Mylex DAC960 SCSI RAID controller PCI card

Sorry to post this in c.s.h.h but I can't find any IBM server or Mylex
specific groups.

I have a Mylex DAC960 SCSI RAID controller PCI card installed in
an IBM xSeries 330. I have an external 4mm DAT drive connected
and it seems to be working as it should.
Documentation says I should get the following prompts before Windows
starts to load;
Press alt-M to configure, and press alt-R to configure RAID.
I get the alt-M prompt and pressing alt-M gives only 3 options.
I don't get the alt-R prompt so I can't configure RAID.
It does tell me that it can't find a device connected to 2 of the ports.
I assume that is because it is configured that way but I can't get
into RAID setup to check.
Why don't I get the alt-R prompt?

Barry
=====
Home page
http://members.iinet.net.au/~barry.og

Barry OGrady wrote:
> Sorry to post this in c.s.h.h but I can't find any IBM server or Mylex
> specific groups.
>
> I have a Mylex DAC960 SCSI RAID controller PCI card installed in
> an IBM xSeries 330. I have an external 4mm DAT drive connected
> and it seems to be working as it should.
> Documentation says I should get the following prompts before Windows
> starts to load;
> Press alt-M to configure, and press alt-R to configure RAID.
> I get the alt-M prompt and pressing alt-M gives only 3 options.
> I don't get the alt-R prompt so I can't configure RAID.
> It does tell me that it can't find a device connected to 2 of the ports.
> I assume that is because it is configured that way but I can't get
> into RAID setup to check.
> Why don't I get the alt-R prompt?
>
> Barry
> =====
> Home page
> http://members.iinet.net.au/~barry.og

Barry,

I have not used a DAC960 for a very long time. But here is what I can
recall.

If the controller tells you it cannot find a device connected to 2 of
the ports, this message really means what it says. So there is a real
hardware problem preventing this from happening. Possibilities are two
definitely faulty devices that are no starting properly, incorrect and
maybe duplicate SCSI IDs, or some vague SCSI bus/termination problems.

I would also suggest that the DAT drive be attached separately to an
Adaptec 2940U or 2940UW adapter, to free up the Mylex to do its RAID
job, and maybe even to eliminate a SCSI adress or bus problem. Adaptec
2940/2940UW adapters are cheap and easy these days.

Mylex got bought by IBM a number of years ago, but I seem to recall IBM
divesting itself of the Mylex/Buslogic acquistion later on, selling off
to LSI Logic maybe?

.... Ben Myers

* Barry OGrady:
> Sorry to post this in c.s.h.h but I can't find any IBM server or Mylex
> specific groups.

comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage exists and is the much more appropriate
group.

> I have a Mylex DAC960 SCSI RAID controller PCI card installed in
> an IBM xSeries 330. I have an external 4mm DAT drive connected
> and it seems to be working as it should.

Tape drives shouldn't be connected to the DAC960 as it can have
unpredictable effects.

> Documentation says I should get the following prompts before Windows
> starts to load;
> Press alt-M to configure, and press alt-R to configure RAID.
> I get the alt-M prompt and pressing alt-M gives only 3 options.
> I don't get the alt-R prompt so I can't configure RAID.

Do you have any hard drives connected to the RAID?

Also, what DAC960 model do you have? There are several ccompletely
different models of the DAC960, and not all of them have a BIOS Setup in
their EEPROM (for some models a DOS utility has to be loaded to setup
RAID). Mylex has been bought by LSI, so you may be able to find tools
and manuals for your specific model.

Benjamin

On Tue, 09 Jun 2009 07:01:20 +0100, Benjamin Gawert <> wrote:

>* Barry OGrady:
>> Sorry to post this in c.s.h.h but I can't find any IBM server or Mylex
>> specific groups.
>
>comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage exists and is the much more appropriate
>group.

Thanks. I thought the pc part did not include servers.

>> I have a Mylex DAC960 SCSI RAID controller PCI card installed in
>> an IBM xSeries 330. I have an external 4mm DAT drive connected
>> and it seems to be working as it should.
>
>Tape drives shouldn't be connected to the DAC960 as it can have
>unpredictable effects.

I should have explained that its only a hobby thing for me.
A 12/24 GB 4mm DAT drive seems to work with 2/4 GB tapes.

>> Documentation says I should get the following prompts before Windows
>> starts to load;
>> Press alt-M to configure, and press alt-R to configure RAID.
>> I get the alt-M prompt and pressing alt-M gives only 3 options.
>> I don't get the alt-R prompt so I can't configure RAID.
>
>Do you have any hard drives connected to the RAID?

No, but I read that the individual disks can't be more than 9 GB and
RAID size can't be more than 34 GB. If that's so its not much use.

