Stylistic 1200 BIOS 1.10 and BIOS 1.11 Features List Fujitsu Personal Systems, Inc. February 1998 Stylistic 1200 BIOS Version 1.11 This upgrade kit includes Stylistic 1200 BIOS Version 1.11. However, since BIOS 1.10 has been programmed on some Stylistic 1200's, this document will also describe the changes made to BIOS 1.10. BIOS 1.10 The following features and fixes were added in BIOS Version 1.10 for the Stylistic 1200. LOW BATTERY CLOCK CONTROL ENHANCEMENT Prior to BIOS 1.10, the CPU clock speed would decrease when the battery was low. This would occur even when power management was turned off. When power management is turned off, the CPU should run at full speed, regardless of the state of the battery. This problem would only happen when BIOS Setup was configured with the following: * The BIOS "Power Savings" setting was set to "Customize" * The "Low Battery CPU Speed" was set to 30, 45, or 60 MHz and then * The "Power Savings" setting was set to "Off" This problem was corrected in BIOS 1.10. CURRENT AND PERMANENT BACKLIGHT SETTING Prior to BIOS 1.10 the current setting for "LCD Backlight Level" would become the same as the permanent setting after the system was suspended and then resumes. For example: * The permanent "LCD Backlight Level" value is set to "Adjustable" * The current "LCD Backlight Level" value is set to "Minimum Only" * The system is suspended and resumed * Both the current and permanent settings would become "Adjustable" EXCA REGISTERS INITIALIZED ON WARM BOOT In BIOS 1.10, the PCMCIA ExCA registers are reinitialized during the "warm boot" process. Prior to BIOS 1.10, the registers were not reinitialized. This meant that if you chose "Restart the Computer in MS-DOS Mode" in Windows '95, used the PCMCIA controller in the MS-DOS mode and then exited MS-DOS to return to windows, the IRQ used by the PCMCIA controller would not be available to Windows '95. This potential problem no longer exists in BIOS 1.10. CLOCK CONTROL ON THERMAL SMI The ability to enable or disable the clock control on a thermal SMI was added. This change was requested by Intel to enhance the functionality of the Intel chipset used in the Stylistic 1200. BACKLIGHT HOTPAD VALUE The "slow up" and "slow down" hotpads now change the backlight by 2 steps. Prior to BIOS 1.10 these hotpads changed the backlight brightness by one step, which was not a visible difference. BIOS 1.11 The following describes the features and changes that were implemented in BIOS 1.11. DEFAULT SPEAKER VOLUME When the system boots for the first time, the default speaker volume is set to 2Fh. Prior to BIOS 1.11, the default volume was 3Fh. This volume level was high enough to cause dome distortion of the Windows "startup" sound. Note that this only applies to the first time the system is started. In subsequent boots the volume is set to that last value set by the user. DEFAULT IRDA MODE SET TO FAST In BIOS Setup, the default value for IrDA Mode was set to "FAST IR, DMA Channel 3." Previous to BIOS 1.11 the default value was "Standard IR." CHANGE TO PROCESSOR PLL LOCK COUNT VALUE The Processor PLL Lock Count value was changed to 2ms. Prior to BIOS 1.11 the value was 1 ms that would occasionally cause the system to hang. CHANGE MOUSE RESET METHOD The mouse reset method was changed so that a second reset command will be issued during system resume if the first reset command causes an invalid response. Prior to BIOS 1.11 only one reset command was sent. POWERPAL FUNCTION CHANGED The "Set Suspend / Resume Switch Suspend" function (BL = 03h) changes the current setting. Prior to BIOS 1.11 the function changed the permanent setting. VIDEO CHIP SUSPEND METHOD CHANGED BIOS 1.11 puts the NeoMagic video chip into suspend mode via a software interface by writing to a register in the video chip. Prior to BIOS 1.11 the chip was put into suspend mode via a hardware interface by changing a value of a pin on the chip. This would sometimes cause the video chip to hand and in turn cause the system to hang. SUMMARY SCREEN CHANGE Prior to BIOS 1.11 if the Summary Screen was enabled the POST Diagnostics Message was disabled, the Idle Mode Time-out was set to 1/2 second, and the Serial Port A was disabled. The address for Serial Port A was incorrectly listed on the Summary Screen as "3F8". This problem was fixed in BIOS 1.11. POST ERROR MESSAGE CORRECTED If an IRQ conflict occurred between the PCI bus and some other device, an error message is generated during POST. Prior to BIOS 1.11 this message read "Pci . . .". The message in BIOS 1.11 now reads "PCI . . ." On the Stylistic 1200 this should not be an issue because the system automatically assigns the IRQ for the PCI bus. APM STATUS CHANGE Prior to BIOS 1.11 the Get Power State function would return an invalid current state unless the system was in "On" mode. This problem has been corrected in BIOS 1.11. PCI CONFIGURATION SPACE CHANGED Prior to BIOS 1.11 the PCI configuration space was larger than it needed to be. The amount of memory allocated for PCI configuration has been reduced in BIOS 1.11. USB RESUME EVENT BIOS 1.11 saves the USB registers during system suspend and then restores them on resume. This will greatly increase the number of devices that continue to function after a suspend / resume event cycle. MODEM COMMUNICATIONS ENHANCEMENT If an APM "CPU Idle" command is issued while the system in running on AC Power or if the "CPU Idle" command is issued while the system is in the "On Mode" the CPU will function in "Stop Grant" mode. If activity from the serial port, parallel port, or the PCMCIA controller causes the system to go from Idle Mode to On Mode the Idle Mode time-out value will be set to 12 seconds. Both of these changes should increase the reliability of modem communications while power management is enabled. AUTO SUSPEND TO DISK MORE RELIABLE Prior to BIOS 1.11 if an SMI occurred when the system was preparing to auto suspend to disk the system could hang. This potential problem was fixed in BIOS 1.11. Fujitsu Personal Systems, Inc. 58-0573-00 Rev. B