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From: liber@darth.UUCP (Eric Liber)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Query about Award and Phoenix PC/XT BIOSes
Message-ID: <432@darth.UUCP>
Date: 14 Feb 89 18:34:26 GMT
References: <20343@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> <493@madnix.UUCP>
Distribution: na
Organization: Darth Software, Allison Park, Pa.
Lines: 34

> From article <20343@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>, by wales@valeria.cs.ucla.edu:
> | However, I'm wondering whether there might be any point in upgrading the
> | BIOS on either of these machines.  Hence, a few questions:
> | 
> | (1) I have been told that the BIOSes produced by Award and Phoenix are
> |     very good, and that the two companies' products are essentially of
> |     equivalent quality -- i.e., that there is no real reason to prefer
> |     Award over Phoenix, or Phoenix over Award, or any third company over
> |     either Award or Phoenix.  Does anyone on the net have reasons for
> |     agreeing or disagreeing with this claim?
> 
> I've seen some other questions about Phoenix and Award BIOSes on the net, but
> I haven't seen anyone mention the AMI BIOS.  I seem to remember a review
> of a number of motherboards in BYTE, and the author noted that the fastest
> machines tended to use the AMI BIOS.
> 
> I'd be interested in any responses out there of Award vs. Phoenix vs. AMI.
> Thanks all.
.
I have a Gateway 20mhz 386 machine.  It originally came with an AWARD BIOS..
sorry i forget the rev... 
Anyway this version (3 something .. i think) WOULD NOT READ FLOPPY DISKS
WHEN RUNNING WINDOWS 386.  From the way it crashed i would lay even money on
an interrupt problem.  I replaced it (actually the vendor did at no charge)
with a Phoenix bios 3.03 (i think again) and no more problems.  

I have HEARD (no hard evidence ) that the Pheonix bios does not like Novell
netware.  That is why my machine was shipped with Award .. they assumed that
you would want to run networking on a 386 machine.  (NOBODY needs that much
speed ... :-) ).

I have no information about non 386 bios'

Eric (the red baron) Liber