============================================+ | DOS Driver for VL-IDE VL-Bus IDE Controller | +===============================================+ Your VL-IDE disk controller needs the device drivers to take the advantage of the high performance 32-bit VL-Bus when running under assorted operating systems. The installation program "VLIDE.EXE" can install the DOS driver and Windows driver for you automatically (Please refer the VL-IDE Installation Guide for details). You may choose to install the driver manually as required. When you decide to install the driver manually, please follow the steps below: 1. Complete the installation steps from (1) to (7) which are described in the VL-IDE Installation Guide and boot to the DOS prompt. 2. Copy the driver VLIDE.SYS to your system in the appropriate path. 3. Add this following statement to your CONFIG.SYS file: device = [drive:][\path\] VLIDE.SYS [/F or /T] [/W] [/D0:n] [/D1:m] where [drive:] and [\path\] point to the directory that contains the the VLIDE.SYS file. The parameters F, T and W define the operating mode, and D0, n, D1, m define the speed settings of the attached hard drives. F : VL-IDE controller working in the Fast mode T : VL-IDE controller working in the Turbo mode (default operating mode) W : VL-IDE controller working 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 speed setting n : drive 0 speed from 0 to 7 D1 : drive 1 speed setting m : drive 1 speed from 0 to 7 Under Fast(F) mode, the VL-IDE disk controller supports 32-bit VL-Bus I/O. Under Turbo (T) mode, the VL-IDE not only supports 32-bit VL-Bus I/O 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 VL-IDE to run under the Turbo mode. When your system is brought up, the driver VLIDE.SYS will automatically issue an Identify Drive command to check if the attached IDE drive(s) support the read/write multiple commands. In the case your drive(s) does not support the read/write multiple commands, the VL-IDE disk controller will automatically be forced to run under 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: If the DOS driver VLIDE.SYS resides in the root directory of the drive C:. If you want your VL-IDE controller to run under TURBO mode, drive 0 speed 3, and drive 1 speed 5. Please add the following statement to the file CONFIG.SYS. device= c:\VLIDE.SYS /D0:3 /D1:5 Add the following statement if your VL-IDE controller has to run under the Fast mode: device= c:\VLIDE.SYS /f If the DOS driver is installed manually, you might have the following three 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, 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 parameter and the drive(s) attached can be found in the internal table of the DOS device 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(s), | | 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 table. It might appear when the drive(s) are brand new model for the device driver, or the device driver is copied from other PC's hard drive. The Installation Utility stands for the VLIDE.EXE. (c) HDD 0 setting: FAST Mode, Speed 5 by USER DEFINED SETTING HDD 1 setting: Turbo Mode, Speed 5 by USER DEFINED SETTING +------------------------------------------------------+ | Notice | | Please ensure the above setting is your preference. | | For better reliability and optimized performance | | 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 user defined parameter is entered with the DOS device driver. The Installation Utility stands for the VLIDE.EXE. +==========================================================+ | VL-IDE device driver for Microsoft Windows version 3.1 | +==========================================================+ The file VLIDE.386 is the Microsoft Windows 3.1 disk driver for the VL-IDE 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 will 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 (7) which are described in the VL-IDE Installation Guide, then follow the steps below: 1. Copy the driver VLIDE.386 to your system in the appropriate path. It is recommended that the driver VLIDE.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", you need to 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 "VLIDE.386". Add the following command lines in the [386Enh] section of the SYSTEM.INI file: device=[drive:][\path\]VLIDE.386 DisksAccessMode=[Fast or Turbo] [/W] [/D0:n] [/D1:m] The [drive:] and [\path\] point to the directory that contains VLIDE.386 file. Note that the setting must specify the full path of the device driver VLIDE.386. The setting of disk_access_mode specifies the disk access mode as follows: Fast : VL-IDE controller working in the Fast mode Turbo : VL-IDE controller working in the Turbo mode (default) W : VL-IDE controller working in the 16 bit data access mode (If motherboard CPU has a 16-bit external data bus. for example, IBM 486 SLC2....) D0 : drive 0 speed setting n : drive 0 speed from 0 to 7 D1 : drive 1 speed setting m : drive 1 speed from 0 to 7 Note : If no parameter is specified, the VL-IDE disk controller will be set to run under the default Turbo and 32 bit data access mode. Under Fast mode, the VL-IDE supports 32-bit VL-Bus IO. Under Turbo mode, the VL-IDE not only supports 32-bit VL-Bus IO, it also supports the 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: Not all IDE drives support the read/write multiple commands. Usually, you may set your VL-IDE to run under the Turbo mode. When your system is brought up, the driver VLIDE.