Epson EISA Desktop Product Support Bulletin page 8

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BIOS/SYSTEM SOFTWARE

What BIOS is used in the EISA Series?

The system BIOS was jointly developed by Phoenix Technologies and Seiko

Epson. This collaboration insures full compliance with the EISA specification as

well as an extremely high level of compatibility with existing hardware and

software products.

How is the BIOS physically and logically configured?

Physically, it's stored in two separate components - a 64KB EPROM and a

64KB flash memory chip. Logically, it's divided into the "loadable" BIOS

(EPROM) and the processor-dependent BIOS in flash memory. The loadable

BIOS contains the code that controls the very low-level power-on functions and

insures (or loads) the correct processor-dependent BIOS. This code is

extremely stable and should not require any changes. The flash BIOS contains

the higher-level system control code. This code would change if the processor

board was upgraded or if a BIOS revision became necessary.

What is flash memory?

Flash memory is a relatively new type of non-volatile memory. Instead of an

EPROM which has to be physically removed and erased using a strong

ultraviolet light source, the entire contents of flash memory can be electrically

erased and then incrementally reprogrammed with the component still installed.

How is the flash memory reprogrammed?

If the loadable BIOS detects a processor board ID different from the loadable

BIOS, or if the flash BIOS checksum is bad, the loadable BIOS will prompt the

user to load the correct BIOS from the Reference diskette. The user may also

initiate this reprogramming by running the System Configuration utility and

setting the "System BIOS update" option to ENABLED. This would allow a new

BIOS revision to be installed quickly and easily, without opening the computer.

How would I get a BIOS upgrade file?

Either from an Epson Customer Care Center or by downloading it from the

Product Support Bulletin Board System (BBS) at (310) 782-4531.

Is MS-DOS included?

No. All current Epson computers are sold with no operating system included.

This provides the greatest degree of flexibility for our customers. Of course,

any one of three MS-DOS versions (3.30, 4.01 and 5.00) may be purchased as

an option.

PSB No: S-0139

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