Vision

We currently have no plans on developing support for BeOS. However if we decide to change our objectives, we will make an announcement on our website.

What are the maximum bus lengths for the various types of SCSI?

Bus length is defined as the distance between the first and last device on the bus.

SCSI 18ft (6M)

Fast SCSI 9ft (3M)

Ultra SCSI 4.5ft (1.5M) > 4 devices

Ultra SCSI 9ft (3M) < 4 devices

Ultra2 SCSI 36ft (12M)

Utlra2 Wide 75ft (25M) point to point

Are Initio INI-9100/9100W host adapters supported under Windows 2000?

The INI-9100/9100w host adapter series was discontinued about 2 years before Windows 2000 was developed. All driver and bios development for these adapters was discontinued at that time. There is no support for the INI-9100/9100W series of SCSI adapters under Windows 2000.

Our current product line consisting of the INI-9100U, INI-9100A, INI-9100U/UW, INI-9200U/UW and INI9400U/UW are supported under WIN2000 with the drivers being embedded on the WIN2000 CD

How can I perform a fresh install of Windows 98 using the boot disk included in the Win 98 Package?

Since the Initio drivers are not included on the installation boot diskette for Win 98, the DOS drivers must be added to the Windows 98 Boot Disk. To do this perform the following steps:

Make a copy of the Windows 98 Boot Disk included with the Windows 98 package

Copy the following files to the root of the boot disk from the DOS directory of the Initio driver diskette
ASPI910U.SYS
INICD.SYS

Edit the config.sys file and add the following lines at the end of the [SETUP_CD] header
device=aspi910u.sys
device=inicd.sys /D:mscd001

Once these steps have been done reboot the system with the newly created boot disk, and continue the installation as described in the your Windows 98 User’s Guide.

What is the difference between LVD SCSI (Low Voltage Differential) and SE SCSI (Single Ended)?

SE SCSI signaling is based on a voltage change, where as LVD SCSI signaling is based on a difference of voltage between two wires.

When I low level format my hard drive I get an error message and the format aborts. What is causing this to happen?

This can be caused by either the drive not being ready or a bad hard drive.
If the hard drive is listed in black lettering when a bus scan is performed the drive is not ready. This can be fixed by setting the Spin up drive to yes in the SmartSCSI utility.

If the drive is ready, or the error message appears after the format has begun your drive is bad.

When a low level format is perform a single command is sent to the hard drive and the drive performs the format. The drive returns a command when completed, or if there is an error.

How should termination be set?

The two devices at the ends of the SCSI bus need to be terminated.

The red typeface indicates what device should be terminated:

Device----Device----SCSI Card-----Device----Device
SCSI Card------Device-----Device

When do I need to set high byte and low byte termination on my SCSI controller card and why?

High byte and low byte termination is used when mixing 8 bit and 16 bit SCSI devices in the following set up:

The red indicates termination. If termination were set to off then the high byte would not be terminated on the controller card, making it a invalid setup, since termination should be set on for high byte and low byte at each end of the bus. A similar circumstance would occur if termination were set to on. In that case the low byte would have three points of termination, making it an invalid setup.

What is active / passive termination and when do I use either type?

There are two different types of termination when dealing with Single Ended SCSI. Active termination is powered termination, where passive does not have any power. When using Ultra SCSI the required termination is active termination. Passive termination can be used for a non-Ultra SCSI bus, but Active termination is always recommended on either type.

Why is my device not transferring data at the maximum speed of the SCSI controller card?

The maximum transfer rate achievable is determined by the devices maximum sustained transfer rate. This number should be listed in the device’s documentation. The bus speed is a bandwidth number. In other word it is the maximum amount of data that can be transferred across the bus without any delays due to the SCSI bus being too busy. For example; if you have one hard drive that transfers data at 10Mb/Sec then there is only 10/Mb/sec being transferred across the bus. If, however, you have two drives both transferring data, then there would be 20Mb/Sec transferring across the SCSI bus.

