Table of Contents= { Table of Contents Introduction {Using Help} {About AMI ECU} Menus and Submenus {Main Menu} {Step 2} {Step 3} {Step 5} {Step 6} Supplemental Information {Advanced Options} {Utilities} {CFG Files} {CMS File} {INF File} {EISA Slot Numbers} {EISA CMOS RAM} } Using Help= { Using Help The help window may be accessed at any time by pressing the F1 key. While in the help system you may scroll the window up and down using the up and down cursor keys. The help window includes a menu with three buttons at the bottom of the window: Back Press F2 to redisplay the last help topic that was shown. Contents Press F3 to display the table of contents for the help system. Quit Press ESC to exit from the help system and return to the ECU. } About AMI ECU= { About EISA Configuration and AMI ECU The EISA Configuration Utility from American Megatrends, Inc. configures EISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture) computer systems. EISA systems and adapter cards are much more complex and flexible than the older ISA designs. The EISA Configuration Utility was created to automate the configuration process in EISA systems. The ECU permits the user to configure an EISA computer. The ECU takes into account the needs of all adapter cards in the system. The ECU configures the EISA devices and sets and maintains system parameters, storing them in EISA CMOS RAM. The ECU guarantees that there will be no conflicts or contention issues between adapter cards, since it assigns all necessary system resources. The ECU must be executed every time ISA or EISA adapter cards are physically added, removed, or moved. The ECU operates on the information provided by the CFG (configuration) files that accompany the EISA motherboard and EISA or ISA adapter cards. When an EISA system is powered on, the system BIOS reads the EISA configuration information from EISA CMOS RAM and initializes all adapter cards in the system. Important Terms .CFG The DOS file extension for a standard EISA configuration file (CFG File) that provides configuration information for a specific EISA Adapter Card. ECU EISA Configuration Utility EISA Extended Industry Standard Architecture ISA Industry Standard Architecture .OVL The standard DOS file extension for an EISA CFG file extension (Overlay file). EISA is an acronym for Extended Industry Standard Architecture. EISA is basically a superset of the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA). ISA is based on the original IBM PC/AT specifications. The EISA specifications allow 32-bit memory addressing to be used by the CPU, DMA devices, and bus mastering devices. The above devices can also use either 16-bit or 32-bit data transferring. In EISA systems, configuration is done through software - the ECU, rather than the hardware switches used by an ISA system. I/O ports, ROM addresses, memory use, and the IRQ and DMA lines for an EISA motherboard and adapter cards are configured using an ECU, where an ISA adapter card uses DIP switches and jumpers to perform the same function. The EISA bus is much faster than the ISA Bus. Not only does EISA provide a wider 32-bit bus, it also provides a maximum 33 MB/sec bus transfer rate. An ISA bus can transfer data at only 8 MB/sec. EISA achieves this higher throughput using high-speed burst mode transfers, which take only one clock cycle. Normal (ISA compatible) transfers take two clock cycles. EISA computers have 32-bit expansion slots that are fully compatible with 8-bit and 16-bit PC/XT/AT expansion slots. EISA expansion slots have 188 pins. The upper 98 pins are exactly the same as the standard AT pinouts. The lower 90 pins are used for EISA bus signals. Perhaps the most practical benefit of EISA systems is automatic configuration of system resources and adapter cards. That means much less dependence on DIP switches, jumpers, and installing configuration files. Switch and jumper-based configurations are still allowed for EISA systems to maintain ISA compatibility. See also: {CFG Files} {EISA CMOS RAM} {CMS File} {EISA Slot Numbers} {INF File} {Main Menu} {Using Help} } Main Menu= { Main Menu This is the main menu of the AMI EISA Configuration Utility. For general information on this utility see {About AMI ECU}. The main menu outlines the six steps involved in configuring an EISA system. Steps 1, 2, and 3 are optional. To select a step, use the up and down cursor keys to move to a step and then press ENTER. You may also select a step by pressing its number. Step 1: About EISA Configuration This step displays information for users who are new to EISA and EISA configuration. {Step 2}: Add and Remove Boards This step is optional. Use this step to manually add or delete boards. Most boards are automatically detected and added by the ECU. {Step 3}: Change Configuration Settings This step is optional. Use this step to change configuration settings for any board in the system. If you skip this step, all settings will remain set to their default state. Step 4: Save Configuration This step saves the configuration settings to {EISA CMOS RAM} and into a backup file (the {CMS File}). {Step 5}: View Switch/Jumper Settings This step displays how to set DIP switches and jumpers on any board that is switch or jumper configurable. {Step 6}: Exit This step exits to the operating system. If any configuration settings were changed, you are given the option of rebooting