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os2ami.txt
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1992-09-06
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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 <Ins> 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 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 may be provided by the controller 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 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 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 correctly. 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 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.
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 <Ins> key during boot-up.