Copyright and Trademark Information

Restricted Rights: Use, duplication, or disclosure by the U.S. 
Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph 
(c) (1) (ii) of the rights in Technical Data and Computer Software 
clause at DFARS 252.227-7013.

Digital Equipment Corporation makes no representations that the 
use of its products in the manner described in this publication 
will not infringe on existing or future patent rights, nor do the 
descriptions contained in this publication imply the granting of 
licenses to make, use, or sell equipment or software in accordance 
with the description.

Possession, use, or copying of the software described in this 
publication is authorized only pursuant to a valid written license 
from Digital or an authorized sublicensor.

Copyright Digital Equipment Corporation, 1996. All Rights 
Reserved.

The following are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation:

AlphaServer, AlphaStation, AlphaXL, DEC, and the DIGITAL logo.

The following are third-party trademarks: Microsoft Windows NT, 
Microsoft Windows NT Workstation, and Microsoft Windows NT Server 
are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. UNIX is a registered 
trademark in the United States and other countries licensed 
exclusively through X/Open Company Ltd. OSF/1 is a registered 
trademark of the Open Software Foundation, Inc.

All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of 
their respective holders.

Digital Equipment Corporation
Maynard, Massachusetts

Revision/Update Information: This manual supersedes the AlphaBIOS 
documentation dated July 1996.
Software Version: AlphaBIOS Version 5.23
Date: October 1996



--------
PREFACE
--------

This manual introduces the AlphaBIOS firmware; a new enhanced BIOS 
for certain Alpha system families based on the Alpha processor.

Use the information in this manual along with your system User 
Manual to configure, start, update, and troubleshoot your Alpha 
system.

AlphaBIOS features vary slightly between different system models. 
For example, some systems with AlphaBIOS have EISA and PCI 
expansion slots, while others have ISA and PCI expansion slots. As 
a result, EISA Setup options appear in the AlphaBIOS screens for 
the system with EISA slots, and not in the ISA/PCI system 
AlphaBIOS screens.

Because this manual covers all variations of AlphaBIOS, some of 
the topics discussed might not apply to your specific model. Where 
a discussion does not apply to all models, this is clearly noted.



Audience

If you will be administering, operating, configuring, or adding 
options to your Alpha system, the information in this book will be 
helpful to you.



Organization of Information

Chapter 1, Concepts, Conventions, and Features, describes basic 
conceptual information to help you understand how AlphaBIOS works, 
as well as how AlphaBIOS fits into the overall operation of your 
system. This chapter also discusses keyboard conventions for 
navigating within AlphaBIOS and provides a brief summary of the 
major features of AlphaBIOS.

Chapter 2, Quick Start, provides step-by-step instructions on 
performing common system setup and maintenance tasks with 
AlphaBIOS.

Chapter 3, AlphaBIOS Reference, provides detailed information on 
AlphaBIOS settings, custom configurations, and troubleshooting.

Appendix A, Differences Between x86 and Alpha, is for users who 
are familiar with x86 system setup and maintenance and will be 
performing those tasks on an Alpha system.

Appendix B, Differences Between ARC Firmware and AlphaBIOS, is 
for people who are familiar with setting up Alpha systems and will 
be working with AlphaBIOS for the first time.



New Features in AlphaBIOS 5.23

Finer Control over SCSI BIOS Emulation
In previous releases of AlphaBIOS, SCSI BIOS emulation was either 
on or off for all BIOS-based SCSI adapters. AlphaBIOS 5.23 now 
provides the ability to turn on or off SCSI BIOS emulation per adapter. 


New Features in AlphaBIOS 5.2
Native Adaptec SCSI Adapter Support on AlphaServer 4x00 Family Systems

AlphaBIOS 5.2 provides built-in support for the Adaptec 2940UW and 
3940UW adapters on AlphaServer 4x00 family systems running Windows 
NT 3.51 and Windows NT 4.0.

Support for Adaptec BIOS Controlled SCSI Adapters Through BIOS
Emulation

All AlphaBIOS 5.2-based systems other than the AlphaServer 4x00
family support Adaptec 2940UW and 3940UW adapters through BIOS 
emulation. This means that although native support is not 
included in AlphaBIOS for these systems, these systems can 
utilize these adapters with certain minor limitations. See 
the table below for details.

Note: If your system has more than 1 PCI bus, the Adaptec SCSI 
      adapter must be located on the first PCI bus (bus 0).

This support provides 2 types of functionality:

o Ability to run onboard SCSI adapter BIOS initialization and configuration
  utilities.

o Allows SCSI BIOS based adapters to be Windows NT boot devices.

The following table details the new SCSI adapter support

                        AlphaServer 4x00         Other AlphaBIOS
Feature                 Family                   Based Systems
------------------------------------------------------------------
Can boot from disk         Y                         Y
connected to SCSI BIOS
controlled adapter

Multiple drives            Y                         Y (2 drives)
supported

Multiple adapters          Y                         N
supported

Can run adapters          Y (first BIOS controlled  Y
on-board BIOS setup           adapter only)
utility

When your system initializes, you can bypass initialization of the
Adaptec BIOS by pressing ESC at the Press ESC to skip SCSI BIOS
initialization prompt.

The on board SCSI BIOS initialization places the adapter into it's
default configuration. In addition, certain adapters will prompt you
to enter a BIOS-based configuration utility through a hotkey such
as CTRL-A. This utility allows you to set adapter defaults.

Note: If the drive attached to the adapter is not being used as a 
boot device, the BIOS initialization sequence can be disabled in 
the Advanced CMOS Setup screen.

See Installing Adaptec SCSI Controller Support in Windows NT 3.51 for
detailed instructions on installing Adaptec support if you are running
AlphaBIOS 5.2 and Windows NT 3.51 on an AlphaServer 4x00 family system.



------------------------------------------
NOTES FOR ALPHASERVER 4000 FAMILY SYSTEMS
------------------------------------------

Visit Digital Windows NT InfoCenter's Guide to Hardware Systems 
for the latest firmware, driver, and configuration utility 
information. The URL is 
http://www.windowsnt.digital.com/alpha/hardware.htm.



EISA Configuration Utility

AlphaServer 4000 family systems with no EISA devices installed do 
not require running the ECU. Similarly, removing an EISA device 
will not force you to rerun the ECU on the next boot of AlphaBIOS; 
the device is automatically removed from the EISA configuration.



MC Bus Display

Only revision information for CPU modules and MC-PCI Bridge 
modules are valid. Correct revision information for other devices 
will be added in the future.

If the power-up self test detects an error, the following message 
is displayed in red on the bottom of the MC Bus Display dialog: 

Warning: Your system has encountered a power-up test failure.

If this message appears, the self test has detected one or more of 
the following errors:

o One or more CPU tests failed.

o An I/O subsystem test failed.

o One or more CPUs failed external cache tests.

o An illegal memory configuration was detected.

o The memory address/data line march test fails

o Critical regions of memory are bad.

o Power-up test on embedded drives failed (floppy, embedded
  NCR810, keyboard, mouse, serial port, parallel port, etc.)

If you receive a power-up self-test failure message, call your 
field service representative.



Power-up Memory Test

The SRM and AlphaBIOS consoles both provide power-up memory tests. 
The SRM power-up memory test will run before AlphaBIOS appears on 
your screen. The AlphaBIOS memory test appears as a pop-up dialog 
during AlphaBIOS initialization.

AlphaBIOS memory test options are set in the Advanced CMOS Setup 
dialog, reached by pressing F6 at the CMOS Setup dialog.

AlphaBIOS memory test options made from this dialog will also be 
honored by the SRM memory tests. However, SRM memory test settings 
via the SRM MEMORY_TEST environment variable will not be honored 
by AlphaBIOS. 

The correct way to set the memory test parameters for Windows NT 
systems is to use AlphaBIOS, not SRM to set memory test options.

Power-up     Memory Test    SRM Action    AlphaBIOS Action
  Test         Length       Test up to       Test up to
---------------------------------------------------------
Disabled      n/a             32 MB          0 (disabled)
Enabled       Partial        256 MB          256 MB
Enabled       Full         All of memory     Up to 1 GB



System Hangs After Warm Boot

After approximately 30-90 warm boots (CTRL+ALT+DEL), AlphaBIOS may 
hang at the O/S selection screen. To correct this, reset the 
system by pressing the Reset switch.



Graphics Adapters

All VGA-based graphics adapters must plugged into PCI0 (lower 4 
PCI slots). Refer to your system manual for information on 
identifying the lower 4 PCI slots.

Digital ZLXp-E1,E2,E3 graphics adapters (part numbers PBXGA-
AN,BN,CN) may be plugged into any PCI slot.

Other graphics adapters that do not have a BIOS ROM and are used 
as secondary Windows NT graphics displays may be plugged into any 
PCI slot.


S3-Based Graphics Adapters

There is a problem in certain S3 chipsets that cause these chipsets
to respond to PCI bus transactions that they should not respond to.
As a result, this can cause excessive current along the bus, causing
physical damage to the PCI-to-EISA bridge chip. Only use S3-based
graphics adapters based on the Trio 32, Trio64, and Verge chipsets. 
All other S3 chipsets are unsupported on the AlphaServer 4x00 family.

In addition, note the following restrictions.

o If you have a graphics card based on the Trio32 chipset, and an 
  Adaptec 3940UW SCSI controller in the same system, make sure the 
  cards are placed on separate PCI busses.

o If you have a graphics card based on the revision 764P of the 
  Trio64 chipset, and an Adaptec 3940UW SCSI controller in the same 
  system, make sure the cards are placed on separate PCI busses. 
  Other revisions of the Trio64 chipset do not have this restriction.

I/O Adapters

AlphaBIOS might hang when I/O adapters are configured with more 
than one level of PCI-PCI bridge.

Adapters with a single, embedded PCI-PCI bridge are functional and 
are supported.



Adaptec SCSI Adapters (AlphaBIOS 5.12 only)

SCSI drives connected to Adaptec 2940UW or 3940UW controllers 
in PCI1 (upper four PCI slots) must be set (via jumper) to spin
up at power up. Otherwise AlphaBIOS may hang or fail to spin up
the drives, thereby making them inaccessible to AlphaBIOS.

SCSI drives connected to Adaptec 2940UW or 3940UW controllers 
plugged into PCI0 (lower four PCI slots) may be used without 
regard to how the drive is set for spin up.



