Adaptec 2940U2W

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October 30th, 2002, 11:51 AM
Kymera

Adaptec 2940U2W

I just got this SCSI controller card to replace an older one that had been messing up my CD-Burning. I figured I'd also get a couple 18gig 10k cheetahs for some video capture work I'll be doing. Anyway, the weird thing about this card is that it does not display the usually <i>SCSISelect</i> hit Crtl-A to Enter banner that I'm used to seeing. Anyway, it still shows up in the ESCD list and is autodetected by Win98 (once I get these drives in I'm moving to 2k finally), but I don't see the list of attached SCSI devices on boot, but they are accessible in windows. I need to know how to get into the <i>SCSISelect</i> utility so I can configure my device chain.
October 30th, 2002, 12:27 PM
Garak

Possible device conflict on boot? Is the card brand spanking new? I know a few people who in the past disabled the CTRL+A screen as they "thought it would speed up the boot process". This maybe the issue if you didn't buy it new.

Also, I would try CTRL+A when the machine is booting up just to see if the command is still enabled just not shown.

I have an Adeptec 2940UUW currently in the machine and it has the option to enable or disable the boot screen.

Good Luck.
October 30th, 2002, 12:53 PM
Kymera

That's the problem, I'm ctrl+A'ing my butt off with no luck. Is there another way in. Maybe flashing the BIOS will reset it? I didn't get it new, $30, so I took a chance.
October 30th, 2002, 01:53 PM
Garak

adaptec support

I'm working my way through the piles of garbage to see if theres a reset jumper or something.
October 30th, 2002, 03:38 PM
Kymera

I tried going through their ASK knowledgebase, but it is crap. They don't tell you how to reset to the defaults if the SCSISelect utility isn't available.
October 30th, 2002, 08:28 PM
Garak

well, i've been through the manual twice, and it says even when disabled, ctrl+a will work, I think it's just a matter of timeing..

Sorry :(
October 31st, 2002, 06:19 AM
confus-ed

Did you?

Quote:

Originally posted by Kymera
That's the problem, I'm ctrl+A'ing my butt off with no luck. Is there another way in. Maybe flashing the BIOS will reset it? I didn't get it new, $30, so I took a chance.

Flashing the bios almost (!?) certainly will let you.... you can use the same version as you have now if you prefer....
November 2nd, 2002, 08:44 PM
Kymera

I just tried flashing the bios and the damn thing would not recognize the fact that I have an Adaptec card installed. It may be a Compaq adaptec made card, but I can't find any Compaq, or any other 1st tier manufacturer, branding on it.
November 4th, 2002, 07:19 AM
confus-ed

Now you know why it was $30.....

Quote:

Originally posted by Kymera
.... It may be a Compaq adaptec made card, but I can't find any Compaq, or any other 1st tier manufacturer, branding on it.

No FCC ID? Real adaptec controllers allways have this even if they are 'branded'....or if not perhaps some pictures..?
November 4th, 2002, 12:06 PM
Kymera

There is an FCC ID branded on the board, but I meant more like a compaq logo on one of the chips or something similar. This is way too much of a hassle I think I'm just going to buy a Adaptec 19160, and put the 2940U2W out of its misery.
November 4th, 2002, 12:54 PM
Garak

Quote:

Originally posted by Kymera
There is an FCC ID branded on the board, but I meant more like a compaq logo on one of the chips or something similar. This is way too much of a hassle I think I'm just going to buy a Adaptec 19160, and put the 2940U2W out of its misery.

donate to save the geeks :D
November 4th, 2002, 04:03 PM
Kymera

Save the Geeks? Can I get a replacement UltraWide 2 card from that?
November 4th, 2002, 05:45 PM
Garak

Quote:

Originally posted by Kymera
Save the Geeks? Can I get a replacement UltraWide 2 card from that?

you never know, stranger things have happened...
November 4th, 2002, 08:16 PM
confus-ed

Quote:

Originally posted by Garak
you never know, stranger things have happened...

Such as .....? :D

They ain't gonna give you jack!

But they are gonna give me earache for sayin' that so I'll shut up now.....

Ooops! I'd better hide now https://forums.windrivers.com/
November 4th, 2002, 08:29 PM
Garak

Quote:

Originally posted by confus-ed
Such as .....? :D

They ain't gonna give you jack!

But they are gonna give me earache for sayin' that so I'll shut up now.....

