[Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

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ndavis82
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[Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by ndavis82 »

On the latest revision(s) I have encountered a few issues when using any 486 processors (SX or DX) on AMI WinBIOS. All of my protected mode DOS games (DOOM, Star Wars Dark Forces and Quake, for example) will now lock up when trying to load DOS4GW, and Windows 3.1 has random "illegal instruction" issues (when loading the DOS prompt, for example). If I choose iDX4 or Pentium Overdrive everything works as it should. I believe this started with commit dc2604f. None of these issues existed before that.

Also, clicking on 'Ctrl+Alt+Del' or 'Hard Reset' on AMI WinBIOS can sometimes take up to twenty seconds before it even starts to reboot.
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ppgrainbow
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Re: [Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by ppgrainbow »

Oh dear! This doesn't sound too good! :(
Battler
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Re: [Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by Battler »

I don't think it's commit dc2604f that causes this because it changes something that also affects Pentiums.
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SarahWalker
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Re: [Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by SarahWalker »

Seems to be working okay here. Please post the configuration you're using.
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omarsis81
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Re: [Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by omarsis81 »

Also, I guess it'd useful if you tell what DOS you're using? MS-DOS? 6.22?
ndavis82
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Re: [Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by ndavis82 »

DOS 6.22
Windows 3.1
Phoenix S3 Trio 64
700 MB IDE Hard Drive
16MB RAM
1.44 MB Floppy Drive
Serial Mouse
Sound Blaster 16

--CONFIG.SYS
DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\CDROM.SYS /D:CDROM001
DOS=HIGH,UMB
FILES=30
BUFFERS=20

--AUTOEXEC.BAT
@ECHO OFF
PROMPT $P$G
SET TEMP=C:\DOS
C:\DOS\MOUSE.EXE
LH C:\DOS\MSCDEX.EXE /D:CDROM001
LH C:\DOS\DOSKEY.COM
C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE
(the rest is Sound Blaster settings)
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SarahWalker
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Re: [Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by SarahWalker »

Could you provide the entire PCem config file please?
ndavis82
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Re: [Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by ndavis82 »

SarahWalker wrote:Could you provide the entire PCem config file please?
I'll have to do it when I get home tonight.
JosepMa
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Re: [Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by JosepMa »

Mmmm... something strange does happen.

With such a setup, using the DX2/66, loading dosidle, or a program that uses dos4gw just hangs there, doing nothing.

The weird thing is that, if at that point, I switch to a DX4/100, this does not reset PCem and the loading finishes successfully.
ndavis82
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Re: [Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by ndavis82 »

JosepMa wrote:Mmmm... something strange does happen.

With such a setup, using the DX2/66, loading dosidle, or a program that uses dos4gw just hangs there, doing nothing.

The weird thing is that, if at that point, I switch to a DX4/100, this does not reset PCem and the loading finishes successfully.
That's exactly what mine is doing.
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omarsis81
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Re: [Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by omarsis81 »

While I couldn't reproduce your problem (I tried Doom and Jagged Alliance (both DOS4GW)) and they ran OK, I noticed MS-DOS 6.22's edit/qbasic hangs. Does that happen to you too?
ndavis82
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Re: [Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by ndavis82 »

omarsis81 wrote:While I couldn't reproduce your problem (I tried Doom and Jagged Alliance (both DOS4GW)) and they ran OK, I noticed MS-DOS 6.22's edit/qbasic hangs. Does that happen to you too?
No, Edit works fine for me.
ndavis82
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Re: [Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by ndavis82 »

omarsis81 wrote:While I couldn't reproduce your problem (I tried Doom and Jagged Alliance (both DOS4GW)) and they ran OK, I noticed MS-DOS 6.22's edit/qbasic hangs. Does that happen to you too?
Are you using the same hardware configuration as above, video card, sound card, etc?
JosepMa
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Re: [Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by JosepMa »

Edit/qbasic working fine here too.

I just checked, and it might be a problem with a specific ROM (not sure if buggy, or what).

