Re: Compiling Rage xlinit.c

[Richard Smith <rsmith@bitworks.com>]

Steve Longerbeam wrote:

> Is the M1 Rage XL? If not, I'm not sure xlinit.c will be of much use
> to you. Keep in mind that xlinit.c was a serious reverse engineering
> hack job. I used a PCI bus analyzer to capture the bus I/O activity

Its not a XL directly but the programming manual is the same for all the 
Rage based chips.  I haven't done a register to register compare but 
most every thing seems to jive with the docs I have.

 > created by the Xpert98's BIOS. Then converted the capture output
 > to C, and tried to make it look half sensible without breaking the
 > card init. Most of the delays in xlinit.c are the actual time deltas

This explains/answers some of the next questions I was going to ask 
about the whys of what that code does.  Some of the settings are confusing.

> very little confidence that it will successfully init any other
> type of mach64 card.

That may be true...  But from what I've gone through so far the bit 
values that are in the registers are really close to what I think they 
should be from looking at the docs.  However, if the inter-register 
timing is crucial then that changes things.

> This reverse engineering job was necessary because ATI does not
> publish documentation on how to initialize their chips, atleast not
> for the mach64 family. Maybe that's changed now, but not when
> I was doing the work.

I think this has changed.  I've received code from ATI that can do a 
biosless init of a RAGE III and a RAGE Pro.  Both mach64 based.  I've 
also got permission from them to release whatever I end up with GPL.

That code however doesn't understand the M1 and its really, messy.  I've 
managed to port it over as well but I get the same damn black screen. 
Clocks are ok but no actual video output.

I've also got the VBIOS source kit.  But going through that code is very 
painful.  I'm good with assembly but it just sucks trying to figure out 
what they are doing register by freaking register.

I guess that's all I have left though, the VBIOS source and perhaps 
using a bus analyzer like you did.  The analyzer may be faster 
considering the level I'm already at where I think I just have a few 
bits messed up in a memory config register.

Ok well thanks for all your info.  Oh BTW what PCI analyzer did you use? 
  We don't have one.  Are there some simple ones that I can get for a 
few hundred dollars?




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