Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!usc!ucla-cs!news From: wales@valeria.cs.ucla.edu (Rich Wales) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware Subject: Award BIOS OK for 386? Or should I demand AMI? Message-ID: <1991Jan23.063229.4654@cs.ucla.edu> Date: 23 Jan 91 06:32:29 GMT Sender: news@cs.ucla.edu (Mr. News) Organization: UCLA CS Department, Los Angeles Lines: 27 Nntp-Posting-Host: valeria.cs.ucla.edu As I mentioned to the net a week or so ago, I'm planning to upgrade my 8-MHz 286 system by getting a 386 motherboard. (Sorry, I already have a firm buyer for the old 286 board; so, please, no offers to buy it.) The board I'm currently leaning toward is a 33-MHz 386 motherboard by a company called "Beaver". As best I can tell, it sounds like a good buy. However, one thing gives me pause: whereas the standard for 386 BIOSes appears to be AMI, this board has an Award BIOS. Now, I know Award is a "big name" in the BIOS world. And my 286 has an Award BIOS and runs just fine. I probably wouldn't even give it a sec- ond thought, except that I also plan to get a Colorado Memory Systems "Jumbo 120" tape backup unit -- and CMS says they've had problems with Award BIOSes. Specifically, their tape backup software checks for Award BIOSes, and sets up to access the tape in "non-concurrent" mode (i.e., tape and disk are not accessed simultaneously) in order to get around various supposed problems with the BIOS. So, my question is, is an Award BIOS in a 386 "bad news"? Should I put my foot down and settle for "nothing less" than an AMI BIOS? Has anyone else had problems with a 386 with an Award BIOS? Or is everything just fine, and am I getting all worked up over nothing? -- Rich Wales // UCLA Computer Science Department 3531 Boelter Hall // Los Angeles, CA 90024-1596 // +1 (213) 825-5683 "I could be chasing an untamed ornithoid without cause."