Digital KZPSA Configuration Utility and Firmware Update Utility 
V1.2 (AlphaBIOS 5.12 Only)

Digital KZPSA: The KZPSA configuration utility (cnfgdiag.exe V1.4) 
and firmware update utility (fwupdate.exe V1.2) corrupt the KZPSA 
NVRAM when used on AlphaServer 4000 systems.



Mylex DAC960/Digital KZPSC RAID Configuration Utility
(AlphaBIOS 5.12 only)

An AlphaServer 4000 family system configured with 3 Mylex DAC960 
(also known as Digital KZPSC) SCSI RAID controllers and 1 or more 
Digital KZPSA SCSI adapters will cause AlphaBIOS to run out of 
memory when running the SWXCRMGR RAID configuration utility. The 
following messages is displayed: 

AlphaBIOS has encountered an  unrecoverable internal system error. 
Error condition: Temporary pool exhausted:

The solution is to remove the KZPSA adapter(s), run the RAID 
configuration utility, then replace the KZPSA adapter.


Upgrading AlphaBIOS

See Upgrading AlphaBIOS for specific instructions on upgrading
AlphaBIOS on AlphaServer 4x00 systems.



AlphaServer 1000 5/xxx and 1000A 5/xxx Issues

There is a version conflict between certain revisions of the CPU 
module, AlphaBIOS firmware, and Windows NT HAL files that can 
cause your system to malfunction. Therefore, if you run Windows 
NT on an AlphaServer 1000 5/xxx or 1000A 5/xxx, you must upgrade 
your AlphaBIOS firmware and Windows NT HAL files.
 
The methods you use to update the firmware and HAL are different 
depending on whether:

o Windows NT 3.51 or 4.0 is already installed.
o You are performing a fresh install of Windows NT 3.51 or 4.0.

o You are upgrading from Windows NT 3.51 to 4.0.

o You have just upgraded your CPU module from a 4/xxx to a 5/xxx,
  or, replaced your 5/xxx CPU module with a new 5/xxx CPU module, 
  and your system will not boot AlphaBIOS.

Note:	If you are already running AlphaBIOS revision 5.23 or later, 
      you can skip the steps in the instructions related to upgrading 
      AlphaBIOS. The AlphaBIOS version currently installed in your 
      system is displayed on the AlphaBIOS Boot screen, as well as in 
      the About AlphaBIOS screen.

Note: If you are running AlphaBIOS 5.23 or later, do not downgrade to 
      an earlier revision.


Notes about the KZPSA SCSI Adapter

On the AlphaServer 1000A, the KZPSA SCSI controller is only supported in 
the top 3 PCI slots. Also, note that you will need either a 
Digital-provided driver or the Windows NT Service Pack 4 or later for 
the KZPSA SCSI controller to operate with Windows NT 3.51. For Windows 
NT 4.0, the driver is included on the Windows NT 4 CD-ROM - a separate 
driver disk is not necessary.


Upgrading the HAL and Firmware on Systems with Windows NT Already Installed

If you already have Windows NT 3.51 or 4.0 installed (but you are not 
upgrading Windows NT), follow these steps to upgrade the HAL and AlphaBIOS
files:

Note: You will need a blank formatted diskette for this procedure.

1.  On the WWW, go to the URL http://www.windows.digital.com/support/sysoft.htp.

2.  Select either the AlphaServer 1000 5/300 or AlphaServer 1000A 5/300 link as
    appropriate.

3.  Download the AlphaBIOS 5.23 or later .ZIP file, as well as the Windows NT 3.51 
    and/or Windows NT 4.0 HAL .ZIP file(s), depending on whether you are running 
    just one or both of the operating systems.

4.  Unzip the AlphaBIOS files into an empty temporary directory on your hard disk.

5.  Unzip the HAL files for your primary operating system into a separate empty 
    temporary directory on your hard disk.

6.  Open File Manager or Explorer, and select the OS directory on your system 
    partition. The system partition is usually drive D:.

7.  Within the OS directory, select the WINNT351 or WINNT40 directory, whichever 
    is your primary operating system.
    
    If you do not see any files in the righthand pane, change the File Manager or 
    Explorer settings as appropriate to show all files and file extensions. These 
    files normally have the hidden, system, and read-only attributes set.

8.  In your OS\WINNT351 or OS\WINNT40 directory rename the HAL.DLL file to HAL.OLD.

9.  Copy the .DLL file from the temporary directory on your hard disk into the 
    directory containing the HAL.OLD file, and rename the file you copied to HAL.DLL.

10. If you have a second version of Windows NT installed, delete all files from the 
    temporary directory you were just using, unzip the files from the second HAL .ZIP 
    file you downloaded into the temporary directory, and repeat the process of 
    replacing the HAL.DLL in the second operating system directory with the updated 
    HAL.DLL file.

11. Copy the .ROM file from the temporary directory containing the unzipped AlphaBIOS 
    5.23 files to an empty formatted diskette.

12. Shutdown and restart your system.

13. At the AlphaBIOS boot screen, press F2 to enter Setup.

14. Follow the steps in the Upgrading AlphaBIOS section to complete the upgrade process.

    Your upgrade is now complete.


Installing the Upgraded HAL and AlphaBIOS Files on a Fresh Install of Windows NT 3.51 or 4.0.

If you are performing a first time installation of Windows NT 3.51 or 4.0, follow 
these steps to install the updated HAL and AlphaBIOS Files:

Note: You will need a blank formatted diskette for this procedure.

1.  On the WWW, go to the URL http://www.windows.digital.com/support/sysoft.htp.

2.  Select either the AlphaServer 1000 5/300 or AlphaServer 1000A 5/300 link as 
    appropriate.

3.  Download the AlphaBIOS 5.23 or later .ZIP file, as well as the Windows NT 3.51 
    and/or Windows NT 4.0 HAL zip file(s), depending on which operating system you 
    are installing.

4.  Unzip the AlphaBIOS files into an empty temporary directory on your hard disk.

5.  Unzip the HAL files into a separate empty temporary directory on your hard disk.

6.  Copy the .ROM file from the temporary directory containing the unzipped AlphaBIOS 
    5.23 files to an empty formatted diskette.

7.  Copy the files from the temporary directory containing the unzipped HAL files to a 
    blank formatted diskette.

8.  Shutdown and restart your system.

9.  At the AlphaBIOS boot screen, press F2 to enter Setup.

10. Follow the steps in the Upgrading AlphaBIOS section to complete the AlphaBIOS upgrade 
    process.

11. Your AlphaBIOS upgrade is now complete. When prompted, restart AlphaBIOS.

12. Begin Windows NT installation. When prompted for your system type, select "Other" 
    and insert the diskette containing the updated HAL files (that you copied in step 7) 
    into the disk drive. Press Enter twice to select and confirm that you want to install 
    the files from the diskette.

13. Proceed with the remainder of the Windows NT installation normally.


Installing the Upgraded HAL and AlphaBIOS Files When Upgrading from Windows NT 3.51 to 4.0.

If you already have Windows NT 3.51 or 4.0 installed, and are upgrading Windows NT, 
follow these steps to upgrade the HAL and AlphaBIOS Files:

1.  On the WWW, go to the URL http://www.windows.digital.com/support/sysoft.htp.

2.  Select either the AlphaServer 1000 5/300 or AlphaServer 1000A 5/300 link as 
    appropriate.

3.  Download the AlphaBIOS 5.23 or later zip file, as well as the Windows NT 4.0 
    HAL zip file.

4.  Unzip the AlphaBIOS files into an empty temporary directory on your hard disk.

5.  Unzip the HAL files for into a separate empty temporary directory on your hard disk.

6.  Copy the files from the temporary directory containing the unzipped HAL files to a
    blank formatted diskette.

7.  Copy the .ROM file from the temporary directory containing the unzipped AlphaBIOS 
    5.23 files to an empty formatted diskette.

8.  Shutdown and restart your system.

9.  At the AlphaBIOS boot screen, press F2 to enter Setup.

10. Follow the steps in the Upgrading AlphaBIOS section to complete the upgrade process.

11. Your AlphaBIOS upgrade is now complete. When prompted, restart AlphaBIOS.

12. Begin Windows NT 4.0 installation. When prompted for your system type, select "Other" 
    and insert the diskette containing the updated HAL files into the disk drive. Press 
    Enter twice to select and confirm that you want to install the files from the diskette.

13. Proceed with the remainder of the Windows NT 4.0 installation normally.


Installing the Upgraded HAL and AlphaBIOS Files if You Have a System That Will Not Boot 
After a CPU Module Replacement/Upgrade.

Note:	You will need a second, working Alpha system to complete these steps.

Note:	The firmware upgrade procedure also applies if you replace your motherboard, and 
      your system will not boot.

Part 1 - Obtaining the needed files:

1.  On the WWW, go to the URL "http://www.windows.digital.com/support/sysoft.htp."

2.  Select either the AlphaServer 1000 5/300 or AlphaServer 1000A 5/300 link as appropriate.

3.  Download AlphaBIOS 5.23 or later, as well as the Windows NT 3.51 or Windows NT 4.0 HAL, 
    depending on which version of the operating system you are running. If you are running 
    both versions of the operating system, download both files.

Part 2 - Preparing the firmware update disk:

4.  Unzip the AlphaBIOS files to a temporary directory on your hard disk.

5.  Open a command window, and switch the temporary directory into which you unzipped the 
    AlphaBIOS files.

6.  Label a blank diskette "Firmware Update" and insert the disk into the diskette drive.

7.  At the command prompt type makeboot -f fwupdate.exe.

    This creates a bootable diskette. Leave the command window open, you will be using it 
    again.

Part 3 - Preparing the HAL update disk:

8.  Unzip the HAL files for your Primary Operating System onto a blank formatted floppy 
    disk. Label the floppy Updated Windows NT HAL 3.51 or 4.0 as appropriate.

9.  In the command window, type copy a:halpinna.dll a:hal.dll and press Enter.

Part 4 - Preparing the system to update the firmware:

10. Open the system and move the jumper on J4 to the leftmost pair of pins 
    (this assumes the motherboard connectors on the CPU module are facing away from you). 
    This enables the system to boot from a floppy disk.
    Leave the system open, as you will be moving this jumper back to its original location 
    later in this procedure.

