===================================================================== Last Revised AST RESEARCH, INC. SOFTWARE BULLETIN # 0178 01/26/98 ===================================================================== TITLE: Manhattan P/V Flash BIOS Update, v1.14 FILENAME(S) / PART NUMBER(S) / DESCRIPTION(S): 05547312.EXE / 905547-312 Manhattan P/V Flash BIOS Update, v1.14 SUMMARY File 05547312.EXE contains version 1.14 of the Manhattan P/V system flash BIOS. This update applies to the following Manhattan P and V systems: 501500, 501502, 501503, 501797, and 501830. RESOLUTIONS N/A ENHANCEMENTS Added the latest NCR BIOS version 4.0. PREVIOUS RELEASE(S) Previous releases of the Manhattan P & V BIOS contained the following problem resolutions and enhancements: 1.13 to 1.14 --------------------------------------------------------- Enhancement: Added the latest NCR BIOS version 4.0. 1.12 to 1.13 --------------------------------------------------------- Added support for automatic century rollover. The date stored in CMOS will be updated to the year 2000 even when the unit is powered OFF. 1.10 to 1.12 --------------------------------------------------------- (NOTE: BIOS version 1.11 was never released for production because the Banyan patch was added inadvertently.) 1.) Fixed the problem with the system hanging while accessing the floppy drive on dual processor systems. The Neptune ESC chip caused this errata. The failure can only occur if GAT Mode (Guaranteed Access Time) is enabled in the ESC Chip and the ISA/EISA bus is being accessed and there are two CPUs installed. Several failure symptoms may occur: A. The system hangs while booting MS-DOS from floppy. B. The system hangs while installing Windows NT SETUP diskette 1. C. Advanced Diagnostics version 2.23 hangs while reading the floppy. D. The system hangs while MFGDIAG is loading from the floppy. This problem was fixed by disabling GAT Mode automatically when the system detects that there are two processor, and the system is currently booting from the floppy Drive. 2.) Fixed a problem with some ISA/EISA boards that use slave memory. This problem again was caused by an errata of the Neptune ESC chip. This fix works around this problem by disabling the posted-write-buffer. 3.) Added an option field to enable/disable GAT Mode to the BIOS SETUP. Users now have more control on GAT Mode. If the system does not have any ISA/EISA boards, GAT Mode should not be enabled, This will help to avoid all the potential problems associated with the errata of the Neptune ESC chip. 1.09 to 1.10 --------------------------------------------------------- 1.) Enabled GAT Mode because systems equipped with bus-master EISA boards might hang intermittently during heavy EISA bus accesses. 2.) Fixed incorrect/inconsistent CPU speed reported on late POST (Power On Self Test) screen. 3.) Fixed a security problem. If the [Ctl-Alt-Del] keys are entered when the user is prompted for a password, the BIOS reboots the system to the operating system, thus bypassing password validation. 4.) Fixed the version number in the AST Environment Table. The format was in hexadecimal rather than BCD. 5.) Added CD-ROM boot capability. 6.) The over-temperature alarm was enabled only on systems with 100 MHz or higher CPUs. Over-temperature alarm is still disabled in Manhattan systems with 90MHz CPU. 7.) The CPU speed detection has been altered by reading the value from the I/O port directly instead of from calculating CPU execution speeds. 1.08 to 1.09 --------------------------------------------------------- 1.) Gate-A20 was enabled after DOS boots. Previously, the error "Packed File Corruption" was displayed when using the DOS "edit" command when a CONFIG.SYS file did not exist. 2.) Fixed a problem with incorrect information on number of fixed disks installed if the system actually had no fixed disk. 3.) Disabled over-temperature alarm. This is a temporary workaround to avoid intermittent false temperature alarms that may occur with the current motherboards in production. 4.) The default floppy disk drive was changed to a 1.44 MB disk drive. 5.) The advanced chipset Setup menu was removed. 6.) Enabled Memory paging. NOTE: This causes problems when certain SIMMs are used in the Manhattan V or P computers. AST highly recommends inspecting the system memory before upgrading to BIOS release 1.09 or later. For more details, please review Technical Bulletin # 1164. 1.07 to 1.08 --------------------------------------------------------- 1.) Fixed the intermittent warm boot problem with POST codes 38, 4A, 98. 2.) Fixed the shared interrupt problem with Adaptec 2940 in PCI slot 2 shared and the embedded NCR SCSI controller. 3.) Fixed the problem with incorrect memory size being displayed after running the EISA Configuration Utility when the memory is changed from 128MB to 64MB. 4.) Fixed an intermittent problem with floppy disk drive access on cold boot (dual CPU only) 5.) Fixed the hanging problem with SCO Unix 3.2, v4.2 on dual CPU systems. 6.) Fixed Sunsoft Solaris 2.4 FCS boot problem. 7.) Fixed hanging problem with IDE auto-type Plug-and-Play cards with Intel Plug-and-Play v1.21. 8.) Fixed problem with the system incorrectly reporting CPU speeds. 9.) Fixed the EISA Configuration Utility re-boot password problem. 10.) Fixed the problem with corrupt Setup sub-menus after running the EISA Configuration Utility with certain adapters. 11.) Fixed the problem with updating the BIOS from Setup. 12.) Fixed the Boot error problem with 2.88MB floppy drives. 13.) Added new Boot Sequence option to setup "A:, then CD, and then C:". 14.) Enabled temperature and voltage alerts. 1.06 to 1.07 --------------------------------------------------------- Disabled the temperature alarm due to erroneous detection of high temperature condition. 1.05 to 1.06 (1.06 was never released) --------------------------------------------------------- Fixed Erroneous CPU Speed detection of 90MHz CPUs. 1.04 to 1.05: (1.05 was never released) ----------------------------------------------- Fixed erratic operation with 32 MB SIMMS NOTES COPYRIGHT NOTICE: The following copyright notice must be printed on the label of diskettes created from this image: "Copyright 1985-1995 Phoenix Technologies Ltd., All Rights Reserved." CAUTION: In order for attached SCSI devices to work properly after updating Manhattan systems to BIOS version 1.14, obtain the new drivers from Symbios Logic for the 4.0 SDMS PCI SCSI chipset. FAILURE TO UPDATE THESE DRIVERS MAY RESULT IN CORRUPTION OR LOSS OF DATA. These drivers are available at the Symbios Logic website in the following location: ftp://www.symbios.com/pub/symchips/scsi/drivers/ and Symbios Logic's BBS at (719) 533-7235. To update the Manhattan P/V system BIOS, perform the steps below: 1. Insert the BIOS update diskette in drive A:. 2. Enter System Setup. 3. Select Save Changes, Exit, Update BIOS. For further information, refer to user documentation. For information on installing this update, please view the README.TXT file that accompanies the update. You can download this file from the following services: AST WWW Site: http://www.ast.com AST On-Line! BBS*: See IB0001.TXT CompuServe: GO: ASTFORUM Prodigy: JUMP: ASTSUPPORT * Refer to IB0001.TXT for a list of AST's international BBS numbers. To decompress this file, create a temporary directory on your hard drive, copy the downloaded file to that directory, and run the file. TAN PR 1950SW, 003055SW --------------------------------------------------------------------- The information in this data sheet is subject to change without notice. AST Research, Inc. shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein; nor for incidental or consequential damages resulting from the furnishing, performance, or use of this material. This material contains information protected by copyright. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form without prior written consent from AST Research, Inc. All rights reserved. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Template Rev 02