Path: news.mitre.org!blanket.mitre.org!agate!newsgate.duke.edu!nntprelay.mathworks.com!logbridge.uoregon.edu!su-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!news1.digital.com!pa.dec.com!nntpd.lkg.dec.com!not-for-mail From: Fred Kleinsorge Newsgroups: comp.sys.dec,vmsnet.alpha Subject: Re: AXP 150, ATI MACH64 & VMS Date: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 14:44:55 -0400 Organization: OpenVMS Engineering Lines: 38 Message-ID: <34744CE7.119972E3@star.enet.dec_nospam.com> References: <346A0B85.4373FC86@star.enet.dec_nospam.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: fgkaxp.zko.dec.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.0b8Gold (X11; I; OpenVMS V7.1 DEC 3000 - M700) Xref: news.mitre.org comp.sys.dec:59397 vmsnet.alpha:6788 Jim Koehler wrote: > >Thanks for the explanation. > > The same explanation for why NT works must also apply to the ECU utility and > to ARC since they also work. That leaves SRM out and I guess the VMS Graphics > Driver also, right? > > The ARC console implements a simple X86 emulator to execute the VGA BIOS initialization and emuate an int10. It then does writes to the VGA in text mode. The ECU uses the ARC console for the text output. NT also uses the ARC console until OSLOADER exits (NTDETECT or some such thing figures out what is really needed. I believe that is when the real NT driver takes over). The SRM console also has a x86 emulator based on the code in the ARC console... but early versions tended to need hand tweaks for differen BIOS ROMs... it's amazing how so many BIOS ROM programs use nasty hacks that require that even more of the x86 system be emulated. And because the AXP150 has its own unique SRM console base, it would only have picked up fixes to the common SRM pool if someone explicitly did a code merge... and since Mach64 support was never a product requirement, nobody ever looked into fixing it. In fact, I believe that at one point the SRM console on the AXP150 didn't have BIOS emulation for it, but hand initialized known devices. So. You are pretty limited on what you can use on a AXP150 since ISA graphics are all but abandoned, and there were only a hand full of EISA graphics boards ever done (like th QVision). -- Frederick G. Kleinsorge | Standard disclaimer: All opinions OpenVMS Engineering | expressed are mine, and not those of my Digital Equipment Corporation | employer, or any one else with half a kleinsorge@star.enet.dec.com | clue. No refunds on sale items.