11. Insert the firmware update diskette into the disk drive of the non-working system.

12. Power up the non-working system. 
    The firmware update image is automatically loaded.

13. Once the firmware update image has been loaded, you will be prompted with the 
    following query, "If you have a floppy containing option firmware, Please insert 
    it now and hit <return> when ready." Press Enter.

14. At the UPD> prompt, type update and press Enter.
    You will be prompted to confirm the update. Type y and press Enter.
    The update proceeds, and the UPD> prompt appears once the update is complete.

15. Power off your system.

16. Return the jumper on J4 to the rightmost pair of pins (this assumes the motherboard 
    connectors on the CPU module are facing away from you) and close your system.

17. Power on your system. AlphaBIOS should now load properly.

Part 5 - Updating the HAL file:

18. At the AlphaBIOS boot screen, press F2 to enter AlphaBIOS Setup.

19. At the Setup screen, select then select OS Selection Setup and press Enter.

20. Select the Primary boot selection (the first one listed) and press Enter.
    Write down the values of the both boot file fields. You will need them later.

21. Tab to the Boot File field and change the location to the A: drive.

22. Tab to the Directory field and delete everything except OSLOADER.EXE.

23. Press Enter, and then F10 to save the changes. Press Enter to confirm the changes, 
    then press ESC twice to return to the Boot screen.

24. Insert the appropriate updated Windows NT HAL disk into the disk drive, and press 
    Enter to boot Windows NT.

    Windows NT boots using the system files on the floppy disk. The boot process is 
    slower than normal because the system files are being read from the diskette drive.

25. Open File Manager or Explorer, and select the OS directory on your system partition. 
    The system partition is usually drive D:.

26. Within the OS directory, select the WINNT351 or WINNT40 directory, whichever is your 
    primary operating system.

    If you do not see any files in the righthand pane, change the File Manager or Explorer 
    settings as appropriate to show all files and file extensions.

27. Rename the HAL.DLL file to HAL.OLD.

28. Copy the HAL.DLL from the floppy disk you prepared into the directory containing the
    HAL.OLD file.

29. Shutdown and restart your system.

Part 6 - Restoring the AlphaBIOS OS Selection Setup:

30. At the AlphaBIOS boot screen, press F2 to enter AlphaBIOS Setup.

31. At the Setup screen, select Utilities then select OS Selection Setup and press Enter.

32. Select the Primary boot selection and press Enter. Restore the values you wrote down 
    for the Boot file and Directory fields.

33. Press Enter, and then F10 to save the changes. Press Enter to confirm the changes, 
    then press ESC twice to return to the Boot screen.

    Your upgrade is now complete. Your Primary Operating System will boot properly, but 
    if you have another version of Windows NT installed, you must update the HAL.DLL for 
    that version before attempting to boot that version.



------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER 1 - CONCEPTS, CONVENTIONS, AND FEATURES
------------------------------------------------

This chapter provides basic conceptual information to help you 
understand how AlphaBIOS works, as well as how AlphaBIOS fits into 
the overall operation of your system. This chapter also lists 
keyboard conventions for navigating within AlphaBIOS and provides 
a brief summary of the major features of AlphaBIOS.



Primary Operating System and the Auto Start Option

Alpha systems can have multiple versions of Windows NT installed 
at the same time. This can be very useful in a variety of 
circumstances - for example, when testing application 
compatibility across different versions of Windows NT.

Each time you install a separate version of Windows NT, a new 
operating system selection is created. Although you can start any 
of the installed versions of Windows NT, one of the installed 
versions must be the primary operating system. The version of 
Windows NT you select as the primary operating system is the one 
that automatically starts if the Auto Start option is enabled in 
AlphaBIOS.



AlphaBIOS Initialization Sequence

AlphaBIOS is a program used to initialize and set up a computer. 
The AlphaBIOS instructions are contained within computer chips 
called flash ROMs that are located on your system motherboard. The 
chips can be electronically reprogrammed, allowing you to upgrade 
your AlphaBIOS without removing the existing ships and installing 
new chips.

When you first power-on your system, AlphaBIOS is not the first 
initialization program that runs. Instead, a small initialization 
program that starts the initialization process is loaded directly 
by the Alpha CPU from the diagnostic ROM (DROM), serial ROM 
(SROM), or both. The DROM programs the CPU chip, the Backup cache, 
and the memory interface. Once the basic system is running, the 
DROM reads AlphaBIOS from the flash ROM into memory and jumps to 
the first instruction in the AlphaBIOS program.

Once transfer of control has passed to the AlphaBIOS program, the 
AlphaBIOS program continues the system initialization process by 
initializing the I/O system. This includes the PCI bus and 
connected devices such as SCSI disk controllers, the video 
display, the floppy drive, and the keyboard.

The video and keyboard devices are initialized first. If either 
the keyboard or the video device is not present or not 
functioning, AlphaBIOS will present information via the COM1 
serial port. This feature exists primarily to support the 
manufacturing process for the computer, but it can be used to 
diagnose problems in computers after manufacturing as well. If 
AlphaBIOS does not start on your computer, the first thing you 
should check is that the keyboard is plugged in and working and 
that the video card and monitor are properly connected and 
working. After the video and keyboard are initialized, AlphaBIOS 
displays a windowed, graphical-style user interface (UI). As 
initialization continues, progress is displayed within the UI.

Next, a memory test verifies that the memory is fully functioning. 
While the memory test runs it shows its progress for each megabyte 
(MB) of memory tested. If you do not want the memory tested during 
initialization, you can disable it in the advanced mode of the 
CMOS Setup program. You can also cancel the memory test while it 
is running by pressing the space bar.

After memory is tested, AlphaBIOS detects and initializes SCSI 
disk controllers connected to the computer. As each controller is 
detected, AlphaBIOS probes its SCSI bus and reports each of the 
SCSI devices detected.

Finally, after the SCSI initialization is complete, AlphaBIOS 
leaves the initialization window and displays the boot screen. The 
boot screen lists each of the operating systems that have been set 
up on your computer. You can then choose which of the operating 
systems to boot, or choose to enter the AlphaBIOS Setup program.



How Windows NT Boots

AlphaBIOS boots Windows NT in two stages. The first stage involves 
reading an OS Loader program from a disk. As of Windows NT version 
3.51, the name of the OS Loader program is OSLOADER.EXE. The 
selection for the operating system must describe the path where 
AlphaBIOS will find the OS Loader program. Note that the OS Loader 
program must be located on a partition formatted with the FAT file 
system.

Once the OS Loader program executes, it uses the services provided 
by AlphaBIOS to load the operating system components. After the 
operating system is loaded, the OS Loader starts execution of the 
operating system.



Operating System Selections

Each operating system selection is a set of information that 
describes the disk and partition containing the OSLOADER.EXE file 
associated with a particular operating system installation, as 
well as the path to the operating system itself. In addition, the 
operating system selection contains any options passed to the 
operating system during boot.

By default, one operating system selection appears on the 
AlphaBIOS boot screen for each operating system installed on the 
system. It is not normally necessary to modify operating system 
selections, as the Windows NT installation creates and modifies 
operating system selections as needed.



Maintenance Programs

If you have a system with an EISA bus or a RAID controller, and 
you change your system configuration - for example, by adding a 
new EISA adapter or another RAID drive, you will have to run an 
EISA or RAID configuration utility. As you modify your system, you 
might be required to run other types of configuration utilities as 
well.

In AlphaBIOS, configuration utilities like these are referred to 
as maintenance programs and are run directly from AlphaBIOS. For 
more information, see Running a Maintenance Program in Chapter 2.



AlphaBIOS Screen and Keyboard Conventions

AlphaBIOS uses universally accepted keys and key combinations for 
navigating the interface and selecting items. If you are familiar 
with DOS or Windows keyboard conventions, navigating AlphaBIOS 
will be simple. The following figures show the keys you use to 
navigate and select items in AlphaBIOS.

There are two levels of keyboard help available. The first level, 
available by pressing F1 once, shows explanations of the 
keystrokes available for the specific part of AlphaBIOS currently 
displayed. For example, the following illustration shows an 
example of the help displayed by pressing F1 once while in the 
CMOS Setup part of AlphaBIOS.

The second level of keyboard help, available by pressing F1 twice, 
shows explanations of the keystrokes available for navigating the 
interface throughout AlphaBIOS.



Menu-Based Disk Partitioning and Formatting

AlphaBIOS makes it easy to create, delete, and maintain hard disks 
with menu-based disk partitioning and formatting. In addition to 
offering a fine level of control over your hard disks, AlphaBIOS 
lets you quickly and easily set up your hard disks with the 
Express option.



Selectable PCI Parity Error Checking

PCI parity checking is a method for ensuring data integrity across 
the PCI bus. AlphaBIOS supports PCI option cards that generate 
parity as well as those that do not. For more information on PCI 
parity checking, see Advanced CMOS Setup Screen in Chapter 3.



Two Levels of Password Protection

To help you maintain system security, AlphaBIOS provides two 
levels of password protection: system setup protection and system 
startup protection. When system setup protection is enabled, a 
password is required to enter the AlphaBIOS Setup program. When 
system startup protection is enabled, a password is required 
before the system initializes.

For information on enabling password protection, see Setting Up 
Password Protection in Chapter 2.



-------------------------
CHAPTER 2 - QUICK START
-------------------------

This chapter will help you get started using your system by 
walking you through the common tasks needed to get up and running.



Starting the AlphaBIOS Setup Program

When you power-up or reset your system, the boot screen with the 
system logo is displayed. Pressing F2 at this screen will cause 
AlphaBIOS to enter the Setup program.



Installing Windows NT

If you have a system with Windows NT installed at the factory, 
Windows NT setup will start automatically the first time you 
power-up your system. If your system does not have Windows NT pre-
installed, you must have a CD-ROM drive attached to your system to 
install Windows NT.

Note Steps 1 and 2 are necessary only when you are first setting 
up your system. On subsequent installations and upgrades, begin at 
step 3.



To install Windows NT from CD-ROM for the first time 

1.  Use CMOS Setup to set the system date and time: start 
    AlphaBIOS Setup, select CMOS Setup, and press Enter. 

2.  Perform an express hard-disk setup: return to the main 
    AlphaBIOS Setup screen, select Hard Disk Setup, and press Enter. 

