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AST RESEARCH, INC. SOFTWARE BULLETIN #0032D 09-13-89
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PREMIUM/286 UTILITIES
Production Release 5.0 Available September, 1989
Part Number: 910339-001 Rev A
Includes all enhancements and problem fixes of previous versions plus the
following:
PRODUCT OVERVIEW:
This is the production release of the Premium/286 Utilities diskette
that is shipped with Premium/286 Computers and the Premium/286 BIOS
Upgrade Kit which is shipped with AST BIOS v2.0 It replaces Premium/286
Utilities P/N 910242-001, release 4.10.
The Release 5.0 diskette uses the AST Boot Loader program to boot the
system and run diagnostic tests. Access to the ASTMENU program is
accomplished only after booting MS-DOS and then executing the
ASTMENU.EXE file at the DOS command prompt.
ENHANCEMENTS:
- 286TEST, release 2.41, has been updated to provide testing on systems
using AST 2.0 BIOS.
- If an AT embedded hard drive is installed, HDFORMAT release 2.01 now
displays a message to the user that AST does not recommend low-level
formatting of embedded hard drives.
- ASTCACHE, release 2.41 added DOS 4.01 support.
- Addition of the README sub directory that contains updated product
information not included in the user documentation. This information
can be displayed on the screen or sent to a printer using the
README.BAT or PRINTME.BAT files.
PROBLEMS RESOLVED:
- The /H parameter has been removed from ASTCACHE.COM and ASTCACHE.SYS,
release 2.41, to eliminate hard disk speed writing errors.
- REMM.SYS, release 4.41, has been modified to correctly recognize the
expanded memory on an AST Rampage 286 and Rampage/Plus 286 when used
in Premium/286 systems.
PROGRAM FILES:
The files and programs included with this release:
FILES VERSION
86TEST.EXE 2.41
ASTCACHE.COM 2.41
ASTCACHE.SYS 2.41
ASTDSK.DRV 1.11
ASTMENU.MEN 1.81
ASTMENU.EXE 1.40
ASTMENU1.EXE 1.50
ASTMENU2.EXE 1.40
ASTMENU3.EXE 1.63
ASTSETUP.EXE 2.01
FASTDISK.SYS 1.61
HDFORMAT.EXE 2.01
SPEED.EXE 1.19
SUPERSPL.COM 1.71
REMM.SYS 4.41
REX.SYS 1.13
PARK.COM 1.01
PRINTME.BAT N/A
README.BAT N/A
Production Release 4.10 Available June, 1988
Part Number: 910242-001 Rev B
PRODUCT OVERVIEW:
PREMIUM/286 UTILITIES Rel 4.10 Rev B reflects an upgrade of the DOS
system files to MS-DOS 3.30A Rel 1.20. It replaces PREMIUM/286
UTILITIES Rel 4.00 Rev A, P/N 910242-001. The user files reside on the
same diskette in the root directory and the \ASTUTIL subdirectory.
These files include the utility programs and the 286TEST file.
ENHANCEMENTS:
- Upgrade of system boot files and DOS command files to AST MS-DOS
3.30A Rel 1.20.
- ASTMENU now offers support and installation of the third floppy
device drivers.
- ASTCACHE Ver 2.19 provides: 8 sector floppy support, support for
hard disks greater than 1024 cylinders and display if memory is
greater than 1 MB.
- REMM.SYS has been updated to version 4.2.
- HDFORMAT has been updated to version 1.60.
- README.DOC has been updated to clarify that ASTMENU loads only the
ASTCACHE.COM for Bernoulli box users who must install the
ASTCACHE.SYS manually. Also, instructions for PARK.COM have been
included.
PROBLEMS RESOLVED:
- The third floppy device driver, ASTDSK.DRV has been updated to
version 1.04 to resolve the "drive door open" problem.
- HDFORMAT now correctly handles EC command for the 1003 and 1006 hard
drive controllers. Also, the interleave problem has been corrected.
PROGRAM FILES:
The files and programs included with this release can be found in the
root directory and the subdirectory ASTUTIL. The following lists the
files in each directory.
Volume in drive A is 286UTIL410
Directory of A:\
ASTUTIL
5-20-88 11:50a
AUTOEXEC BAT 65 3-16-88 2:52p
COMMAND COM 25308 2-02-88 12:00a
CONFIG SYS 23 10-21-87 12:01p
COUNTRY SYS 11254 2-02-88 12:00a
FDISK COM 48983 2-02-88 12:00a
FORMAT COM 11671 2-02-88 12:00a
KEYBOARD SYS 19783 3-09-88 2:50p
MODE COM 15440 2-02-88 12:00a
README DOC 7979 5-16-88 2:44p
SELECT COM 4132 2-02-88 12:00a
XCOPY EXE 11216 2-09-88 12:00a
12 File(s) 725504 bytes free
Volume in drive A is 286UTIL410
Directory of A:\ASTUTIL
. 5-20-88 11:50a
.. 5-20-88 11:50a
286TEST EXE 72668 3-17-88 1:38p
ASTCACHE COM 31235 3-16-88 12:00p
ASTCACHE SYS 302 3-16-88 12:00p
ASTDSK DRV 4086 4-28-88 3:31p
ASTMENU EXE 22246 3-16-88 2:31p
ASTMS EXE 26712 3-16-88 2:34p
ASTSETUP EXE 3745 4-07-88 8:06p
AUTO MEN 25694 3-17-88 11:44a
CUTOFF 28 7-23-87 12:00a
FASTDISK SYS 6020 10-02-87 3:03p
HDFORMAT EXE 38974 4-19-88 5:48p
PARK COM 977 5-06-88 1:04p
REMM SYS 16358 5-04-88 4:17p
REX SYS 2150 5-15-87 3:20a
SPEED EXE 9690 1-19-88 4:10p
SUPERSPL COM 11111 5-15-87 3:20a
18 File(s) 725504 bytes free
Production Release 4.00 Available June, 1988
Part Number: 910242-001 Rev A
PRODUCT OVERVIEW:
PREMIUM/286 UTILITIES Rel 4.0 Rev A replaces P/N 910130-005 Rel 3.30 Rev
H. This new release combines the utility programs and diagnostic tests
onto one diskette that provides easy access to each function through the
AST's Common User Interface.
