AST RESEARCH, INC.        TECHNICAL BULLETIN # 1244          04/08/97 
 
 
 
TITLE:  Manhattan P/V Fails Windows NT 3.5 Inst
 
 
ISSUE 
 
   When Windows NT 3.51 is installed from the CD-ROM/floppy disk 
   package, the Windows NT 3.51 installation and setup programs may 
   fail on the Manhattan P/V servers.  The failure may exhibit 
   itself in three ways: 
   
   1. After the setup program has copied the three (3) setup disks, 
   and the system performs its first re-boot to load the operating 
   system, the system will hang at the Windows NT blue screen.  A 
   fatal error message warning will be displayed, indicating that a 
   hard disk error has occurred.
   
   2. During the copy of files from the third setup floppy, a 
   message will indicate that a number of files could not be copied.  
   The files will have *.DLL extensions.  If the user continues the 
   installation, by pressing the IGNORE button at each file copy 
   error, the installation will indicate that it has completed 
   successfully.  When the system reboots, it will give an error 
   indicating that GINA.DLL could not be found, and the Windows NT 
   blue screen will appear with a fatal error.
   
   3. During the setup portion of installation, when Windows NT 3.51 
   attempts to begin copying files to the hard disk, the system may 
   issue an error indicating that a hard disk could not be accessed.  
   The system will instruct the user that the installation has not 
   been successful.
   
   This issue affects the following systems: 501500, 501502, and 501503.
 

BACKGROUND 
 
   The issues are related to the manner in which Windows NT 3.51 
   reads the hard disk volume label from the hard drive.  When the 
   hard disk volume label is read from the drive, Windows NT 3.51 
   interprets the results as either an error condition or that no 
   hard drive is present in the system.
   
   This problem only appears when using the combination floppy and 
   CD-ROM based installation.    

 
ACTION 
 
   This issue has been reported to Microsoft. 
   A temporary workaround is available, and is documented below. The 
   workaround installs Windows NT 3.51 from the CD-ROM only. A 
   floppyless installation may be done from the standard Windows NT 
   3.51 CD-ROM.
   
   WORKAROUND - STEPS TO INSTALL WINDOWS NT 3.5 WITHOUT USING 
   FLOPPIES
   
   1. Boot from a DOS boot diskette, loading the NCR SCSI drivers in 
   the CONFIG.SYS file of the boot floppy. The NCR drivers are 
   necessary to access the CD-ROM drive attached to the NCR 
   controller.
   
   
   For Manhattan BIOS v1.13 and older, Load the NCR drivers (p/n 
   911283-311) for CD-ROM support in the following order:
   
   DOSCAM.SYS
   SCSIDISK.SYS
   CDROM.SYS /D:name
   ASPICAM.SYS
   
   name=name of CD-ROM drive (ex:drive1)
   
   These drivers are contained in the DOS subdirectory of the NCR 
   PCI SCSI device drivers diskette (p/n 911283-311).
   
   
   
   For Manhattan BIOS v1.14 and later, obtain the new drivers from 
   Symbios Logic for the 4.0 SDMS PCI SCSI chipset. 
      
   FAILURE TO USE THE UPDATED DRIVERS FOR BIOS V1.14 MAY RESULT IN 
   CORRUPTION OR LOSS OF DATA.
      
   Load the NCR drivers for CD-ROM support in the following order:
   
   ASPI8XX.SYS
   SYMDISK.SYS
   SYMCD.SYS /D:name
   
   These drivers are available at the Symbios Logic website in the 
   following location:
            
      ftp://www.symbios.com/pub/symchips/scsi/drivers/
             
      and Symbios Logic's BBS at (719) 533-7235. 
   
   
   
   2. The following DOS file must also be in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file 
   of the boot disk: 
   MSCDEX /D:name
   name=name of CD-ROM drive. Name must match name given in 
   CONFIG.SYS file entry for CDROM.SYS.
   
   The boot disk should also contain the following DOS files: 
   FDISK.EXE
   FORMAT.EXE
   
   3. Create a partition on the hard disk using the FDISK.EXE 
   program.  It is suggested that the boot partition for the first 
   Windows NT drive be 500MB or less.
   
   4. Format the partition.
   
   5. Change to the CD-ROM drive and change directories to i386.
   
   6. Type 
   
   WINNT /X /B
   
   This will perform a floppyless installation. It will correctly 
   sense the DPT (if installed) and NCR controllers at the 
   appropriate stage of the installation.
   
   This issue affects the following systems: 501500, 
   501502, and 501503.    

 
NOTES 
 
   N/A    

 
TAN N/A 
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------- 
The information in this data sheet is subject to change without  
notice. AST Research, Inc. shall not be liable for technical or  
editorial errors or omissions contained herein; nor for incidental or  
consequential damages resulting from the furnishing, performance,  
or use of this material. This material contains information protected  
by copyright. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form 
without prior written consent from AST Research, Inc.  
All rights reserved. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Revision 01