New AmigaOne firmware version to support two banks of unregistered ram

[downix]

Now, the question that comes to mind is:

How can a firmware upgrade fix the fact that Mai's sDRAM controller lacks an on-chip buffer?  Does it override the safety mechanism on the northbridge to make this unbuffered ram work, thereby causing potential damage to the DIMM's over prolonged operation?

[downix]

Ok, I just answered my own question.  They turned-off the energy saving mechanisms inherent in the Mai chip.  How did I find this out?

I just downloaded the CVS to U-Boot then read the mailing lists and compared notes to what I knew about the Articia.

*edit due to having stuck foot in mouth*

Overall, looks like a decent project, now just need to see the Frieden Bros. re-submission into the CVS tree.  But the code they have there already is damned impressive.

Note,
here is the projects homepage

pst, I made sure the link worked first.

I still find OF a better overall solution, but to each their own.

[Hattig]

The changes have not been put back into the CVS for UBoot yet - currently the source will be made available upon request until the new stuff has been merged back into the main CVS.

Why are you making it seem like Hyperion are claiming all the credit, when they have said many times over what the base of their Firmware is?

[downix]

Why are you making it seem like Hyperion are claiming all the credit, when they have said many times over what the base of their Firmware is?

I'm not blaming hyperion, I blame the fanatics that believe that PPCBoot/U-Boot is 100% hyperion's work.  I've been browsing the sources the past 15 minutes, and have to say that the Frieden bros produce some damned good code.  I'm actually impressed.

But after seeing everyone slapping Hyperion on the back, why not visit the PPCBoot homepage and thank those hard working people as well?

[Panthro]

YEEEEHAAAAAAARR :-D  :-D  :-D

this  is good nu's cause it makes buying ram easy peazy :-D

[The_Editor]

edit due to having stuck foot in mouth*

At least your man enough to admit it !!

Kudos to you !!

[jd997uk]

@Panthro

this is good nu's cause it makes buying ram easy peazy

One thing here though, don't think for a minute that any cheap old RAM can be stuck in there and will work perfectly. Many have fallen for this in the PC market and come unstuck. For reliability reasons alone, I'd go for a recognised brand that you'll be able to remember as and when you'll want to add another stick in there. ie stick to Kingston/Crucial or Samsung.
We've got 2 sticks of DDR133/256MB sitting aroud here ATM, as they will not co-exist with the current 256MB currently fitted into my mates ABIT KR7a board. No combination works, it's any one stick alone only :~(

-john

[Rogue]

@Hattig

I don't check in here as frequently as before to be honest, due to some, well, threads on the forum. I am more frequently at amigaworld.net now :-)

To answer your questions:
1) Dunno. I guess it's a possibility.

2) That's two modules. The term "banks" is a bit misleading I have to admit, since the term is frequently used instead of "rows" in the SD-RAM terminology...

3) Well, it's a menu. It's strictly ASCII. Graphics would have been an option, but for that I would have had to guarantee that there is a VESA Bios on the graphics card, and while that usually is the case, it is a limiation. Supporting both would be too much work and might not fit the ROM anymore.

4) Naw, sorry. I have to admit it looks like a PC bios, although there are some nicer touches, like for example real help for the options being displayed at the bottom of the screen (i.e. not the usual "Press F1 for Help" and it will only list "Enabled" and "Disabled" :-)

[Rogue]

@Downix:

Overall, looks like a decent project, now just need to see the Frieden Bros. re-submission into the CVS tree

Didn't do this yet, partly because the code is really a mess, and partly because I'm out of time. Personally, I don't think there is much in the new code that isn't already in the old code except fixes. The only thing of interest to the rest of U-Boot is probably the menu system.

I'll need to clean up the stuff considerably before re-submitting it.

I've been browsing the sources the past 15 minutes, and have to say that the Frieden bros produce some damned good code. I'm actually impressed.

Ah, thanks :-) Actually, I was always a bit embarrased by the code, since it still produces a lot of compiler warnings (which usually isn't my style at all)... Time pressure, you know...

why not visit the PPCBoot homepage and thank those hard working people as well?

Absolutely. The amout of work to start a BIOS from scratch would have made the whole project impossible. Without the hard work of Wolfgang Denk and contributors, this would have been an impossible misson.

[ikir]

Ahhhhhh i want my new Amiga :-(  :-(  :-(

[anarchic_teapot]

this is good nu's cause it makes buying ram easy peazy  

Don't imagine this means any old RAM will now work in the A1. I doubt that RAM that didn't work before, even in 1 slot, will work now.

Also, go for the quality stuff. The cheapo sticks may well turn out to be just jumped-up PC100 (as I discovered myself).

[Hattig]

@Rogue:

Thanks for your answers, greatly appreciated

[DanDude]

*applauding*

Well Done.   :-)

[redfox]

Good news.  Thanks Hyperion. :-D