I have been trying to install Redhat7 and SuSE Linux 7. Both times the installation programs couldn't recognize my SCSI card. Redhat 7 halts installation when trying to load the aic7xxx module.
My system:
MSI 694D Pro Motherboard with dual Pentium III 800
512MB SDRAM
Adaptec 29160N SCSI controller
Seagate SCSI disks: 18GB Cheetah & 9GB Cheetah
Plextor SCSI CD-rom & Panasonic SCSI CDR
Matrox G400 dual
Soundblaster 128 PCI Soundcard

I have read a lot on websites, and feel I have tried everything. Disconnecting drives, disabling the wide transfer, playing around with the settings in the SCSI bios doesn't help.
What could be the problem??? The installation programs do run the SCSI CD-rom up to that point, but not further...
Any suggestions??? ---- Please help ----

Well thanks a lot %&¤#"¤ Redhad 7.0 and your da.. aic7xxx module... I tried to install with a new aic7xxx module with support for Adaptec 29160N SCSI. Innstallation went fine, until reboot -> KERNEL PANIC. Guess I should have done something with the kernel before innstallation, but how?

What puzzles me is how Linux could screw up my MBR on the first harddrive (NTFS), when I partioned the second hardrive only for linux???

LI came up, and the system where hanging. The dos/linux boot screen couldn't start windows!! Had to reset certain bios configurations, to get a bootfloppy to work. No help in deleting all linux partitions. No help in trying to install a new windows system. In the end, I tried to reset the MBR through windows2000 system rescue. SUCCESS! And after a lot of trouble where up and going.

2 questions: Why do Redhat mess with my MBR unless told so.
Is Redhat's boot up screen able to handle windows2000 start up with NTFS?

Is there anyone who has been able to get the Adaptec 29160N SCSI controller to work with any linux version?

The problem seem to be serious when visiting http://www.redhat.com/bugzilla.

The new aic7xxx experimental driver, supplied with Redhat 7.1, let you install the system if CDROM's on the SCSI bus are disconnected (installation from *.iso files from a second harddrive). However, when installation is complete and the system reboots, it recognizes the SCSI host 0 and drives. Fine, but afterwords it's looking for SCSI host 1, and is just giving timeouts.

Have anybody solved this problem, or got the controller up and working???

I had mine runing just fine from first try with out any hastles what so ever on RH7 and SuSE7. I have pretty similar configuration as your self except the mainboard which is made by Asus. Try going back and reseting everything on your mainboard bios to defaults and get rid of any extra stuff and features on mainboard to see if you could get the driver to load. Also make sure the card does not share IRQ's with other devices.
Good luck.

I did try as you suggested, but the problem is that bios insist on sharing IRQ with the network card. In my case, the ISDN card. Might just have to disconnect it then....

Thank's for the tip.

It doesn't matter if I disconnect cards, upgraded to the latest Award bios (1.7), tried with just about everything disabled in the bios, disabled the Promise controller. It's hopeless! The aic7xxx module delivered with RH7 and 7.1, including the new experimental driver will not work. When trying to install from CDROM the driver just give timeouts. When successfully installed from a harddrive, the driver recognizes the controller and the drives on SCSI host 0. But afterwords it's trying to load the driver again on SCSI host 1 ???, resulting in timeouts.

Think I have to wait for a new aic7xxx module.

lost...

Actually mine is the 29160 64-bit PCI-to-Ultra160 SCSI connected to 2 9.1GB seagate cheetas hard drives. I don't know if the 29160N is the same card or not. But really I don't think you should have that much trouble with it cause it should work just fine with these drivers. Do you think you may have a bad card or something ??? Have you tried the card on a windows machine ??? Have you tried the card on Linux but using a different system board ??? Did you connect all hard drives correctly and made sure termination is correct and all jumbers are set correctly on the card and the hard drives. As I said before mine fired up 8 months ago from first time when I built the server and installed Redhat 7.0 on it. No problem since. I have it configured as RAID 1 and it is running great.
BTW:
Is your card the PowerDomain 29160N accelerator SCSI for Macintosh.

Problem solved temporary....
Redhat 7.1 (and previous versions) must be installed from the IDE bus.
However, the wide negotiation in the SCSI setup must be disabled. Otherwise:
SCSI bus is being reset for host 1 channel 0
SCSI host 1 channel 0 reset (pid 0) timed out - trying harder

This is disappointing as the bus slows considerable down (from 160 to 40).

Have there been any progress with the development of a new aic7xxx module ??

Geir-S