This one fails:
AAAAMMMMIIII04040404////04040404////1111999999993333 Date:-04/04/93 (C)1985-1993

This one works:
AAAAMMMMIIII00008888////00008888////1111999999993333 Date:-08/08/93 (C)1985-1993
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omarsis81
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Re: [Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by omarsis81 »

ndavis82 wrote:
omarsis81 wrote:While I couldn't reproduce your problem (I tried Doom and Jagged Alliance (both DOS4GW)) and they ran OK, I noticed MS-DOS 6.22's edit/qbasic hangs. Does that happen to you too?
Are you using the same hardware configuration as above, video card, sound card, etc?
Same hardware, but I didn't load emm386.exe so I tried to lauch edit to add it to config.sys but it hanged
Strange, it seems that it hangs if I run it from the HD but the same version works OK from the floppy, I'm working on it
ndavis82
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Re: [Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by ndavis82 »

omarsis81 wrote:
ndavis82 wrote:
omarsis81 wrote:While I couldn't reproduce your problem (I tried Doom and Jagged Alliance (both DOS4GW)) and they ran OK, I noticed MS-DOS 6.22's edit/qbasic hangs. Does that happen to you too?
Are you using the same hardware configuration as above, video card, sound card, etc?
Same hardware, but I didn't load emm386.exe so I tried to lauch edit to add it to config.sys but it hanged
Strange, it seems that it hangs if I run it from the HD but the same version works OK from the floppy, I'm working on it
I was beginning to wonder if it had something to do with programs like EMM386. I didn't think to try and disable that last night. I have it set up like that so I can load device drivers into Upper memory to free up a lot more Conventional memory for hungry DOS games. I just know for sure this configuration worked fine a few revisions ago and v12 doesn't have this issue. Thanks for looking into it.
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SarahWalker
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Re: [Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by SarahWalker »

JosepMa wrote:Edit/qbasic working fine here too.

I just checked, and it might be a problem with a specific ROM (not sure if buggy, or what).

This one fails:
AAAAMMMMIIII04040404////04040404////1111999999993333 Date:-04/04/93 (C)1985-1993

This one works:
AAAAMMMMIIII00008888////00008888////1111999999993333 Date:-08/08/93 (C)1985-1993
For the record, the BIOS this model is intended to be used with (and the only one that has been tested) is dated 07/25/94.
ndavis82
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Re: [Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by ndavis82 »

SarahWalker wrote:Could you provide the entire PCem config file please?
Here you go.
Attachments
config.cfg
(1.08 KiB) Downloaded 338 times
ndavis82
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Re: [Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by ndavis82 »

ndavis82 wrote:
omarsis81 wrote:
ndavis82 wrote: Are you using the same hardware configuration as above, video card, sound card, etc?
Same hardware, but I didn't load emm386.exe so I tried to lauch edit to add it to config.sys but it hanged
Strange, it seems that it hangs if I run it from the HD but the same version works OK from the floppy, I'm working on it
I was beginning to wonder if it had something to do with programs like EMM386. I didn't think to try and disable that last night. I have it set up like that so I can load device drivers into Upper memory to free up a lot more Conventional memory for hungry DOS games. I just know for sure this configuration worked fine a few revisions ago and v12 doesn't have this issue. Thanks for looking into it.
Disabling EMM386 doesn't make any difference for me. Still hangs when trying to load DOS4GW.
ndavis82
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Re: [Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by ndavis82 »

Well, I figured I would go ahead and erase my source files and start over and see what happens.... and what do you know...it's working again. Perhaps some of my source files got corrupted during one of the latest revision updates. Either way, it's not hanging anymore after a complete recompile. Sorry if I caused any headaches.
basic2004
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Re: [Bug] (AMI WinBIOS 486) 486 processors having issues

Post by basic2004 »

JosepMa wrote:Edit/qbasic working fine here too.

I just checked, and it might be a problem with a specific ROM (not sure if buggy, or what).

This one fails:
AAAAMMMMIIII04040404////04040404////1111999999993333 Date:-04/04/93 (C)1985-1993

This one works:
AAAAMMMMIIII00008888////00008888////1111999999993333 Date:-08/08/93 (C)1985-1993
My BIOS works well.

Code: Select all

(AAMMIIBBIIOOSS)12/15/93
I guess this issue was older firmware's bug.
and EMM386 works in my BIOS.
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