3.  Put the Windows NT CD into the CD-ROM drive. 

4.  Start AlphaBIOS Setup, select Install Windows NT, and press 
    Enter. 

5.  Follow the prompts to complete the installation. For more 
    information on installing Windows NT, refer to the Installation 
    Guide in your Windows NT software package.



Upgrading AlphaBIOS

As new versions of Windows NT are released, it might be necessary 
to upgrade AlphaBIOS to the latest version. Additionally, as 
improvements are made to AlphaBIOS, it might be desirable to 
upgrade to take advantage of new AlphaBIOS features.

To upgrade from an earlier version of AlphaBIOS 

1.  Insert the diskette or CD-ROM containing the AlphaBIOS 
    upgrade. 

2.  Run the AlphaBIOS Setup program by restarting your system and 
    pressing F2 when the boot screen is displayed. 

3.  In the main AlphaBIOS Setup screen, select Upgrade AlphaBIOS 
    and press Enter. 

This menu option is used to upgrade to later versions of 
AlphaBIOS. When you choose this option, the existing AlphaBIOS 
searches for an executable AlphaBIOS update file, first on CD-ROM, 
and then on diskette. Once the update file has been found, it 
executes it, and the AlphaBIOS is upgraded. 

4.  After the upgrade is complete, the system either resets 
    automatically or prompts you to reset the system.

Upgrading AlphaBIOS on AlphaServer 4x00 family systems

1.  Insert the diskette containing the AlphaBIOS upgrade.

2.  Run the AlphaBIOS Setup program by restarting your system
    and pressing F2 when the boot screen is displayed.

3.  In the main AlphaBIOS Setup screen, select Upgrade AlphaBIOS
    and press Enter.

    This menu option is used to upgrade to later versions of
    AlphaBIOS. When you choose this option, the existing AlphaBIOS
    searches for an executable AlphaBIOS update file, first on CD-ROM,
    and then on diskette. Once the update file has been found, it is 
    executed.

4.  Select OK to reboot the system. The system reboots and the 
    loadable firmware update utility (LFU) is run.

5.  At the prompt to select the firmware load device, type dva0
    and press Enter.

6.  At the prompt for the name of the firmware file, type as4x00cp
    and press Enter.

    The LFU loads the firmware update file into memory and displays
    the LFU prompt.

7.  At the LFU prompt, type list and press Enter.

    The currently installed versions of the SRM and AlphaBIOS 
    firmware images are displayed. Note that if the currently 
    installed AlphaBIOS was not an LFU image, no version 
    information is displayed.

8.  At the LFU prompt, type update and press Enter.

9.  At the confirmation prompts to update the SRM and AlphaBIOS
    firmware, type yes and press Enter. If the currently 
    installed firmware is an older revision than the updated
    version you are installing a prompt appears. If the 
    currently installed firmware is the same or newer, it is
    not necessary to proceed with the update.

    If you have any boot devices supported by the SRM console, the
    LFU prompts you to confirm the update for each. Type no at 
    these prompts.

10. When the LFU prompt appears again, type exit and press Enter.

    The system either resets automatically or prompts you to reset
    the system.


Performing CMOS Setup Tasks

The CMOS Setup program is used to set up a variety of items. CMOS 
Setup is divided into two modes, standard and advanced. The 
following table lists the tasks that can be performed in the two 
CMOS Setup modes:

Standard CMOS Setup     Advanced CMOS Setup
--------------------------------------------
Auto Start              Memory test
Date and time           PCI parity
Floppy                  Password protection
Keyboard                SCSI termination
                        SCSI BIOS emulation

To enter standard CMOS setup

o Start AlphaBIOS Setup, select CMOS Setup, and press Enter.

To enter advanced CMOS setup 

1.  Start AlphaBIOS Setup, select CMOS Setup, and press Enter. 

2.  In the CMOS Setup screen, press F6.



Running a Maintenance Program

Maintenance programs such as RAID and EISA configuration utilities 
are run directly from the AlphaBIOS Utility menu.

To run a maintenance program 

1.  Start AlphaBIOS Setup, select Utilities, select Run 
    Maintenance Program from the submenu that appears, and press 
    Enter. 

2.  In the Run Maintenance Program dialog box, type the name of 
    the program to be run in the Program Name field. Then Tab to the 
    Location list box, and select the hard-disk partition, floppy 
    disk, or CD-ROM drive from which to run the program. 

3.  Press Enter to execute the program. 

Tip If you are running a utility from floppy diskette, you can 
simply type the utilitys name into the Program Name field, and 
press Enter. That is because the floppy drive is the default 
selection in the Current Partition field.

Tip Use Alt+Down Arrow when a list box is selected to open the 
list.



Setting Up SCSI Termination

SCSI termination is an advanced CMOS setup option. SCSI 
termination can be set to internal or external.

Note This option does not apply to some systems. If this option 
does not appear in your version of AlphaBIOS, refer to your system 
manual for information on setting SCSI termination, as it is 
probably set by moving a jumper on the systemboard.

Use internal termination if all of your SCSI devices are attached 
to the SCSI connector inside your system. Use external termination 
if you have one or more SCSI devices attached to the external SCSI 
port in the back of your machine.

To set SCSI termination 

1.  Start AlphaBIOS Setup, select CMOS Setup, and press Enter. 

2.  Press F6 to enter advanced CMOS setup. 

3.  Select SCSI Termination and then select either internal or 
    external. 

4.  Press F10 to save your changes.



Setting Up Password Protection

Password protection provides two levels of security for your 
system: setup protection and startup protection. When system setup 
protection is enabled, a password is required to start AlphaBIOS 
Setup. When startup password protection is enabled, a password is 
required before the system initializes.

Startup password protection provides more comprehensive protection 
than setup password protection because the system cannot be used 
at all until the correct password is entered.

To enable password protection 

1.  Start AlphaBIOS Setup, select CMOS Setup, and press Enter. 

2.  In the CMOS Setup screen, press F6 to enter advanced CMOS 
    setup. 

3.  In the CMOS Setup screen, select AlphaBIOS Password Option and 
    use the arrow keys to select the type of protection you want. An 
    explanatory dialog box appears. Read the dialog box and press 
    Enter to continue. 

4.  Enter your password in the Enter New Password dialog box, then 
    press Enter. 

5.  Enter your password in the Confirm New Password dialog box, 
    then press Enter. 

6.  Press F10 to save your changes.

Note If you want to change your password, simply set up your 
password again.



Setting Up Your Hard Disk

Express Hard-Disk Setup

You can easily set up the first hard disk in your system with the 
recommended default partition arrangement by performing an express 
setup.

Express hard-disk setup is an easy way to create the recommended 
partition arrangement on your first hard disk, disk 0. Note, 
however, that express setup does not format the large partition 
with NTFS. You will have the opportunity to do this during the 
Windows NT installation.

Note The hard disk with the lowest SCSI ID number is seen as disk 
0 by AlphaBIOS.

Caution If you have any needed information on your disk, be sure 
to back up your disk before using express setup.

To perform an express hard-disk setup

1. Start AlphaBIOS Setup, select Hard Disk Setup, and press Enter.

2. Press F7 to enter express setup.

3. Press F10 to continue with the setup.

For information on manually managing hard disks, see Hard Disk 
Reference in Chapter 3.



Displaying Your System Configuration

You can use AlphaBIOS to display your system configuration in a 
clear, easy-to-read format, organized by category: systemboard, 
memory, hard disk, PCI, SCSI, and Peripherals.

To display your system configuration 

1.  Start AlphaBIOS Setup, select Display System Configuration, 
    and press Enter. 

2.  In the Display System Configuration screen, use the arrow keys 
    to select the configuration category you want to see.

For detailed information on the Display System Configuration 
screens, see Display System Configuration Reference in Chapter 3.



--------------------------------
CHAPTER 3 - ALPHABIOS REFERENCE
--------------------------------

This chapter provides detailed information about AlphaBIOS 
settings along with troubleshooting information for common error 
conditions.



Hard-Disk Reference

The recommended hard-disk partition arrangement on the first hard 
disk in your system is as follows:

o Partition 1 - Six megabytes less than the total size of the 
  drive. This large partition holds the operating system and 
  application/data files.

o Partition 2 - The remaining 6 megabytes. This small partition 
  holds only the few files necessary for your computer to boot.

This arrangement provides two benefits. 

1.  Windows NT requires that a boot partition be formatted with 
the FAT file system. However, the Windows NT file system (NTFS) 
provides advantages over FAT, such as additional security and more 
efficient use of disk space. By keeping the FAT boot partition as 
small as possible, the maximum amount of space is left available 
for use as an NTFS partition. 

2.  Most applications install themselves onto drive C by default. 
Although the program installation drive is usually configurable by 
the user, many people accept the default of drive C. By making the 
first partition large, drive C becomes the larger drive. This 
arrangement makes program installation easier and avoids time-
consuming insufficient disk space mistakes.



Changes Are Immediate

Unlike other parts of AlphaBIOS setup, such as the selection of 
the operating system and CMOS setup, in which you make changes and 
then press F10 to save the changes, hard-disk setup makes changes 
to your disk configuration as they are entered. Unintended data 
loss could occur, so it is important to use care when changing 
your hard-disk arrangement, as unintended data loss can occur.



Error Conditions

Disk Initialization Failed

When you start hard disk setup, if you receive an Internal error 
occurred message, it means that a disk was found, but there was 
an error in communicating with the disk. The likely conditions 
that can cause this error are:

o Incompatible or failed disk cables. You may not have the correct 
cable installed, or the cable might have a broken lead or 
connector. Try another cable known to be good.

o Disk controller not configured. You may have to run a 
configuration utility to set up your hard-disk controller. Check 
your controller documentation.

o Disk controller malfunction. Most controllers come with a 
diagnostic utility to test controller functioning. If a controller 
error is found, call the manufacturer for a replacement.

o Improper SCSI termination. Many SCSI controllers require that 
the terminating resistor packs be removed from all drives between 
the controller and last drive. Only the controller itself, and the 
last drive connected to the controller (the ends of the chain), 
should have terminating resistor packs left on.

