Vfx-M Installation; Address Settings For The Vfx-M - Rastergraf VFX-M User Manual

Rastergraf

2.3 VFX-M Installation

The VFX-M is designed to plug into any IEEE 1386 compatible single
module PMC location. PMC locations are currently supported on VME
and CompactPCI compatible computers and PCI/PMC expander boards.
The VFX-M will also work correctly in a system where the base board is a
PCI motherboard. In this case, you can use a Rastergraf PMA-P PMC to
PCI adapter to enable plugging a PMC board (the VFX-M) into a PCI slot.
Although perhaps not suitable for a long term installation, it can be a
convenient thing to do.

2.3.1 Address Settings for the VFX-M

Since the PCI bus and the VFX-M are configured by the operating system
and/or BIOS while booting up, there aren't any address jumpers. The
address settings are programmable and are set up by the VFX-M software
as a result of information supplied by the OS at boot time. Refer to the
Rastergraf software User's Manuals for more information.
The Rastergraf VFX-M uses registers in the Number Nine I128S2
Graphics Processor chip internal register set and also sets up address
ranges outside the I128S2's (internal) address space which give access to
the VFX-M's control registers, RAMDAC, and memory blocks. The BAR
(Base Address Register) sets in the I128S2 are programmed to point to
these areas.
The Rastergraf VFX-M device driver will load the BARs if the O/S or
BIOS did not. If you can determine the actual PCI base address, you might
even be able to probe the address spaces with an on-line debugger once
the driver code has run. Section 4.3 has details on how the I128S2 controls
access to the on-board registers.
You will notice that there isn't any good information supplied here which
will allow you to reliably probe the VFX-M addresses. That is because the
ability to do this is absolutely dependent on the CPU board memory map
as implemented by the system OS and the address ranges of the PCI bus as
determined by the CPU hardware. These things change from OS to OS,
board to board, and vendor to vendor, making this a difficult task.
Therefore, you have to work closely with your CPU board, the OS's BSP,
and collateral information supplied by Rastergraf to actually touch the
registers. Most likely, if you use Rastergraf supplied software, the board
will show up and you will get pictures.
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Installing Your Rastergraf Graphics Board 2-3