PRINT SELECTION FOR APAR - II06082 92/07/14 APAR= II06082 SER= DD DOC INFORMATION ON INSTALL PROBLEMS RELATED TO BIOS OS2INFOAPAR OS2INSTL STAT= INTRAN FESN5NFO000-000 CTID= II0000 ISEV= 4 SB92/06/10 RC CL PD SEV= 4 PE= TYPE= I RCOMP= INFOPCLIB PC LIB INFO ITE RREL= R001 FCOMP= PFREL= F TREL= T ACTION= SEC/INT= DUP/ USPTF= PDPTF= DUPS 0 DW92/06/10 RT SC FT RE PT UP LP PV AP EN FL LC92/07/02 RU92/06/10 CUST INST LVL/SU= FAILING MODULE= FAILING LVL/SU= SYSROUTE OF: RET APAR= PS= COMP OPER ENV= SYSRES= SYSIN= SYSOUT= CPU= RE-IPL= OPTYPE= SPECIAL ACTIVITY= REGRESSION= PRE-SCREEN NO.= RSCP= RS000 ERROR DESCRIPTION: os2infoapar os2instl INFO APAR OS/2 INSTL - Information on Install BIOS Problems LOCAL FIX: Due to the wide variety and many sources for PC compatible equipment, many different combinations of hardware components and BIOS revisions exist. OS/2 is an advanced operating system that may require more up to date BIOS than DOS and Windows. Many install problems and other problems may be resolved by updating BIOS. You will need to determine your BIOS manufacturer, version, and date, and this should be checked with the manufacturer for compatibility with OS/2. If you need help determining your BIOS information, see "TIPS ON GETTING BIOS INFO" below. SOME BIOS COMPATIBILITY INFO ============================ The following table lists dates and revision levels required for OS/2 to work with listed components: Component Date ("mmddyy") Revision Level AMI BIOS -------- IDE hard drives 040990 SCSI 092588 or later (need OS/2 compatible and may need special installation procedure) Other drives 092588 or later MFM, RLL, ESDI, etc. Keyboard controller F only * * Revision level 0 or revision level 9 with non standard ID code format indicates motherboard OEM manufacturer - nonstandard BIOS. This may or may not work with OS/2, and it may have "custom" functionality for the specific motherboard which may preclude upgrading. The motherboard manufacturer should be contacted for further information. Phoenix Bios 051192 1.03 Always IN2000 SCSI VCN:1-02 for host adapter: 2.5-2.7 Quantam Plus Hardcard 2.6 PROCOMM+ SCSI MCA does not work - Contact PROCOMM for details on OS/2 support TIPS ON GETTING BIOS INFO ========================= AMI BIOS's of modern vintage provide a Screen ID Code, visible at the lower left of the screen during the initial RAM count, and which can be made to return by resetting with Ctrl-Alt-Del. The format of this ID code is: AMI BIOS and AMI BIOS Plus: aaaa-bbbb-mmddyy-Kc AMI Hi-Flex BIOS: ee-ffff-bbbbbb-gggggggg-mmddyy-hhhhhhhh-c If the screen ID code is in a form other than this, the BIOS is either very old or was produced by a company with a source code license. In the former case, contact us for update information. But in the latter case, only the motherboard manufacturer will be able to provide further information or updates. Everex 386 BIOS's are in this latter category. BIOS UPDATES ============ If a BIOS prior to the dates noted above requires replacement, note the following: 1. AMI BIOS and BIOS Plus series BIOS (16 character ID code) for CACHED motherboards are customized for individual mother- board designs, and can ONLY be obtained from the motherboard OEM, with only THREE common exceptions: a) BIOS's with "aaaa" = E307 can often be replaced with a standard type. b) BIOS's for Northgate or Motherboard Factory motherboards EXCEPT the Northgate Slimline can, be replaced by a standard type. c) BIOS's with "aaaa" = DAMI, DAMX, or EDAMI are usually for cached boards designed and/or built by AMI, and if so, can be updated. 2. The complete Screen ID Code is required to properly address whether a BIOS update for other motherboards can be provided, and in the case of the Hi-Flex BIOS, the complete SECOND and THIRD lines of the ID Code are also necessary. If not visable immediately on the screen, they may be viewed by pressing the key during boot-up. 3. For these AMI BIOS updates, Call Washburn & Co. to order new versions. OTHER COMPATIBILITY ISSUES ========================== Following are a number of notes about usage, and about potential compatibility problems with the microcode levels on various adapters and devices. Adapter: All Adaptec adapters Note: SCSI hard disks must be configured as SCSI target ID 0 or 1 to be able to start up from that hard disk. Adapter: Adaptec AHA-154x Drive: IBM 0661 - 320MB SCSI Note: Adapter BIOS will not recognize the drive as target 0 or 1 (Drives 80, 81). For OS/2 2.0, the drive can be used as a non-startup drive. Adapter: Adaptec AHA-174x Drive: IBM WDS-3180 - 80MB SCSI, IBM WDS-3160 - 160MB SCSI Note: Adapter will not recognize these drives when config- ured in 'STANDARD MODE' (AHA-154x emulation). Instead, the AHA-174x adapter should be configured in "ENHANCED MODE'. This mode is supported by the OS/2 2.0 drivers, and the problem does not occur when the adapter is operating in enhanced mode. Adapter: Future Domain TMC-850/860/875/885 w/BIOS revision level 7.0. Future Domain TMC-1660/1670/1680 w/BIOS revision level 2.0. System: IBM Models 35 and 40 when the Future Domain adapter is controlling the startup diskette. Note: Will produce the message "Disk read error has occur- red" when you attempt to start the Installation diskette. Contact Future Domain for a free BIOS upgrade. Adapter: AMI SCSI Adapters Symptom: AMI "Fast Disk" and AMI "Fast Disk II" SCSI adapters are incorrectly recognized as Adaptec adapters. Problem: At the final restart after the installation is comp- lete, delete from the CONFIG.SYS file, any line with "BASEDEV=AHA1xxx.ADD" (where "x" can be any character) Ensure the line "BASEDEV=IBMINT13.I13", appears in the CONFIG.SYS file. Adapter: Bernoulli Boxes Notes: 44 and 89MB drives will work if connected to any other SCSI card other than Bernoulli's own card. The drive will work as a large diskette and will be non-bootable Adapter: PROCOMM+ SCSI MCA adapters do not work Resolution: Contact PROCOMM for details on OS/2 support. Adapter: IBM 16-bit SCSI cards (early versions) Symptom: Early versions of the IBM 16-bit SCSI adapters may experience problems and report erroneously that the device is not functioning. Resolution: Replace SCSI card with a card with updated microcode Other problems: Symptom: Slow hard drive speed and possibly no icons appearing. Other data corruption possible. Problem: Hard drive and adapter card settings not correctly matched. Resolution: Ensure that hard drive and card are matched in their settings of SYNCH and ASYNCH mode. Some contact phone numbers: Always Technology 818-597-9595. Washburn & Co. 716-248-3627 (AMI Bios Upgrade) 800-836-8026 (AMI Bios Upgrade) Phoenix 1-405-321-8333