Re: PPB ints. and IRQ routing

[rdunlap@atlanta.nsc.com (Randy Dunlap)]

Hi Ehud et al,

One of my problems (probably) is that most of my Pentium/PCI PCs
are old.  They are 60 MHz - 75 MHz with BIOS versions that are
most likely about 2 years old.

I have tried/tested:
a.  Gateway 2000 P/75 with AMI BIOS v.1.00.12.AX1T
b.  Duracom P/60 with Award Modular BIOS v.4.50
c.  Austin PC P/60 with AMI BIOS v.1.00.09.AF2

On the Austin PC, after using the DEC PPB DOS utility PVIEW
to test some of the possible IRQ routings that are displayed by my
DumpPciIrqRoutingOptions program (by writing various values
to the IntLine PCI config. register and then loading Win95),
I finally found ONE IRQ that fired, but then only one time.
I expect that the BIOS has the interrupts set for edge-
triggered instead of level-triggered (?).

On the Austin PC, the AMI BIOS says that IRQs 5, 9, 10, 11,
3, 4, 7, and 15 can be routed to any PCI INT (same IrqBitMap
= 0x8eb8 for all PCI INTs).  However, Win95 doesn't like it
when I try to share the in-use IRQs, which are 5=another Ethernet
adapter and 7=LPT1 (I didn't try 15=disk, 3=COM2, 4=COM1).
I did try 9, 10, and 11, and only 10 gave me an IRQ.


Thanks to all who responded and for any more comments, suggestions,
ideas, etc.

Regards,
Randy


|From ehud@asp.co.il Thu Aug 15 02:52:30 1996
|Date: Thu, 15 Aug 96 09:40:41 IDT
|From: ehud@asp.co.il (Ehud Ashkenazi)
|To: rdunlap@atlanta.nsc.com
|Subject: Re: PPB ints. and IRQ routing
|Content-Length: 3225
|
|Randy,
|We've had numerous interrupt problems with standart PCI
|agents, and PCI bridges (namely, our our design around
|the AMCC controller, and several frame grabbers which are
|bridges). In many motherboards, the most problematic issue
|is routing the interrupts correctly. We've tested about
|10 (!) different motherboards until we finally found one
|which satisfied us: the Intel advanced/ev with bios version
|1.00.02.cb0 (note, current version is 1.00.05.cb0).
|
|Could you please post the brand/bios version that you are
|working with?
|Good luck, Ehud.
|
|#####################################################
|##  Ehud Ashkenazi    software engineer            ##   
|##                    A.S.P Solutions limited      ##
|##                    tel. +972-9-986976 ext. 231  ##
|##                    tel. home +972-3-6055087     ##
|#####################################################  
|
|
|
|----- Begin Included Message -----
|
|>From pci-sig-request@znyx.com Wed Aug 14 20:26:21 1996
|Resent-From: pci-sig-request@znyx.com
|Resent-Date: Wed, 14 Aug 96 12:17:18 EDT
|Date: Wed, 14 Aug 96 12:17:18 EDT
|From: rdunlap@atlanta.nsc.com (Randy Dunlap)
|Subject: PPB ints. and IRQ routing
|Resent-Message-Id: <"C-esf.0.Ti1.e3W4o"@dart>
|X-Mailing-List: <pci-sig@znyx.com> archive/latest/3463
|X-Loop: pci-sig@znyx.com
|Resent-Sender: pci-sig-request@znyx.com
|To: Mailing List Recipients <pci-sig-request@znyx.com>
|
|Hi,
|
|In testing an NDIS 3 Ethernet driver for Windows 95,
|Microsoft's test spec. requires a PCI bridge test.
|Microsoft even specifies that the DEC PCI bridge adapter
|be used in this test.
|
|OK.  I have the DEC PCI bridge adapter (EB52) and its
|accompanying DOS utilities software.
|I have several PCs with Windows 95 installed.
|I have a working Ethernet driver when the Ethernet adpater
|is installed in a system board PCI slot.
|
|When I install the Ethernet adapter in the DEC PPB adapter
|and use the DEC pconf program to configure the PPB's
|inserted adapters, the Ethernet adapter is configured.
|I can see this by using the DEC pview program.
|
|When I load Windows 95 and my driver, Windows 95 knows where
|the Ethernet adapter is and tells my driver the I/O address
|of the Ethernet adapter.  The driver initializes the adapter,
|etc. etc. etc.  All is well until the adapter needs to
|interrupt the host/OS/driver.  NO interrupts are seen.
|
|This looks like a PCI INT/IRQ routing problem to me.
|Any suggestions/ideas for overcoming it?
|Do I just need to use some BIOS code that is more recent?
|
|I have written small programs to dump the PCI Interrupt Routing
|Options table and to try to Set the PCI INT/IRQ routing.
|The latter one fails.  In looking thru the AMI BIOS on the
|PC I am using, the BIOS code will only attempt to set
|the PCI IRQ routing for devices that are in the BIOS's
|bus/device table, which only contains bus 0 devices, and
|the DEC PPB's additional adapters (like my Ethernet adapter)
|are on bus 1.  Windows 95 see the device (adapter) on bus 1,
|but cannot fix its IRQ routing (?).
|
|Loading the DEC PPBX TSR (to add some int. 1A support for the
|DEC PPB) does not help any (at least the 1995 version that I
|have does not help).
|
|Help, ideas, suggestion, comments welcome.
|
|Thanks,
|Randy
|
|
|
|----- End Included Message -----
|
|
|
7
TA