• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Bios doesn't recognize SCSI drive

C

crazeinc

Member
I installed a SCSI card and 50g SCSI drive after taking out the existing IDE hard drive. Knoppix found the drive no problem, and when I installed FreeBSD (booted by CD) it found the drive and the OS is installed on it. But when I try to boot the OS off the drive, the BIOS isn't recognizing it. I've never really worked with SCSI before so I'm not sure if I'm missing something simple. I know the card and drive work because my buddy used them in his computer without a problem. The SCSI card has 2 slots for the cable and I've tried them both without any luck.
 
In order for the scsi drive to be bootable, you not only have to change the boot order to scsi first, but also make sure the scsi id on the drive is set to 0.

You should be able to tell what id the scsi drive is when it boots up.
 
The boot order is CD-ROM , Legacy Floppy, Onboard ATA100 Boot Device/SCSI, IDE hard drive (disabled)

When pri master, pri slave, sec master, sec slave auto-dectect, the only thing that comes up is the CD drive.
 
To boot from a SCSI hard drive, the SCSI adapter has to have its own BIOS, the BIOS on the scsi adapter needs to be enabled. You have to then reboot and during boot you should see the SCSI adapter's BIOS sign-on and it should tell you what keys to press to enter the card's setup utility. Then you have to adjust the adapter setup and the drive setup (usually at least two steps in the adapter setup utility - set the card settings and the drive settings) to your situation by the adapter's instructions. If you don't have instructions, go the the mfr's web site and download them.
. Here is a site for more good SCSI info: http://www.scsifaq.org .

.bh.

:moon:
 
what scsi card are you using? you need to make sure that the boot device in the scsi bios (not mobo) is set to the ID that your drive is assigned to. this id does NOT need to be 0 as jojo suggested.
 
Sometimes it's a jumper on the card and sometimes it's a special key pattern to press during boot. Download the card's manual for correct info.
.bh.

:moon:
 
Here's the info off the bios chip

LSI symbios 53C896

There's 4 places to put jumpers on the board. E1-E4. E2-E4 have jumpers on them, E1 does not.
 
Originally posted by: GOSHARKS
what scsi card are you using? you need to make sure that the boot device in the scsi bios (not mobo) is set to the ID that your drive is assigned to. this id does NOT need to be 0 as jojo suggested.
Click to expand...

The SCSI controller (card) is usually having id 0
 
Look around on the card and see if you can find a number like this: LSI22910 or SYM22910. I think it is the same as the LSI22910 and you can get docs/drivers/BIOS updates on the LSI Logic site I linked above.
.bh.
 
Here we go, I didn't find anything in that PDF, but I found this in the firmware readme:

You can see the version number of the SCSI BIOS in a banner displayed on
your computer monitor during boot. If the utility is available, this message
also appears on your monitor:

Press Ctrl-C to start LSI Logic Configuration Utility...

This message remains on your screen for about five seconds, giving you time
to start the utility. If you decide to press "Ctrl-C", the message changes
to:

Please wait, invoking LSI Logic Configuration Utility...

After a brief pause, your computer monitor displays the Main menu of the
SDMS PCI SCSI BIOS Configuration Utility.

To make changes with this menu driven utility, one or more SDMS SCSI host
adapters must have NonVolatile Random Access Memory (NVRAM) to store the
changes.

These messages may appear during the boot process:

1. "Adapter removed from boot order, parameters will be updated accordingly"
appears when an adapter is removed from the system or relocated behind a
PCI bridge.

2. "Configuration data invalid, saving default configuration!" appears
if none of the information in the NVRAM is valid.

3. "Found SCSI Controller not in following Boot Order List, to Add: Press
Ctrl-C to start LSI Logic Configuration Utility..." or "Adapter
configuration may have changed, reconfiguration is suggested!" coul appear
when fewer than four adapters are in the boot order and adapters exist in
the system which are not in the boot order.


Unfortunately, I don't see anything of those "Press Ctrl+c" lines, so I'm wondering if there's an IRQ problem.
 
Originally posted by: GOSHARKS
this id does NOT need to be 0 as jojo suggested.
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that he wanted to make the scsi drive BOOTABLE, and thus, my instructions were correct. Crazeinc, is this scsi drive going to be bootable or just a "storage" drive?

As far as the computer not detecting the scsi card, try a different pci slot.
 
Originally posted by: Jojo7
Originally posted by: GOSHARKS
this id does NOT need to be 0 as jojo suggested.
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that he wanted to make the scsi drive BOOTABLE, and thus, my instructions were correct. Crazeinc, is this scsi drive going to be bootable or just a "storage" drive?

As far as the computer not detecting the scsi card, try a different pci slot.
Click to expand...

It does not HAVE to be 0 to boot. You just would have to go into the controller and tell it which device it shoudl try to boot from first. It's just much easier to set it as 0 and be done with it.
 
Actually, if the user has disabled the BIOS (which apparently can be done within the acapter setup) you use either Ctrl-A (firmware 4.0) or Ctrl-E (firmware 4.04 and up) to get into the adapter setup utility.
.bh.
 
Originally posted by: Jojo7
Originally posted by: GOSHARKS
this id does NOT need to be 0 as jojo suggested.
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that he wanted to make the scsi drive BOOTABLE, and thus, my instructions were correct. Crazeinc, is this scsi drive going to be bootable or just a "storage" drive?

As far as the computer not detecting the scsi card, try a different pci slot.
Click to expand...

i'm trying to make it bootable, but my computer just doesn't want to "see" this card for some reason. I've tried different pci slots.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top