1. atlantic.zip Driver
2. AUTOSET.TXT File Contents

AUTOSET.TXT Driver File Contents (atlantic.zip)

 
National Semiconductor Corporation





 AT/LANTIC   Configuration Software   Description  -  AUTOSET v1.14



The following document describes the general 
operation and features of the configuration 
software developed for use with AT/LANTIC  
adapter cards.The description is split into several 
sections which describe in turn the features of 
each section of the software.

Software Initialization  

When first initiated the code checks the current 
directory to see if there is a file 'message.msg' 
which contains any translation text.If found the 
text is loaded if the translated messages are of the 
correct length, otherwise the code exits with an 
error stating which message was at fault.This is 
followed by another search to detect any adapters 
already installed which then displays a list of the 
boards detected on the right hand portion of the 
display.The code also detects which interrupts are 
already allocated by the system and which are 
free to be used with an adapter card.Following this 
a search is carried out to detect any 'National 
Semiconductor' boot PROM's that are 
installed. Warning messages are displayed in each 
of the following circumstances, an interrupt is 
allocated to more than one of the boards detected, 
an interrupt is allocated to a board and is taken by 
the system, a high interrupt is required by a board 
however that board is in an eight bit slot.
	
'Configure New Adapter Automatically' 

This option detects a free address and interrupt 
and enables a reserved mode board to these.If no 
board appears then an error message is displayed 
and the menu exited.If a board is enabled 
correctly then the user is prompted to enter the 
architecture mode required, I/O Port mode is 
default.A search for a cable connection follows 
this, if TPI or Thin ethernet cabling is correctly 
installed then  the correct cable type is selected 
otherwise a menu prompting the user to enter the 
cable type required is displayed.IBM's version of  
Autoset (Config) detects a free memory space into 
which a PROM will be enabled.Finally a menu 
displaying the options selected is displayed to the 
user.On exiting this menu the menu of detected 
boards should be updated.

'Configure New Adapter Manually' 

This option allows the user to define the 
configuration they require a reserved mode board 
to appear with.The items that appear in this menu 
are discussed in the section 'Configurable 
Parameters'.When this menu is selected the auto-
selected parameters for I/O Port address, interrupt 
and in IBM's case PROM address are provided for 
the user as initial selections.An error shall be 
displayed if a board fails to be enabled correctly.If 
the board enables correctly then the boards 
detected menu is updated after this menu is 
exited.

'Change/Display Adapter Configuration' 

This option allows the user to change the 
configuration of a board that is already 
installed.The user is first prompted to enter the 
base address of the board to be altered.A check is 
then carried out to see if there is a board at this 
address if not an error message is displayed and 
the option exited,if the board detected is non 
configurable then again an error message is 
displayed and the option exited.The present 
configuration of the board is displayed on the left 
with an arrow pointing to the new user selected 
configuration.The items that can be selected in 
this menu are discussed in the following section.If 
the user alters a boards configuration then the 
boards detected menu is updated.

Configurable Parameters   

In general these options are selected by 
highlighting the item required using the arrow keys 
and scrolling through its available options using 
the <TAB> key.
  
  (a)  Base Address - Only addresses that are free 
are allowed to be selected by the user, i.e 
addresses not used by any of the boards detected 
and that contain no other adapter or peripheral.
  (b)  Interrupt - Only interrupts not used by any of 
the detected boards or by the system are allowed 
to be selected.Also if the board in question is in an 
eight bit slot then only 'low' interrupts are 
selectable.Interrupt 2/9 is a special case please 
refer to the end of this guide when using this 
interrupt.
  (c) Novell Configuration Option - This is only 
applicable in  I/O port mode and allows the 
standard selection of options available for an 
Novell NE2000 board.Any of the options that 
include an invalid I/O port address or interrupt are 
not selectable.
  (d)  Boot Prom - This option allows a boot PROM to be 
disabled or enabled; if it is to be enabled then the 
size of PROM and its address are requested.
  (e)  Advanced Configuration - This option should 
only be selected by an experienced user of the 
AT/LANTIC  chip and only then after they have 
read the AT/LANTIC  data sheet section on the 
configuration registers.
  (f)  Save Configuration - this option shall place 
the new configuration into the board and also save 
it so that the next time the board is powered up it 
shall contain this new configuration.Details of the 
configuration saved are held in the file 'config.txt' 
in the current directory.
  (g) Temporarily Change Configuration - This 
option places the new configuration in to the board 
however the next time the board is powered up 
the old configuration shall be reinstated.

'Adapter Initialization and diagnostics'   

When initiated this option checks to see if a 
configurable board is present if it is then the 
configuration paramaters are read from it, if a non 
configurable board is present then a warning 
message is displayed and the previously selected 
configuration parameters are used.If no board is 
present an error message is displayed and the 
routine exited.If the board is set in shared memory 
mode then the user is prompted to select a buffer 
RAM address from a list of addresses known to be 
free for use.The option then initialises the board 
for correct operation.The buffer memory is written 
to and read from with a data comparison carried 
out to check its operation.The selected cable type 
is checked to see if it is connected correctly and 
the interrupt is then checked to be operational.If a 
boot PROM was detected, then 
a check is carried out to make sure its valid.If 
these tests are completed successfully then the 
following network tests can be carried out 
otherwise they are not accessable.