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 VL-IDE controller will automatically be forced to run under the Fast mode. Note: Some IDE drives may not support the read/write multiple commands properly. If your VL-IDE disk controller can not access the attached drive(s) properly under the default Turbo mode, you have to specify the parameter explicitly as "Fast". +========================================================+ | Netware 3.xx & 4.01 disk driver for VL-IDE Controller | +========================================================+ It's assumed that you are familiar with Netware installation. If this is not the case, you may wish have someone else help check your work. Please follow the steps below to install the driver for Netware 3.10. Use VLIDE311.DSK (or VLIDE401.DSK) instead of VLIDE310.DSK in the following procedure when you are installing Netware 3.11 (or 4.01). Note that you don't need to load the ISADISK.DSK when you are installing the Netware driver for VL-IDE disk controller. 1. After you have installed the VL-IDE disk controller, bring up the Netware server until the prompt ":" appears on the screen. 2. Type the following command after the ":" prompt: :load VLIDE310 [/F or /T] [/W] [/D0:n] [/D1:m] port=1f0 int=e The parameters F, T and W define the operating mode. The parameters D0, n, D1 and m define the speed setting for the attached IDE drives. F : VL-IDE controller working in the Fast mode T : VL-IDE controller working in the Turbo mode (default operating mode) W : VL-IDE controller working in the 16 bit data access mode (If motherboard CPU has a 16-bit external data bus. for example, IBM 486 SLC2....) D0 : drive 0 speed setting n : drive 0 speed from 0 to 7 D1 : drive 1 speed setting m : drive 1 speed from 0 to 7 Usually, you do not need to enter any speed parameters during the installation process. Since when you execute the VLIDE.EXE to install the DOS driver, the device drivers for Netware are also reconfigured for the optimal speed setting. Note: If no operating mode parameter is specified, the VL-IDE controller will be set to run under the default Turbo and 32 bit data access mode. Under Fast(F) mode, the VL-IDE controller supports 32-bit VL-Bus IO. Under Turbo (T) mode, the VL-IDE controller not only supports 32-bit VL-Bus IO, it also supports the 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 VL-IDE controller to run under the Turbo mode. When your system is brought up, the driver 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 VL-IDE controller will automatically be forced to run under the Fast mode. Note: Some IDE drives may not support the read/write multiple commands properly. If your VL-IDE disk controller can not access the attached drive(s) properly under the default Turbo mode, you have to specify the parameter as "F" explicitly. +===========================================================+ | IBM OS/2 2.x disk driver for VL-IDE VL-Bus IDE Controller | +===========================================================+ VLIDE.ADD is the driver for IBM OS/2 2.0 and IBM OS/2 2.1. Your VL-IDE disk controller needs this device driver to take the advantage of the high performance 32-bit VL-Bus when running under OS/2. Please follow the steps below in installing the driver for the VL-IDE disk controller. 1. Install the OS/2 driver. Copy VLIDE.ADD to the OS2 directory of your system. Use a text editor to edit the CONFIG.SYS file. Add the following line: BASEDEV = VLIDE.ADD [/A:0 [/U:0 /SPEED:n] [/U:1 /SPEED:m]] Note: This line must not contain either drive or path information. parameters: A: adapter number U: drive number SPEED: drive speed setting n: speed of drive 0 from 0 to 15 m: speed of drive 1 from 0 to 15 Example: If you want your VL-IDE controller to run with drive 0 speed 3 and drive 1 speed 5. Please add the following statement to the file CONFIG.SYS. BASEDEV = VLIDE.ADD /A:0 /U:0 /SPEED:3 /U:1 /SPEED:5 2. Delete the "BASEDEV = IBM1S506.ADD" device setting. Delete the command line "BASEDEV = IBM1S506.ADD" from the CONFIG.SYS file, if it exists. 3. Reboot the system. +===================================================================+ | Microsoft Windows NT version 3.1 disk driver | | for VL-IDE Disk Controller | +===================================================================+ You only need this driver if you want to install TURBO mode under Windows NT. Please follow the steps below to install the driver. 1. Copy the following files to a formatted diskette: . VLIDENT.SYS . CITURBO.EXE . NTINS.BAT 2. Boot with Windows NT. 3. Insert the diskette into drive A:. 4. Type the following command in the "Command Prompt" window: A:\NTINS Then the driver will install automatically. ******** Changing Operating Mode ******* If you want to change the operating mode, please type the following command: CITURBO The following message will be shown on the screen to ask you which mode will be set: Will the controller be in TURBO or FAST mode (T/F)? (default=T) Please answer 'T' or 'F' for your setup. 5. After the changes have been made, please shutdown your windows NT. 6. Reboot your system. +=============================+ | 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.