Ooops! I'd better hide now https://forums.windrivers.com/

:bor: :flame: :P be nice and stay on topic :D
November 4th, 2002, 09:04 PM
DocPC

Quote:

Originally posted by confus-ed
Such as .....? :D

They ain't gonna give you jack!

But they are gonna give me earache for sayin' that so I'll shut up now.....

Ooops! I'd better hide now http://www.pregnancy.org/phpBB/image...ons/hiding.gif

Hmmmmm..............Just when I was beginning to like you.....:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :flame:
November 6th, 2002, 06:13 AM
confus-ed

Quote:

Originally posted by Kymera
Save the Geeks? Can I get a replacement UltraWide 2 card from that?

For your info Kymera - Save the Geeks

You are supposed to send them stuff ! They need saving! (in every sense of the word :D )

IF I could justify this blatant piss-take I would Doc, honest http://www.pregnancy.org/phpBB/image...ns/angel12.gif
November 7th, 2002, 04:35 PM
Kymera

What is save the geeks doing with merchandise. Isn't that a little too mainstream for the truly geeky?
November 7th, 2002, 06:03 PM
confus-ed

Quote:

That is why we appeal to your generosity to help us fight the insidious plague of our modern world: The geek's quest for the latest and greatest PC hardware.

This site is intended to share with you the plight of geeks everywhere. What matters is that you now have the opportunity to help the geek community stay up to par without having to sacrifice it's quality of life. Help us out. Please.

I think they are trying to avoid giving up life's little luxuries :D ,
spaceman spiff for example,(though from the look of that pic it should be Spliff...) merely wants a 'Dual P4 Xeon with all the trimmings (spare no cost)... '

None of this is fixing your SCSI card though! Just getting me into deeper & deeper crap....
November 7th, 2002, 06:23 PM
Garak

Quote:

Originally posted by confus-ed

None of this is fixing your SCSI card though! Just getting me into deeper & deeper crap....

Heehehehe:D
November 17th, 2002, 04:18 AM
7up1n3

Hope you're still following this thread - doesn't look like you've received a satisfactory answer yet ...

I've had similar issues in the past with my 2940u2w. Most recently, it was caused by a "conflict" with an onboard raid controller. To solve it, try moving the card to another slot. You may need to clear the NVRAM (or whatever your bios calls it).

Please post your results, and if it doesn't work, post additional hardware info.

Good luck :bor:
November 20th, 2002, 06:53 AM
Pericles

RE: Adaptec 2940u2w.

I just picked one of those up a few months ago for $40. When I first installed it, I had problems too -though not the problems you're having. My problem had to deal w/ the fire wire port on my AIW 8500DV -it was sucking up all available IRQ's. Once I figured out how to disable it, everything was fine.

Just a thought...are the devices (drives) properly terminated? I use a self-terminating cable. Couldn't you just configure the device IDs through the jumper blocks? I have two personal workstations w/ SCSI subsystems and I also maintain several servers on similar SCSI platforms and it's rare that I ever need to enter the SCSISelect Utility. As long as the device IDs were proberly configured and terminated, I never had a problem.

Come to think of it, I did have problems configuring my SCSI devices two years ago on an Intel server board -L440GX+. But that was a different issue (?) w/ a different controller. Long strory short, I believe my problem was due to lack of proper termination. If I remember correctly, I think it was solved by the use of a self terminating cable -but I could be mistaken. I've owned and worked too many boxes to recall correctly! :)

It's really hard to trouble shoot or give relavent advice when your unshure of all the variables involved. As w/ any tech problem -Good Luck Man!
November 21st, 2002, 11:00 AM
Kymera

Well, I bought another 2940U2W and with my default settings it worked fine. I think the bios on the 1st card was damaged, that's why I couldn't configure it to boot, but it would work within windows. Oh well, the second card cost me $50 but I knew it worked and U2W is great. My computer seems much peppier. All I did was Image my old drive onto my new one. Sweet! I recommend 10K Server Class Cheetahs for everyone.
November 21st, 2002, 06:59 PM
confus-ed

Quote:

Originally posted by Kymera
Well, I bought another 2940U2W and with my default settings it worked fine. I think the bios on the 1st card was damaged, that's why I couldn't configure it to boot, but it would work within windows. Oh well....

You can send it to Save the Geeks now, perhaps someone there can fix it !! (He said in a stunningly obvious attempt to get himself out of the mire...)..
November 25th, 2002, 11:14 AM
Garak

Good to har Kymera!

If the BIOS is on a removeable chip maybe get it reflashed?? and sell it on or give it to save the geeks as mentioned before :rolleyes: ;)