No Hard Disks Found

When you start hard disk setup, if you receive a No hard drives 
were found connected to your computer message, it means that 
AlphaBIOS could not locate a hard drive. If you have a hard drive 
installed in your system, the likely conditions that cause this 
error are:

o No hard disk installed. Install a hard disk.

o Cable not connected to either the disk or controller. The cable 
may have worked loose from the connector on the controller or disk 
drive. Check the cable connections, making sure the cable 
connectors are fully seated.

o No power to the drive. The power connector may have worked loose 
from the receptacle on the drive, or the power cable itself may be 
malfunctioning. Check the cable connections, making sure the cable 
connectors are fully seated. Try connecting the drive to a 
different power connector.

o Disk drive malfunction. The disk drive itself may be 
malfunctioning and not responding to requests from the controller. 
If this is the problem, then it would appear as though the disk 
was absent. Replace the drive with a drive known to be good. If 
the known good drive is correctly detected, then your hard drive 
is defective. Contact the manufacturer for a replacement.

No Partitions on Disk

If hard disk 0 does not have any partitions defined, then a 
message will appear when you start hard disk setup, asking if you 
want to perform an express disk setup. Express disk setup 
automatically creates the default disk partition arrangement on 
hard disk 0.

For more information on express setup, see Express hard Disk Setup 
in Chapter 2.



Hard-Disk Setup Screen

1. Disk

The Disk line describes the physical characteristics of the hard 
disk. This information is presented for informational purposes and 
is not selectable or editable.

Fields on the disk line include:

Physical disk ID. The physical disk ID is based on the SCSI ID. 
The disk with the lowest SCSI ID is disk 0, the disk with the next 
lowest SCSI ID is disk 1, and so on.

Controller. The controller is the brand and model of SCSI chip 
used on the SCSI controller.

Controller number. The controller number is based on how many SCSI 
controllers of a particular type are installed in the system. The 
first controller of a type is always numbered 0. For example, if 
two NCR 810 controllers and one QLogic controller existed in a 
system, they would be numbered as follows:

First NCR 810 = NCR810 #0, Second NCR 810 = NCR 810 #1, QLogic = 
QLogic #0

SCSI ID number. The SCSI ID number is a unique number you assign 
to each SCSI device installed in the system. This is usually done 
via jumpers or a thumb wheel attached to the drive housing.

Size. This is the raw capacity of the drive. Formatting the drive 
with different file systems - for example, FAT and NTFS - may 
result in different usable sizes because of the differences in how 
storage is managed under those file systems.

2. Partitions

The Partition line(s) describes how space on the drive is 
allocated to logical drives.

Fields on the partition line include:

Partition number. Within a single drive, partition numbers are 
assigned in sequential order: 1, 2, 3, and so on. The partitions 
populate the drive from the innermost cylinders to the outermost 
cylinders. If you have a large hard disk (over 800 MB) and plan to 
use the FAT file system, it is a good idea to break the disk into 
several smaller partitions because the FAT file system uses disk 
space more efficiently at smaller partition sizes. This is not a 
concern for the NTFS file system, however, as it uses disk space 
very efficiently at all partition sizes.

Partition size. The partition size is the raw (unformatted) 
storage capacity of the partition. Actual storage space will 
differ based on the file system with which the partition is 
formatted.

Partition format. The file system (if any) used on a partition. 
This field will display FAT, NTFS, or unknown (if the partition is 
unformatted).

3. Disk Setup Options

Insert partition. Use this option to create new partitions. Before 
creating a new partition, be sure to select an unpartitioned 
space. Pressing the Insert key while an already-partitioned space 
is selected causes an informational error to be displayed.

Delete partition. Use this option to delete existing partitions. 
Before deleting a partition, make sure any data that you wish to 
save on the partition has been backed up. Deleting a partition 
deletes all data on the partition being deleted, but leaves the 
rest of the disk unaffected. Pressing the Delete key while an 
unpartitioned space is selected causes an informational error to 
be displayed. 

Format partition. By pressing F6, you can use this option to 
format a partitioned space with the FAT file system.

Express setup. By pressing F7, you can use this option to create 
the default recommended partition arrangement for Windows NT on 
disk 0 of your system. For more information on the recommended 
partition arrangement, see Setting Up Your Hard Disk in Chapter 
3.

Exit. Press the Escape key to return to the AlphaBIOS Setup 
screen.



Manually Creating and Deleting Partitions

The following information is useful if you need to create a custom 
hard disk partition arrangement, or otherwise manually manage your 
hard disk partitions. These procedures assume that you already 
have the Hard Disk Setup screen displayed.

To create a partition 

1.  Select the disk on which to create the partition. 

2.  If one or more partitions already exist on the disk, select 
    the unpartitioned space. 

3.  Press the Insert key. A dialog box appears, similar to the one 
    in the figure below. 

4.  Type the size of the partition to create and press Enter. 

To delete a partition 

1.  Select the partition to be deleted. 

2.  Press the Delete key. A dialog box appears, similar to the one 
    in the figure below. 

3.  Press F10 to confirm the deletion.



Formatting a Partition

AlphaBIOS can format partitions with the FAT file system. Use 
Windows NT to format a partition using NTFS.

To format a FAT partition 

1.  Select the partition to be formatted. 

2.  Press F6. A dialog box appears, whether to perform a quick or 
    standard format. 

3.  Select a format method, and press Enter. 

Quick Format only rewrites the FAT partition tables with a nul 
value. Standard Format, in addition, also rewrites the data areas 
of the disk with a nul value. Choose Standard Format if you 
suspect data corruption on your disk. Otherwise, choose Quick 
Format.

If you select Quick Format, the process is completed almost 
instantaneously. If you select Standard Format, a dialog box, 
similar to the one in the figure below, appears while the drive is 
formatted, showing the progress of the formatting.



Operating System Selection Setup Reference

Each operating system (OS) selection is a set of information that 
describes the disk and partition containing the OSLOADER.EXE file 
associated with a particular operating system installation, as 
well as the path to the operating system itself. In addition, each 
OS selection contains any options passed to the operating system 
during boot.

You can use the options available in the Operating System 
Selection Setup screen to work with the OS selection data stored 
in nonvolatile storage in your system. You can modify and delete 
existing selections, as well as create new selections. As you work 
with OS selections, you can cancel changes at any time before you 
save them. Whenever you save or discard changes to your OS 
selections, a dialog box appears, giving you the opportunity to 
continue with the operation or return to the Operating System 
Selection Setup screen.



Operating System Selection Setup Error Conditions

No Disk Present

When you start Operating System Selection Setup, if you receive a 
No hard drives were found connected to your computer message, it 
means that AlphaBIOS could not locate a hard drive. At this point, 
setup cannot proceed.

For possible causes and remedies, see the section Hard Disk 
Reference earlier in the chapter.

Disk Initialization Failed

When you start Operating System Selection Setup, if you receive an 
Internal error occurred message, it means that a disk was found, 
but there was an error in communicating with the disk. At this 
point, setup cannot proceed.

For possible causes and remedies, see the section Hard Disk 
Reference earlier in the chapter.

No Partitions on Disk

If hard disk 0 does not have any partitions defined, when you 
start OS Selection Setup, you are prompted whether to perform an 
express disk setup. Express disk setup automatically creates the 
default disk partition arrangement on hard disk 0.



Operating System Selection Setup Screen

The process of setting up your operating system selections is 
somewhat like using an editor. You can make all the changes you 
want to your operating system selections, and then either save 
your changes or exit without saving your changes.

1., 3. Boot Name

Each boot name is associated with an operating system selection. 
Windows NT Setup automatically creates a boot name each time you 
install the operating system. Because the boot name is only a 
name, you can modify the boot name at any time without affecting 
the rest of the operating system selection. Note that the boot 
name must have at least one character.

2. Primary Operating System

The primary operating system is the OS that appears first on the 
AlphaBIOS boot screen. It is also the version of the OS that 
automatically starts if Auto Start is selected. You can make any 
of the operating system selections the primary operating system.

4. Boot File

The Boot File line describes the disk, partition, path, and name 
of the file that AlphaBIOS passes control to during the process of 
starting the operating system. This setting is created along with 
the operating system selection during Windows NT Setup, and it is 
usually not modified by the user. However, this setting can be 
modified if necessary. For example, a developer testing different 
versions of OSLOADER.EXE can store the different versions in 
different locations and modify this line to start the operating 
system with the different versions as needed.

During Operating System Selection Setup, the disk and partition 
for the location of the boot file can be selected from a list of 
choices presented in a list box. To open a list of values for the 
field, press the Alt and down arrow keys together. When you select 
a boot file location and name, AlphaBIOS searches for the 
specified program on the specified partition. If the search fails, 
a warning appears, saying that the file does not exist. You are 
given the choice to continue with the changes anyway or to cancel 
the operation and fix the problem. 

Note that because the boot file must located in a FAT partition, 
only FAT partitions are available as the boot partition within the 
list box.

5. OS Path

The OS Path line describes the disk, partition, and path to the 
operating system root directory for an operating system selection.

During Operating System Selection Setup, the disk and partition 
for the location of the boot file can be selected from a list of 
choices presented in a list box. To open a list of possible values 
for the field, press the Alt and down arrow keys at the same time. 
When you select or enter an OS path, AlphaBIOS searches for the 
directory. If the search fails, a warning appears, saying that the 
directory does not exist. You are given the choice to continue 
with the changes anyway or to cancel the operation and fix the 
problem.

6. OS Options

The OS Options line lists the startup parameters passed to the 
operating system for an operating system selection. One example of 
a startup parameter is whether to start the operating system in 
debug mode. By default, Windows NT does not add any entries to 
this field. This field can be modified.

7. OS Selection Setup Options

You can use the options listed at the bottom of the screen to edit 
operating system selections. When you edit an OS selection, the 
fields of the OS Selection are validated when you exit the OS 
selection setup screen. Depending on the option you choose, one of 
the following dialog boxes will appear.

New OS Selection. Pressing the Insert key displays the Insert New 
Operating System Selection dialog box, with default values for the 
new OS selection already filled in. You can change these values as 
necessary.

Delete OS Selection. Pressing the Delete key tags the currently 
selected OS selection for deletion. Although the OS selection is 
removed from the screen, it is not actually deleted until you save 
your changes. 

You can also delete all of your OS selections at once by pressing 
the Control and Delete keys at the same time while in the 
Operating System Selection Setup screen.

Note If you delete all of your OS selections, a dialog box appears 
informing you that no OS selections exist and offering three 
options. You can create a new OS selection, exit without saving 
changes, or exit and save changes.