the system so that the new settings will take effect. You may access the {Utilities} menu by pressing F9 from the main menu. } Step 2= { Step 2: Add and Remove Boards This step is optional. Use this step to manually add or delete boards. Most EISA boards are automatically detected and added by the ECU. Also use this step to move a board from one slot to another. If the ECU did not detect your EISA boards properly, you may add a board manually by pressing INSERT and choosing the board's CFG file. You may delete a board by moving to that board and pressing DEL. You may move a board from one slot to another by moving to that board and pressing F7. Most ISA boards cannot be automatically detected by the ECU, but most of these boards do not need to be configured anyway. In some rare cases it may be necessary to define an ISA board so it's resources will not be used by an EISA board. For more information on this subject see {Define ISA Board}. } Step 3= { Step 3: Change Configuration Settings This step is optional, to skip it, press ESC to return to the main menu. Use this step to change configuration settings on any board that is installed. To view or change a board's settings, use the cursor keys to move to the board and then press ENTER. When you are satisfied with the current settings press ESC to return to the main menu. Pressing F9 will display the {Advanced Options} menu. } Step 5= { Step 5: View Switch/Jumper Settings Use this step to verify that all DIP switches and jumpers on the installed boards are set correctly. Many ISA boards and some EISA boards have switches and jumpers that have to be set manually. The following screens also display any software statements. Software statements are generated by boards that require special drivers or other software to be loaded. The screens also display other information about the configuration that may be useful. All of this information can be printed or saved on disk by pressing F7. } Step 6= { Step 6: Exit Press ENTER to end the AMI EISA Configuration Utility and return to DOS. Pressing ESC will return to the main menu. If the contents of this system's {EISA CMOS RAM} has been changed during this configuration session, the changes will not take effect until the system is rebooted. If this is the case, you have the option of rebooting now by pressing F10. } Copy CFG File= { Copy CFG File Before your computer can be configured, the ECU needs a CFG file for each EISA board in the system (including the system board). {CFG Files} are included on a diskette that comes with each EISA product. CFG files have filenames that start with an exclamation point (!) and have an extension of ".CFG". Place the diskette containing the CFG file into drive A. If the file can be found in a different drive or directory, enter a new path to the file. Pressing ENTER will copy the file into the current directory so it can be used by the ECU. Pressing ESC will skip this CFG file and leave the corresponding board unconfigured. } Slot Selection= { Slot Selection You must select a slot for the card that is being configured. There may be several choices available, they are listed in the order of preference. See Also: {EISA Slot Numbers} } Edit Board= { Edit Board Settings This menu contains a list of all functions for one board. Each function has a "choice" setting and may have one or more resource settings. To change a function's choice setting, use the up and down cursor keys to highlight a function and then press ENTER. Some functions may only have one choice setting and therefore cannot be changed. To change a function's resource settings, use the up and down cursor keys to highlight a function and then press F6. Not all functions have resource settings. When you are satisfied with the current settings press ESC to return to the previous menu. } Edit Function= { Function Choice Selection This menu shows the choice settings available for a function. The current setting is indicated by a mark beside that setting. You may change the current setting by selecting a different choice. If a setting causes a conflict with other functions or boards, you will not be allowed select that choice. Press ENTER to change the function's choice setting and return to the previous screen, or press ESC to ignore any changes that you have just made. See {Function Help} for help on the settings available for this function. } Edit Resource= { Resource Editing This screen is used to edit a function's resource settings If you create any conflicts while changing resources, you will be warned and the setting that caused the conflict will not be allowed. Press ENTER to return to the previous screen. See {Function Help} for help on the settings available for this function. } Print Config= { Confirm Print This screen is used to print the configuration information or to save it in a file. To print the information, select "Printer" and then press ENTER. To save the information in a file, select "File", then press TAB and enter a filename, then press ENTER. Pressing ESC will return to the previous screen without printing. } Advanced Options= { Advanced Options Menu This is a menu of options for use by an advanced user. There are four choices available. Press ESC to return to the previous screen. Global {Resource Map} This option displays a list of allocated resources (DMA, IRQ, Ports, and Memory). {Board Details} Use this