LOAD disk driver


Why Use LOAD disk driver?

Use LOAD disk driver to establish communication between the operating system and the hard disk controllers installed in your file server.

During the initial operating system installation, LOAD disk driver links a driver with your hard disk controller. Afterwards, use it to link an updated driver to your controller or to link a driver to an additional hard disk controller.

IMPORTANT:  A conflict will occur if you have installed more than 16 MB of memory and the disk adapter board uses 16- or 24-bit DMA or Bus-Master DMA.

If a memory address conflict occurs, you can solve it by doing either of the following:

The following tasks are described in this section.

Task Page

Load a disk driver in an ISA (AT bus) computer

Load a Disk Driver in an ISA (AT Bus) Computer

Load a disk driver for the internal disk controller (microchannel)

Load a Disk Driver for the Internal Disk Controller (Microchannel)

Load a disk driver for a disk controller board (microchannel)

Load a Disk Driver for a Disk Controller Board (Microchannel)

Upgrade a disk driver

Upgrade a Disk Driver

Troubleshoot the host-bus-adapter driver

Troubleshooting the Host Bus Adapter Driver


Command Format

LOAD [path]disk_driver [driver_parameter...]


Command Parameters

Replace path with a full path to the directory containing the loadable module. Begin with a DOS drive letter or a NetWare volume name. If you do not specify a path and volume SYS: has been mounted, the operating system assumes that the loadable module is located in the SYS:SYSTEM directory. (Use SEARCH to set up additional paths for automatic searching.)

Replace disk_driver with the name of the disk driver for your disk controller. Those shipped with the operating system are found on System_2 diskette and are listed in Disk drivers included with the operating system.

All disk driver names end with a .DSK extension. Consult NetWire or your Novell Authorized Reseller for a list of other certified disk drivers and controller boards.

For a list of valid parameters for the drivers, see Driver Parameters.

Figure 18
Disk drivers included with the operating system


Additional Information

Since most controllers can be configured more than one way, you must specify parameters for the controller each time you load a disk driver. The drivers use the parameters to identify which controller they should link with. However, controllers that use the PS2ESDI disk driver or the PS2MFM disk driver do not need any parameters because they cannot be configured.

Record the configuration options for all disk coprocessor boards (adapters and controllers) on the "File Server Worksheet" in Installation and Upgrade.

Make sure the board settings do not conflict with other hardware settings in the computer. No other piece of hardware (COM ports, monitors, keyboards) can use the same I/O port or interrupt. (In a few cases, interrupts can be shared. If you configure hardware to share an interrupt, make sure that the hardware allows sharing.)

Drivers that can link with more than one configuration can be loaded more than once. These drivers either produce multiple copies of the driver code in memory or load re-entrantly.

When a driver loads re-entrantly, the operating system produces only one copy of the code in memory and allocates a small data block of memory each time the driver is loaded.


DriverParameters

Some drivers can read the information from the controller board installed in the file server. These types of drivers do not prompt you for any parameters. Other drivers must be told the configuration of the controller to find the controller in the file server.

Each parameter should have a unique value, different from any other boards installed in the file server. A few boards can share interrupts. Check the documentation that comes with the boards.

Each parameter is defined in this section. Following the definitions is a table for each driver which includes the supported parameters, the default value for the parameters, and all supported values. The PS2ESDI and PS2MFM drivers are not included because these drivers have no parameters.

You can enter parameters at the command line, (For configuration information, see the documentation that came with the controller board.) or you can let the operating system prompt you for them.

The driver parameters for each disk driver are unique. However, most drivers use one or more of the following:

DMA= number
INT= number
MEM= number
PORT= number
SLOT= number


DMA=number

Reserves a DMA channel for the driver.


INT=number

Reserves a hardware interrupt for the driver. The operating system uses hexadecimal values for the interrupts (10=A, 11=B, 12=C, 13=D, 14=E, 15=F).


MEM=number

Reserves a memory address for the driver.


PORT=number

Reserves an I/O port for the driver.


SLOT=number

Tells the operating system which board to link the driver to. This option is used with microchannel and bus master slots on EISA computers. The interrupts, memory addresses, and I/O ports are set with the reference diskette that comes with the computer.