>Also, what DAC960 model do you have?

Its a DAC960PD.

>There are several ccompletely
>different models of the DAC960, and not all of them have a BIOS Setup in
>their EEPROM (for some models a DOS utility has to be loaded to setup
>RAID). Mylex has been bought by LSI, so you may be able to find tools
>and manuals for your specific model.

I have done a lot of searching via Google and looked at LSI's website.
Windows 2003 device manager shows the card working properly yet
some utility programs I tried say no DAC960 detected.

Thanks for your help but because its just a hobby I won't get obsessed with
making it work.

>Benjamin

Barry
=====
Home page
http://members.iinet.net.au/~barry.og

On Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:04:45 -0400, Ben Myers <> wrote:

>Barry OGrady wrote:
>> Sorry to post this in c.s.h.h but I can't find any IBM server or Mylex
>> specific groups.
>>
>> I have a Mylex DAC960 SCSI RAID controller PCI card installed in
>> an IBM xSeries 330. I have an external 4mm DAT drive connected
>> and it seems to be working as it should.
>> Documentation says I should get the following prompts before Windows
>> starts to load;
>> Press alt-M to configure, and press alt-R to configure RAID.
>> I get the alt-M prompt and pressing alt-M gives only 3 options.
>> I don't get the alt-R prompt so I can't configure RAID.
>> It does tell me that it can't find a device connected to 2 of the ports.
>> I assume that is because it is configured that way but I can't get
>> into RAID setup to check.
>> Why don't I get the alt-R prompt?
>>
>> Barry
>
>Barry,
>
>I have not used a DAC960 for a very long time. But here is what I can
>recall.
>
>If the controller tells you it cannot find a device connected to 2 of
>the ports, this message really means what it says. So there is a real
>hardware problem preventing this from happening. Possibilities are two
>definitely faulty devices that are no starting properly, incorrect and
>maybe duplicate SCSI IDs, or some vague SCSI bus/termination problems.

I should have explained that it is just a hobby thing for me so it is not
essential that I get it working.
There are no hard drives connected though I did try an external 36 GB
hard drive. It appears that the card may have a 9 GB per disk limitation.

>I would also suggest that the DAT drive be attached separately to an
>Adaptec 2940U or 2940UW adapter, to free up the Mylex to do its RAID
>job, and maybe even to eliminate a SCSI adress or bus problem. Adaptec
>2940/2940UW adapters are cheap and easy these days.

The IBM xseries 330 has only two PCI slots, one of which is occupied
by a video card.

>Mylex got bought by IBM a number of years ago, but I seem to recall IBM
>divesting itself of the Mylex/Buslogic acquistion later on, selling off
>to LSI Logic maybe?

LSI's website has some information on Mylex cards.

Your help is appreciated but given the age of the card and the fact that
its only a hobby thing for me I won't worry too much about it.

>... Ben Myers

Barry
=====
Home page
http://members.iinet.net.au/~barry.og

On Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:56:47 -0600 (MDT), "Aidan Grey" <> wrote:

>On Mon, 08 Jun 2009 22:24:09 +1000, Barry OGrady wrote:
>
>>Sorry to post this in c.s.h.h but I can't find any IBM server or Mylex
>>specific groups.
>>
>>I have a Mylex DAC960 SCSI RAID controller PCI card installed in
>>an IBM xSeries 330. I have an external 4mm DAT drive connected
>>and it seems to be working as it should.
>>Documentation says I should get the following prompts before Windows
>>starts to load;
>>Press alt-M to configure, and press alt-R to configure RAID.
>>I get the alt-M prompt and pressing alt-M gives only 3 options.
>>I don't get the alt-R prompt so I can't configure RAID.
>>It does tell me that it can't find a device connected to 2 of the ports.
>>I assume that is because it is configured that way but I can't get
>>into RAID setup to check.
>>Why don't I get the alt-R prompt?
>>
>>Barry
>
> A question first of all. Do you have any SCSI hard drives connected to the
>Mylex controller?

No.

> Perhaps it does not give you the alt-R prompt because it does not detect
>any hard drives to configure.

That could be, but I haven't been able to get any utility programs to work.

>Aidan Grey

Barry
=====
Home page
http://members.iinet.net.au/~barry.og

* Barry OGrady:

>> comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage exists and is the much more appropriate
>> group.
>
> Thanks. I thought the pc part did not include servers.

"PC" means it is for everything which uses x86 processors.

> I should have explained that its only a hobby thing for me.

Honestly, the DAC960 are awfully slow, their I/O processor is slow, the
bus is slow. Every newer SCSI drive simply saturates it.

Depending on what you want, get one of the older HP Smart Array
controllers (i.e. the 5300 series) which are much faster, can use big
array sizes, and can be had for a few bucks on ebay regularly.

