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Chapter 8. Operating Systems pre-requisite PCI updates
Most current operating systems are not 'PCI aware'. So, the
device drivers for the Auto LANStreamer PCI are written to the
PCI architected BIOS, or register level interfaces.
Please check with your Operating System supplier for the
latest information on any required updates to support PCI
adapters.
OS/2:
----
Under OS/2 the PCI BIOS is not available, so the Auto
LANStreamer PCI device driver accesses the PCI hardware
directly.
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Currently OS/2 does not allow interrupt sharing among PCI
adapters. OS/2 is not PCI aware, it handles PCI interrupts as ISA
interrupts. If each PCI device has its own interrupt, this is not
a problem.
If PCI devices do share interrupts, then only the first device
driver to load will get access to the interrupt. The symptom is
that for each shared interrupt, devices after the first one will
fail to initialize due to the interrupt duplication.
An update to the OS2 loader module is available that is PCI
aware, and fixes this problem. Refer to APAR PJ14230.
Future versions of OS/2 such as 'OS/2 Warp Version 3' are PCI aware,
and do not require this update.
-----------------
Refer to Chapter 1 for the PCI IDE hard disk controller problem.
The relevant APARs are: PJ14710, and PJ15378.
Novell Netware:
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Under Netware the PCI BIOS is not available, so the Auto
LANStreamer PCI device driver accesses the PCI hardware
directly.
Although Netware is not PCI aware, vendors have been supplying
the device drivers for PCI disk and LAN adapters that provide
for interrupt sharing among PCI devices. The Auto LANStreamer
PCI Netware device driver allows for interrupt sharing. Check
with the supplier(s) of your other PCI adapters to determine if
you need an updated device driver to support PCI interrupt
sharing.
-----------------
The PCI SCSI adapter shipped with the IBM model 8640 requires
a device driver update to support interrupt sharing with other
PCI devices. This is available on the BBS listed above.
-----------------
In some cases in which multiple PCI adapters share interrupts,
Netware will generate a 'Spurious Interrupt Received' message
under heavy load. These messages should not occur, but they do
not necessarily mean that the system is not operating correctly.
The problem could be in one of the adapters, one of its device
drivers, or in the system's interrupt handling hardware.
Most commonly, we have found the root problem to be within the
system's interrupt handling hardware. The simplest correction
is to give each adapter its own interrupt line.
If your system is running properly, and you wish to suppress
this message, the command is:
Set Display Spurious Interrupt Alert = OFF
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A failure has been observed on an 8460-0PT system. When loading
an NLM from the DOS partition (C:\) of the hard disk that also
contains the Netware partition (SYS:) the system may 'hang'
with the hard drive activity light on.
The problem only occurs when the hard drive and LAN adapter
share the same interrupt, and the LAN is active.
A fix is not yet available for this problem. It is believed
that the problem can occur on any system in which the disk
controller shares an interrupt with another device.
The problem can be avoided by installing all NLMs and other
related files onto the Netware partition; or, Load all required
NLMs prior to starting the LAN connection (before 'BIND IPX to...')
No problem has been observed accessing files on the diskette
drive.
Windows NT:
----------
Under Windows NT the PCI BIOS is not available, so the Auto
LANStreamer PCI device driver accesses the PCI hardware
directly. Windows NT version 3.5 is PCI aware, and provides
support for PCI within the Operating System. Version 3.1 is
not PCI aware.
Although Windows NT 3.1 is not PCI aware, vendors have been
supplying the device drivers for PCI disk and LAN adapters that
provide for interrupt sharing among PCI devices. The Auto
LANStreamer PCI Windows NT device driver allows for interrupt
sharing. Check with the supplier(s) of your other PCI adapters
to determine if you need an updated device driver to support PCI
interrupt sharing.
MS DOS, IBM DOS, DR DOS, Windows, and Windows for Workgroups:
------------------------------------------------------------
Under DOS, the Auto LANStreamer PCI device drivers use the PCI
BIOS to access the adapter.
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The Auto LANStreamer PCI adapter's device drivers for DOS will
occasionally hang, or re-boot the system if an early level of
EMM386 is active in the system.
EMM386 must be at Release level 4.49 or higher when utilizing
32-bit accesses to PCI BIOS, or ISA Plug and Play BIOS.
If you use the Auto LANStreamer PCI adapter with an older level
of EMM386, your system may hang immediately when the adapter's
device driver is loaded, or at some time later during operation
of the adapter.
Contact your operating system supplier, or Microsoft for
information on obtaining an updated EMM386 driver.
The latest EMM386 is available on Microsoft's BBS system.
-WGH
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