DCB

The DCB driver can be loaded four times. When the driver is loaded more than once, the driver loads re-entrantly. You can specify any of the following DCB parameters.

Parameter Default Supported Values

PORT

340

320, 328, 340, 348, 380, 388

/s=0

 

/s=0

The /s=0 parameter is different from the PORT parameter. Use it the first time you load the DCB driver for a board that has been used with different hard disks and does not have current hard disk information. This speeds the load process.

You can then use DISKSET to edit the EEPROM information and add the current hard disks that are attached to the board.

Although the driver does not prompt you for an interrupt, the board uses an interrupt; the driver displays which interrupt it is using while the driver loads.


ISADISK

The ISADISK driver can be loaded twice. When the driver is loaded more than once, the driver loads re-entrantly. You can specify any of the following hexadecimal parameters.

Parameter Default Supported Values

INT

E

B, C, E, F

PORT

1F0

170, 1F0

The default settings are the standard values for an internal controller. Use the other supported values only if you are adding a secondary ISA adapter.


PS2SCSI

The PS2SCSI driver can be loaded four times. When the driver is loaded more than once, the driver loads re-entrantly. You can specify the following PS2SCSI parameter:

Parameter: SLOT
Default: None
Supported values: All available


Load a Disk Driver in an ISA (AT Bus) Computer

To load a disk driver in an ISA computer, complete the following steps.


Procedure

  1. Complete one of the following, depending on the type of controller you are loading a disk driver for:

    • If the controller is internal, boot the file server and skip to Step 2.

    • If the controller is a disk controller board, complete Steps 1a through 1f.

      NOTE:  If you have already loaded a disk driver for a controller board and do not know its configuration, view the STARTUP.NCF file to obtain needed configuration information before downing the file server.

    1. Down the file server.

    2. Disconnect the power.

    3. Configure the board and install it in the file server.

      Follow the instructions in the documentation that came with the board. Record all configuration information on the "File Server Worksheet" in Installation and Upgrade.

    4. Connect the hard disks to the board.

    5. Connect the power.

    6. Run the appropriate setup program.

  2. Insert a working copy of the NetWare System_2 diskette into drive A:.

  3. Load the disk driver at the command line with or without parameters.

    • Without driver parameters. To load the ISADISK driver, for example, type

      LOAD A:ISADISK <Enter>

      Answer the configuration prompts.

      NOTE:  You can only select options that do not conflict with previously loaded drivers (LAN and disk). To change a default parameter, type in the number that matches your board's configuration.

    • With driver parameters. To load the DCB driver, for example, type

      LOAD A:DCB PORT=320 <Enter>

      NOTE:  The driver loads only if the parameters match the board's configuration and do not conflict with already loaded LAN and disk drivers.

      If you have set the board to a conflicting configuration, you must down the file server, remove the board, and reconfigure the board.

  4. Edit the STARTUP.NCF file by adding the command to load the disk driver.

    For example, to load the DCB driver with an I/O port of 320, you would add the following line to the file:

    LOAD DCB PORT=320

    See Edit the STARTUP.NCF File for more information.

  5. Copy the disk driver file from the System_2 diskette to the file server's boot directory.

    Use RCONSOLE to copy the file.


Load a Disk Driver for the Internal Disk Controller (Microchannel)

A microchannel computer can have three types of internal controllers: ESDI, MFM, and SCSI. Use the reference diskette that came with the computer to determine the type of controller installed in your computer.

The following steps explain how to load the PS2ESDI and PS2MFM drivers. If you have a SCSI controller, see Load a Disk Driver for a Disk Controller Board (Microchannel).


Procedure

  1. Boot the file server with DOS.

  2. Run SERVER.

  3. Enter the file server's name and internal network number.

    NOTE:  See Chapter 2, "Install the File Server Software," in Installation and Upgrade for more information about Steps 1 through 3.

  4. Insert a working copy of the System_2 diskette into drive A: of the file server.

  5. Load a driver.

    To load the PS2ESDI driver, for example, type

    LOAD A:PS2ESDI <Enter>

  6. Edit the STARTUP.NCF file by adding the command to load the disk driver.

    For example, add the following line to the file for the PS2ESDI driver:

    LOAD PS2ESDI

    See Edit the STARTUP.NCF File for more information.