Ben

Barry OGrady wrote:
> On Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:04:45 -0400, Ben Myers <> wrote:
>
>> Barry OGrady wrote:
>>> Sorry to post this in c.s.h.h but I can't find any IBM server or Mylex
>>> specific groups.
>>>
>>> I have a Mylex DAC960 SCSI RAID controller PCI card installed in
>>> an IBM xSeries 330. I have an external 4mm DAT drive connected
>>> and it seems to be working as it should.
>>> Documentation says I should get the following prompts before Windows
>>> starts to load;
>>> Press alt-M to configure, and press alt-R to configure RAID.
>>> I get the alt-M prompt and pressing alt-M gives only 3 options.
>>> I don't get the alt-R prompt so I can't configure RAID.
>>> It does tell me that it can't find a device connected to 2 of the ports.
>>> I assume that is because it is configured that way but I can't get
>>> into RAID setup to check.
>>> Why don't I get the alt-R prompt?
>>>
>>> Barry
>> Barry,
>>
>> I have not used a DAC960 for a very long time. But here is what I can
>> recall.
>>
>> If the controller tells you it cannot find a device connected to 2 of
>> the ports, this message really means what it says. So there is a real
>> hardware problem preventing this from happening. Possibilities are two
>> definitely faulty devices that are no starting properly, incorrect and
>> maybe duplicate SCSI IDs, or some vague SCSI bus/termination problems.
>
> I should have explained that it is just a hobby thing for me so it is not
> essential that I get it working.
> There are no hard drives connected though I did try an external 36 GB
> hard drive. It appears that the card may have a 9 GB per disk limitation.
>
>> I would also suggest that the DAT drive be attached separately to an
>> Adaptec 2940U or 2940UW adapter, to free up the Mylex to do its RAID
>> job, and maybe even to eliminate a SCSI adress or bus problem. Adaptec
>> 2940/2940UW adapters are cheap and easy these days.
>
> The IBM xseries 330 has only two PCI slots, one of which is occupied
> by a video card.
>
>> Mylex got bought by IBM a number of years ago, but I seem to recall IBM
>> divesting itself of the Mylex/Buslogic acquistion later on, selling off
>> to LSI Logic maybe?
>
> LSI's website has some information on Mylex cards.
>
> Your help is appreciated but given the age of the card and the fact that
> its only a hobby thing for me I won't worry too much about it.
>
>> ... Ben Myers
>
> Barry
> =====
> Home page
> http://members.iinet.net.au/~barry.og

With the card being an elderly DAC960, the odds of this being
mission-critical were miniscule. If you are not doing any RAID at all,
better to replace the DAC960 with a more mainstream but not very
contemporary Adaptec 2940-series. Really. They are chump change these
days and supported well by just about any operating system and utility
software... Ben Myers

On Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:58:35 -0400, Ben Myers <> wrote:

>Barry OGrady wrote:
>> On Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:04:45 -0400, Ben Myers <> wrote:

>> Your help is appreciated but given the age of the card and the fact that
>> its only a hobby thing for me I won't worry too much about it.
>>
>>> ... Ben Myers
>>
>> Barry
>
>With the card being an elderly DAC960, the odds of this being
>mission-critical were miniscule. If you are not doing any RAID at all,
>better to replace the DAC960 with a more mainstream but not very
>contemporary Adaptec 2940-series. Really. They are chump change these
>days and supported well by just about any operating system and utility
>software... Ben Myers

Thanks. Your advice is well received.
I did eventually find a DOS program to configure the card. Just for an
exercise I hooked up two external 9GB drives and configured it for
RAID 0. That worked well enough to prove the point.

Barry
=====
Home page
http://members.iinet.net.au/~barry.og

On Thu, 11 Jun 2009 07:18:13 +0100, Benjamin Gawert <> wrote:

>* Barry OGrady:
>
>>> comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage exists and is the much more appropriate
>>> group.
>>
>> Thanks. I thought the pc part did not include servers.
>
>"PC" means it is for everything which uses x86 processors.

Thanks. Noted.

>> I should have explained that its only a hobby thing for me.
>
>Honestly, the DAC960 are awfully slow, their I/O processor is slow, the
>bus is slow. Every newer SCSI drive simply saturates it.
>
>Depending on what you want, get one of the older HP Smart Array
>controllers (i.e. the 5300 series) which are much faster, can use big
>array sizes, and can be had for a few bucks on ebay regularly.

I will look on ebay.

I did eventually find a DOS program to configure the card. Just for an
exercise I hooked up two external 9GB drives and configured it for
RAID 0. That worked well enough to prove the point.

>Ben

Barry
=====
Home page
http://members.iinet.net.au/~barry.og