A year ago, I purchased your INI-9100UW (I/OSPEEDWAY) SCSI Card for my Windows PC. Just recently, I migrated over to MacOS compatible systems. I would like to know if it is possible to interchange the INI-9100UW (I/OSPEEDWAY) with the MacOS version of the INI-9100UW (Miles)?

You cannot. Although both models have similar functions as well as similar connectors, there are distinct differences in the hardware and software. This answer also applies to those users who wish to use Miles with a Windows PC-based system.

Can I use all three connectors at the same time?

No. Only two of the connectors can be used at the same time. This applies for channel A of Initio’s multi-channel cards.

I have a system with an existing SCSI bus, from which I boot. I installed an Initio SCSI card and attached my new hard drive to it. Now when I try to boot the system, The drive on the Initio adapter is assigned C: and I get the error message "inaccessible boot device". How can I fix this?

Swap PCI slots between the two SCSI adapters. When the PCI bus is scanned the first SCSI adapter will be the boot adapter. The slots are scanned either left to right or right to left, depending on the motherboard.

I am a Windows for Workgroups user (or NetWare, OS/2, Unix, etc...). If I change to your INI-9100 adapter, will I run into any problems?

You will not have any problems. Simply install the driver device from installation diskettes provided and your new system is ready to run your operating system. Initio currently supports MS-DOS, Windows 3.1 & 3.1x, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 3.5 & 4.0, OS/2 3.0/4.0, Netware 3.1x & 4.xx, SCO Unix, and UnixWare 1.1 and 2.0. You can obtain any updates to the drivers from Initio's Software Download section of this website.

What is Plug & Play?

Plug & Play is a functional protocol implemented in the adapter, system BIOS and operating system level to automatically resolve any conflicts that may arise from different add-on cards. A Plug & Play card has no jumpers or switches and can automatically detect the premium and adjust different interrupts and DMA channels for device addressing. This revolutionary protocol not only reduces the confusion when configuring different products, but lowers the cost of supporting the product.

If I have a SCSI bus populated with Ultra devices. Will the bus still run at Ultra speeds if I connect a non-Ultra device?

This depends on the device’s features. If the non-ultra device supports disconnect/ reconnect and it is enabled then the ultra devices will transfer data at ultra speeds. If, however, the device does not support disconnect/ reconnect then the SCSI bus will not transfer at ultra speeds.

When my system boots up my hard drives are not recognized. What could be causing this?

This is usually caused by the drives not spinning up. This can be verified by scanning the bus using the Smart SCSI utility. If the drive is listed in black/ gray lettering it is not spun up or ready. To fix set Spin Up to yes for the associated ID in Smart SCSI. If the drive is ready it will be displayed in green.

I have installed my INI-9XXXU/UW, but the system does not see it (the Initio banner does not appear) What is wrong?

This may be due to the following: Bad PCI slot, PCI slot is not a Bus Mastering or a conflicting IRQ. Place the card in a different slot and check the Mother board documentation to determine if the PCI slot is Bus Mastering. If a conflicting IRQ is suspected, then check the availability of IRQs in the system BIOS (CMOS) and set accordingly.

What are the differences between your INI-9090U model and your INI-9100U model of host adapters?

The INI-9090U is intended to be sold as a bundle; the INI-9100U is intended to be sold as a complete kit and is packaged under the name "I/OSPEEDWAY."

I'm familiar with the VL-bus, but what is PCI? Why would I want to use a PCI adapter instead of VL adapter?

PCI stands for Peripheral Component Interconnect and is a well defined local bus standard developed by Intel to take the full advantage of the increasing speed and power of microprocessors. The VL-bus is defined by the VESA standards committee but has never been standardized; thus, the VL-bus has always been plagued with compatibility issues. The VL-bus is tied to the processor speed, and is limited in the number of slots supporting bus master mode. It can only support up to 32-bit processing. PCI, on the other hand, can support up to 4 bus master slots, deliver 132MB/sec. performance on 32-bit applications and bus speed is set at 33 Mhz regardless of the CPU speed. PCI can simply deliver more performance, better compatibility and far more reliable than the VL-bus.

