AST RESEARCH, INC.        TECHNICAL BULLETIN # 1680          03/25/97 
 
 
 
TITLE:  CMOS BIOS Settings on the Manhattan D 
 
 
ISSUE 
 
   Default BIOS settings, prior to the release of this bulletin, may 
   not provide the best configuration for the  Manhattan D system. 
   The default settings are as follows:
   
   Boot Option:
   
      First Boot Device  - Floppy 
      Second Boot Device - Hard Disk
      Third Boot Device  - DISABLED
      Fourth Boot Device - DISABLED
   
   Advanced Chipset Configuration section under Advanced Options:
   
   Memory Error Detection  - ECC
                
   SMM feature             - DISABLE
   Event Logging           - DISABLE
   System SERR Detection   - ENABLE
   System Memory Scrubbing - DISABLE
   Clear Event Log Block   - DISABLE
   
   
   This issue affects all Manhattan D systems.    

 
BACKGROUND 
 
   SMM feature -  ENABLE
   The System Management Mode (SMM) must be ENABLED for Event 
   Logging or System Memory Scrubbing to function. This allows 
   system management interrupts to occur.
   
   Event Logging - ENABLED
   When ENABLED, the system will record system events to  flash 
   memory chip for use by server management software.  The SMM 
   feature must be enabled for this feature to work.
    
   System SERR Detection - ENABLE
   When ENABLED, the system will issue a reset via the Non-Maskable 
   Interrupt (NMI) and/or record to the Event Log when there is an 
   occurrence of a PCI System Error or Parity Error (SERR/PERR). 
   ENABLE the SMM and Event Logging features in order for the system 
   to write to the Event Log.
   
   System Memory Scrubbing (SMS) - ENABLE
   When you ENABLE SMS, the system will force any corrected 
   single-bit errors to write back to memory. The Memory Error 
   Detection must be set to ECC. 
   
   Clear Event Log Block (CEB) - DISABLE
   When you ENABLE CEB, the Event Log will be cleared every time the 
   system is booted.    

 
ACTION 
 
   To optimize this system's configuration, follow the steps below:
   
   1. When the system powers up, press the <F1> key to enter 
      BIOS setup. 
   
   2. Under Main Group, select Boot Options and press 
      the <Enter> key.
   
   3. At First Boot Device, select IDE-CD ROM.
      At Secondary Boot Device, select Floppy.
      At Third Boot Device, select Hard Disk.
   
   4. Press the <Esc> key to go back to Main.
    
   5. Press the right arrow key and move to Advanced Group
   
   6. Under Advanced Chipset Configuration, select the 
      following:
   
      Memory Error Detection  - select ECC
   
      SMM feature             - select ENABLE
      Event logging           - select ENABLE
      System SERR Detection   - select ENABLE
      System Memory Scrubbing - select ENABLE
      Clear Event Log Block   - select DISABLE
   
   After making all the changes press the <F10> key to save and 
   exit.    

 
NOTES 
 
   Changing the default settings will provide the best configuration 
   for this system.
   
   Future BIOS releases will address these issues.    

 
TAN N/A 
CL/SW
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