[1310] in linux-scsi channel archive
Re: Symbios Logic/NCR 8250S in Giga-Byte GA-486AM mainboard.
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Gerard Roudier)
Sat Jan 25 03:29:26 1997
Date: Sat, 25 Jan 1997 09:26:12 +0000 (GMT)
From: Gerard Roudier <groudier@club-internet.fr>
To: Technical Support Staff <tech-gbt@giga-byte.com>
cc: Dirk Foersterling <dirk@informatik.uni-frankfurt.de>, support@symbios.com,
Linux SCSI list <linux-scsi@vger.rutgers.edu>
In-Reply-To: <97Jan24.124911-0500_est.213826-328+1283@vger.rutgers.edu>
On Fri, 24 Jan 1997, Technical Support Staff wrote:
> At 12:56 AM 1/24/97 +0000, Gerard Roudier wrote:
> >
> >On Thu, 23 Jan 1997, Technical Support Staff wrote:
> >
> >> The NCR BIOS ususlly is not activited unless there is a NCR SCSI card plug
> >> in the slot. A well design card should be able to stop the NCR BIOS blok on
> >> the motherboards BIOS being load up. Since block address in a default
> address.
> >
> >1. A well designed mother board should allow users to disable the NCR BIOS
> > from the setup.
> >
> >2. A serious mother board manufacturer should be able to provide
> > custumers up-to-date set-up and bioses.
> >
> >In my opinion, the right behaviour of a well designed NCR board is to
> >do just the opposite you suggest since:
> >
> >1. The motherboard set-up is most of the time in flash memory and so
> > easy to update.
> >2. Low cost NCR based board use normal rom.
> >
> >The order of BIOS is decided by the setup and in my opinion, a well
> >designed setup should know what BIOSES it provides.
> >So, it should be able to detect that a board have a more recent
> >NCR BIOS and call it rather than its older one.
> >
> >
> >Gerard.
> >
>
> Hi
>
> Who knows who in the slot is not important as long as they are speaking the
> same language and they are talking at place and they know each other is
> present.
In my opinion, such debates with lots of "should" and "if" are quite
irrelevant.
Dirk have a very simple problem and the same way Giga-byte has been able
to add the NCR Bios to the set-up, they _must_ be able to remove it.
> For exemple, if I plug in an Adaptec SCSI card the NCR BIOS will not show up
> on the screen, will it. This means that the BIOS knows the Adaptec card is
> present or the Adaptec card knows that NCR BIOS is in slot and ask the NCR's
> BIOS not to be loaded. This example shows as long as the design is
> according the spec. then the card and the board show be able to communicate
> correctly. Since the NCR BIOS has been built-in in the BIOS( for almost 3yrs
> now) this is the first time that we have enconter this kind of problem.
A problem exists the first time it is encountered (obvious).
My configuration is very similar to Dirk's one.
I just have choosen a main board without SDMS BIOS in order to not
have this problem. It is not a Giga-byte.
Dirk has a scsi board with SDMS 4.0 BIOS and want to use it.
Older boards with 810, 815 and 825 chips are fully supported
by SDMS 3.0 BIOS.
> http://www.giga-byte.com
I have had a look to your web site.
Why to not make available a bios/setup update that allows to remove the
SMDS 3.0 _safely_?
Gerard.
