SYM53C4xx SCSI Interface Adapter Cards 


These questions and answers are for any SCSI interface card that
uses any Symbios Logic (or old NCR)53C400, 53C400A, 53C406, and
53C406A chips and connects to an ISA bus in the host.

This document uses scanners as the sample device. This Q & A 
will apply to any device that provides a scsi interface card as
its interface to a computer.

1. Are there drivers available for my card to operate under any
   operating system besides DOS?

We provide the chip and sometimes the interface card, BUT all 
driver upgrades would come from the manufacturer of the device.
The device driver for that card was developed by the company that 
manufactured the scanner attached to the interface card. Usually 
attached externally using the 53C400 or 400A scsi chip. 

2. I would like to attach another device to the cable that 
   attaches the scanner to the computer, can this be done?

No, There is no SCSI bios associated with this card. Its only 
function is to INTERFACE to the device using the drivers 
installed in the config.sys and Windows 3.1 SYS.INI files. To 
use both devices on the same cable you will need to purchase a 
SCSI host adapter card (HBA) with bios support. 

Important! 
Verify that their are drivers available for both devices with 
the new HBA. Some Companies may not provide additional drivers 
for their device other than the interface driver.
There are several removeable media devices that can work with
the supplied driver and an aspi interface. We cannot guarantee 
that the data would be compatable in other systems or operating 
systems.

3. I have a MediaVision Pro Audio Sound card, are there any 
   drivers for this card to operate in protected mode for 
   win95 or OS/2.

The driver MediaVision contracted us to suppy was for operation
in a dos format only. There has been no contract agreementfrom 
MediaVision to develope drivers for other OS's. 

4. I would like to eliminate the scsi interface card in my 
   system and connect My scanner to an external port on my scsi
   host adapter card, can I do this?

Yes, provided the manufacturer of the device provides a device 
driver for the scanner to operate from an pci/host adapter card 
that has a Symbios Logic scsi processor chip on it.