PRB: TimerCriticalSection and ASPI4DOS.SYS Stopping Windows

ID: Q115305

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Delta, version 1.0

SUMMARY

Windows may stop running when you set the TimerCriticalSection entry (in the "[386Enh]" section of the SYSTEM.INI file) to any non-zero value by using an ADAPTEC SCSI controller in conjunction with an SCSI hard disk.

MORE INFORMATION

The "Microsoft Delta User's Manual," page xi of the Introduction, specifies that the SYSTEM.INI file adds the following lines to the section labeled "[386Enh]":

      device=c:\delta\msdelta.386
      device=c:\delta\dosxnt.386
      TimerCriticalSection=5000

However, on a machine with a ADAPTEC SCSI controller working in conjunction with an SCSI hard disk using ASPI4DOS.SYS, version 3.0 (dated September 4, 1992, size 11440 bytes), setting TimerCriticalSection to any non-zero value causes you to exit Windows as soon as the Windows banner screen has disappeared.

TimerCriticalSection was found to be necessary under certain network situations, and so it was implemented as a standard installation requirement; however, this may not always be the case. Therefore, set TimerCriticalSection to zero and check whether Microsoft Delta is working correctly. If that does not work, you can upgrade the ASPI4DOS.SYS file to a more recent version.

RESOLUTION

Upgrade the ASPI4DOS.SYS file to a more recent version, such as the one dated December 8, 1992, 10:47, size 10712 bytes.

NOTE: When you run this version of the file, the ASPI4DOS.SYS file also displays a version number of 3.0, but it displays a different date and size.

Additional reference words: 1.00 KBCategory: kb3rdparty kbprb KBSubCategory: Delta