Edit OS Selection. You can edit all of the values of an OS 
selection by selecting the OS selection to edit and pressing F6. A 
dialog box appears with current information. You can then edit all 
of the OS selection fields. 

Copy OS Selection. You can make it easy to create a new OS 
selection by using an existing OS selection as a template. To do 
this, select the OS selection you want to make a copy of and press 
F7 to make a copy of it. A dialog box appears with the values of 
the OS selection you selected. You can then edit all of the OS 
selection fields. Note that if you do not make any changes, a 
duplicate copy of the OS selection you copied is made.

Validate OS Selection. Pressing F9 in the Operating System 
Selection Setup screen allows you to validate the fields in the 
currently selected OS selection. The validation routine checks 
that the OS loader file and OS directory fields contain valid 
paths, and that the OSLOADER.EXE file exists in the directory 
specified. At the end of the validation, a dialog box appears 
describing the results of the validation. If there is an error in 
an OS selection, the validation routine displays a dialog box 
describing the component of the OS selection that is in error. At 
this point you can choose to edit the OS selection to correct the 
error, or delete the OS selection altogether. 

You can also validate all of the OS selections at once by pressing 
the Control and F9 keys at the same time. All OS selections are 
validated in the order they are listed on screen.

Note:	If the Boot File or OS path in the boot selection you are 
verifying resides in an NTFS partition, that part of the boot 
selection is not verified. Support for verification on NTFS 
partitions has been removed from this release of AlphaBIOS 
because of ongoing changes to the NTFS specification by Microsoft.

Primary Operating System. You can set any of the OS selections to 
be the primary operating system by selecting the OS selection and 
pressing F8. When you make an OS selection primary, it is 
displayed first on the Operating System Selection Setup screen and 
the text Primary Operating System appears next to the OS 
selection. In addition, the primary operating system is displayed 
first on the AlphaBIOS boot screen and is automatically started if 
Auto Start is enabled.

Exit. Pressing the Escape key returns you to the AlphaBIOS Setup 
screen.



Display System Configuration Reference

The Display System Configuration screen provides detailed 
information on your systems installed processor, memory, attached 
devices, and option boards. This information is divided into six 
categories:

Note Depending on the model of your system, one or more of the 
configuration categories might not appear on your display.

o System board    o EISA      o Memory
o Hard disk       o SCSI      o Server Management
o PCI             o MC Bus    o Integrated Peripherals



System Board Configuration

Information about the system board configuration is presented when 
you select Systemboard Configuration and press Enter. 

1. System Type

The System Type field shows the system family to which the system 
board in your system belongs. Alpha system families are defined by 
the basic architecture of the system board. Individual system 
models within the family can have different processors, run at 
different speeds, have different options, etc.

2. Processor

The Processor field shows the model and revision of processor 
installed on your system board - for example, 21064. Revision 
level information can be useful in troubleshooting problems with 
technical support personnel. 

3. Speed

The Speed field shows the speed at which the processor runs 
internally. 

4. Cache

The Cache field shows the amount, in kilobytes or megabytes, of 
static RAM cache memory installed. Cache memory is used to speed 
system performance by acting as an intermediary between the 
processor and the systems main memory, which uses slower dynamic 
RAM.

5. Memory

The Memory field shows the amount, in megabytes, of main memory 
installed. Detailed memory information can be found in the Memory 
Configuration screen.

6. AlphaBIOS Version

The AlphaBIOS Version field shows the version of AlphaBIOS 
currently running on your system. The AlphaBIOS Version field has 
three parts: the major version number, minor version number, and 
build date. The major version number signifies the overall level 
of the BIOS; that is, it represents major functionality. The minor 
version number signifies minor enhancements that have been made 
since the last major revision. The build date is the date and time 
the BIOS was compiled.



Hard Disk Configuration

Information about the hard disk configuration is presented when 
you select Hard Disk Configuration and press Enter. 

For detailed information on the fields presented in the hard disk 
configuration screen, see the section Hard Disk Setup Screen, 
earlier in this chapter.



PCI Configuration

Information about all the PCI devices in your system is presented 
when you select PCI Configuration and press Enter. 

1. Device Name

This is the name and model of the device as recorded in the 
devices firmware.

2. Device Type

The device type lists the function of the device in the system.

3. Physical Slot

The Physical Slot lists the actual PCI slot number to which the 
device is attached. Refer to your system manual for information on 
the physical location of PCI slot locations on your particular 
system board.

4. Revision

The revision level of the device signifies the number of times it 
has been updated by the manufacturer.

PCI Device Detail

You can also get additional detail about any of the PCI devices 
listed by following the procedure below.

To get additional detail about a PCI device 

1.  Press Enter to allow selection in the device list. 

2.  Select the device about which you want additional detail. 

3.  Press Enter, and the detail is displayed. 

4.  Press Escape to return to the table of PCI devices. 


1. Bus Number

The bus number is the virtual PCI bus number.

2. Function Number

The function number represents the number assigned to a particular 
function on a multifunction device. For example, a combination 
Ethernet/SCSI controller would be listed twice, with the first 
function listed as function 0 and the other function listed as 
function 1.

3. Device Number

The device number is the PCI bus device number.

4. Configuration Space Header

The configuration space header displays the information in the 
selected devices PCI configuration space. This information is 
supplied for system engineers.



EISA Configuration

This option does not appear on all systems. Information about all 
the EISA devices in your system is presented when you select EISA 
Configuration and press Enter. 

1. Device Name

The device name includes a 3 character manufacturers code, 
followed by a 3 digit board type, followed by a 1 digit revision 
number.

2. Device Type

The device type identifies the basic board type (e.g., network, 
video, etc.).

3. Physical Slot

The Physical Slot lists the actual EISA slot number to which the 
device is attached. Refer to the System Drawer Users Guide for 
information on the physical location of EISA slot locations on 
your particular system board. System boards with EISA support 
always show the embedded EISA system controller first on this 
list.



SCSI Configuration

Information about the configuration of your systems SCSI devices 
is presented when you select SCSI Configuration and press Enter. 
In the following example, only one controller is installed in the 
system. If additional controllers were installed, a menu, allowing 
you to select which controller you wish to display information 
about, is displayed before detailed information about the 
controller is displayed.

1. SCSI Controller Information

The SCSI controller information describes the physical 
characteristics of the selected SCSI controller. Information 
listed in this field includes:

Controller. The controller is the brand and model of SCSI chip 
used on the SCSI controller.

Controller number. The controller number is based on how many SCSI 
controllers of a particular type are installed in the system. The 
first controller of a type is always numbered 0. For example, if 
two NCR 810 controllers and one QLogic controller existed in a 
system, they would be numbered as follows:

SCSI ID number. The SCSI ID number is a unique number assigned to 
the SCSI controller. This must be a unique number. The standard 
controller numbering scheme is for controllers to be SCSI ID 7.

SCSI bus number. The SCSI bus number indicates whether the 
controller is first or second in the system. The first controller 
is tied to SCSI bus 0, and the second controller is tied to SCSI 
bus 1.

2. SCSI ID

The SCSI ID number is a unique number you assign to each SCSI 
device installed in the system. This is usually done via jumpers 
or a thumb wheel attached to the drive housing.

3. Device Type

The device type displays whether the device is a hard disk, CD-
ROM, scanner, or other type of  device.

4. Size

This is the raw capacity of the drive. Formatting the drive with 
different file systems - for example, FAT and NTFS - may result in 
different usable sizes because of the differences in how storage 
is managed under those file systems. This information is left 
blank if it is not applicable to a device, for example, a scanner.

5. Description

This is the name and model of the device as recorded in the 
devices firmware.



MC Bus Configuration

This option does not appear on all systems. Information about all 
the devices on the MC Bus in your system is presented when you 
select MC BUS Configuration and press Enter. 

Note The MC Bus configuration information is intended primarily 
for service personnel.

1. MC Bus Number

The MC Bus number identifies the location of a system component on 
the MC Bus. 

2.Module name

The module name is the Digital internal identifier for a system 
component.

3. Module type

The module type identifies the function of the system component.

4. Physical Slot

The physical slot represents the actual location of the system 
component on the bus. Refer to Chapter 1 of the System Drawer 
Users Guide for more information about the MC Bus and module 
placement.

5. Revision

The revision is a Digital internal number representing the 
manufacturing revision level of the system component.



Memory Configuration

The total amount of memory installed in your system is presented 
when you select Memory Configuration and press Enter. 

1. Memory Bank

A memory bank is a group of either 2, 4, or 8 SIMM or DIMM 
(S/DIMM) slots. You can calculate the number of S/DIMM slots per 
bank by dividing the number of megabytes per S/DIMM within a bank 
into the total memory installed in the bank.

In the example above, Bank 1 has 32 MB of memory installed, and 
each S/DIMM in the bank contains 16 MB of memory. Therefore, 
32/16=2, there are two S/DIMM slots in Bank 1.

2. Installed Memory

The amount of memory, in megabytes, installed in a bank of S/DIMM 
slots.

3. Memory per S/DIMM

The amount of memory, in megabytes, contained in each S/DIMM 
within a bank of S/DIMM slots.



Server Management Features

This option does not appear on all systems. Information about 
installed server management features is presented when you select 
Server Management Features and press Enter. 

1. Feature

This is the physical device as it exists on the system board.

2. ISA Port Address

The port address is the physical memory location from and to which 
data travels as it is received into the device, and sent from the 
device.

3. Interrupt

This is the interrupt request line (IRQ) used by the device to get 
the CPUs attention.

4. System-specific Bus Address.

Some systems have and advanced system bus unique to that system 
model. For example, some systems in the AlphaServer 4000 family 
have a MC Bus which provides extremely fast memory access. At the 
time this is written, this bus is not found in any other family.

The system-specific bus address of a device is useful for service 
people troubleshooting system problems, as well as programmers who 
need to access devices on the bus. For example, a programmer could 
use the address of the front panel display to show custom messages 
on the display.



Integrated Peripherals Configuration

Not all of the peripherals listed in this screen are available on 
all systems. Information about installed peripherals, such as 
parallel and serial ports, is presented when you select Integrated 
Peripherals and press Enter. 

1. Device type

This is the physical device as it exists on the system board.

2. MS DOS name

This shows whether the device is enabled, and if it is enabled, 
the addressable MS-DOS name for the device.

