Considerations in the Use of the AMI BIOS with OS/2


 * Washburn & Co.
 * Distributors of AMI Motherboard and BIOS Products
 * 3800 Monroe Avenue, Pittsford, NY 14534
 * 716-248-3627 FAX 716-381-7549


 * Considerations in the Use of the AMI BIOS with OS/2:

AMI BIOS's of modern vintage provide a Screen ID Code, visible at the lower left of the screen during the initial RAM count, and which can be made to return by resetting with Ctrl-Alt-Del:

AMI BIOS and AMI BIOS Plus: aaaa-bbbb-mmddyy-Kc AMI Hi-Flex BIOS: ee-ffff-bbbbbb-gggggggg-mmddyy-hhhhhhhh-c

If the screen ID code is in a form other than this the BIOS is either extremely old, or was produced by a company with a source code license. In the former case contact us for update information, but in the latter case only the motherboard manufacturer will be able to provide further information or updates. Everex 386 BIOS's are in this latter category.


 * General Rules:

1. If an IDE type hard drive is installed the date ("mmddyy") should be 040990 or later for use with ANY operating system, DOS included, due to the special timing requirements of IDE drives which were accommodated on the date noted.

2. With any other drive type, such as MFM, RLL, ESDI or SCSI, OS/2 may be expected to install and operate correctly if "mmddyy" is 092588 or later, provided that the Keyboard Controller Revision Level is suitable for the version of OS/2 being used. Note also that in the case of SCSI hard drives a driver compatible with the version of OS/2 being installed is likely to be required, and a special installation procedure may apply.

3. The Keyboard Controller Revision Levels ("c" in the Screen ID Code Examples above) expected to produce proper installation and operation of the various OS/2 versions are as follows: OS/2 1.0 or 1.1:   8, B, D or F          OS/2 1.2x:          D or F          OS/2 1.3x or 2.0:   F

4. If the Keyboard Controller Revision Level shows as 0 then the Keyboard Controller chip is NOT an AMI chip, even if an AMI License Sticker was applied to it by the motherboard OEM. This means that its performance under OS/2 is unknown - it may or may not work correctly. In some cases an AMI chip can successfully replace a non-AMI chip, but this is NOT a general rule - often the non-standard Keyboard Controller was used to combine motherboard functions not normally part of the Controller, and substituting a standard chip will cause the board to not function at all. In this case there is no solution other than replacement of the board. A Revision Level of 9 accompanied by a non-standard ID Code also indicates a non-standard controller (and BIOS), and the motherboard manufacturer should be contacted for further information.

If a BIOS prior to the dates noted above requires replacement, note the following:
 * BIOS Updates:

1. AMI BIOS and BIOS Plus series BIOS (16 character ID Code) for CACHED motherboards are customized for individual motherboard designs, and can ONLY be obtained from the motherboard OEM, with only THREE common exceptions:
 * a) BIOS's with "aaaa" = E307 can often be replaced with a standard type.
 * b) BIOS's for Northgate or Motherboard Factory motherboards EXCEPT the Northgate Slimline can be replaced by a standard type.
 * c) BIOS's with "aaaa" = DAMI, DAMX, or EDAMI are usually for cached boards designed and/or built by AMI, and if so can be updated.

2. The complete Screen ID Code is required to properly address whether a BIOS update for other motherboards can be provided, and in the case of the Hi-Flex BIOS the complete SECOND and THIRD lines of the ID Code are also necessary. If not immediately visible on the screen they may be viewed by pressing the  key during boot-up.