Firefox/4.0.2pre SeaMonkey/2.1   
   s,comp.os.os2.misc,comp.os.os2.apps   
   mp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips:1360 comp.os.os2.misc:3587 comp.os.os2.apps:1929   
   From: Peter Brown    
      
   Hi Dariusz   
      
   Dariusz Piatkowski wrote:   
   > On Fri, 12 Aug 2011 13:02:51 UTC, Jonathan de Boyne Pollard   
   >   wrote:   
   >   
   >>> I've been trying to understand the options for the OS2APIC.PSD driver...   
   >>   
   >> Don't go reading the copies of its documentation that exist on the WWW,   
   >> such as at the EDM/2 CONFIG.SYS Documentation Project for example.  They   
   >> all seem to have a single source, that was mis-transcribed from the   
   >> original documentation.  Where the WWW documents say   
   >>   
   >>   >  The argument is "int" or "lint".   
   >>   
   >> the original document actually said   
   >>   
   >>   >  The argument is "int" or "lint".   
   >>   
   >> which of course makes more sense when one reads what follows.   
   >>   
   >> For a better description of OS2APIC.PSD's command-line arguments, see   
   >> IBM Technical Document #10322931.  It has the advantage of being more up   
   >> to date than OS/2 version 2.11, as well. (-:   
   >>   
   >>> For a typical single user, multi core system, what are the possible   
   >>> 'combinations' of these options to use/try?   
   >>   
   >> The main use of the /NMI, /PREC, and /PIC options is to compensate for   
   >> faulty MPS tables.  You've already seen that your firmware's SETUP   
   >> utility has the wrong help text attached to the "IOAPIC function"   
   >> option.  This is not the only way that a mainboard manufacturer can   
   >> stuff up building a firmware image.  A manufacturer can stuff up the MPS   
   >> tables, too.   
   >>   
   >> It was common enough in years gone by that operating system vendors had   
   >> to implement workarounds like this.  DOS+Windows 9x users wouldn't   
   >> notice that MPS tables were wrong.  Not even most OS/2 users would.   
   >> Only a few people with Windows NT and other SMP operating systems would.   
   >>    Now that operating systems that actually care about such things are   
   >> pretty much in the majority, the situation is somewhat different   
   >> (although the operating systems that care also tend to prefer ACPI   
   >> information to MPS).   
   >>   
   >> Of course, if your MPS tables are *not* faulty, and correctly describe   
   >> how your system is wired up, you won't need to fiddle with these options   
   >> at all.   
   >   
   > All excellent points...I have read that original IBM tech document...as well,   
   > I've now read through the Intel MPS 1.4 spec...and started looking at making   
   a   
   > quick port of the Unix style 'mptable' utility. I assume that we OS2 users   
   could   
   > use this type of info...not that it may directly fix anything, but rather to   
   > give us more info on exactly what the BIOS stuck in place and what our   
   machine   
   > is attempting to do with that info.   
      
      
      
   Maybe it could be incorporated into the acpi driver to help that driver    
   get things right (finally :-) - especially if it could also be used for    
   non Intel chipsets.   
      
   Regards   
      
   Pete   
      
      
      
   --- Internet Rex 2.31   
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