1. xps_s45.exe Driver
2. XPS-S45.TXT File Contents

XPS-S45.TXT Driver File Contents (xps_s45.exe)

Dell Special Release BIOS V.S45

Dear Valued Customer,

Please review and use the following guidelines and notes to install the 
SPECIAL release of the Plug-n-Play Flash BIOS version S45.  This BIOS 
is for the DELL XPS P75/P90/P100 systems only.  It is NOT intended for the 
the DELL XPS PXXXc series systems, as these systems already have PnP 
capabilities.  Dell makes no Warranty and assumes no liability concerning 
the use of this Special Release Flash BIOS.

A reminder: this is a limited support BIOS upgrade provided by Dell as a
service to its customers.  Please send inquiries about this BIOS via 
private email on the forum from which it was downloaded.

It is strongly suggested that you use the ICU (included in this archive)
to configure all legacy (non-PnP) cards installed in the system. In 
addition, see if you have anything using the soon-to-be-new PCI 
default IRQ (IRQ 11). This is a VERY common value for SCSI controllers. 
If so, it is recommended that you change the card to another IRQ as otherwise
a conflict will be created.

Before beginning, locate the NRM/WP jumper (refer to the XPS PXXX 
users guide for information on how to locate this jumper), make certain 
it is set to the NRM position for Flash BIOS updates.

Also, go into System Setup and make note of the settings for the hard 
drives. This is especially important if you have entered user defined
values here - they may be reset during the flash process.

CAUTION:  DO NOT INTERRUPT THE OPERATION OF THE FLASH BIOS UPGRADE 
PROGRAM ONCE IT STARTS.  INTERRUPTING THIS PROCESS DURING OPERATION BY 
EITHER PRESSING THE RESET BUTTON, ACTIVATING THE POWER BUTTON, OR LOSING 
AC LINE VOLTAGE FROM A POWER OUTAGE MAY PERMANENTLY CORRUPT THE SYSTEM 
FLASH BIOS.

1.  Insert the Flash BIOS Diskette into drive A: and reboot your system.

2.  System should boot from Diskette.  The main Flash Memory Update
    Utility screen will appear, press ENTER.

3.  Once the Main Menu screen appears, use the down arrow key to 
    highlight/select Save FLASH Memory Area to File, and press ENTER.

4.  Once the Save Flash Area menu appears, highlight/select
    Save System BIOS, press ENTER.

5.  From the Enter Path\Filename menu, type A:\XPSPxx.BIO,
    (xx=75/90/100 speed of your system), once the full path and filename
    have been typed, example A:\XPSP90.BIO, press ENTER.

6.  The Data Image Information menu appears, on the Image Title line
    type Original BIOS and press ENTER.

7.  File will be saved to the A: drive.

8.  The original Main Menu should appear.

9.  Highlight/select, Update FLASH Memory Area from a file and 
    press ENTER.

10. From the Update Flash BIOS menu, highlight/select, 
    Update System BIOS, press ENTER.

11. From the Enter Path\Filename menu, use the TAB key to 
    highlight/select the 1016AX1J.BIO file and press ENTER.

12. Please Wait screen appears.

13. From the Verify Image menu, highlight/select 
    Continue with Programming. Before pressing ENTER, verify that:
    the Data Image Title reads Apache Release 16.0,
    the Timestamp reads 09/08/95-09:17,
    the BIOS Reserved string reads 1.00.16.AX1J.
    Once you have verified the fields, press ENTER.



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14. Please Wait screen appears.

15. Message Box should appear telling you the reprogramming is complete.

16. Remove the diskette from drive A:.

17. Press ENTER.

18. The first time the system is rebooted, the following message 
    appears, NVRAM/Checksum Error, NVRAM cleared, 
    Press <F1> for Setup, <ESC> to boot, press F1.

19. After a short delay, the system Setup Screen will appear, check the
    TIME and DATE fields, and confirm other settings as well, once 
    satisfied with the settings, use ALT+B to save the settings and 
    reboot the system.

20. System should come up normally, see notes below.

NOTES: 

System general:

This BIOS is to enable Plug and Play capabilities for the Dell system 
series XPS P/75/90/100, the XPS PXXXc already has PnP BIOS.  If you currently 
do not have any PnP cards, this BIOS may prove to be no real benefit and 
will add a step to the system configuration and setup, see below.

On a rare occasion, the system password may be set after flashing the BIOS, 
if this occurs, locate the ENA/DIS jumper, move the jumper to the alternate 
position, power up the system for a few moments, then power off, move the 
jumper back to the original position and the password should be cleared.


Resources:

The PCI bus will rely on what resources have been configured in the PnP area 
to allocate free resources for itself.  Configuration on NON-PnP cards, 
called "Legacy" will have to be done with the "ISA Configuration Utility" 
(ICU), available on the Dell BBS or On-line services forums.

The default IRQ for the PCI bus after flashing to the S-45 revision BIOS is 
IRQ 11, this will conflict with some SCSI cards. Use the ICU to show that 
the SCSI card is using IRQ 11, the PCI bus will poll the PnP config during 
POST, the IRQ 11 will show to be in use, the PCI bus will relocate to IRQ 10 
if available.


Hard Drives:

The default setting for the BIOS is to use LBA mode, if you previously 
had a drive configured to a USER setting, you will have to re-enter 
the parameters of the drive manually. USER settings by default disable 
LBA mode translation. 

Some third party hard drives may have a non-standard partition, 
this is done to allow a drive over 528Mb to be installed into a system 
that does not support the EIDE Logical Block Addressing (LBA) scheme, this 
type of partition may not be compatible, check the documentation that came 
with your hard drive, again, check the settings closely in system setup and 
make a note on the hard drive settings before flashing the system BIOS.


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Some third party hard drives may not support LBA mode translation. Dell 
XPS P75/90/100 BIOS only supports the LBA specification.

Dell only supports the original hard drive installed in the system at time 
of system purchase and associated with the system service tag. This ID number 
is located on the back of the Dell system chassis, usually a 5 digit 
alpha-numeric bar coded label.


System Setup Screen Changes:

On page 1 of 2, the categories for Board Memory and Video Feature 
Card and PCI IRQ will no longer appear.

On page 2 of 2, the category for the PCI memory Block and the 
Reserved Memory will no longer appear. Reserved Memory category will 
be on the first page.

The system setup changes are normal. The PCI subsystem will now rely on 
the entries placed in the PnP area by Windows 95 or the ICU utility 
referenced above for configuration of system/PCI resources.


NOTE: USE OF THIS BIOS WITH MODE 4 HARD DISKS IS NOT RECOMMENDED AT THIS
TIME. THERE HAVE BEEN REPORTS OF THE MODE 4 DEVICES NOT BEING RECOGNIZED
BY THE SYSTEM AFTER UPGRADING TO THE S45 BIOS. THIS IS CURRENTLY UNDER 
INVESTIGATION BY DELL AND INTEL. EVEN IF A MODE 4 DEVICE APPEARS TO WORK,
IT IS POSSIBLE THAT TIMING DIFFERENCES COULD CAUSE DATA LOSS OR CORRUPTION.







































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