MR BIOS: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 11:08, 7 August 2024

MR BIOS (short for Microid Research BIOS), unofficially and commonly nicknamed Mr. BIOS, is a personal computer BIOS developed by Microid Research Inc. (MRI) from 1989 to 1999. It was mostly offered as a third-party BIOS upgrade for existing motherboards of various brands. However, it was occasionally also used as the default BIOS on some motherboards.

Microid Research Inc. (MRI)

Microid Research Inc., abbreviated MRI, was a software development company founded in 1989 and incorporated in 1992 in Santa Clara, California.^[1] It was acquired by Unicore Software in the mid-1990s (most likely in 1995 or 1996) and relocated to North Andover, Massachusetts (where Unicore was located). Unicore was then acquired by Award Software in 1997, which then merged with Phoenix Technologies the following year.

Versions

The below is a list of known and possible versions of MR BIOS. Known versions with available ROMs are marked as "Available", while ones without are marked "Confirmed". Assumed possible versions are marked "Assumed".


Version	Earliest known release date	Status	First seen on	Notes
V1.0A	November 18, 1990	Available	Two OPTi 82C283 chipset motherboards (QDI P386SX/25 PW and Shuttle HOT-306).	Both motherboards support the same ROM upgrade (V007B314)
V1.0B	Late-1990(?)	Assumed		Likely exists assuming by the naming scheme, currently no ROMs are known.
V1.0C	Late-1990	Confirmed	Unknown OPTi 82C481 chipset motherboard, labelled "KMC486-25"	Only known instance of V1.0C so far. Currently no ROM dumps are available.
V1.0D	Late-1990 or early-1991(?)	Assumed		Likely exists assuming by the naming scheme
V1.0E	April 2, 1991	Available	Cache Computers CACHE BAT 486 (Model 319) motherboard	Last known version using the V1.0x naming scheme. The ROM has no visible Microid Research or MR BIOS branding, so it was most likely licensed to the Cache Computers for use.
V1.26	October 27, 1991	Available	TAM33-P1/TAM40-P1 motherboard	Earliest known version under the new naming scheme.
V1.27	Late-1991 or early-1992(?)	Assumed		Likely exist assuming by the naming scheme
V1.28	Late-1991 or early-1992(?)	Assumed		Likely exist assuming by the naming scheme
V1.29	January 28, 1992	Available	ORCHID TECHNOLOGY SUPERBOARD 486	Earliest known version with the light blue background setup utility.
V1.30	Early or mid-1992	Assumed		Likely exist assuming by the naming scheme
V1.31		Assumed
V1.32		Assumed
V1.33		Assumed
V1.34		Assumed
V1.35		Assumed
V1.36	July 15, 1992	Available	Octek PANTHER II
V1.37	Mid-1992	Assumed		Likely exist assuming by the naming scheme
V1.38		Assumed
V1.39		Assumed
V1.40	September 9, 1992	Available	ECS 8517 V3.3
V1.41	October 14, 1992	Available	Octek Jaguar IV-C (Rev 1.6)
V1.42	Late-1992 or early-1993	Assumed		Likely exist assuming by the naming scheme
V1.43		Assumed
V1.44		Assumed
V1.45	March 16, 1993	Available	Octek HIPPO VL+
V1.46	Mid-1993	Assumed		Likely exist assuming by the naming scheme
V1.47		Assumed
V1.48		Assumed
V1.49		Assumed
V1.50		Assumed
V1.51	August 6, 1993	Available	Octek JAGUAR V 386 (rev 2.0)
V1.52	August 20, 1993	Available	A-Trend 4GPV3, 4GPV3.1 and MECER CORPORATION B860 (REV. A)	All three motherboards support the same ROM upgrade (V080B425)
V1.53	November 20, 1993	Available	Octek HIPPO OP
V1.54	Late-1993 or early-1994	Assumed		Likely exist assuming by the naming scheme
V1.55		Assumed
V1.56		Assumed
V1.57		Assumed
V1.58		Assumed
V1.59		Assumed
V1.60	January 26, 1994	Available	BEK-tronic BEK-3739 and Edom/WinTech MA013-X	Earliest known version with the blue background setup utility. Both motherboards support the same ROM upgrade (V084B4BH)
V1.61	February 5, 1994	Available	IBM ETEQ 486SLC2
V1.62	Early-1994	Assumed		Likely exist assuming by the naming scheme
V1.63		Assumed
V1.64		Assumed
V1.65	April 18, 1994	Available	Cache Computers CACHE BAT 486 (Model 319) DD & TT Enterprise DT-423S4L (Revision C2 and earlier) DFI 486-33/50UCE, 486DX2-50UCE FIC 386SC REV A2 IBM XT 286 (TYPE 5162) (62X1168) Infinity Multipro VII-386DXV MiTAC/Trigon PWA-286C MSI MS-3124 Octek PANTHER IV PCChips M321 (rev. 2.x)	9 ROMs for this BIOS version are known, with almost all of them (except one which is unavailable) released on the same day. Some of these motherboards support the same ROM upgrade.
V1.66	October 31, 1994	Available	Octek HIPPO DCA 1 486 REV. 1.0
V1.67	November 23, 1994	Available	Alaris Leopard REV A	Last known version of MR BIOS V1.x
V2.00	October 13, 1994	Available	Octek BISON III REV. 1.0	First version of MR BIOS V2.x
V2.01	Late-1994	Assumed		Likely exists assuming by the naming scheme
V2.02	November 29, 1994	Available	Jetway J-403TG V2.0
V2.03	Late-1994	Assumed		Likely exist assuming by the naming scheme
V2.04	Late-1994	Assumed		Likely exist assuming by the naming scheme
V2.05	December 28, 1994	Available	Alaris Tornado 2
V2.06	Late-1994 or early-1995	Assumed		May possibly exist assuming by the naming scheme, however it is also possible the version number was skipped from V2.05 to V2.10, especially due to the short time frame between both versions.
V2.07		Assumed
V2.08		Assumed
V2.09		Assumed
V2.10	January 16, 1995	Available	Octek HIPPO DCA II 486-33	Last known version of MR BIOS V2.x

