| Release |
Date |
Changes |
| 1.2.3 |
10/10/88 |
During initialisation the SCSI code was
corrupting the NMI vector, this could have caused a system crash on Parity or other NMI.
Time-out duration for SCSI device search extended to allow greater chance of detecting
Syquest drives.
Sign on text corrected - cosmetic change only. |
| 1.2.4 |
22/10/88 |
Winchester type 38 parking cylinder
changed from 615 to 663 - MiniScribe 30MB drive.
Chipset shadowing and EMS disabled on boot (including CTRL-ALT-DEL) this ensures that EMS
or shadowing is disabled correctly between boots.
VGA set the 8-bit interface only if CGA or MDA card found to be co-resident.
RAM configurations now supported are:
| Total RAM |
Bank 0 |
Bank 1 |
Bank 2 |
Bank 3 |
| 1M |
256KB |
256KB |
- |
- |
| 2M |
1M |
- |
- |
- |
| 3M |
256KB |
256KB |
1M |
- |
| 5M |
256KB |
256KB |
1M |
1M |
Removed Error message when no floppy fitted (for diskless) - set ONBDLAN
to TRUE.
RAM allocation algorithm changed to allow data segment to be moved by TSRs or .SYS
files(this allows WINDOWS 386 to run with a suitable version of the network stack or
AMODE.EXE.
The RAM allocated by SCSI or Remote boot code is pointed to by a segment address word at
04DEh absolute - this is now reserved by Apricot location.
DMA channels used by Ethernet disconnected if Ethernet disabled. |
| 1.2.4 |
9/12/88 |
Winchester type 40 added for Toshiba RLL
65MB drive
Remove references to 80286 or 80386 from signon for XEN-S (could be 286 or 386).
Floppy init. routines modified to override CMOS settings with drive type 4 if drive found
but CMOS incorrect.
Movable memory scheme still wasn't working properly due to Omninet chip being loaded with
a physical address of the data segment at init. time only.
When DS is moved the chip was not reprogrammed.
Reprogramming is now done on every Omninet command. |
| 1.2.5 |
15/12/88 |
Loadall emulation is required for the
XEN-S series as only some machines are 286. An extra switch has therefore been added
'LALLEMU'. It is OR'ed with the I80386 switch, so if either is true, loadall emulation
will be included.
VGA drivers have been modified.
Apricot logo modified to correct aspect ratio. |
| 1.2.5 |
15/12/88 |
The NEAT Chipset was being incorrectly
programmed in such a way that the A20 address line could not be gated by standard software
- this could have caused problems with certain programs such as Basic and early versions
of Wordstar.
Correction to memory initialisation code. If Omninet found that SCSI had already set-up
the RAM data area it left its own data segment (DS) incorrect.
Int. 13h Func 80h restored to just returning the sector size (physical). A new
function(83h) was added to take over the old function 80h where ES:BX is the pointer to
the SCSI drive table. This is because IO.SYS did not cater for Func 80h corrupting ES.
All SCSI drives now have 32spt (512 byte sectors) and 64 heads. This gives 1MB per
cylinder. A consequence of this is that old drives need to be re-fdisked and formatted if
they are to be used with the new ROM's. This falls in line with the IBM way of dealing
with large disks or disks of unknown physical format.
The Chipset initialisation routines have been modified to disable page interleave mode
when there are an odd number of DRAM banks(e.g. 2MB RAM card), and also to set DRAM wait
states to 1 in this case - this could correct problems with Windows 386 and other memory
thrashing programs, but will impact performance on 3MB machines(1MB and 5MB machines will
be faster). Also the option to use SETNEAT1 to configure the Chipset can now be disabled
by using the PASSWORD disable switch (Disables both password and SETNEAT configuration).
The 8-bit memory AT bus command delay has now been set to 0 cycle(was 1 cycle).
Initialisation code checks for 212 or 212b memory controller and sets Gate A20 control bit
as appropriate, also all reserved 212 bits are now set to 1 to allow correct operation of
non-B part.
