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           Information for Phoenix BIOS on EKF XB1 COM Express Module:
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Howtos, Tips and Hints:
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* How to reset CMOS when it is not possible to enter BIOS Setup:

  If the BIOS is configured in such a way, that it is not possible anymore to enter
  Setup (F2 key) and to reset CMOS (F9 key), there exist now two further options to
  completely reset CMOS to factory defaults:

  1. CTL-ALT-F9
     Press CTL-ALT-F9 during POST. Timeframe to do this: Keyboard LED 'NUM' goes on
     until boot starts. If no keyboard is available, or BIOS setup is in a state, that
     no keyboard is enabled, use the following option to reset CMOS:

  2. Reset-in-Series option
     Step A: Restart board either by pressing reset button, by making a
       Power-Off-ON sequence, by pressing CTL-ALT-DEL or whatever ...
     Step B: Now press Reset-Button (*1) again during the timeframe when green LED GP
       (GenPurp) on XB1 goes on (this is normally immediately after reset) and BEFORE
       this LED is switched off for the first time.
     Repeat step B exactly two (2) times (*2), i.e. step B must be executed three times
     in series after any reset. Now wait until the BIOS prompts you to enter Setup ...

     Note *1: Instead of pressing reset button, a Power-Off-ON sequence can be made
     similarly. It should be noted that this requires a full battery.

     Note *2: The counter, which is used for this option, is cleared when LED GP (GenPurp)
     goes off the first time during POST. If you want to reset CMOS and if reset
     button is pressed to late (i.e. LED GP is off again), restart with step 2A.
 
  With both options the BIOS loads - after next reset - factory defaults into CMOS.

* How to reset ESCD when it is not possible to enter BIOS Setup:
  Press SHIFT-ALT-F9 during POST. The allowed timeframe for this: keyboard LED 'NUM' goes
  on until boot starts. The system restarts immediately after SHIFT-ALT-F9 and ESCD
  (Extended System Configuration Data) will be reset.

* The fastest boottime is achieved by selecting the following Setup options:
  Setup (F2) -> Advanced -> ATA/IDE Configuration -> Hard Disk Pre-Delay -> Disabled
  Setup (F2) -> Advanced -> BIOS/POST Options -> Summary Screen -> Disabled

* Win2k cannot be installed from an USB2.0 device (e.g. CDROM) if boot from USB2.0 is
  enabled in BIOS setup. This is a problem of Win2k. To allow installation of such a device
  set BIOS option -> Setup (F2) -> Advanced -> USB Configuration -> 'Boot from USB 2.0 Devs
  in HS Mode' to disabled. Note that this is not necessary under WinXP.

* Do NOT press Reset button (or do NOT make a system power off) when BIOS updates Flash
  tables for ESCD and custom setup data. This short period of time (~2s) is signalled by
  a yellow warning message.

* Infos about invalid CMOS data
  If the BIOS detects a bad checksum in CMOS data, CMOS is reset to default values during POST.
  The possible reasons for a bad CMOS checksum are:
  - An empty battery
  - A board with NO battery
  - Any software writes to CMOS and does not update the CMOS bytes which holds the checksum
  There exist three further options to set CMOS to default values:
  - Do a RTC reset (see documentation for more info)
  - Press CTL-ALT-F9 during POST (more info at top of this file)
  - Reset-in-Series option (more info at top of this file)

* First start of a board with invalid CMOS data
  The first start of a board with invalid CMOS data will automatically enable a security/debug
  feature which is integrated by EKF into the BIOS. If this feature is enabled, all POST Codes,
  which are normally send to port 80 only, are additionally send to serial port COM1 (IO port
  3F8h, 19200 Baud, 8N1). POST Codes are used to show BIOS progress step by step. If an external
  serial terminal is a attached to COM1 (or a Windows PC with opened Hyperterminal), the progress
  of the BIOS can be observed even in case of board failures caused by non-working memory,
  non-working graphics etc.

  The following two messages are shown after first start of a board with invalid CMOS data:
  WARNING
  0251: System CMOS checksum bad - Factory Defaults loaded 
  ERROR
  0613: Com A configuration changed (possible reason: POST-Codes redirected)

  The following two messages are shown at every boot as long the BIOS has not tried to boot an OS:
  WARNING
  02EB: POST-Codes currently redirected to COM1, 19200 Baud, 8N1
  ERROR
  0613: Com A configuration changed (possible reason: POST-Codes redirected)

  To go forward in the boot process press <F1> if above messages are shown. If you reboot the
  system when these two messages are shown, they will appear again and again.

  The debug feature is automatically disabled when the BIOS tries to boot an OS for the first
  time, at least message "Operating System not found" must appear.


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For any further questions contact EKF at:
Email    : support@ekf.de
Internet : www.ekf.de or www.ekf.com

2007-08-10 EKF/cr