xxxxx@inland.net said:
I’ve had this problem, and the only solution I found was a 2000 PnP
driver.
That’s likely the answer, though that might not be enough, even after
upgrading the BIOS to MW420A11 from their web page.
I rummaged around and found that the BIOS seems to be messing up the
mapping. The card in question is an i960RD based board. It is actually
a multi-function PCI device, with function 0 a bridge, and function 1
the device in question. I see that BAR0 of my device gets the value:
0xf4000008
Perfect. Note that it is prefetchable (the 8). The device is on bus 3,
so I look at the bridge that connects bus 3:
BAR4: 0xfbf0fa00
BAR5: 0xf3f1f401
The BAR4 DWORD for a bridge gives the base and limit addresses for
non-prefetchable memory, in this case 0xfa000000 through 0xfbf00000.
BAR5 gives the base and limit addresses for prefetchable memory, in
this case 0xf4000000 through 0xf3f00000. Say what!? The region is the
one that includes my device, but it is given in *descending* order?
I look at the device ID for the bridge, and find that it is a DEC21152
bridge chip. Pull the machine apart, and sure enough it is an Intel
manufactured DEC21152. Goody, I use these chips inside the board, I
know lots about these chips, so I’m probably right about how it works.
Hell, I’ve written my *own* BIOS to program 21152 chips in embedded
systems.
With DEC21152 chips, setting a region to a descending order turns
it off. Hell, that’s true of any PCI-to-PCI bridge.
So I called DELL Technical support, and I must say I don’t remember
the last time I was so thoroughly insulted. I started to tell the lady
about PCI problems, how the bridge was apparently not being set up
correctly (I was willing to be set straight, I’ve been known to be
wrong) and I told the person that the PCI card was an i960RD based
board, PCI 2.1 compliant.
The conversation ended there. “It won’t work. DELL only supports PCI 2.2
devices, PCI 2.1 devices probably will not work.” Any attempt to get a
word in edgewise got the same mantra, including the part about “DELL only
ships PCI 2.2 devices with the Precision 420 systems.” I couldn’t
convince her to escalate the problem or anything.
Of course, the DEC (er, Intel) 21152 bridge chip soldered onto the
motherboard is a PCI 2.1 device, the same as my card. (And of course
my card words in a great many other places, including my alpha.)
So unless someone can get a DELL support drone who knows how to treat
a professional engineer with deference and respect, The Precision 420
systems are on my blacklist.
The conclusion is that the BIOS is fubar. Windows 98 and Windows 2000
work because they do not rely on the BIOS to do PCI mapping… and
now we know why:-)
Steve Williams “The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
xxxxx@icarus.com But I have promises to keep,
xxxxx@picturel.com and lines to code before I sleep,
http://www.picturel.com And lines to code before I sleep.”
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