'Advanced Network Diagnostics'  

This option allows the user to perform further 
diagnostic checks on the functionality of the 
adapter.The following options become available 
on selection of this item.

'Set Up As A Master Station'

This option requires the use of two stations one 
called a slave and one a master.A packet is 
'bounced' between the two stations.If any 
corruption occurs or a packet is 'lost' then an error 
message is displayed.The user is first prompted to 
enter the length of the test.This number relates to 
how many times a packet should be bounced 
between the two stations.The default is 0x400, if 0 
is entered then the test goes on indefinetly.The 
test should complete with the 'Network Test 
Passed' message.

'Set Up As A Slave Station'  

This option should be run on a board already 
known to be fully operational.The slave station 
should always enter the test before the master 
station.

'Show packets on the network'  

This option shall show any packet that is on the 
network.

Error / Warning Messages  

This section deals with any of the messages that 
may be displayed during the operation of the 
software.Where possible resolving actions have 
also been described.

General Messages -

" Out of Memory Error " - This message should 
never be displayed under any circumstances.If 
this message does ever appear the only resolving 
action is a change to the code itself.

" NON CONFIGURABLE " - This message may 
appear in the 'Installed Adapters' menu.Either an 
AT/LANTIC  with its access to configuration 
registers disabled or an original NE2000/WD8013  
has been detected at the address given.

" No adapter at this address " - The user has 
selected an address to perform some operation on 
an adapter however no adapter of any kind was 
detected at that address. 

" ERROR - multiple boot ROM's detected "
" This error has been automatically corrected "
"Please re-power the PC to enable the 
corrections"  	- More than one installed adapter 
has enabled a boot ROM. Only one boot ROM 
should ever been installed in a PC.To correct this 
the adapter at the lowest address has a boot ROM 
enabled, all other adapters are set to have no boot 
ROM enabled.These changes are saved to the 
adapters, however they are not truely active until 
the PC is re-powered.

Configuration Messages - 

" This address contains a non-configurable 
AT/LANTIC  or other hardware. "
" If this address contains a non-configurable 
AT/LANTIC   - "
" Select the correct configuration of the adapter 
using the "
" 'Configure New Adapter Manually' menu, ignore 
the I/O port address "
" as it will be selected later.Once these are correct 
exit the menu, no "
" temporary or save of the configuration is 
required in that menu. " 
	- This deals with the situation in which the 
user has selected an address at which hardware 
has been detected but is found not to be a 
configurable AT/LANTIC  adapter.The software 
allows the use of original NE2000/WD8013 
adapters aswell as AT/LANTIC  adapters that 
have had their access to configuration registers 
disabled.To use these adapters the user must set 
the configuration used in the 'Configure New 
Adapter Manually' menu.Following this the user 
should be able to correctly initialise the adapter. 

(The following four warning messages may appear 
at the bottom of the 'Installed Adapters' menu.)

" IRQ X  is installed twice " - Two detected 
adapters cards have selected the same 
interrupt.The user must change one of the adapter 
card interrupt settings.

" IRQ X assigned in system " - This warning is 
provided although there is a valid situation where 
this can happen.An adapter card is configured 
with an interrupt that is also expected for use by 
the PC.This is valid in the case where an adapters 
driver software has already been installed and has 
taken the system interrupt in question.

" IRQ X at I/O addr. 0xXXX "
" adapter is in an 8 bit slot " - The adapter is 
configured to use an upper interrupt (i.e.>7) 
however this interrupt is not available as the 
adapter is in an 8 bit slot.The user should select 
an interrupt in the lower range.        

" Boot PROM changes occur "
" only occur after cold boot of PC " - This 
message appears after a change to the boot ROM 
configuration is saved.It highlights the fact that 
boot ROM changes are not immediate and need a 
'cold boot' (i.e. hard reset or switch off/on PC ) 
before the changes become active.

" Error - No New Adapter " - The user has 
attempted to enable a 'New' ( disabled ) adapter 
card however no card has been enabled.Either 
there was no adapter in the disabled state or that 
adapter is faulty.

" Error - An adapter has already been enabled " - 
This error appears if the user tries to enable 
multiple New ( disabled ) adapters during the 
same execution of the code.An adapter can only 
be enabled once and should not be placed in and 
out of the 'disabled' state multiple times.

" No I/O port available for configuration " - This 
error appears if all AT/LANTIC  adapter I/O port 
addresses appear to be taken.It is unlikely that all 
the ports would be taken however it is possible on 
some PC's that the search method used by the 
software is invalid.In this case the user should exit 
the code and re-execute it with the command 
'autoset no_search' (for IBM this becomes 'config 
no_search').If this method has to be used 
reference should be made to the section 'No 
Search'.

