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REFERENCE PURPOSES ONLY AND ARE SUBJECT TO THE TERMS SET FORTH IN THE "LEGAL INFORMATION" LINK BELOW.
For information on currently available Intel products, please see
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Description
Some versions of Microsoft Windows* 95 may not recognize the IDE controller
on Intel® motherboards using the 82371SB PIIX3 or 82371AB PIIX4 component.
This can cause the BIOS to disable the secondary IDE channel, resulting
in IDE devices (such as CD-ROM drives) not being detected or disappearing
after the system is rebooted.
Root Cause
The PIIX3 and PIIX4 components
are not included in the list of IDE controllers in the MSHDC.INF file
shipped with some versions of Windows 95. During installation, these
versions of Windows 95 see the IDE functionality but can't identify
the exact controller type. Windows 95 enables the primary IDE channel
of the 82371SB or 82371AB, but assumes that the secondary IDE channel
belongs to a non-plug and play ISA IDE controller. Windows 95 then
adds this information to the plug and play configuration area. When
the system is rebooted, the motherboard BIOS interprets this information
as indicating an ISA IDE expansion card has been installed, and disables
the onboard secondary IDE channel -- rendering any devices on this
channel inaccessible. The most common symptom is that the CD-ROM drive
will not be recognized by Windows 95 after rebooting the system.
Affected Products
This issue affects all Intel motherboard products with the 82371SB
PIIX3 or 82371AB PIIX4 component.
Workaround / Action
To determine how the system has been configured, look in the Windows
95 Device Manager:
Click
- Start
- Settings
- Control Panel
Double click
- System
- Device Manager tab
- Hard Disk Controllers
If you see the following drivers listed, the system has NOT been configured
correctly:
Hard Disk Controllers
- Primary IDE Controller (single FIFO)
- Standard Dual PCI IDE Controller
- Standard IDE/ESDI Hard Disk Controller
An Install Wizard has been developed
that adds an entry for the PIIX3 or PIIX4 IDE controller (as appropriate
for your motherboard) into the MSHDC.INF file. Download this utility and
follow the instructions to update the hard drive configuration file.
Please note that this utility has
been tested only on motherboards manufactured by Intel and may not
perform identically on other products.
*Other trademarks and brands are the
property of their respective owners.
Updated: Thursday, October 23,
1997