option to display details on individual boards. {System Details} This option displays information on the entire system and its present state of configuration. Physical Board {ID Map} Displays the ID's of boards that are physically present in the system. } Resource Map= { Global Resource Map This screen shows which system resources are currently used in this configuration. System resources include DMA channels, IRQ levels, I/O Ports, and Memory/Address ranges. } Board Details= { Board Details This screen shows the details on one board in the system. Use the up and down arrow keys to scroll the screen. Use PGUP and PGDN to see details on other boards. Press ENTER to return to the previous menu. } System Details= { System Details This screen shows details about the system being configured. Use the up and down arrow keys to scroll the screen. Press ENTER to return to the previous menu. } ID Map= { Physical Board ID Map This chart shows which boards have been physically plugged into your system or devices that are embedded in you system. Only boards with readable IDs are shown. This means that most ISA boards will not be displayed on this screen. } Select CMS= { Selecting a CMS File You are running the ECU in remote mode. You may select a {CMS File} to modify. CMS files each contain a saved configuration for a system. If you wish to start a new remote configuration, press ESC and you will be asked to select CFG files one by one. For more information on how to select a file from this menu see: {File Selection} } Select System CFG= { Selecting System Board CFG File When adding boards one by one, you must first select the system board CFG file. For more information on how to select a file from this menu see: {File Selection} See Also: {CFG Files} } Select CFG= { Selecting a Board to Add Select the CFG File for the board that you want to add. For more information on how to select a file from this menu see: {File Selection} See Also: {CFG Files} If you do not have a CFG file for an ISA board, you may add a user-defined ISA board by selecting "Add ISA". You must define ISA boards before you begin configuration. To do this, select the {Define ISA Board} command from the {Utilities} menu. } Write CMOS Select= { Selecting CMS File to Write to EISA CMOS More than one {CMS File} has been found in the current directory, you must choose which one to write to {EISA CMOS RAM}. For more information on how to select a file from this menu see: {File Selection} } Select INF= { Selecting the INF file to Display You are in remote mode so you must select an {INF File} to display. The INF file contains information about a saved configuration. The names of the INF files correspond to the names of the system board {CFG Files} that were used in the configurations. For more information on how to select a file from this menu see: {File Selection} } File Selection= { File Selection Use the up and down cursor keys to move the highlight bar over a file and press ENTER. Only files matching the filespec shown at the top of the screen are shown in the window. You may change the filespec to select files from other drives/directories by pressing SHIFT TAB. } Utilities= { Utilities Menu This screen controls how a configuration is produced. Several options are available, each one can be enabled or disabled by pressing SPACE when an option is highlighted. Remote Mode Turn off remote mode if the configuration that you are working on is for this computer. If you want to produce a configuration for a computer other than this one, turn on remote mode. If remote mode is off, configuration information will be stored in this computer's {EISA CMOS RAM} as well as a {CMS File} and {INF File}. If remote mode is on, the configuration will be stored in the files only. These files can be copied to another computer and the configuration can be copied into that system's EISA CMOS RAM using the "Restore configuration from backup" option on this screen. Advanced/Dealer Mode Some EISA boards have CFG files that contain options that are not ordinarily configured by end users. If this mode is turned on, any functions that are marked as EXP (expert) will be visible and can be changed. Force new configuration When turned on, this mode will ignore any existing configuration settings in CMOS or in the {CMS File}. All settings will be set to their defaults. Load CFG files manually from directory list When this mode is turned on, the ECU will not automatically detect and add boards to the configuration. You will be prompted to select boards one by one. Load CFG files listed in CFGLIST.DAT If you prefer to specify a list of CFG files to load, you may create a file called CFGLIST.DAT that contains the filenames of the CFG files to be added. Turning this option on causes the ECU to use this file. Ignore ID mismatches Normally the ECU will only configure boards that are physically present in the system. If a board was present in a previous configuration but was then physically removed, the ECU will normally not load the CFG file for this board. Turning this option on causes the ECU to load CFG files for all boards that were in the previous configuration regardless of whether or not they are physically installed. Press F5 to restore a configuration from a CMS file. See {Write EISA CMOS} for more information on this option. Press F6 to display the physical board {ID Map}. Press F7 to {Define ISA Board}. } Write EISA CMOS= { Write EISA CMOS from CMS File This option will copy the contents of a {CMS File} into this system's {EISA CMOS RAM} which is maintained when the system is turned off. Doing this will erase any previous configuration information stored in EISA CMOS RAM. If there is more than one CMS File in the current directory, you will be asked which one to use. } Define ISA Board= { ISA Board Definition If you have an ISA board with no CFG file, you may use this screen to define the board. It is only necessary to define an ISA board when you want to prevent other boards in the system from using the same IRQ levels, DMA channels, I/O Port addresses, or Memory addresses that your ISA board uses. To define an ISA board, you must: 1. Enter a description of the board in the "Board Name" box. 2. Enter the board manufacturer's name in the next box. 3. Select a board type in the "Board Type" box. 4. Select a slot type in the "Slot Type" box. 5. Define up to 4 DMA channels needed by the board by selecting one of the DMA boxes. 6. Define up to 7 IRQ levels used by the board by selecting one of the IRQ boxes. 7. Define up to 8 ranges of I/O ports used by the board by selecting one of the Port boxes. 8. Define up to 8 memory/address ranges used by the board by selecting one of the Memory boxes. 9. Press F10 to save your ISA board definition for use in a later configuration session. The following additional options are available at any time: Load (Press F9) Loads an ISA board definition that was created before. The definition can be modified and then resaved. New (Press F2) Starts a new ISA board definition. Delete (Press F4) Removes an ISA board definition from the ECU's internal ISA board database. Quit (Press ESC) Returns to the main menu without saving any changes. } ISA DMA= { ISA DMA Definition Use this screen to define a DMA channel used by the ISA board. Select the DMA channel, transfer size, and timing, and then press ENTER to return to the main ISA definition screen. Press ESC to ingore any changes and return to the previous screen. Press F4 to remove the DMA channel from the ISA board's definition. } ISA IRQ= { ISA IRQ Definition Use this screen to define an IRQ level used by the ISA board. Select the IRQ level and trigger type, and then press ENTER to return to the main ISA definition screen. Press ESC to ingore any changes and return to the previous screen. Press F4 to remove the IRQ level from the ISA board's definition. } ISA Port= { ISA Port Definition Use this screen to define a range of I/O ports used by the ISA board. Enter the starting and ending ports, select the size, and then press ENTER to return to the main ISA definition screen. Press ESC to ingore any changes and return to the previous screen. Press F4 to remove the Port range from the ISA board's definition. } ISA Memory= { ISA Memory Definition Use this screen to define a memory address range used by the ISA board. Enter the size of the block of memory in kilobytes (1k = 1024), and enter the start address of the block in hex (Note: Use an absolute address, instead of C000:0000 use 000C0000). Also select RAM or ROM, Cachable or Noncachable, the memory type, width, and decode width. If you are not sure about any of these options, just use the default (which is always at the top of each box). When you are finished, press ENTER to return to the main ISA definition screen. Press ESC to ingore any changes and return to the previous screen. Press F4 to remove the Memory range from the ISA board's definition. } ISA Board Delete= { Delete ISA Board Definition Choose an ISA board definition to delete. Use this option to remove an existing ISA board definition from the ECU's internal ISA board database. Press ESC to abort and return to the previous screen. } ISA Board Load= { Load ISA Board Definition Choose an ISA board definition to load. Use this option to modify an existing ISA board definition. Press ESC to abort and return to the previous screen. } Add ISA Board= { Add ISA Board Select an ISA board to add to the current configuration. You must define ISA boards using the utilities menu (F9 from the main menu). Press ESC to abort and return to the previous screen. } Confirm Remove= { Press ENTER to remove the board from the configuration. Press ESC to keep the board in the current configuration. } Confirm Restart= { Once you have saved the configuration, you cannot add or remove boards or make changes to the settings without restarting the ECU. Press ENTER to restart the ECU. Press ESC to return to the main menu without restarting. } Amperage Warning= { The ECU keeps track of how much current is drawn by each board that is configured. The total amount of current needed by all boards in your system currently exceeds the capacity of your system board. If the system is powered on with all of these boards installed, physical damage may occur. } Swap File= { The amount of free memory in this system is low. The ECU must page some data to the disk to free up more memory. This data may be needed at any time so do not remove the diskette from the drive. } SUBCHOICE conflict= { SUBCHOICE conflict The SUBCHOICE that you selected contained request(s) for resource(s) already allocated to some other function. Selecting this subchoice will result in an irresolvable conflict. So this subchoice has been ignored, and the previous subchoice