Device Management

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This section includes problems that might occur with SCSI devices.

A SCSI device fails to work.

The SCSI and CD-ROM support built into Windows 2000 Professional requires that CD-ROM drives provide SCSI parity to function properly. For many drives, this is a configurable option or is active by default.

If you have trouble with a SCSI drive, make sure the SCSI bus is set up properly (refer to your hardware documentation for specific details).

In some cases, adding or removing a SCSI adapter might prevent your computer from starting correctly. Check the following:

  • The ends of the SCSI bus must have terminating resistor packs (also called terminators ) installed.
    If you have only internal or only external SCSI devices, the ends of the bus are probably the SCSI adapter and the last device on the cable. If you have both internal and external SCSI devices, the adapter is probably in the middle of the bus and must not have terminators installed. If you disconnect a device that has terminators installed (such as an external CD-ROM drive), be sure to install terminators on whatever device then becomes the last one on the bus. One of the devices on the SCSI bus (usually the adapter) needs to be configured to provide termination power to the bus.
    Windows 2000 Professional supports as many internal and external SCSI devices as the SCSI controller supports. In addition to the requirement that the last external and the last internal SCSI device be terminated, some hardware has additional requirements for where it must be placed in the SCSI chain.

  • Removable media must be mounted on the drive before running Setup.
    If you have a SCSI removable media device, such as a cartridge drive, make sure the media is mounted on the drive before running Setup. If no media is mounted on the drive, errors might occur during Setup that prevent installation of Windows 2000 Professional.

Setup does not recognize the correct SCSI CD-ROM drive.

Windows 2000 Professional Setup can recognize multiple CD-ROM drives connected to the same SCSI host adapter. Therefore, if it does not recognize one of the CD-ROM drives, there is a hardware problem. For example, it might be caused by a legacy adapter with more than one device with the same SCSI ID.

Some drivers that are supported in Windows NT 4.0 do not work under Windows 2000. Also, devices that use microchannel architecture are not supported for use with Windows 2000.