Install Hangs - CCS.NLM Initialization waiting for XMGR

[jwgrahamjr]

I am trying to install Netware 6...fresh install on new hardware.

My hardware is as follows:

Soyo P4s645DX mainboard with BIOS revision psx22aa1
2.53 Ghz. Pentium 4
1GB DDR SDRAM
Asus 52x IDE CDROM
Adaptec 2940-UW Controller (PCI) (using latest BIOS)
2 - 18GB Quantum SCSI Atlas III hard drives
2 - 3COM 3c905C NIC
all onboard LAN, SOUND and RAID functions disabled on mobo

Here are the symptoms:

I am doing a custom pre-migration install.
When I am prompted for Storage devices, it shows IDEATA, IDEATA, AHA2940. I delete the second IDE driver since I am using only an IDE CDROM as a primary master.
9 times out of 10 the installation will hang right after continuing from this point.

I get the message:

CCS.NLM: Initialization waiting for XMGR: (nnn) seconds
where nnn seconds is a value that keeps incrementing in 60 second increments.

Sometimes I make it to the next screen of options where I can choose the IDECD driver and the 3c90X driver but the server install always hangs with this CCS.NLM error.

Here is what I have done after reading numerous (sometimes conflicting) TIDs and support forums on the subject:

1. Flashed my AWARD motherboard BIOS to the latest version: psx22aa1
2. Flashed the Adaptec 2940 card to the latest revision
3. tried installing from bootable CD, from booting to DOS in the DOS partition and running install.bat from the CD and by copying the entire CD to the partition.
4. Tried using the SP2 overlay CD (same problem)
5. Tried removing one of the NICs and one SCSI hard drive to limit the amount of hardware in the box to bare essentials
6. got latest drivers for all devices
7. Modified the Adaptec SCSI Utility specifications to limit the hard drive bandwidth to 10Mbps (as mentioned in one of the TIDs)
8. Disabled "large SCSI drive" support on the Adaptec BIOS (as mentioned in one of the TIDs)
9. Tried JAVA-exit, etc... as mentioned in one TID
10. increased DOS partition to 1.5GB

I am pretty much out of options. I swapped out the video, network, adaptec SCSI card but that did not help any.

It is possible that the Soyo 645DX is not compatible with NW6...but I find this unlikely since Netware claims that it is compatible (via phone) and a Soyo FAQ claims compatibility with all versions of NW.

Some TIDs and forums mentioned possible licensing issues...but I have a valid NW6 license diskette which loaded with no problems.

One more tidbit...the CCS.NLM message appears right after loading BSDSOCK.NLM which displayes the following:

BSDSOCK.NLM load status NOT MULTIPLE
CCS.NLM: Initialization waiting for XMGR: 120 seconds

Then the hard drive driver loads and all I see after that is these darn CCS.NLM messages.

Any ideas? Suggestions? Am I overlooking something obvious?

Thanks...

 

[acerockola]

Maybe try using the overlay cd found at support.novell.com/filefinder. It has support pack two already on it. Also make sure you FDISK in between installs.

 

[jwgrahamjr]

I tried the SP2 overlay CD and had the same problems.

Although I haven't resolved the problem yet, I got some clues as to the possible cause:

1. Soyo admits in later email exchanges that the P4S645DX is not tested to work with NW6 so they don't recommend using it with NW6.
2. I resolved my Adaptec 2940UW problems by switching to an Adaptec 2100S raid controller (U160 compliant).
3. I had a licensing problem where they supplied the wrong type of license with my install. I got an electronic license which I will install this weekend. If booting from the NW6 CD, it prompts for license info before the install...otherwise, the license info is entered after the install.

Your suggestion for using fdisk between install attempts is a good idea...it is probably best to avoid relying on NW to clean up the previous install. I will give this a shot too.

Thanks for the tips.
John

 

[jwgrahamjr]

The solution found me:

1. The Adaptec 2940UW would not work under NW6 on my machine. I replaced it with an Adaptec 2100S and the install proceeded without incident. The Adaptec 2940UW ("end of life" product) drivers on their website are OLDER than the shipping drivers on the SP2 overlay CD. Go figure. Neither of them work for me.
2. Even though the Adaptec raid card solved the immediate symptom of the hanging server, I still had problems later in the installation with CCS.NLM waiting for XMGR. This was resolved by contacting Novell and getting them to send another License diskette (SmartCert). Apparantly they had given me the wrong license diskette by mistake.
3. Had to FDisk and FDisk /MBR between installs as was suggested by acerockola. Tip: bootdisk.com has a nice selection of boot disks for this purpose. After FDisk'ing and formatting before install , I found that I had to let Novell wipe out this partition and repartition by NOT choosing "Use existing partition"...then and only then did the install copy the needed autoexec.bat file and Dr. DOS files to the DOS partition. Believe it or not, you can have an unformatted or invalid DOS partition and the product will still install (but wont boot up!).

The Soyo board seems to be working GREAT with NW6. Just make sure you flash its BIOS if you plan on using a Soyo board.