has been restored. } CHOICE conflict= { CHOICE conflict The CHOICE that you selected contained request(s) for resource(s) already allocated to some other function. Selecting this choice will result in an irresolvable conflict. So this choice has been ignored, and the previous choice has been restored. } IRQ conflict= { IRQ level conflict The IRQ level that you selected has already been allocated to some other function. Selecting this IRQ will result in a irresolvable conflict. So this selection has been ignored, and the previous selection has been restored. } DMA conflict= { DMA channel conflict The DMA channel that you selected has already been allocated to some other function. Selecting this DMA channel will result in a irresolvable conflict. So this selection has been ignored, and the previous selection has been restored. } MEMORY conflict= { MEMORY block conflict The MEMORY block that you selected has already been allocated to some other function. Selecting this MEMORY block will result in a irresolvable conflict. So this selection has been ignored, and the previous selection has been restored. } PORT conflict= { PORT block conflict The PORT block that you selected has already been allocated to some other function. Selecting this PORT block will result in a irresolvable conflict. So this selection has been ignored, and the previous selection has been restored. } No resources= { The current choice setting for this function is not using any system resources (IRQ, DMA, Ports, or Memory). } Insert Source= { Insert Source Diskette Insert the diskette that contains the {CFG Files} to be copied. } Insert Destination= { Insert Destination Diskette Insert the ECU diskette so the {CFG files} can be copied onto it. } ISA Definition Changed= { The ISA definition that you are editing has been changed since it was last saved. Press ENTER if you do not want to save the changes. Press ESC to abort the command and return to the editing screen. } ISA Definition Saved= { The ISA definition that you are editing has been saved in the ECU's internal ISA board database. } CFG Version= { This CFG file contains a statement that indicates that the CFG file is not compatible with this version of the ECU. The ECU may behave unpredictably if this CFG file is loaded. } Save before view= { You have made changes to the configuration, but have not saved it using Step 4. Any switch/jumper settings that are displayed before saving may be inaccurate. } CFG Files= { CFG Files The CFG file describes the adapter card characteristics and the system resources that it requires. Configuration information for the motherboard and each adapter card in an EISA system is provided in a configuration file (CFG file) read by the EISA Configuration Utility (ECU). The CFG file should be on a floppy disk provided with the EISA motherboard or EISA adapter card. ISA cards can also have CFG files. Older ISA adapter cards will not. The ECU reads all CFG files and optimally configures the EISA computer so there are no resource conflicts between the system and any adapter card. This configuration information is saved in {EISA CMOS RAM}. See also: {CMS File} {INF File} } CMS File= { CMS File The CMS file contains a copy of the configuration information that is written into the system's {EISA CMOS RAM}. The default name for a CMS file matches the ID of the system board that was used in the configuration. Each CMS file should have a corresponding INF file. See also: {CFG Files} {INF File} } INF File= { INF File The INF file contains detailed information about a configuration such as switch and jumper settings, software statements, connection statements, and resource allocation. The INF file is used by {Step 5} to recall information on a saved configuration. Each INF file should have a corresponding CMS file. See also: {CFG Files} {CMS File} } EISA Slot Numbers= { EISA Slot Numbers Each adapter card (EISA or ISA) is installed in an EISA or ISA expansion slot (connector) on the EISA motherboard. The slots are numbered from 1 to n (n can be 1 through 15). The EISA motherboard is always slot 0. Each slot is given a unique I/O address space of 1024 bytes (1 KB). The BIOS uses the I/O ports and associated registers and the information written to {EISA CMOS RAM} to initialize the EISA slot devices during POST. If the slot device is an ISA adapter card, the I/O space is limited to 100h - 3FFh. The ECU displays the proper switch and jumper settings for the ISA device if a CFG file is provided with the device. } EISA CMOS RAM= { EISA CMOS RAM Initialization and configuration information is read by the ECU and stored in EISA CMOS RAM. A backup of CMOS RAM configuration data is also stored on disk. When the system is rebooted, the BIOS reads the CMOS RAM configuration data and executes the initialization instructions during POST. The initialization usually consists of writing to the I/O ports assigned to the slot device. EISA CMOS RAM is a small amount of nonvolatile memory on the system board. Configuration information is stored in EISA CMOS so that the BIOS can initialize the system (including adapter cards) at power up. The contents of EISA CMOS RAM is maintained by a battery. If the battery runs down, the contents of EISA CMOS may be lost. It is then necessary to either reconfigure the system or copy a backed up configuration into EISA CMOS RAM using the {Utilities} menu. }