GUS Programmer's Digest Wed Jul 21 00:07 Volume 2: Issue 25 Today's Topics: NMI Standard Info: - Meta-info about the GUS can be found at the end of the Digest. - Before you ask a question, please READ THE FAQ. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 20 Jul 93 03:36:30 GMT From: thomasvk@blackhl.hacktic.nl (Thomas van Kuipers) Subject: NMI Message-ID: I post this here also, because NMI is a very hardware/software/prog.-ware related problem. Here the msg: Hi Phil, In your letter to the gus digest: " Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1993 09:40:04 -0500 (CDT) From: Phil Johnson Subject: NMI problems Message-ID: lacking of the NMI procedure on the SBOS prg.. BUT... my puter (a DX2-66 on a VLFSD [?] v1.0 board, Intel chips) was running a-O.K. with SBOS, UNTIL.. about a few days ago, it suddenly gave me the NMI error, and I am really upset! I did not install a thing, nor did I mess with my motherboard, open the CPU case, or screw with CMOS.. I powered it on one day and SBOS just didn't work. ..." You mentioned how you called a techian and told you that it never worked in the first place. He must have been referring to that a problem under dos can be not harmful at one moment and at another moment be harmful. It's the same with your interrupt setting who might be conflict full(especially when 2 things are on one interupt, like modems and sound blaster), but works with dos and then os/2 doesn't works or gives errors. (a hidden problem thus) Know Nmi .... I know (also from digest and other sources) that SBOS tries to get hooked to the NMI (the ONLY NMI interupt in the computer is IRQ 0 ! which is been used by the memory ...). Irq0 is used to fresh up the Dynamic RAM. For a reason me not known, the gravis / Ford programmers find it usefull or so to hook up SBOS to IRQ 0 (the told the had to use it, because it HAS to intercept, in all circumstances, the computer to emulate SB). I had this a few times in a OS/2 DOS box (The NMI procedure on this P.C. is disabled.) and so on i assume os/2 get a hold of that too (it only accured when i ran 2 dos box'en with sbos or when i closed a dos box with sbos on and then opened it and tried to run sbos). It can have to do with your memory manager (qemm, emm, max), but it works fine by me with qemm and emm or neither. Also i don't have a dx2 or VLB (you said VLFSD v1.0, but i think you mean Vesa Local Bus (no you mean VLSI chips ? if so .. VLSI are large Scale chips with much transitors). As far as i know the message has nothing to do with cpu/open computer/or cmos. One thing you could check: Do you have the I/o bus TO fast, i mean stand it on 8MHZ (some card don't like to fast i/o card .. i don't think it is the solve, but who knows). Sorry for the long letter, but i hope you understand more of it know. Also sorry for not having a direct answer to the problem. Best try to get the computer booted with NO drivers in config.sys/autoexec.bat except RIGHT set parameters. Thomas ------------------------------ End of GUS Programmer's Digest V2 #25 ************************************* To post to tomorrow's digest: To (un)subscribe or get help: To contact a human (last resort): FTP sites: archive.epas.utoronto.ca pub/pc/ultrasound wuarchive.wustl.edu systems/msdos/ultrasound Hints: - Get the FAQ from the FTP sites or the request server. - Mail to for info about other GUS related mailing lists (UNIX, OS/2, GUS-MIDI, etc.)