What is SCSI? I am currently using an IDE/E-IDE drive, they seem to be working fine, why on earth would I want to switch to SCSI?

SCSI stands for Small Computer System Interface. SCSI was developed in the late 1980's as an answer to the higher demands for performance and compatibility on storage subsystems. It is now the standard by which all other interfaces are judged. IDE/E-IDE uses a common PIO (Programmed I/O) data transfer scheme. PIO is a single thread, single tasking scheme that prevents your system CPU from doing other useful work while data transfer is taking place. It means your CPU is spending 90% of its time waiting for the disk drive and data transfer to be completed instead of doing its real job of computing. If you were using simple, character-based programs in a single user environment, IDE/E-IDE does just fine, but for the multi-tasking user, or in a networking environment, or even the high demands of multimedia applications, SCSI's multi-threaded scheme avoids CPU wait time significantly increasing the storage subsystem's performance. Another advantage of SCSI is the fact that a single card can connect up to 7 peripherals, and up to 15 devices on Wide SCSI; E-IDE can only handle a maximum of 4 drives.

When I scan the bus, using SmartSCSI, no devices show or it hangs. How can I fix this?

This can be caused by several conditions. If there is more than one device, check for conflicting device IDs. Improper termination: check to verify that only the devices at the end of the SCSI bus are terminated. Bad cable: lower the maximum transfer rate for all IDs down to 10 MB/Sec. If the problem goes away, this indicates that it is a bad cable. Bus length too long, see Maximum Bus Lengths.

I cannot find any terminators on the board. What do I have to do to activate termination on adapter?

Initio host adapters utilize active termination technology to control termination within the on-board SmartSCSI Utility. This eliminates the need for switches and jumpers, thereby lowering your support costs.

I plan to add more hard drives to my current system; how many drives can I add? What about other drives or devices like a CD-ROM or tape drive?

You can add up to 7 devices on the INI-9XXXU UltraSCSI host adapters, and up to 15 devices on the INI-9XXXUW UltraWide SCSI host adapters. The devices can be any combination of hard drives, CD-ROM drives, tape drives, scanners, DAT drives, floptical drives, removable drives, magneto-optical drives, or printers--as long as the device supports a SCSI interface.

I already have an INI-9XXX host adapter in my system and I want to add an external SCSI CD-ROM drive (or tape drive, etc...), how do I do it?

Simply connect an external cable, terminate the drive, install any necessary device drivers, and you are ready to run your new peripheral. For addition installation instruction, feel free to download our User's Manual which can be found at our Product Documentations link.

What is Initio's warranty policy for its products?

We warrant to the original purchaser that the purchased product shall be free of defects in material and workmanship for a period of 1 year from date of purchase. Should this product, once it has been returned to Initio Corporation, prove to be defective, Initio will repair or replace the product free of charge.

Where is the board manufactured?

Initio currently assembles its products in the USA in a ISO-9002 certified facility.

I heard about this "Bus Master" function. What is "Bus Master" and how does it benefit me if I were to use such a type of adapter?

Bus master transfer allows the I/O Adapter to take control of the system bus and initiate data transfers while freeing the main processor to do other useful data processing. Overall performance of the system is greatly improved.

What is "Flashing my BIOS"? Can it help my host adapter perform better?

The BIOS/ Firmware stores the executable code that controlls the hardware. It is the interface between the driver and chips on the board. When you "Flash the BIOS" you are actually updating the executable code. Usually if the card is functioning properly the BIOS does not need to be flashed. Generally flashing the BIOS will not increase performance, but will usually solve compatability issues.