AMI BIOS Considerations

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AMI BIOS Considerations Revised July 17, 1992

[Note that Washburn and Associates sells new AMI keyboard BIOS chips for $15 plus $4 shipping.]

There's been a lot of misinformation on the network AND from IBM reqarding AMI BIOS compatibility with OS2.

The misinformation from the net comes in the form of well-intentioned OS2 users that have OS2-compatible AMI BIOS, informing the world that all is OK with AMI. The fact is, most user's who have AMI bios will not experience problems - but there are a few well-defined cases where older vesions of AMI BIOS are known to cause incompatibilities.

The misinformation from IBM comes in the form of inferences in their TIPs & TECHNIQUES help file that all AMI BIOS earlier than a certain date or revision are suspect. That simply isn't the case - as many successful OS2/AMI user's will testify. In addition, IBM technical support people do not seem to have the following information (at least in this writer's experience) - which would go a long way in acknowledging that there is a problem in certain cases.

Both of the aforementioned cases are unfortunate in that they have been frustrating user's with real AMI BIOS problems, stalling or preventing proper corrective action - and ultimately leaving a very nasty taste for OS/2 and compounding OS/2 reputation problems. It is the hope of this writer that this information will allow those last bastion's of frustrated OS2/AMI user's to get on-board and start enjoying the power of their newly acquired operating system.

The following information is a copy of a fax provided by Clyde Washburn of Washburn & Co. Washburn & Co. has been working with IBM/ Microsoft on AMI BIOS compatibility issues since version 1.1 of OS2. The fax directly addresses AMI BIOS compatibility guidelines.

According to Mr. Washburn, this information is known by IBM (Boca Raton), and also resides on CompuServe.

Here is the fax in its entirety:

                             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:
                           <Updated 7/8/92>

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, or frozen on-screen by holding down the key at boot to create a Keyboard Error, which will stop the screen for the error message:

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. ALL 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 os 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 may be provided by the con-
   troller manufacturer, and if so, 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 opera-
   tion 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 or M 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 cor-
   rectly.  In some cases (usually "M") an AMI chip can successfully
   replace a non-AMI chip, but this is NOT a general rule - sometimes
   the non-standard Keyboard Controller (usually "0") was used to com-
   bine motherboard functions not normally part of the Controller, 
   and substituting a standard chip will cause the board to not func-
   tion at all.  In this case there is no solution other than replace-
   ment 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.


BIOS UPDATES:

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

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.  Slimline
       BIOS's have the VGA BIOS in the same chips, and can be updated to
       the 040990 release provided that they are identified as being
       Slimline, and the speed is specified (20, 25, or 33 MHz), since
       different VGA code is required for the various speeds.
   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.
       Mylex or Leading Technology boards with these prefixes can ONLY
       be updated by the board manufacturer.

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.
                           END OF FAX


P.S: Well there it is folks. I hope this file will assist in alleviating

     any nagging questions as to whether it's the BIOS or a system
     setup problem confounding you OS2/AMI users.
     By the way, the fax doesn't mention the symptoms of a bad BIOS
     version - which I suspect are different depending the the
     specific motherboard design (chip set) and the particular BIOS
     version.  But for the benefit of those who have the same con-
     figuration as my machine, perhaps this will save some diagnostic
     time:
          Motherboard:   Aramus 386 33/25 Mhz - Intel discreet logic.
          Keyboard:      Enhanced (101).  Dip switches set to 101
                         mode.  (NOTE:  OS2 or DOS does not work with
                         any other setting.)
          AMI ROM BIOS:  SINT-1185-040990-KD
          AMI Keyboard BIOS revision -KD  (should be -KF for OS2 2.0)
          OS2 2.0 Problems: (not an exhaustive list)
          1.  CAPLOCK and NUMLOCK cause loss of keyboard control. 
          2.  Entering a WINOS2 Session causes loss of keyboard control.
              Setting KBD_RATE_LOCK to ON prevents this problem.
          3.  Selecting Special Needs under the keyboard setup icon
              intermittantly stalls the system.
     I'd suggest that if other users find that a replacement BIOS solves
     a particular problem under OS2, that the net be made aware of the
     version replaced and the symptoms/problems the new BIOS solved so
     that such diagnostic info. can be added to the OS2 FAQ.
     Would the keeper of the OS2 FAQ please take note and
     update the FAQ accordingly.  I don't want to have to
     continually re-post this.
     Wayne Long

-- Wayne Long, (512) 891-4649 Fax (512) 891-3818 6501 William Cannon Dr. W, Austin, TX 78735-8598 cs.utexas.edu!oakhill!wcl -or- uucp!wcl@oakhill.sps.mot.com