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AST RESEARCH, INC.          SOFTWARE BULLETIN # 0168G                1-3-96

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	    Manhattan G 590 and Advantage! 6xxxp/8xxxp System BIOS


Production Release: 2.02
Available: December, 1995

Part Number               Description                      File Name
905545-310                3.5" diskette 1 of 1             05545310.EXE

Revision: A

This is an update to the Manhattan G, Manhattan G590, and Advantage! 
6XXXP/8XXXP system flash BIOS.  
File 05545310.EXE can be found on AST's BBS AST's BBS (817) 230-6850.  
AST's BBS supports modem speeds up to 28.8k bps.  The above file will also 
be posted on: 

CompuServe 
Go ASTSUPPORT

AST Worldwide Web Site

Release 2.02 contains the following problem resolutions and enhancements:


PROBLEMS RESOLVED

Built-in parallel port type changed from standard or enhanced to ECP mode.

System halted with a 5Bh error code if two drives from different manufacturers 
were connected to the same IDE channel.

Any add-in device using IRQ 15.

Mouse enable problem when running Intel ICU.


ENHANCEMENTS

Added the ability to set each of the built-in serial ports to COM1 through
COM4.

Modified APM to report the battery status as not present instead of unknown.



Production Release: 2.01
Available: July, 1995

Release 2.01 contains the following problem resolutions and enhancements:


PROBLEMS RESOLVED

Corrected problem where more than 64 MB of system memory causes a 
resource conflict with PCI cards requesting memory.

Corrected a problem where INT-14 function requests with ranges greater than 5 
would cause certain programs to require a control-break to continue execution.

Corrected ISA VGA add-in card failure.


ENHANCEMENTS

Added PnP OS option to System Setup.



Production Release: 2.0
Available: June, 1995

Release 2.0 contains the following problem resolutions and enhancements:


PROBLEMS RESOLVED

Fixed the problem that was causing the APM call to get the video status 
(function 0Ch) to hang the system.

Fixed the problem that was causing the system to hang if the shadow memory 
test failed.

Fixed IDE Mode 3 timing which affects CD-ROM drives.

Fixed the problem with Option ROMs causing a system to crash due to low 
memory being corrupted during system POST.

Fixed the problem with WD 7197 SCSI controller not working during a warm 
boot.

Fixed the problem where PCI VGA cards behind a PCI to PCI bridge were not 
recognized.

Corrected problems with bus master devices behind a PCI to PCI bridge on 
warm boots.


ENHANCEMENTS

Flash PID (Personality ID) is now checked during POST for validity.

Added support for PCI to PCI bridges.

Added support for Interrupt 15, functions E801 HEX and E820 HEX added to 
BIOS to report Memory above ISA 64 MegaByte limit.



Production Release: 1.06
Available: March, 1995


This release contains the following problem resolutions and enhancements:


PROBLEMS RESOLVED

Plug and Play bug fixes for Windows-95 LOGO requirements.


ENHANCEMENTS

Addition of Mode-4 Hard Disk support.

APM changes affecting display monitor activation.

WIN95 changes to comply with SCT requirements to achieve WIN95 LOGO.

Updated VGA Driver.



Production Release: 1.05
Available: February, 1995

This release contains the following problem resolutions and enhancements:

PROBLEMS RESOLVED

Corrected User defined drive parameters option in System Setup.



Production Release: 1.04
Available: February, 1994

Revision: A

This release contains the following problem resolutions and enhancements:


PROBLEMS RESOLVED

BIOS updated to support PnP/PCI R1.21 runtime code.

Corrected APM mode switching problem.

Corrected hard disk timeout problem when "Time-out" feature is enabled in 
System Setup.

Corrected problem in System Setup mode due to insufficient stack space.

Corrected a problem where some PCI Bus-Master cards prevent a Warm-Boot.

Corrected Windows-95 protected mode crashes when accessing Plug-n-Play 
code.

Corrected Date corruption when System Time is updated.



Production Release: 1.03
Available: December, 1994

Revision: A

This release contains the following problem resolutions and enhancements:


PROBLEMS RESOLVED

Failed Memory SIMM now properly identified during memory testing.


ENHANCEMENTS

VGA BIOS updated for Color Monitors showing Monochrome only.

Zero K Cache now supported for Advantage Machines.

Correction to memory timing to fix memory errors on bootup.

Correction for adapter cards with ROMS failing during bootup.

Correction for shared IRQs causing errors during bootup.



Production Release: 1.02
Available: November, 1994

Revision: A

This release contains the following problem resolutions and enhancements:


ENHANCEMENTS

Serial Ports auto configure correctly.

PCI ROM BIOS scans work correctly.



Production Release: 1.00
Available: October, 1994

Revision: A

This is the initial release of Manhattan G, Manhattan G590, and Advantage! 
6XXXP/8XXXP system flash BIOS.