Version: 1.41  


Welcome to the Video BIOS Binary release pack from 3Dlabs.

This pack contains all you need to load and if required, customize the latest
video BIOS for a PERMEDIA, PERMEDIA NT or PERMEDIA 2 based 3Dlabs reference card.

This pack contains no source code.

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WHAT'S NEW? - Summary of recent changes since 1.40:-

  DPMS capabilities and current state are now correctly reported.

  Modes 0, 1, 4 and D have the correct refresh rates again.

  Screen wrapping after a mode change bug is fixed.

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This pack consists of the following files:-

BIOSLOAD.exe Version 0.3 of a the DOS utility for fast loading the video BIOS
             into the ATMEL 29LV512 flash programmable EPROM used on standard
             3Dlabs reference boards.  This program requires 'DOS4GW.exe' (supplied)

*.bin        Customized BIOS files suitable for immediate loading onto 3Dlabs
             standard PERMEDIA based reference boards.  Use the following
             table to decide which file is suitable for your board.

             *******************************************************************
             NOTE: it is important that you choose the correct file to load onto
             a card.  CHOOSING THE WRONG FILE MAY PREVENT YOUR MACHINE BOOTING.
             *******************************************************************

             Card to be upgraded                                      Appropriate file
             -------------------------------------------------------------------------
             PERMEDIA reference card (with IBM PERMEDIA chip).        perm.bin
             PERMEDIA reference card (with TI PERMEDIA chip).         tiperm.bin
             PERMEDIA LC reference card (with IBM PERMEDIA chip).     perm.bin
             PERMEDIA LC reference card (with TI PERMEDIA chip).      tiperm.bin
             PERMEDIA NT reference card (with IBM PERMEDIA chip).     permnt.bin
             PERMEDIA NT reference card (with TI PERMEDIA chip).      tipermnt.bin
             PERMEDIA 2 PCI reference card (with TI PERMEDIA 2 chip). tiperm2.bin
             PERMEDIA 2 AGP reference card (with TI PERMEDIA 2 chip). tip2agp.bin

VGABIOS.exe  The raw uncustomized video BIOS binary file.  DO NOT execute this
             file.  It is not designed to be run 'as-is' from DOS or Windows.
             It must be modified by the 'CONVERT' program below before being loaded
             into a suitable ROM.

CONVERT.exe  A utility for converting the vgabios.exe file into a loadable
             .bin file according to the instructions contained in a .cnv file.

*.cnv        Script files for producing loadable .bin versions of the BIOS.
             Used in conjunction with the 'convert' utility to customise the
             BIOS for a particular reference board (See TIP2AGP.cnv for latest
             descriptions of the customizable locations within the image).


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LOADING THE BIOS onto PERMEDIA, PERMEDIA NT or PERMEDIA 2 reference boards.

  1. Create a suitable directory on floppy or hard disk.
  2. Copy your chosen .bin file into this folder. (See table above for .bin selection).
  3. Copy the BIOSLOAD.exe and DOS4GW.exe files into the folder.
  4. If your card has DIP switches ensure DIP switch 6 on your card is ON.
  5. Reboot into DOS.
  6. Change into the newly created directory.
  7. Type: BIOSLOAD -r -f filename.bin
     Programming can take up to 10 seconds.  Progress is shown as several lines
     of dot,'O' or 'X' characters.  If your card already contains the same BIOS as
     the one being loaded the program will finish almost immediately as it only
     loads those parts which are different.  On some machines the display may go
     blank or flicker.  If this happens simply wait for at least 10 seconds before
     rebooting.
  8. Reboot and check the startup screen shows the correct video BIOS version and
     date as shown at the beginning of this file.
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CREATING A CUSTOMIZED VIDEO BIOS '.bin' FILE

  1. Edit a suitable .cnv file (tip2agp.cnv is suggested) with customized
     settings according to the type of target video card.  Don't forget to
     change the last few lines of the script to output to a new filename
     to avoid overwriting a standard .bin file.

  2. Run the CONVERT.exe utility by typing:-
       CONVERT @filename
     Where 'filename' is the name of your new .cnv file minus the .cnv extension.
     On completion a new .bin file should be created.


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