MESA and Windows 2000/XP

Q) Can I use MESA under w2k or XP?
Q) MESA is moaning about "unable to register scsiplug.dll or not found" - what the hell?

A) Yes you can! You have to be sure, however, that you have aspi32 installed. Infact, win9x versions come shipped with aspi for windows by default while 2K/XP and NT do not - so you have to install them separately. If you have installed any Adaptec CDr program then you already have the aspi layer on your system, but you may need to update it if your CDr software version is not so recent using the aspi install file from Adaptec's ftp or page. If you have no CDr application, you nevertheless can still install aspi32 by going to Adaptec's website or ftp and downloading the aspi package installing it. Once installed, you will have to reboot and try launching MESA. If you still have problems, uninstall MESA then re-install it and try again with the aspi layer present.

Note for XP users:
    In several occasions people have reported XP BSODing when running CDr applications or any ASPI reliant application. This is usually due to mixed aspi versions on your system. To overcome this, first use the aspichk.exe utility and check the aspi versions. If they do not match, you will need to delete the files and re-install aspi. It is normal under XP that aspichk reports a red box indicating 2 missing files and that aspi is not properly installed. At the time of this writing, the latest ASPI version is v4.71 and is available on Adaptec's or Roxio's site. This latest aspi install contains all necessary files for all OSs and contains the updated aspichk.exe utility plus documentation. Please take time to read the informative page before running the install - it is important that you follow the correct instructions. I will quote the most relevant part here:

"Installation Instruction:
This file extracts by default to the c:\adaptec\aspi directory. If you have changed this directory, please note the directory you have chosen. For Windows 98, NT 4.0, Me and 2000, use the enclosed ASPIINST.EXE file to install the ASPI layer. For Windows XP, select Start - Run from the menu, and then the Browse button. Locate the INSTALL.BAT file in the directory the files extracted to and select the OPEN button. In the command box, add a space and either XP32 for Pentium I/II/III/IV processors or XP64 for Itanium processors. The command should look like: c:\adaptec\aspi\install.bat XP32 or c:\adaptec\aspi\install.bat XP64. Then select the OK button to run the XP installer."

    If you are still having problems and are running 2k, you can try installing the older aspi version (V4.6 build 1021) which for me works flawlessly. You can get it from adaptec's site here (even if they say not to!). The aspichk utility in this case after running the installer should show all files installed with version 4.6 build 1021 and the green box.