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Hardware problems related to IBM (and compatible) Token Ring adapters.

Adapter Failures in PCI Bus PCs

     There have been many problems getting IBM Token Ring adapters working in
     PCs with PCI buses.  It is possible to get Token Ring adapters working
     with these machines by moving the Adapters ROM and RAM addresses along
     with changing the Advanced CMOS settings in PCs that use the AMI BIOS.

     It is believed that almost all of the information in the next section
     labeled "Pentium Problems" also pertain to adapter failures with 486 based
     PCI bus PC.  Reading that section is highly recommended.

  DEL 100MHZ DX4

     The adapter would not open in the DEL PCI-bus PC.	The problem turned out
     that the PC was 'Shadow RAMing' the ROM space of the adapter and the CMOS
     settings for proper PC operations could not disable it.  This only
     occurred when the Token Ring ROM was set to any address in the Cxxx
     segment range.  The solution was to move the ROM address to the Dxxx or
     Exxx segment, in this case it was moved to EA000 and the RAM was moved to
     EC000 for efficient use of the upper memory area.

  PCs with Intel PCI Mother boards
  Telex Cerillera DT266 (486DX2-66MHZ, uses Intel Mother board)

     The adapter was made operational by using the following settings:

       Adapter switch settings
	  ROM Address	 D000
	  RAM Size   16K
	  IRQ	     2
	  Other settings as desired
       Advanced CMOS Setup
	  Disable Shadow Memory Size	64K
	  Disable Shadow Memory Base	D0000h
	  ISA IRQ 9		Used)
       Changed the Device drivers to put the RAM at D800
       Changed EMM386 to exclude D800-DBFF

     It is our belief, but we have not tested this theory, that the problem
     with the above is that the AMI BIOS does not disable shadow RAM properly
     when the "Disable Size" is set to values other than 64K.  It this is true
     than the adapter would work with its ROM at CC00 and RAM at D800, but this
     would leave upper memory very fragmented, and unable to use the DOS
     loadhigh command efficiently.

     We use and recommend the following adapter settings for ROM and RAM
     addresses.  They have been tested in Pentium based PCs, but not the above
     mentioned 486 machines, however we believe that they will work OK. Adapter
     ROM = B200, RAM = B400, IRQ2, 16K RAM Size.

Pentium problems with IBM and Compatible Token Ring Adapters

     Overview

     PCI bus Pentium systems are new and are rapidly maturing.	There have been
     some infancy problems related to hardware and software speeds involved
     with these systems.  There are problems with Token Ring adapters not
     working in Pentium systems.  No problems have been directly related to
     that of the Pentium processor, which appears to be rock solid.  All of the
     problems found were related to: the PCI bus; BIOS changes required for the
     Pentium systems; NIC software drivers, or mother board features.

     Before proceeding farther we would like to say that Pentium Systems tested
     have matured, are fantastic, and we would not hesitate to use or recommend
     them!  They may however require some tweaking with the NIC software
     drivers or CMOS setup for proper Token Ring adapter operations.  In the
     process of calling around for pricing information, we were informed that
     the Micronics Pentium mother board was an upper end product.  After
     testing of NIC adapters, we would also have to agree with this.

     The systems used for testing were 60 and 90MHZ Pentiums with the
     combination ISA / PCI bus, using the Intel Neptune PCI bus chip set.  The
     hardware problems were interrupt or memory access related and some
     adapters would not work properly in 90MHZ Pentiums.  Of the IBM and
     Compatible adapters tested, only the following adapters worked properly:
     IBM 16/4 ISA 16 and CAVU TR1S.

     The systems tested had mother boards from Intel and Micronics.  The Intel
     Mother board uses the AMI BIOS, which required the user to make some
     adjustments in the "Advanced CMOS Setup" to allow use of a IBM 16/4 ISA 16
     Token Ring adapter.  The Micronics used the Phoenix BIOS, who's default
     settings allowed proper operations of the IBM 16/4 ISA 16 Token Ring
     adapter.  It also appeared to give the user better control of upper memory
     functionality.

     Adapter problems found with the Pentium systems include:
	 PCs with down level BIOS code.
	 Reported problems with earlier versions 90MHZ Pentiums.
	 Users not changing the "Advanced CMOS Setup" in PCs using the AMI
	  BIOS.
	 NIC software driver problems.
	 Certain Token Ring adapters that would not work in Pentium systems.

     BIOS problems
	  As the Pentium and PCI bus systems have been maturing, there have
	  been many changes to their BIOS programs.  That is why the BIOS in
	  new machines are now being put into 'Flash' memory so it can be
	  easily changed by a software program.  It has been reported that BIOS
	  revisions are occurring approximately every two weeks.  A new mother
	  board purchased for testing was down level by 3 revisions.  New BIOS
	  revisions, for Intel or Micronics mother boards can be obtained from
	  the following BBSs: INTEL @ (916) 356-3600; Micronics @ (510) 651-
	  6837
	  me
	  memory of a PC.
     90MHZ PCI bus Pentiums problems
	  There have been reported problems with early 90MHZ Pentium Systems.
	  These problems appear to be related to the INTEL Neptune PCI bus chip
	  set.	These problems were solved with the Aug./Sept. 1994 release of
	  the updated version of the Neptune chip set.

     CMOS Setup problems
	  Pentium PCs using the AMI BIOS need the following "Advanced CMOS
	  Setup" changes for proper operation.
	    Disable Shadow Memory Size	  : 64K     (could be as small as 8K)
	    Disable Shadow Memory Base	  : CC000h  (TR ROM base address)
	    ISA IRQ 9	   : Used  (if adapter is set for IRQ2)

     NDIS driver problem
	  Enhancements have been made to IBM's NDIS drivers for their 16/4
	  adapters.  The NDIS driver, NSCTOK.DOS Version 1.00, from National
	  Semiconductor Conductor, dated 1/29/93 has a problem that prevents it
	  from binding to the protocol layer in a 90MHZ Pentium PC.  The
	  NSCTOK.DOS driver does work in a 486-66MHZ System.  Using either of
	  the IBM NDIS drivers shown below clear up the problem.
	    IBMTOK.DOS10/29/93V2.03Works OK in 90MHZ Pentium
	    IBMTOK.DOS8/28/92 V2.02Works OK in 90MHZ Pentium
	    NSCTOK.DOS1/29/93 V1.00Did not allow Bind in 90MHZ Pentium.  It
				    did work in a 66MHZ 486

     Adapter incompatibility problems
	  The IBM 16/4 (PN 25F7367) would not work in a 90MHZ Pentium, along
	  with some other IBM compatible adapters.

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