When attempting to remote boot from a missing Ethernet network the code did not correctly
give the Node address and error messages during the time-out - now corrected. |
| 1.2.6 |
20/1/89 |
Machine has no colour/Mono switch for
selection of CGA or MDA (port is tied to colour setting) - code now uses CMOS RAM. MDA
card setting as Mono switch - this should allow system with MDA cards fitted to be set up
correctly.
Modifications for 10MHz only build incorporated.
From mod 21. Function 83h was not added into the range variable for function checking. Now
corrected.
Normal Winchesters (not removable) started failing the new search algo. Corrected.
Removable Winchesters should still use ID 5. |
| 1.2.7 |
20/1/89 |
Corrected Write Pre comp. cylinders for
drive types:
| 36 (CDC 122MB) |
0(whole disk) |
| 38 (MiniScribe 30MB) |
300 |
| 40 (Toshiba 65MB) |
512 |
Modifications for 10MHz only build incorporated - enabled by VEN10M
equate (ifdef), crashes if faster than 10MHz or on 386sx.
Chipset Initialisation code rewritten to support differences between 212 and 212B memory
controllers, as pr SETNEAT3.
Optional flags implemented in CMOS:1(Byte 42 bit 2) to allow shadowing of a phantom VGA
BIOS ROM to address 0C0000h (allows installation of IBM OS/2); 2(Byte 42 bits 3 & 4)
to allow shadowing of VGA/EGA ROM's for 16k at C0000h and C4000h.
Support for Chips SETNEAT program removed. Optional Chipset override data can be set in
CMOS by setting flags at 44h = 12h, 45h = 34h followed by register/data pairs, terminating
in a 0 register address (Apricot debug use only).
I/O Channel wait states and command delays changed to C&T defaults 5 w/s on 8-bit, 2
w/s on 16-bit AT cycles; 2 clock delay on I/O cycles; 1 clock delay on 8-bit memory, no
clock delay on 16-bit memory.
Modified Int. 10h function 1Ah to return AX=1A1Ah instead of 001Ah as per IBM spec.
Int. 15h, Function C0h sub model byte return fixed as 01h (8MHz AT) for all machines
(problems with OS/2 Machine Identification).
Reset all write protect bits on soft reset (cures problem with AMODE LOCK).
ADDMEM changed to reflect code size change.
VGA Video Memory transfers set to 16-bit for all configurations - masks problem with
16-bit decode PAL and allows use of secondary (Mono) video in the system.
Optional flag in CMOS (Byte 42 bit 7) to allow use of Shadow RAM at EC000h for SCSI/Remote
Boot data area - may be required for 3rd party operating system support.
Optional flag word in CMOS (Byte 34h = 54h) to allow use of scan codes instead of ASCII
for password verification (required for support of foreign language keyboards) using
suitable versions of KP.EXE or SETUP.EXE. Apricot ROM revision changed to 4 to reflect
this capability.
Logo sign on set to maximum speed.
Serial and parallel time-outs increased for 386SX processor.
Parallel printer print routine error checking code corrected - cures problem with printing
under GEM and FoxBase. |
| 1.2.8 |
13/3/89 |
Chipset initialisation changed to 0
clock delay on 8-bit memory - corrects problems with video on some machines. |
| 1.2.9 |
29/3/89 |
Temporary stack initialised to 30:80h on
all returns to real mode, corrects problems with WD7000-FAST SCSI controller.
Video Mode 7 underline position corrected, Corrects Word /h and Display Write problems.
Bug Fixes for REV G 82C206 tidied & modified, helps CMOS reliability. |
| 1.2.10 |
22/5/89 |
Chipset initialisation changed to give
AT bus I/O command delay of 1 (was 2), and AT bus 16-bit cycle wait states of 3 (was 2) -
this is to meet the C&T bus timing requirements for the 451 VGA chip.
Interrupt 'window' in Hard Disk driver code closed - could cause problems with CDOS and
fast Winchester subsystems.
Major rework of Chipset initialisation to correct marginal problems on 386SX builds with
video failures.
