Microsoft KB Archive/81432

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Windows: Stack Overflow and UAE with PEAK/DM BIOS

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Q81432

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Windows versions 3.0, 3.0a

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SYMPTOMS
If you use Chips & Technologies PEAK/DM BIOS version 1.1, you may receive Unrecoverable Application Error (UAE) or Internal Stack Overflow error messages while Microsoft Windows version 3.0 is running in enhanced mode.

These errors may occur while running a Windows-based application such as Microsoft Excel 3.0 in enhanced mode.

CAUSE
This problem is caused by an outdated BIOS version.

RESOLUTION
You need to upgrade the BIOS to version 1.3 (dated March 21, 1991) or later. For an update to this BIOS, contact Chips and Technologies, Inc.

MORE INFORMATION
Chips & Technologies, Inc. is a supplier of motherboards to many computer manufacturers. These motherboards use the PEAK/DM BIOS, which is also manufactured by Chips & Technologies, Inc.

Details of PEAK/DM BIOS Version 1.3
Version 1.3 of the BIOS provides the following improvements:

 Reduced the time-out delay that occurs on 386 and 486 systems when waiting for the printer line to no longer be busy. This makes the time- out on printer failure more consistent with the IBM PC/AT. Improved the detection of EGA/VGA BIOS, even if both exist and are addressed at C0000H; the following is the precedence that is given to the multiple video BIOS in one system:

 External BIOS at C0000H (signature is AA55H) Internal BIOS at E0000H (signature is 6699H) Internal BIOS at C0000H (signature is AA55H)  Changed the BIOS serial interface (INT 14H) so that it no longer does range checking on the COM port index. Corrected a problem with the conversion of 286 LOADALL instruction data to 386 LOADALL instruction data, which caused AUTOCAD for DOS version 10 to fail when running in MS-DOS mode under OS/2 version 1.1.</li> Improved the moving of C000 segment ROM data to shadow RAM when the ROM is on the motherboard; now the whole 64K segment, rather than just the video BIOS, is scanned for valid adapter ROMs to be copied to shadow RAM.</li> Reduced the time-out delay on the RTC test from 3-4 seconds down to 1.5-2.0 seconds.</li> Changed the cache enable field name in the ADVANCED FEATURE CONTROL page of the setup from &quot;Cache Operation&quot; to &quot;Cache Initialization&quot; to differentiate it from the CHIPset REGISTER CONTROL page of the setup.</li> Changed the description of the cache enable bit on the CHIPset REGISTER CONTROL page to indicate that enabling this bit will not provide any pre-enable initialization of the cache, and thus may cause system failure.</li> Corrected a problem with the time display in Setup when the RTC time values are corrupted; now, if the values are invalid or not in BCD format, the time is reset to midnight.</li> Corrected a problem with the adapter ROM scan so that the scan still checks every 2K, even if it finds an adapter ROM smaller than 2K.</li> Changed the fixed disk interface (INT 13H) so that the fixed disk drive is selected early enough to allow certain drives to become ready, even when the CPU is running at very high speeds (such as 33 MHz or higher).</li> Corrected some problems in the handling and display of drive data for the user-defined fixed disk drives.</li> Changed the speed-switching part of the BIOS to support the newest version for the CHIPS Keyboard controller (version 2.14), which allows several pins to be used for input from a turbo switch (which the keyboard controller will monitor), and any of several pins to be used for changing the state of a turbo LED.</li> Changed the floppy disk interface (INT 13H, INT 40H) so that the disk change line is ignored if the drive is a 360K drive.</li></ol>

The products included here are manufactured by a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.