    AST RESEARCH, INC.        TECHNICAL BULLETIN # 1244          04/08/97

    TITLE:  Manhattan P/V Fails Windows NT 3.5 Inst

    ISSUE

       When Windows NT 3.51 is installed from the CD-ROM/floppy disk
       package, the Windows NT 3.51 installation and setup programs may
       fail on the Manhattan P/V servers.  The failure may exhibit
       itself in three ways:

       1. After the setup program has copied the three (3) setup disks,
       and the system performs its first re-boot to load the operating
       system, the system will hang at the Windows NT blue screen.  A
       fatal error message warning will be displayed, indicating that a
       hard disk error has occurred.

       2. During the copy of files from the third setup floppy, a
       message will indicate that a number of files could not be copied.
       The files will have *.DLL extensions.  If the user continues the
       installation, by pressing the IGNORE button at each file copy
       error, the installation will indicate that it has completed
       successfully.  When the system reboots, it will give an error
       indicating that GINA.DLL could not be found, and the Windows NT
       blue screen will appear with a fatal error.

       3. During the setup portion of installation, when Windows NT 3.51
       attempts to begin copying files to the hard disk, the system may
       issue an error indicating that a hard disk could not be accessed.
       The system will instruct the user that the installation has not
       been successful.

       This issue affects the following systems: 501500, 501502, and 501503.

    BACKGROUND

       The issues are related to the manner in which Windows NT 3.51
       reads the hard disk volume label from the hard drive.  When the
       hard disk volume label is read from the drive, Windows NT 3.51
       interprets the results as either an error condition or that no
       hard drive is present in the system.

       This problem only appears when using the combination floppy and
       CD-ROM based installation.

    ACTION

       This issue has been reported to Microsoft.
       A temporary workaround is available, and is documented below. The
       workaround installs Windows NT 3.51 from the CD-ROM only. A
       floppyless installation may be done from the standard Windows NT
       3.51 CD-ROM.

       WORKAROUND - STEPS TO INSTALL WINDOWS NT 3.5 WITHOUT USING
       FLOPPIES

       1. Boot from a DOS boot diskette, loading the NCR SCSI drivers in
       the CONFIG.SYS file of the boot floppy. The NCR drivers are
       necessary to access the CD-ROM drive attached to the NCR
       controller.

       For Manhattan BIOS v1.13 and older, Load the NCR drivers (p/n
       911283-311) for CD-ROM support in the following order:

       DOSCAM.SYS
       SCSIDISK.SYS
       CDROM.SYS /D:name
       ASPICAM.SYS

       name=name of CD-ROM drive (ex:drive1)

       These drivers are contained in the DOS subdirectory of the NCR
       PCI SCSI device drivers diskette (p/n 911283-311).

       For Manhattan BIOS v1.14 and later, obtain the new drivers from
       Symbios Logic for the 4.0 SDMS PCI SCSI chipset.

       FAILURE TO USE THE UPDATED DRIVERS FOR BIOS V1.14 MAY RESULT IN
       CORRUPTION OR LOSS OF DATA.

       Load the NCR drivers for CD-ROM support in the following order:

       ASPI8XX.SYS
       SYMDISK.SYS
       SYMCD.SYS /D:name

       These drivers are available at the Symbios Logic website in the
       following location:

          ftp://www.symbios.com/pub/symchips/scsi/drivers/

          and Symbios Logic's BBS at (719) 533-7235.

       2. The following DOS file must also be in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file
       of the boot disk:
       MSCDEX /D:name
       name=name of CD-ROM drive. Name must match name given in
       CONFIG.SYS file entry for CDROM.SYS.

       The boot disk should also contain the following DOS files:
       FDISK.EXE
       FORMAT.EXE

       3. Create a partition on the hard disk using the FDISK.EXE
       program.  It is suggested that the boot partition for the first
       Windows NT drive be 500MB or less.

       4. Format the partition.

       5. Change to the CD-ROM drive and change directories to i386.

       6. Type

       WINNT /X /B

       This will perform a floppyless installation. It will correctly
       sense the DPT (if installed) and NCR controllers at the
       appropriate stage of the installation.

       This issue affects the following systems: 501500,
       501502, and 501503.

    NOTES

       N/A

    TAN N/A

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------
    The information in this data sheet is subject to change without
    notice. AST Research, Inc. shall not be liable for technical or
    editorial errors or omissions contained herein; nor for incidental or
    consequential damages resulting from the furnishing, performance,
    or use of this material. This material contains information protected
    by copyright. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form
    without prior written consent from AST Research, Inc.
    All rights reserved.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------
    Revision 01