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1991-12-02
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SHOWSET & Related Files - (C) 1991 Micro Firmware Inc.
The ShowSet program, documentation, and related files may be freely
distributed so long as all the files are distributed together and
unmodified.
ShowSet is periodically updated, and the updates can always be
obtained from the Micro Firmware Product Support BBS, which can be
reached at the following numbers:
300/1200/2400 BPS ........... 405-321-2616
300/1200/2400 BPS MNP ....... 405-321-2400
300/1200/2400/9600 V.32 ..... 405-321-3553
Connect with 8-bit word, one stop bit, and no parity.
===========================================================================
As of version 1.74, ShowSet should be able to identify systems running
standard implementations of the following chip sets:
Acer
* 1207
Chips & Technologies:
* CS8221 (NEAT)
* CS8230
* 82C235 (SCAT)
Headland Technology:
* HT113
HT21
Intel:
* 82335
* 82340 (same as VLSI VL82C286)
OPTi:
* HiD/386 or HiB/486
Cache Sx/AT
* 386WB
Sun Electronics:
* Suntac
VLSI Technology:
* VL82CPCAT-16/20 (enhanced)
* VL82C286 (TopCat)
VL82C386 (TopCat)
Those marked with an asterisk ("*") have been verified as being correctly
identified on an actual motherboard. The others are only based on information
(sometimes preliminary) of how the chip set should behave and has not yet
been verified against an actual implementation. I would appreciate any
feedback on the results of running ShowSet on a computer using one of the
currently unverified chip sets.
11/21/91
Changes introduced in version 1.74:
ShowSet now differentiates between different versions of the SCAT
family.
The VLSI TopCat chip set test caused ShowSet to lock up
on an 80486-based system. This has been corrected.
ShowSet can now better differentiate between different Headland
Technologies chip sets.
10/6/91
Changes introduced in version 1.70:
ShowSet now warns that the system may need to be rebooted after
it is run. If run on a '386 or above, it also checks to make sure
no 32-bit memory managers are active.
ShowSet also does some memory timing testing and analysis and
will attempt to determine the width of the BIOS ROMs. If the
system is using an unknown chip set and the BIOS is shadowed,
this feature will not work (ShowSet would be calculating the
shadow RAM width instead) and ShowSet will report its inability
to test this. If ShowSet can identify the chip set, it will
automatically disable any shadowing for the duration of this
test.
In addition, several command line options are now supported:
/H - Supresses all the hardware related testing. This
is the "safe" mode of operation; it can be run
under most multi-tasking environments without grief.
For most accurate results, however, you should run
ShowSet without any other programs or device
drivers loaded and not use the /H option.
/W - Supresses the warning message.
/L - Lists current chip set detection support. Handy if
SHOWSET.COM gets seperated from this documentation.
/R - Displays the chip set's registers in the form xx-yy
where xx is the register's index and yy is the
current value in the register. All numbers are in
hexadecimal.
9/29/91
Changes introduced in version 1.61:
ShowSet was internally restructured to be more managable.
Corrected a problem in which ShowSet would sometimes incorrectly
claim that the BIOS indicated a chip set named "Advanced".
6/26/91
Changes introduced in version 1.60:
ShowSet now scans the system BIOS in an attempt to locate
a chip set name. This will help identify chip sets that
ShowSet does not currently know how to test for and/or
chip sets that might be otherwise undetectable (such as,
in some circumstances, Intel's 82335 chip set).
3/5/91
Changes introduced in version 1.50:
The Acer 1207 and Chips & Technologies SCAT tests were added.
1/24/91
Changes introduced in version 1.42:
In some implementations, due to a perculiarity in the address
decoding, VLSI Technology's VL82CPCAT-16/20 (enhanced) chip set
was not always recognized. This was corrected.
Changes introduced in version 1.41:
The OPTi tests would identify Chips & Technologies chip sets
as an unknown OPTi. This was corrected.
Changes introduced in version 1.40:
Tests for OPTi's chip sets were added.
Changes introduced in version 1.30:
The Suntac test now leaves the EMS base port address in its
original locatation. Because of an oversight in changes made in
version 1.20, the EMS base port address would get moved to E8h
if the power-on location was 98h
Tests for CS8220, VL82CPCAT-16/20, and VL82C386 were added.
Internal organization was restructured and optimized somewhat.
The architecture tests were made a bit more stringent. Some
XT semi-compatibles were being identified as being an XT.
Changes introduced in version 1.20: (initial release)
Tests for machine architecture (PC, XT, AT, or other) were added.
Tests for 82335 and VL82C286 were added
The Suntac test was changed to deal with the EMS base port address
being at a non-default location.
All tests were updated to deal with the data bus "floating". On
some motherboards it was found that reading from an undefined port
would return the last value transfered on the external data bus.