[Qemu-devel] BIOS ESCD data

[Sam Liddicott <sam@Liddicott.com>]

I've tracked down guest winxp SP1 boot problems to bad ESCD bios data.

A lot of talk here:
http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/31874/?o=0

But I think this is the key:
http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/31874/?o=50

I have had it freeze AT Mups.sys and just after when loading the AGP driver.

So... what control havce we over what ESCD data the supplied BIOS provdes?

Sam

[QUOTE from http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/31874/?o=50]
Re: Windows xp freezes at mup.sys
READ THIS POST FIRST, THIS IS THE OFFICIAL SOLUTION, INFO FROM MICROSOFT!!

I spent a few hours reading through posts and forums on the net. I
finally found that this seems to be a known Windows XP SP2 - motherboard
issue.

Mup.sys is not the culprate, it's just the last file before resources
are alocated for WinXP.

With the latest service pack there were some resource code rewritten
(theoretically for security reasons). Due to this, mobos that have
certain resource sets become invalid sometime after SP2 is installed
(note: it may not be right away). All that needs to happen on most mobos
is for this resource set (the ESCD) to be rewritten. Most "higher-end"
motherboards have a setting in the BIOS to say "rewrite ESCD next
startup", but not all do.

My motherboard did have that option, but it didn't seem to work anyway.
So the next step would be just to reset the BIOS. All motherboards have
a way to do this. Most boards will have a jumper near the battery with
which you can do this. Turn off the power on the power suply. Move the
jumper over to bridge pin 2 and 3, turn on power suply for 10-15 seconds
(if you hit the power button nothing should happen -- that is a good
test to see if it is doing what it is supposed to be doing). Turn the
power off, wait 10-15 seconds, switch the jumper back to bridge pin 1
and 2. Turn on power, hit power button, your problems should be fixed.

If they are not, your ESCD may be hard coded somehow. The next step is
to try to flash your BIOS with the newest version of your BIOS. Check
your manual for all the instructions for that (or I'm sure there are
plenty of forums that can describe how to do that).