AST RESEARCH, INC.        TECHNICAL BULLETIN # 1719          05/27/97 
 
 
 
TITLE:  Poor Disk Performance on the DPT PM3224
 
 
ISSUE 
 
   The DPT PM3224 SCSI Controller performs below typical performance 
   expectations in the Manhattan P/V/S/ and CommercePro, resulting 
   in an overall performance degradation of the system.
   
   This issue applies to the following systems: 501502, 501503, 
   501830, 501832 and 503076.    

 
BACKGROUND 
 
   N/A    

 
ACTION 
 
   To resolve the issue, upgrade the BIOS and firmware on the DPT 
   controller to v3.DS/7H7.
      
   WARNING: AST highly recommends that all system drives be 
   backed-up prior to upgrading the DPT BIOS and firmware. 
      
   The BIOS and firmware on the PM3224 are not "flashable"; 
   therefore, you must replace the EPROM.
      
   Contact an AST Authorized Service Center and request a 
   replacement DPT SCSI Controller with BIOS v3.DS and firmware 
   v7H7.
   
   The replacement part numbers are:
   
   234067-004 for system P/Ns 501502, 501503, and 501830.
   
   234440-005 for system P/Ns 501832, 503076.
      
   NOTE: DPT BIOS v3.DS requires a newer version of the DPTDDL.SYS 
   driver for DOS. Storage Manager v1.kn contains the new DPTDDL.SYS 
   driver for BIOS v3.DS. This driver is contained in the following 
   files:
      
         12794037.EXE
         12794038.EXE
         12794039.EXE
         12794310.EXE
      
   The files mentioned above are available from any of AST's 
   On-Line! services as follows:
      
         AST WWW Site:  http://www.ast.com
         AST On-Line! BBS*:  See IB0001.TXT
         CompuServe:  GO: ASTFORUM
         Prodigy:   JUMP: ASTSUPPORT
      
         * Refer to IB0001.TXT for a list of AST's 
           international BBS numbers.
      
   To decompress this file, create a temporary directory 
   on your hard drive, copy the downloaded file to that 
   directory, and run the file. 
      
      
   AST recommends that all DPT SCSI drivers be updated after 
   upgrading the DPT BIOS and firmware, regardless of operating 
   system used.
      
   For additional information, see Software Bulletin # 0308, which 
   is available on any of AST's On-Line! services.    

 
NOTES 
 
   N/A    

 
TAN 003300AC 
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------- 
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