Initial support for 1MB daughter card. Requires User to enter total RAM size into CMOS to
allow distinction between 2MB and 5MB RAM machines. - This will require a new version of
SETUP.EXE (V1.2.6).
Scancode flag now cleared along with password switch is set to off - allows recovery from
mixed use of old/new KP.EXE.
1023 Cylinder variant of CDC drive to allow for Defect Cylinder map introduced - drive
type 37.
A variable was set incorrectly so that if we used 'hidden' ram and then found we had no
SCSI cards, the wrong amount of memory was returned to DOS. |
| 1.2.11 |
21/6/89 |
Cylinder-1 variants of
CDC/MiniScribe/Seagate drive types for Defect Cylinder support included as Types 37,39,47
(old type +1).
EMS wait states set to 1 for all memory configurations, used to be set to 0 for
configurations with even numbers of DRAM banks. |
| 1.2.12 |
11/7/89 |
Reset from protected mode changed to CR0
from Port 92h/8042 (AutoCAD fix).
Winchester types Added/Removed
| Removed |
Added |
| Type 30 Newbury 40MB |
Type 30 Seagate ST157A Native |
| Type 31 Nippon 20MB |
Type 31 MiniScribe 8051A Native |
| Type 32 Nippon 30MB |
Type 32 Quantum Pro Drive 40AT |
| Type 33 NatPan 20MB |
Type 33 Quantum Pro Drive 80AT |
|
| 1.2.13 |
19/10/89 |
Added support for 8MB memory card.
New build added to produce ROM's containing Novell remote boot. They do not contain SCSI,
Omninet or Ethernet (VX-NET/LANMAN) support.
1.2.14+Novell Remote boot (NRB), 8/2/90, Removed jump from Int. 10 to Int. 6D to video
code. Now Int. 10 goes straight to video code.
Fixed DECnet problem. |
| 1.2.14 |
28/2/90 |
Problems encountered with 1.2.14 build.
So ROM's re-released as 1.2.15's
1.2.15, 8/3/90, Stopped corruption of AX at the start of the CHIPINIT routine. This cured
the warm boot memory error problem with 82C212 and 82C212B chips.
Included support for new hard disk - 170 MB Quantum. Type 39. Replaces old type 39 (RLL
MiniScribe 30MB w/defect table).
Stopped shut-down type 07 being written into CMOS when exiting protected mode on a 386SX.
This is the /286 method of entering real mode. Using this method on a 386SX caused 386 LIM
memory drivers to crash on reboot. |
| 1.2.16 |
11/5/90 |
Added code to take note of CMOS byte 41h
bit 5 to slow the I/O bus to 3 wait states. Requires new version of Generic reference disk
to support this option.
New build supported Venus 2. Should make Venus 1 build obsolete as soon boards are in
production. Venus 1 build retained for field updates.
Software video disable for Venus 2. This utilises port 02Bh to disable the 451 on board.
ROM's signon for Venus 2 changed to "XEN-S II BIOS". This enables easier
identification of Venus 1 and Venus 2 ROM's - to try to prevent confusion !
Added conditional compile statements so that different builds of ROM's can have different
correction numbers (to align on 16 Byte boundaries). |
|
11/5/90 |
Changed call address for Novell remote
boot code - because it's now inserted in a different place.
Altered type 30 (Seagate ST157A Native) - Number of cylinders was wrong.
Included a new type 29 - Seagate ST125A Native. This replaces the old NEC D3126 20MB. |
|
23/5/90 |
Fix for CTRL-ALT-DEL with lim 386 driver
loaded (CDS PRF No 332.)
Fix for CTRL-ALT-DEL with extended memory set, and the correct detection of 82C212 and
82C212B chip. |
| 1.2.16 NRB |
30/5/90 |
Added code to check if a security
processor exists. If not, security is ignored.
Secure Floppy boot now uses a global bit in the SDP registers to enable Floppy boot.
Took out 452 routines for things like write dot and scrolling routines. |
