    AST RESEARCH, INC.        TECHNICAL BULLETIN # 1680          03/25/97

    TITLE:  CMOS BIOS Settings on the Manhattan D

    ISSUE

       Default BIOS settings, prior to the release of this bulletin, may
       not provide the best configuration for the  Manhattan D system.
       The default settings are as follows:

       Boot Option:

          First Boot Device  - Floppy
          Second Boot Device - Hard Disk
          Third Boot Device  - DISABLED
          Fourth Boot Device - DISABLED

       Advanced Chipset Configuration section under Advanced Options:

       Memory Error Detection  - ECC

       SMM feature             - DISABLE
       Event Logging           - DISABLE
       System SERR Detection   - ENABLE
       System Memory Scrubbing - DISABLE
       Clear Event Log Block   - DISABLE

       This issue affects all Manhattan D systems.

    BACKGROUND

       SMM feature -  ENABLE
       The System Management Mode (SMM) must be ENABLED for Event
       Logging or System Memory Scrubbing to function. This allows
       system management interrupts to occur.

       Event Logging - ENABLED
       When ENABLED, the system will record system events to  flash
       memory chip for use by server management software.  The SMM
       feature must be enabled for this feature to work.

       System SERR Detection - ENABLE
       When ENABLED, the system will issue a reset via the Non-Maskable
       Interrupt (NMI) and/or record to the Event Log when there is an
       occurrence of a PCI System Error or Parity Error (SERR/PERR).
       ENABLE the SMM and Event Logging features in order for the system
       to write to the Event Log.

       System Memory Scrubbing (SMS) - ENABLE
       When you ENABLE SMS, the system will force any corrected
       single-bit errors to write back to memory. The Memory Error
       Detection must be set to ECC.

       Clear Event Log Block (CEB) - DISABLE
       When you ENABLE CEB, the Event Log will be cleared every time the
       system is booted.

    ACTION

       To optimize this system's configuration, follow the steps below:

       1. When the system powers up, press the  key to enter
          BIOS setup.

       2. Under Main Group, select Boot Options and press
          the  key.

       3. At First Boot Device, select IDE-CD ROM.
          At Secondary Boot Device, select Floppy.
          At Third Boot Device, select Hard Disk.

       4. Press the  key to go back to Main.

       5. Press the right arrow key and move to Advanced Group

       6. Under Advanced Chipset Configuration, select the
          following:

          Memory Error Detection  - select ECC

          SMM feature             - select ENABLE
          Event logging           - select ENABLE
          System SERR Detection   - select ENABLE
          System Memory Scrubbing - select ENABLE
          Clear Event Log Block   - select DISABLE

       After making all the changes press the  key to save and
       exit.

    NOTES

       Changing the default settings will provide the best configuration
       for this system.

       Future BIOS releases will address these issues.

    TAN N/A
    CL/SW
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