[Help] - ACPI-incompatible BIOS problems

[CLASYS]

Need help on an older board for a disadvantaged user.

System is Pentium-II/450 128 MB based on FIC KA-6130 already at last BIOS level [c. 2002] but still has some lingering problems that apparently only XP is showing. Initial symptom is that the time is reset to the year 1601 12:00 am [i think Sep 01] which is apparently a zero-ed out time register. Always complains at each bootup about wrong time/date. You can fix it and even net-synch it, good for rest of that session, etc.

Event viewer shows some blocked AML operations from the BIOS apparently poking at some APIC registers or somesuch. In any event, this appears to be problems with a not-quite-compatible ACPI bios as XP defines it.

What do I have to do either before, during, or after install to make XP not attempt to use this as an ACPI machine? Or is there some unrelated problem about why the time is hosed at every boot?

cjl [perfectly happy to see the XP "It is safe to turn off the power on your PC" message]

Title Edited - Please follow new posting rules from now on.

--Zxian

Edited December 7, 2005 by Zxian

[jaclaz]

Cannot say what happens on XP, on 2K you could try different

using the BOOT.INI switch /HAL

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=249694

http://www.sysinternals.com/Information/bootini.html

I presume that the same is possible in XP as well...

jaclaz

[CLASYS]

Cannot say what happens on XP, on 2K you could try different

using the BOOT.INI switch /HAL

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=249694

http://www.sysinternals.com/Information/bootini.html

I presume that the same is possible in XP as well...

jaclaz

That's a good suggestion, but this is a new install that just wants to be good for a low-end user on an apparently somewhat odd mobo.

I solved it! The problem is in the design of XP's default guesswork about ACPI. Apparently, unless your mobo is on the "good" list or on the "bad" list, they assume that anything with a BIOS date after 31-DEC-1998 is perfectly ACPI-compliant. This one ain't! [i guess XP ACPI is sorta like a Santa Claus that thinks he knows who is "naughty" and "nice" .]

The BIOS had been updated a few times, most recently in 2002 to get to 48-bit LBA and prevent hanging on a disk over 30-odd GB, etc. No actual ACPI changes and no XP awareness about the "rules" of ACPI, etc.

Thus, XP assumes it can do the ACPI HAL, and it's all down hill from there.

The fix is to install XP from a copy of the I386 directory modifying the TXTSETUP.SIF file. In the [ACPIOptions] section, the default value for ACPIEnable is 2 which means that ACPI is considered compliant if a ) It appears to be ACPI, b ) The bios date is ACPIBIOSDate or newer, which itself defaults to 01-Jan-1999. Thus, this mobo was considered "good" for ACPI.

Setting ACPIEnable to 1 overrides the setting so a ) it appears to be ACPI is considered good enough, which would make this situation no better!

Setting ACPIEnable to 0 overrides the setting so ACPI is totally ignored. That did it!

As I reinstalled XP, I soon saw the first sign of sanity: Today's date [change time zone; this is Eastern USA, not Western USA default], as opposed to a day in the year 1601!

Once installed, all worked fine; Windows shutdown gets to the "It is now safe to turn off your computer" message, a minor annoyance, but no ACPI entries in Event Viewer, and no instability and good time/date, etc.

However, that went away as well: In Device Manager, I enabled legacy APM support as well as in the power settings; the board *IS* APM 1.2 compliant.

So, now the puppy completely shuts off like the big guys do, and the kid is quite happy; I was glad to help him out gratis.

cjl [Merry Christmas AND Happy Holidays for all!]