Text 2192, 88 rader
Skriven 2011-08-09 21:36:12 av Dariusz Piatkowski
Ärende: Re: Enabling SMP
========================
comp.os.os2.apps,comp.os.os2.setup.misc,comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips,comp.os.os2.misc

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comp.os.os2.misc:3561
From: "Dariusz Piatkowski" <dariusz@_NO-SPAM_mnsi.net>

Jonathan,

On Tue, 9 Aug 2011 09:39:25 UTC, Jonathan de Boyne Pollard 
<J.deBoynePollard-newsgroups@NTLWorld.COM> wrote:

> >> My machine is NOT configured to support ACPI, however, setting my
> >> BIOS to ACPI enabled and using MPS map 1.4 seems to produce an
> >> otherwise pretty darn stable system. [...]
> >
> > So you have ACPI disabled even though having it enabled is more stable?
> 
> The last time around, M. Piatkowski said APIC, not ACPI.  I pointed out 
> then that xe shouldn't be mixing up xyr initialisms.  Disabling the 
> Advanced Configuration and Power Interface is a very different kettle of 
> fish to disabling any use of Advanced Programmable Interrupt 
> Controllers.  It's actually the latter that M. Piatkowski is doing.
> 
> In an AMIBIOS machine, the setting that M. Piatkowski was talking about 
> earlier is named "ACPI APIC Support" and it deals with APICs.  In 
> AWARD-Phoenix firmwares, the equivalent setting is named "APIC Mode". 
> It almost goes without saying that if one disables the use of APICs 
> entirely, by setting APIC mode to "disabled", then I/O APICs are as a 
> consequence unavailable.  If all local APICs are switched off during 
> POST (as essentially all that this setting has to do), then whatever I/O 
> APICs may do is entirely irrelevant: there is no-one listening to them.

Well...you did bring up an excellent point. I had read your original response
to
my other post and had intended to respond...however I did encounter a 
soft-freeze and wasn't able to find the posting anymore in my news reader...???

So here is the response, hopefully if I used the wrong terminology last time I 
am getting it correct this time...I am in fact using the correct terms as 
applicable to my hardware and in my descriptions I am addressing 2 separate 
issues:

1) ACPI - replacing APM for example
2) APIC - dealing with SMP support and things like advanced programmable IO 
controllers

In the BIOS of my motherboard, which is the MSI 790X-G45 piece, I do in fact 
have 2 such separate settings. 

1) Enabling ACPI also appears to enable the IOAPIC (that's correct), disabling 
ACPI shuts OFF IOAPIC

2) SMP related stuff, I believe is really just the MPS table selection of 1.1
or
1.4

What I do not know is how enabling ACPI turns on the IOAPIC and how that in
turn
relates to supporting SMP in OS2.

Here is a link to a mb review, and while it's not the matching model, it is
very
close: MSI 790FX-GD70, the BIOS screenshots are very close (not the same 
ofcourse for all settings) to what I see for my 790X-G45, 
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/08/04/msi_790fxgd70_amd_motherboard/

Specifically, this is AMI BIOS and shows the following:

1) 
http://www.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTI0NTM3OTE2NFhVdWJNdTV0MzNfMl80X2wuZ2lm


...shows the IOAPIC function, it is ONLY present when ACPI has been turned ON

2) 
http://www.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTI0NTM3OTE2NFhVdWJNdTV0MzNfMl84X2wuZ2lm


...shows the ACPI controls

OK...so now given that information, I stand by my earlier conclusion...how does

ACPI control the IOAPIC??? Unless, the IOAPIC is only used to support the ACPI 
functionality and has absolutely nothing to do with SMP.

--- Internet Rex 2.31
 * Origin: NewsGuy - Unlimited Usenet $19.95 (1:261/20.999)