  7. Copy the disk driver file from the System_2 diskette to the file server's boot directory.

    Use RCONSOLE to copy the file.


Load a Disk Driver for a Disk Controller Board (Microchannel)

If the controller board comes with its own instructions, please follow them. Use the following instructions for loading the PS2SCSI driver.

To load a disk driver for a controller board installed in a microchannel computer, complete the following steps.


Procedure

  1. Down the file server.

  2. Disconnect the power.

  3. Install the board in the file server.

  4. Connect the hard drives to the board.

  5. Copy the configuration file to the reference or setup diskette for the microchannel computer.

    The configuration file is usually an .ADF file on the diskette that came with the board.

  6. Connect the power.

  7. Complete one of the following:

    • If the controller board came with a setup program, run the setup program to select the hard disks. Then boot the file server and continue with Step 8.
    • If the controller board uses DISKSET to select the hard disks, boot the file server. Then continue with Step 8. (You select the hard disks in Step 12.)

  8. Insert a working copy of the System_2 diskette into drive A:.

  9. The driver can be loaded at the command line with or without driver parameters.

    Complete one of the following options:

    • Load without driver parameters. To load the PS2SCSI driver, for example, type

      LOAD A:PS2SCSI <Enter>

      Enter the slot number for the board.

    • Load with driver parameters. To load the PS2SCSI driver, for example, type

      LOAD A:PS2SCSI SLOT=4 <Enter>

  10. Edit the STARTUP.NCF file.

    See Edit the STARTUP.NCF File.

  11. Add the command to load the disk driver.

    For example, to load the PS2SCSI driver (installed in slot 4), add the following line to the file: LOAD PS2SCSI SLOT=4

  12. Copy the disk driver file from the System_2 diskette to the file server's boot directory.

    Use RCONSOLE to copy the file.

  13. If the controller board uses DISKSET to select the hard disks, load DISKSET.

    For instructions on selecting the hard disks, see DISKSET.


Upgrade a Disk Driver


Procedure

  1. Determine the current configuration information for the disk driver being upgraded.

    View the STARTUP.NCF file in Edit the STARTUP.NCF File.

  2. Dismount all volumes stored on the hard disks connected to the controller board by typing

    DISMOUNT volume_name <Enter>

    Replace volume_name with the name of a volume on the hard disks. Repeat this step for all volumes stored on the hard disks.

    NOTE:  If you do not dismount all the volumes but still attempt to unload the disk driver, the operating system warns you that the driver is being used by mounted volumes and lists the volumes that are using the driver.

    If you override the warning and unload the disk driver without dismounting the volumes, the file server automatically dismounts all volumes that are using the disk driver. Users who are logged in receive the following message:

    Volume "volume_name" dismounted due to drive deactivation.

  3. Unload the disk driver.

    For example, to unload the ISADISK driver, type

    UNLOAD ISADISK <Enter>

  4. Load the updated driver.

    For example, to load the ISADISK driver from a diskette into drive A:, type

    LOAD A:ISADISK <Enter>

    NOTE:  If DOS has been removed with the SECURE CONSOLE or REMOVE DOS command, you cannot load the driver from drive A:. You have to copy the driver to the SYS:SYSTEM directory.

  5. Remount the volumes.

    See MOUNT.

  6. Copy the updated driver to the directory containing the file server boot files.

    Either down the file server or use RCONSOLE.


Troubleshooting the Host Bus Adapter Driver

Certain Host Bus Adapter (HBA) drivers reserve memory addresses between 14 MB and 16 MB. These addresses may conflict with (and corrupt) system memory if you have more than 14 MB installed. If this happens, you must remove the system memory or, if the server is an EISA machine, configure the conflicting addresses out of system memory. See the documentation that comes with your disk driver for address ranges.

The HBA cannot load unless the hard disks and controllers have been addressed, terminated, and configured properly.

The disk subsystem power must also be turned on. If the HBA driver fails to load, check the following: