In theory, generic SCSI is completely device independent, but VMware has discovered it is sensitive to the guest operating system, device class and specific SCSI hardware. We encourage you to try any SCSI hardware you want to use and report problems to VMware technical support.

To use SCSI devices in a Windows XP virtual machine, you need a special SCSI driver available from the download section of the VMware Web site at www.vmware.com/download. Follow the instructions on the Web site to install the driver.

Generic SCSI devices use the virtual Mylex® (BusLogic) BT/KT-958 compatible host bus adapter provided by the virtual machine. Some guest operating systems guide you through installing the drivers after you install the first SCSI device in the virtual machine. On Windows NT 4.0, however, you may need to install the driver manually, if it is not already installed for a virtual SCSI disk. You should do so before you add a generic SCSI device.

To install the BusLogic driver in a Windows NT 4.0 guest, have your Windows NT installation CD available and follow these steps.

1. Open the SCSI Adapters control panel.

Start > Settings > Control Panel > SCSI Adapters

2. Click the Drivers tab.

3. Click Add.

4. In the list of vendors on the left, select BusLogic.

5. In the list of drivers on the right, select BusLogic MultiMaster PCI SCSI Host Adapters.

6. Click OK.

7. Insert the Windows NT CD when you are prompted. Click OK.

8. Reboot the guest operating system when you are prompted.

If you are using generic SCSI devices in a Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me guest operating system and are experiencing problems with the devices, download the latest Mylex (BusLogic) BT/KT-958 compatible host bus adapter from www.lsilogic.com. This driver overrides what Windows chooses as the best driver, but it corrects known problems.