3. Interrupt

This is the interrupt request line (IRQ) used by the device to get 
the CPUs attention.

4. Port address

The port address is the physical memory location from and to which 
data travels as it is received into the device, and sent from the 
device, respectively.



Run Maintenance Program Reference

Location

The location is the location from which the program in the Program 
Name field will be run if no path is entered along with the 
program name. To display a list of all available disks and 
partitions, press the Alt and down arrow keys at the same time. 
Once the list is displayed, use the plus arrow keys to cycle 
through the selections.

Program Name

The program name is the program to be run. It must be an 
executable program with a .EXE filename extension. However, when 
entering the program name, it is not necessary to type the 
extension.

Programs written to be run from AlphaBIOS must be written as ARC 
compatible images.



Windows NT Installation Reference

Understanding the System Partition

In order to install Windows NT, a system partition must be 
defined. On an Alpha system, a system partition is set silently in 
the background by AlphaBIOS when you install Windows NT the first 
time.

The purpose of the system partition is twofold. First, it tells 
the Windows NT installation program where to place the OS Loader 
and hardware support files. Secondly, upon subsequent restarts of 
Windows NT, the system partition definition tells AlphaBIOS where 
the OSLOADER.EXE file is so it can successfully hand off control 
to the OS Loader and continue the boot process.

The system partition can be the same partition into which Windows 
NT is installed, or it can be separate. However, the system 
partition must be formatted with the FAT file system. Because the 
default recommended partition arrangement on Alpha calls for the 
partition into which Windows NT is installed to be an NTFS 
partition, the system partition will almost always be a small (4 
to 6 MB) FAT partition on the same disk onto which Windows NT is 
installed. 

Understanding How AlphaBIOS Works with System Partitions

If you have previously installed Windows NT on your system, then a 
system partition will have already been defined and Windows NT 
will know where to place the OSLOADER and hardware support files. 
However, if you are installing Windows NT for the first time, 
AlphaBIOS will determine that a system partition has not been 
defined when you select Install Windows NT in the AlphaBIOS Setup 
screen. When this occurs, AlphaBIOS searches for all FAT 
partitions on the system. If only one FAT partition exists (which 
would be the situation if you have only one hard drive installed 
and just performed an express hard-disk setup), then AlphaBIOS 
designates that FAT partition as the system partition and 
continues with the Windows NT installation. If more than one FAT 
partition exists on your system, AlphaBIOS displays the list of 
FAT partitions from which you can choose the system partition. 
After choosing the system partition, the installation process 
continues.


Installing Adaptec SCSI Controller Support on AlphaServer 4x00 
Family Systems Running Windows NT 3.51

If you attempt to install Windows NT 3.51 onto a disk that is 
connected to an Adaptec 2940UW or 3940UW SCSI adapter, the 
installation will fail unless you follow these instructions. 

Note that this does not apply to Windows NT 4.0, as the drivers
for these adapters are included with the operating system

1.  Place the Windows NT 3.51 CD-ROM in the CD-ROM drive.

2.  Place the Hardware Support Disk into the diskette drive. 
    It contains support software for both the AlphaServer 
    4x00 family and the Adaptec 2940UW/3940UW.

3.  From AlphaBIOS, select Install Windows NT.

4.  Within 2 seconds of seeing the Windows NT Setup banner, 
    press F6. There will not be any immediate feedback of your 
    action.

5.  When prompted for the computer type select Other.

6.  When prompted for the support disk, the support disk is 
    already in the diskette drive, so press Enter.

7.  Select the appropriate system type from the list of 
    displayed systems (e.g., AlphaServer 4100-5 - Multiprocessor).

8.  Windows NT Setup will load a few more files and then ask you 
    to specify any additional SCSI devices. Type s to specify an 
    additional device.

9.  Select NCR PCI (53c810) from the SCSI Adapter list so that 
    Windows NT Setup can continue to read the CD-ROM.

10. Press s again to specify another SCSI device.

11. Select Other from the SCSI Adapter list, so that Windows 
    NT Setup can load the new Adaptec 2940UW/2940UW driver from 
    the Hardware Support Diskette.

12. Press Enter to continue to use the same Hardware Support 
    Disk already in the drive.

13. Select Adaptec 2940(w) from the list to install the driver 
    from the diskette.

14. Windows NT Setup will return to the dialog presented in 
    step 8, and both NCR PCI (53c810) and Adaptec 2940(w) are 
    listed. Press Enter to continue with Windows NT Setup. 

    Windows NT Setup will continue. During this process, you 
    will be able to choose to install Windows NT to disks 
    connected to the Adaptec 2940UW/3940UW.



CMOS Setup Reference

CMOS Setup is used to configure several basic system parameters. 
There are two modes for CMOS Setup, standard and advanced. 
Standard CMOS setup is used to configure basic system parameters. 
Advanced CMOS setup is used for system-specific parameters and 
password protection.



Standard CMOS Setup Screen

1. Date and Time

When setting the time, use the 24-hour format; for example, 10:00 
p.m. is 22:00:00.

2. Floppy Drive

AlphaBIOS supports the following drive types:

o 5.25 inch, 1.2 MB 

o 3.5 inch, 1.44 MB

o 3.5 inch, 2.88 MB

3. Keyboard

The keyboard setting makes it possible to use just about any 
language keyboard available. To ensure correct character mappings, 
the language of your keyboard, Windows NT, and the keyboard 
language selection in CMOS setup should all match.

4. Auto Start and Auto Start Count

The Auto Start setting determines whether the primary operating 
system is automatically started after the system is reset or 
power-cycled. The Auto Start Count setting is the amount of time 
the boot screen is displayed before the default system is 
automatically started. This delay gives you the opportunity, after 
resetting or power-cycling the system, to select another operating 
system to start or to enter AlphaBIOS Setup.

5. Standard CMOS Setup Options

Color. Pressing F3 repeatedly cycles through the available 
AlphaBIOS color schemes.

Advanced. Pressing F6 displays the Advanced CMOS Setup screen.

Defaults. Pressing F7 restores the default standard CMOS setup 
values without affecting the advanced CMOS setup values.

Discard Changes. Pressing Escape restores the settings in effect 
when you started CMOS Setup. This option also discards changes 
made in advanced CMOS setup.

Save Changes. Pressing F10 saves changes made in both the standard 
and advanced modes of CMOS Setup.



Advanced CMOS Setup Screen

Not all of the options on this screen are available on all system 
models.

1. PCI Parity Checking

Possible settings for PCI parity checking are enabled and disabled 
by using this setting. Parity checking is a method for ensuring 
data integrity across the PCI bus. Unfortunately, many older, and 
even some newer, PCI option cards do not fully comply with the PCI 
specification. One of the ways in which a card might not comply 
with the specification is by not correctly generating PCI parity.

To accommodate cards that do not correctly generate PCI parity, 
Alpha systems with PCI expansion slots leave PCI parity checking 
disabled by default. If you are certain that all of your PCI 
option cards correctly implement PCI parity generation, you can 
turn parity checking on. If PCI parity checking results in 
unstable system behavior, such as lockups, you can turn PCI parity 
checking off again.

If you discover that a card in your system does not correctly 
generate PCI parity, you can check with the card manufacturer 
about getting an updated version of the card with PCI parity 
generation correctly implemented.

2. Power-up Memory Test

Possible settings for the power-up memory test are enabled and 
disabled. On some systems, a partial option is also available as a 
separate menu item. When enabled, the memory test writes and then 
reads patterns of data to main system memory. This testing 
verifies the integrity of main system memory. The partial setting 
only tests memory below 256 MB. This is useful for saving boot 
time on systems with a large amount of memory.

3. Password Setup

Possible settings for password setup are disabled, setup password 
protection, and startup password protection. For more information 
on password protection, see Setting Up Password Protection in 
Chapter 2.

4. SCSI Termination

This setting is used to set SCSI termination to internal or 
external. It determines whether AlphaBIOS checks for external SCSI 
devices attached to your SCSI controller during initialization. If 
you have external SCSI devices attached to your SCSI controller, 
the correct setting is external.

5. PCI Interrupt Routing

The DMCC backplane has an interrupt accelerator that allows PCI 
interrupts to be routed either directly to the CPU, or to the 
system I/O chips programmable interrupt controller. Possible 
settings for PCI interrupt routing are ISA PIRQs and Interrupt 
Accelerator.

When set to ISA PIRQs, interrupts are routed through the system 
I/O programmable interrupt controller. This setting is provided 
for backward compatibility with older software. When set to 
Interrupt Accelerator, interrupts are routed directly to the CPU. 
This is the recommended mode as it leaves 4 ISA interrupts free 
for ISA devices to use.

6. Watchdog Mode

The DMCC backplane has a watchdog timer that can be enabled or 
disabled as needed. A watchdog timer is a clock that runs 
independently of the rest of the system. The clock count can be 
used by programmers to trigger certain events, for example, a 
system reboot, when one of the timers reaches a certain count. 
This is useful for embedded applications, for example, automatic 
teller machines, where it is desirable for the system to reset 
automatically in the event of system failure, rather than having 
to send a service person to reset the system.

Possible watchdog modes are disabled, enabled in single timer 
mode, and enabled in dual timer mode. When enabled in single timer 
mode, one clock is active, and when enabled in dual timer mode, 
two independent clocks are active. End users running typical 
desktop applications can leave the watchdog timer disabled.

7. Watchdog Timer Settings

If watchdog mode is enabled, either one or both of the timers are 
enabled, depending on whether the watchdog mode is set to single 
or dual timer. Note that a timers setting is retained even if the 
timer is disabled.

8. SCSI BIOS Support

Prior to AlphaBIOS 5.2, you could only use SCSI controllers whose
drivers were built directly into AlphaBIOS. Beginning with 
AlphaBIOS 5.2, you can use any SCSI controller with your Alpha 
system if the controller has its own onboard BIOS. Features of 
this support are listed in the following table.

                        AlphaServer 4x00         Other AlphaBIOS
Feature                 Family                   Based Systems
------------------------------------------------------------------
Can boot from disk         Y                         Y
connected to SCSI BIOS
controlled adapter

Multiple drives            Y                         Y (2 drives)
supported

Multiple adapters          Y                         N
supported

Can run adapter's          Y (first BIOS controlled  Y
on-board BIOS setup           adapter only)
utility

When you enable this option, the SCSI controllers BIOS is 
initialized with its default settings at boot time. If the 
controller has a BIOS-based setup utility, you are prompted 
to press a key combination to run the utility. The utility 
allows you to change the adapters default settings. The key
combination varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.

