BIOS boot order and the bbs feature
Manfred Preussig
newer BIOS have an feature called bbs. If an additional adaptor with own
BIOS extension is inserted and provides boot devices the main BIOS (from
asrock K7VT6-C here) is able to start each of these disks alternatively.
I'm using symbios logic (now LSI) SCSI host adaptors. Since I use a lot
of small (instead of one big) SCSI devices (first due to price but also
since linux in some configurations -with /dev-directory- could only
support up to 15 different partitions. I want to use smaller ones and so
more on big disks). Due to cable restrictions I could not add all of
these devices to one adaptor and so I use more. Since there is an
additional narrow-SCSI path (DVD-ROM and removable frame) there are at
the end three channels. The adaptors used there are different (21002 and
22801) and so there are different versions of the expansion BIOS on them
too. Due to this I add the adaptors in a specific order in the pci slots
(since the adaptor's BIOS from the lower numbered pci slot is used) and
I don't want to change this. Unfortunately the main BIOS takes a
different order to number the devices connected to these adaptors so the
narrow devices connected to the third channel are used as the first one.
So if I add a device at the removable frame and boot (from first SCSI
disk at the first channel -so BBS#0 in main BIOS enumeration) it fails
-of course since the now added device in the frame is BBS#0 in main BIOS
and there of course is no boot sector.
Does anyone know some fix? Is there a possibility to manipulate the BIOS
order of BBS devices? Or can I de-activate the BBS feature at all -SCSI
BIOS is able to select boot device too and since I use linux the boot
manager (at the moment lilo but will be changed to grub) can do it
really more comfortable.
I would be glad on every idea.
Thanks and greetings
Manfred
x86...@gmail.com
Can you post the list of boot devices that are displayed in your
System BIOS Setup Utility? It would be good to have an idea what
options are available on the Boot Device screen of your System BIOS.
Normally, BBS-enabled BIOSes allow you to arrange all the available
boot devices in a particular order.
- Dima
Manfred Preussig
here are the information:
It's an AMI BIOS and setup is of version 3.31a. The BIOS version is 1.00
as mentioned in boot screen. The relevant information is first in the
BIOS in section 'Boot' at point 'Boot Device Priority'. There is a list
of up to four different possible boot devices each with a list inside to
choose the device to be booted with this order priority. The fifth entry
is for the possibility to boot other devices if each of the four before
failt. The list inside the four entries is as follows:
Disabled
IDE-0: Excelstor ...
Floppy: 1.44 MB ...
CD/DVD: <No comment>
BBS-0(SCSI): 8xx SCSI-CD-ROM
BBS-1(SCSI): #49 ID-1
BBS-2(SCSI): #49 ID-2
BBS-3(SCSI): #49 ID-3
BBS-4(SCSI): #48 ID-4
BBS-5(SCSI): #48 ID-5
BBS-6(SCSI): #48 ID-6
USB RMD-FDD: IC USB-Storage CFC
As one can see the IDE device is mentioned before and the DVD too. The
DVD is connected to the third channel of SCSI adaptors with the boot
order number in SCSI BIOS setup of 2 (started at 0 of course). Only
devices connected to adaptors with a boot order number there will be
checked for connected devices at boot time. If I disconnect or disable
(power connection off for example) the DVD BBS-0 is re-asigned to the
first disk (which is really the boot device) and if I reconnect the DVD
this is changed again. I don't have connected any frame-incorporated
device but of course if I insert this the numbers of the BBS are changed
again and the boot disk will become the number 2 -and back to 1 of
frame-incorporated device is stripped of again; no really good situation.
If one want to boot through a boot menu it can be done through pressing
F11 to show up the menu. There the list is quite simular to the one
above but the USB device is inserted between Floppy and IDE-0, no idea
why. The CD/DVD is allready in front of the BBS devices here too.
What I want to know is if there is any possibility to make the CD/DVD
and other devices connected to the third channel of SCSI adaptors appear
at the end of the list so they can not mix up the list every time the
hardware setup is changed.
So I hope this will help.
greetings
Manfred
Dima
Unfortunately, I don't think there is a way to make a permanent change
in the BIOS boot order from the System BIOS point of view.
In fact, the BBS specification states that the boot order must revert
to default every time a new boot device is discovered. This is what
happens every time you insert/remove a device.
You might be able to change the order in which your SCSI devices are
discovered. For that, you'll have to use the SCSI Configuration
utility that pops up during POST. There might be a way to control
which channel gets scanned first. This change should be persistent
with varying configuration.
- Dima
On Nov 3, 4:07 pm, Manfred Preussig <Preuss...@web.de> wrote:
> x86b...@gmail.com schrieb:> Manfred,