===================================================================== AST RESEARCH, INC. SOFTWARE BULLETIN # 0317 01/08/97 ===================================================================== TITLE: Bravo MS-T 6180/6200 BIOS, v1.00.05 FILENAME(S) / PART NUMBER(S) / DESCRIPTION(S): 05581037.EXE / 905581-037 Bravo MS-T 6180/6200 BIOS, v1.00.05 SUMMARY File 05581037.EXE contains version 1.00.05, disk 1 of 1, of the Bravo MS-T 6180/6200 system flash BIOS. This update applies to the following systems: 503057, 503058, 503125, 503144, and 503145. RESOLUTIONS Version 1.00.05 resolved the following issues: Fixed a problem where Advanced Power Management (APM) hot keys were ignored by the APM driver, when Windows 95 was shutdown and restarted in MS-DOS mode. Fixed a problem where Windows 95 would power down before it was finished with its initialization. Fixed problems with ECC (memory support) event logging implementation. Resolved the extended delay between ATA/ATAPI initialization and floppy initialization during POST. Fixed the problem where the NMI handler (memory support) reported a multi-bit ECC error when parity error occurred, even if memory error detection was set to "Parity" mode. Fixed issue where single bit ECC errors could cause the system to either lock up, or in the case of Windows NT, cause a Kernel dump. Fixed audio to work with ISA Plug-and-Play (PnP) cards. Fixed the potential problem of system hang when no boot device is found. Fixed DMI reporting issue where on-board bus mastering video incorrectly reported that it was disabled. Fixed FDC error if reported as 03F0h at boot. Fixed the problem in Setup where the cache enable/disable function returned the wrong status. Fixed problem of system hang during ESCD hard drive clear using third party 'Clear ESCD' program. Fixed bug where PnP cards could get memory from E0000 to FFFFF. Fixed problem where system board function 0 data was nulled if no mouse installed. Fixed the DMI issue where the system reported cache was enabled. Fixed Event Log header for clear CMOS via Windows NT. Fixed APM to blink the Power LED when going to SMM (memory) mode. Fixed CMOS error when powered down. Fixed PnP calls in 16-bit protected mode. ENHANCEMENTS Version 1.00.05 contains the following enhancements: Added AST sign-on banner. Added code to make DRAM timings more relaxed for Recovery. Added a chipset hook to set up any PnP devices that need specific initialization before the system BIOS' PnP Isolation. Enhanced method of ensuring that PCI gets at least 1 IRQ. Added additional DMI memory support for PCI slot reporting. The BIOS will now indicate if each PCI slot is 'in-use'. Set one minute SmartSleep option in user Setup. Added display of Intel Copyright string. Changed APM code to not time out if there is disk activity. Updated ECC/parity programming. Added code to ensure the user does not get ECC errors during FMUP and recovery procedure. Added an additional cache structure to DMI tables. CPU frequency is detected earlier in POST to satisfy DMI requirements. Enhanced Error Logging to include POST Errors. Provide hook for broken PnP cards when assigning I/O. Added DIM Errors to the POST Event Entry in DMI event logging. Changed serial port 2 IR mode to half-duplex. Change dynamic mouse enable/disable to meet new Microsoft requirements. Added capability to display system board name and serial number during POST. Added Pentium Pro Processor BIOS update API support. PREVIOUS RELEASE(S) Version 1.00.04 fixed the following issue: Corrected DMI CPU Speed reporting. -------------------------------------------------------- Version 1.00.03 fixed the following issues: Unable to pass Windows 95 logo. System hung when in virtual mode. Windows 95 configuration conflict with the CS4232. Version 1.00.03 contained the following enhancements: This BIOS allows only the Administrator to set the Minimum Password Size field. The previous BIOS version allowed the user to set this field. Changed algorithm to disallow ISA sharing of IRQs 5 and 7. Added support for dynamic disable of the PS/2 mouse node. Previous releases also included the following resolutions and enhancements: The Universal Serial Bus (USB) support was disabled. The read-only Floppy option was removed from the administration setup field because the hardware was not supported. Setup denied the user an invalid date or time entry. Setup did not allow a password entry if password jumper was set to disabled. Added APM 1.2 support. Added Secure Flash implementation. Added support to allow for option ROMs greater than 64M. Fixed problem where a PCI card without an ESCD entry was disabled if the previous card/function was disabled. Added the latest 4236 Crystal Micro-code, and resources. Changed the priority of the resource allocation so mouse IRQ is not allocated unless we are out of resources. Fixed problem with PnP cards not being recognized/configured when on-board audio was disabled. Changed the default value of DENSEL to be set to fix problems with Operating Systems that did not use BIOS Runtime INT 13 interface. Fixed problem of disabled devices indicating they are still using resources when they were not. (Ex. IRQ0 instead of No IRQ). Mcafee Virus Scan code functionality. Resolution of IDE slave drive issue. Onboard audio defaults to enable instead of disable. Clearing CMOS with jumper will not clear passwords (use password jumper for that) NOTES N/A 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 N/A --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Revision 01