This option is generally left enabled, although, if you do 
not have a SCSI BIOS based adapter installed in your system, 
you can disable this feature to speed up boot time.


8. Console Selection

This setting is used to switch between AlphaBIOS and SRM firmware. 
If you select OpenVMS or Digital UNIX, the next time you reset 
your system, the SRM firmware will be loaded instead of AlphaBIOS. 
This is equivalent to the SRM firmwares set os_type command.

9. Advanced CMOS Setup Options

Discard changes. Pressing Escape restores the settings in effect 
when you started advanced CMOS setup. This does not discard 
changes made to standard CMOS setup.

Save Changes. Pressing F10 saves changes made in advanced CMOS 
setup. Note that, when exiting CMOS Setup, you must also save your 
changes at the Standard CMOS Setup screen for the changes to be 
stored permanently.



-----------------------------------------------
APPENDIX A - DIFFERENCES BETWEEN X86 AND ALPHA
-----------------------------------------------

This appendix is provided for users who are familiar with PCs 
based on the x86 architecture and are new to Alpha-based PCs, 
servers, or workstations.

Besides the fact that the Alpha microprocessor is based on a new 
computer architecture that uses RISC-designed instruction 
encodings, Alpha computers differ from x86 PCs in respect to the 
way they are initialized.



Boot Sequence Differences

The boot process for x86 PCs is based on a simple sequence. The 
BIOS for the x86 PC is programmed to find the boot sector from the 
boot partition and to read it into memory. The BIOS then jumps to 
instructions within the boot sector. These instructions in the 
file system are x86 instructions that are programmed to find and 
run the next level loader in the boot sequence.

A limitation with the x86 boot sequence is due to the fact that it 
is dependent upon x86 instructions in the file system. 
Proliferating this assumption by having Alpha instructions in the 
file-system structure on Alpha machines is problematic because you 
would not be able to share disks between x86 and Alpha computers. 
In addition, the x86 boot sequence is not well-integrated. Also, 
if the boot-sector instructions in the file-system structure are 
corrupted, the PC will simply hang and the problem will be 
difficult to diagnose.

On Alpha computers, the boot sequence is based on the ability of 
AlphaBIOS to read the directories of the FAT file system. 
AlphaBIOS can find, load, and execute the OS Loader program 
directly from the file system. This feature eliminates one step in 
the boot sequence (compared to x86 PCs), and the sequence is fully 
integrated within AlphaBIOS. You need only specify the location of 
the OS Loader program when you set up the operating system. In 
addition, if the file system has corruption problems, AlphaBIOS 
will likely detect them and make diagnosing the problem easier.



Hard-Disk Setup Differences

Installing Windows NT requires you to partition and format your 
installation disk. On x86 PCs, the MS-DOS program FDISK is used to 
partition and format your hard drives.

AlphaBIOS integrates a disk partitioning and formatting utility: 
Hard Disk Setup. AlphaBIOS allows you to set up your hard drives 
from the BIOS without having to run an intermediate operating 
system.



OS Selection versus BOOT.INI

For x86 PCs running Windows NT, the first-level loader program 
loaded by the BIOS allows the user to select the operating system 
to boot. Operating system choices are maintained in a text file 
named BOOT.INI on the boot partition. BOOT.INI is maintained by 
Windows NT, but can also be edited and customized manually with a 
text editor. Once the operating systems to run are displayed, you 
are executing the simple loader program and have passed the BIOS. 
If you want to enter BIOS setup at this point, the system must be 
restarted.

AlphaBIOS integrates the operating system choices as part of the 
BIOS. A setup option is supplied to allow you to quickly and 
easily add, modify, delete, and copy operating system choices 
without the need to manually use a text editor. The information 
for each operating system choice is the same as would be stored in 
the BOOT.INI file, but it is stored in nonvolatile memory on the 
systemboard. The operating system choices are, therefore, more 
secure. In addition, when initialization reaches the boot screen 
where you can choose the operating system to start, you are still 
executing AlphaBIOS and can therefore enter AlphaBIOS Setup at any 
time.



BIOS Emulation for Video

Video option cards for ISA and PCI buses typically contain a BIOS 
ROM used to initialize and set up the video card. These BIOS ROMs 
are typically in x86 instruction format and must therefore be run 
by non-x86 systems in x86 emulation mode. AlphaBIOS uses a built-
in x86 emulator to run the BIOS ROM code on video option cards. 
The initialization and startup for video option cards appear to be 
the same as on x86 PCs. Note that this emulation is only necessary 
while performing AlphaBIOS tasks. Once the operating system loads, 
the card is run in native mode.



Built-in SCSI Support

Typically, SCSI controller support for x86 PCs is implemented in 
the same manner as video support. The SCSI ISA or PCI option card 
contains a BIOS ROM that is executed during BIOS initialization 
and allows the x86 system to boot from the option card.

AlphaBIOS integrates the SCSI controller drivers directly into its 
program. This allows AlphaBIOS to boot from disks connected from 
these SCSI cards without requiring the presence of the BIOS ROM. 
In addition, because the drivers are integrated, AlphaBIOS can 
display information for multiple controllers in a clear and 
consistent fashion.

Note that while any SCSI controller with its own BIOS ROM will 
work in an Alpha-based system, only drives connected to the SCSI 
adapters specifically supported in AlphaBIOS can be used to boot 
the system. Refer to your system manual for more information on 
which SCSI controllers for which your system has built-in support.



Displaying Hardware Configuration Information

AlphaBIOS can display the current configuration of your computer 
to a fine level of detail. The extensive hardware configuration 
information available from AlphaBIOS should prove useful when 
installing new disks, memory, and option cards. In addition, the 
information should be useful in the event of a hardware problem.



-----------------------------------------------------------------
APPENDIX B - DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE ARC AND ALPHABIOS FIRMWARE
-----------------------------------------------------------------

This section is for users of Alpha systems who are experienced 
with ARC firmware, and who want an overview of the major 
differences between ARC and AlphaBIOS firmware.



Revamped User Interface

AlphaBIOS has a graphical-style windowed interface. Many of the 
navigational and selection keystrokes implemented in Microsoft 
Windows are present in AlphaBIOS as well. If you are familiar with 
navigating Microsoft Windows using a keyboard, AlphaBIOS 
navigation will also be simple. Additionally, information and 
selections are grouped more logically. Groups of related tasks can 
often be performed from a single screen.



Hard-Disk Setup

Using ARC firmware, initial hard-disk partitioning and formatting 
was accomplished with a utility called ARCINST.EXE. This utility 
is distributed on the Windows NT CD-ROM. This utility was run in a 
manner similar to how a maintenance program is run with AlphaBIOS; 
that is, from a command line. Under AlphaBIOS, hard-disk setup 
functionality is integrated into the menu-based interface. 

The following list summarizes the new hard-disk setup 
functionality in AlphaBIOS but not found in the ARC program

o With one keystroke, express disk setup configures your first 
hard disk with the recommended partition arrangement.

o AlphaBIOS uses the same path descriptions as Windows NT Disk 
Administrator, rather than the ARC path names used in ARCINST. For 
example: 

ARC Path Name = scsi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1) 

AlphaBIOS Path Name  = Disk 0, Partition 1

o All partitions of all disks can be seen at the same time.

o Disk administration is integrated into the BIOS, rather than 
being a maintenance program.

o No menu hierarchy to navigate.

o Detailed display of disk and partition configuration.

o Windowed interface.



Changing CMOS and NVRAM Values

With ARC firmware, a number of settings stored in CMOS and NVRAM 
are set using several separate ARC firmware selections. With 
AlphaBIOS, these settings are more logically arranged by being 
integrated into the CMOS Setup program.


Working with Operating Systems

Because Alpha systems can have multiple versions of Windows NT 
installed simultaneously, you can examine, verify, and modify the 
values associated with each installed version of Windows NT. With 
ARC firmware, the group of values associated with a particular 
Windows NT installation are collectively known as a boot 
selection. With AlphaBIOS, these values are known as an 
operating system selection.

With ARC firmware, working with boot selections is difficult 
because the various pieces of information necessary are located on 
separate screens displayed by using the Manage Boot Selections 
menu. In addition, the interface provides no way to easily see the 
alternatives available for a given item. For example, if you want 
to customize a boot selection to use an OSLOADER.EXE file on a 
different partition or disk, there is no way to see the different 
choices available while in the menu where you enter that 
information. This makes it necessary to navigate back and forth 
between the separate menus these pieces of information are located 
under and to remember the information for entry into the correct 
menu.

With AlphaBIOS, working with operating system selections has been 
greatly simplified by virtue of the revamped user interface. All 
the functionality available under ARC firmware has been integrated 
into a single Operating System Selection Setup screen. Alternative 
choices for values, such as disk and partition numbers, are 
available with drop-down list boxes, and only valid values are 
displayed. This makes processes that were once error-prone and 
clumsy relatively smooth and error-free.

In addition, a new feature, copying operating system selections, 
makes creating new operating system selections even easier by 
making it possible to use an existing selection as a template for 
a new selection.



Running a Program from the BIOS

The procedure for running configuration programs remains 
essentially unchanged with AlphaBIOS. With ARC firmware, the menu 
selection to run a program was located on the Boot menu, whereas, 
with AlphaBIOS, you can select Utilities from the main AlphaBIOS 
Setup screen to run configuration programs.

Note that the selection name has changed from Run a program 
under ARC, to Run a maintenance program under AlphaBIOS.



Differences in System Configuration Display

The system configuration display in ARC firmware provides general 
information about system setup. In contrast, the system 
configuration display in AlphaBIOS displays detailed information 
categorized by major subsystem. In addition, for many of the 
elements listed, you can select the element and obtain additional 
detailed information.



Resetting to Factory Defaults

With ARC firmware, the option to reset the system to factory 
defaults is located on the Setup screen. With AlphaBIOS, the 
equivalent function is performed by pressing f7 in the CMOS Setup 
screen.



Multilingual Support

Support for multiple languages, which was recently added to ARC 
firmware, is not currently a feature of AlphaBIOS.