" No memory address available " - The software is 
not able to identify any 16K area of system RAM    
( between 0xC000 and 0xE000 ) that is free.It is 
unlikely that all the system RAM is  being used, 
however if a memory manager is installed on the 
PC then this may be the case.If a memory 
manager is installed then the user would have to 
refer to its documentation on how to free an area 
of RAM for peripherals such as this adapter card.If 
there is no memory manager problem then it is 
possible that the search method used is invalid on 
the PC in question.In this case the user should 
refer to the 'No Search' section.

" No interrupt available for configuration " - There 
is no free interrupt that can be assigned to a new 
adapter.The only solution to this is to free an 
interrupt used for another possibly redundant 
purpose.

" No interrupt is available for an 8 bit slot " - The 
user has enabled a 'New' adapter in an 8 bit 
slot.However none of the lower interrupts are 
available for configuration.The user has either to 
re-install the adapter in a 16 bit slot, or to free one 
of the lower interrupts.

" All IRQ's have been assigned, exit and remove a 
card " - The software has detected two adapters 
using the same interrupt and can find no available 
interrupt to resolve the situation.The user is 
prompted to remove one of the cards to free an 
interrupt or resolve the interrupt conflict.The user 
must free an interrupt before trying to install 
another adapter.

" Error saving configuration " - The adapter has 
failed to complete the save to eeprom sequence 
correctly.This may not be fatal for the user 
however it is a serious hardware error.

" Configuration text file not saved, Disk drive not 
ready " - The code has attempted to write the 
config.txt file to a diskette, however the drive 
contains no diskette.

" Configuration text file not saved, Disk is write 
protected " - The code has attempted to write the 
config.txt file to a protected diskette.Backup the 
executable code on a non protected diskette and 
execute the code from there.

Diagnostic Messages - 

" The hardware has not been initialised yet "
" You need to execute the initialization first. " - 
This message can appear in the 'Advanced 
Network Diagnostics' section.The user has either 
failed to select the 'Board Initialization and 
Diagnostics' option or this option has failed one of 
its tests.If the later is the case then the user 
should refer to the error message displayed next 
to the failing test.

" Cannot intialise an adapter with a disabled 
Interrupt " - The user should select a valid 
interrupt for this adapter.

" No NIC "
" DMA Failure " - These messages may be 
returned by the 'Network Interface Controller' test 
in the 'Board Initialization and Dignostics' 
section.Both messages highlight a fault in the NIC 
core of the AT/LANTIC , a fatal hardware error.
" Incorrect PROM ID byte " - Another message 
that can be returned by the same test.This 
highlights a flaw in the EEPROM and only occurs 
in I/O Mode, this would be a fatal flaw if the user 
wished to select I/O mode.

" (xfer to memory) "
" (xfer from memory ) "
" Failed after X bytes with X " - These messages 
may be returned by the 'Buffer Memory' test.The 
first two messages highlight errors in the transferal 
of data, the third in the data transferred.This is a 
fatal adapter error.

" Cable Disconnected "
" Cable Unterminated " - Both errors highlight 
possibly faulty cabling if they are not simply 
disconnected or unterminated.These error 
messages may be returned by the 'Cable 
Connection' test.

" No Interrupt " - This message may be returned 
by the 'Interrupt Assignment' test, it highlights the 
fact that the interrupt is not active.The user should 
select an alternative interrupt, however this is a 
hardware error that should not occur.

" Boot ROM Failed " - This message may be 
returned by the 'Boot ROM Check'.A boot ROM 
has been detected but has failed to pass the 
checksum test.This may not be a fatal error but 
requires the user to replace the ROM on the 
adapter card.

The following errors may appear during the 
advanced diagnostics test.

" No Slave Response "
" No Master Response " - This indicates that one 
station has failed to receive a packet from its 
opposing station.There are two causes for this, 
either the cabling system is faulty or the adapter 
of the station in question is faulty.

" Reception Failed " - Indicates some kind of 
corruption of the packet received.

" Transmission Failed " - Indicates some kind of 
corruption of the transmission sequence.

" Packet Mismatch Error " - The data in the packet 
received is incorrect.A fatal hardware error.

" Test Aborted " - The user has exited the test (by 
pressing a key).

No Search  

The search method used to detect free I/O port 
addresses or free system RAM may be invalid on 
some PC's.The user can disable these searches 
but typing the command 'no_search' following the 
code's executable name.Some care must be 
taken by the user if this method has to be selected 
as they themselves must detect which addresses 
are free and which are not.The 'Configure New 
Adapter Automatically' option is no longer made 
available if the 'no_search' option is used.

Interrupt 2/9

Interrupt 2/9 is the only interrupt that the software 
cannot correctly identify as taken or not.Thus this 
interrupt is always made available and it is left to 
the users discretion as to whether this interrupt is 
truely available or not.