ENHANCEMENTS:
- 286TEST.EXE file has been added to provide a system confidence level
test program.
- Common User Interface files allow easy access to all utility files
and programs.
- REMM.SYS has been updated to version 4.0.
- SPEED.COM has been added and replaces 6, 8, and 10.COM used to change
the system processing speed.
- ASTSETUP has been added to provide support for AST BIOS setup
functions. This file replaces INSTALL2 used for Phoenix BIOS setup.
- PARK.COM is provided to manually park the heads on 20 MB hard drives.
This utility is supplied for use on the AST PREMIUM/286 Model 120's
20 MB hard disk.
- The ASTDSK.DRV file has been added to provide support for a third
floppy device.
PROGRAM FILES:
The files and programs included with this release can be found in the
root directory and the subdirectory ASTUTIL. The following list the
files in each directory.
Volume in drive A is 286UT_400
Directory of A:\
ASTUTIL 3-18-88 2:00p
AUTOEXEC BAT 65 3-16-88 2:52p
COMMAND COM 25308 2-02-88 12:00a
CONFIG SYS 23 10-21-87 12:01p
COUNTRY SYS 11254 2-02-88 12:00a
FDISK COM 48983 2-02-88 12:00a
FORMAT COM 11671 2-02-88 12:00a
KEYBOARD SYS 19735 2-09-88 12:00a
MODE COM 15440 2-02-88 12:00a
README DOC 5998 3-17-88 6:20p
SELECT COM 4132 2-02-88 12:00a
XCOPY EXE 11216 2-09-88 12:00a
12 File(s) 732160 bytes free
Volume in drive A is 286UT_400
Directory of A:\ASTUTIL
. 3-18-88 2:00p
.. 3-18-88 2:00p
286TEST EXE 72668 3-17-88 1:38p
ASTCACHE COM 27643 12-02-87 12:00p
ASTCACHE SYS 302 12-02-87 12:00p
ASTDSK DRV 4062 3-16-88 3:53p
ASTMENU EXE 22246 3-16-88 2:31p
ASTMS EXE 26712 3-16-88 2:34p
ASTSETUP EXE 3745 2-01-88 11:06a
AUTO MEN 25694 3-17-88 11:44a
CUTOFF 28 7-23-87 12:00a
FASTDISK SYS 6020 10-02-87 3:03p
HDFORMAT EXE 39022 3-02-88 10:33a
REMM SYS 16701 2-29-88 10:46a
REX SYS 2150 5-15-87 3:20a
SPEED EXE 9690 1-19-88 4:10p
SUPERSPL COM 11111 5-15-87 3:20a
17 File(s) 732160 bytes free
Production Release 3.30 Available July, 1988
Part Number 910130-005 Rev H
DESCRIPTION:
The Premium Utilities diskette is for Premium 286 systems using the
Phoenix Bios and is not for use with systems using the AST BIOS. This
update represents a sustaining effort for existing AST customers and
corrects a problem with parity errors when starting INSTALL2.
ENHANCEMENTS:
- The file INSTALL2.EXE v1.04 has been updated to INSTALL2.EXE v1.05
and corrects a problem with parity errors when starting INSTALL2.
- The most recent version of AST cache has been included.
PROGRAM FILES:
The Premium Utilities diskette contains the following programs and
files:
FILES VERSION
INSTALL2.EXE 1.05
REMM.SYS 3.50
REX.SYS 1.11
10.COM 1.00
6.COM 1.00
8.COM 1.00
ASTCACHE.COM 2.11
ASTCACHE.SYS 2.11
CONFIG.MEM N/A
CONFIG.SYS N/A
FASTDISK.SYS 1.40
SUPERSPL.COM 1.40
COMMAND.COM 3.30
AUTOEXEC.BAT N/A
Production Release 3.0 Available December, 1987
ENHANCEMENTS:
- The addition of AST cache has been included. This utility increases
the speed of the fixed disk sub-system.
- REMM.SYS has been updated to support the caching capability and
Microsoft Windows, version 2.0.
Production Release 2.0 Available July, 1987
ENHANCEMENTS:
- Upgrade of the Operating System "Boot" files for compatibility with
MS-DOS 3.2.
PROBLEMS RESOLVED:
- The 6, 8, 10.COM files have been upgraded to operate correctly with
the keyboard speed selection keys;
keys.
- INSTALL2.EXE file has been upgraded to allow correct operation with
all FASTRAM boards. Previously, the system would hang if the FASTRAM
board was only partially populated with memory chips.
Production Release 1.01 Available November, 1986
NOTES:
- This was the first production release of the Premium/286 Utilities
software. It provided the necessary software to automatically
configure the system for expanded memory use, including the AST
FASTDISK program (Equivalent to DOS VDISK), and SUPERSPL, AST's
printer spooling program.
- Includes the 6, 8, 10.COM programs to allow software switching of
computer speed from 6 MHZ, 8 MHZ or 10 MHZ.