↑ https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ca/1521628

[1] ttps://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ca/1521628

[1]

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 == Microid Research Inc. (MRI) ==
-Microid Research Inc., abbreviated MRI, was a software development company founded in 1989 and incorporated in 1992 in [[wikipedia:Santa_Clara,_California|Santa Clara, California]].<ref>https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ca/1521628</ref> It was acquired by Unicore Software in the mid-1990s (most likely in 1995 or 1996) and relocated to [[wikipedia:North_Andover,_Massachusetts|North Andover, Massachusetts]] (where Unicore was located). Unicore was then acquired by [[AwardBIOS#Award Software International Inc.|Award Software]] in 1997, which then merged with Phoenix Technologies the following year.
+Microid Research Inc., abbreviated MRI, was a software development company founded in 1989 and incorporated in 1992 in [[wikipedia:Santa_Clara,_California|Santa Clara, California]].<ref>https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ca/1521628</ref> It was acquired by Unicore Software in the mid-1990s (most likely in 1995 or 1996) and relocated to [[wikipedia:North_Andover,_Massachusetts|North Andover, Massachusetts]] (where Unicore was located). Unicore was then acquired by [[AwardBIOS#Award Software|Award Software]] in 1997, which then merged with Phoenix Technologies the following year.
 == Versions ==
@@ Line 71: / Line 71: @@
 |V1.29
 |January 28, 1992
-|Available
+|{{Available}}
 |[https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/orchid-technolog-superboard-486 ORCHID TECHNOLOGY SUPERBOARD 486]
 |Earliest known version with the light blue background setup utility.
@@ Line 110: / Line 110: @@
 |V1.36
 |July 15, 1992
-|Available
+|{{Available}}
 |[https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/octek-panther-ii Octek PANTHER II]
 |
@@ Line 134: / Line 134: @@
 |V1.40
 |September 9, 1992
-|Available
+|{{Available}}
 |[https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/ecs-8517-v3.3 ECS 8517 V3.3]
 |
@@ Line 141: / Line 141: @@
 |V1.41
 |October 14, 1992
-|Available
+|{{Available}}
 |[https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/octek-jaguar-iv-c-r1-6 Octek Jaguar IV-C (Rev 1.6)]
 |
@@ Line 165: / Line 165: @@
 |V1.45
 |March 16, 1993
-|Available
+|{{Available}}
 |[https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/octek-hippo-vl-2 Octek HIPPO VL+]
 |
@@ Line 199: / Line 199: @@
 |V1.51
 |August 6, 1993
-|Available
+|{{Available}}
 |[https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/octek-jaguar-v-386-rev-2.0 Octek JAGUAR V 386 (rev 2.0)]
 |
@@ Line 206: / Line 206: @@
 |V1.52
 |August 20, 1993
-|Available
+|{{Available}}
 |[https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/a-trend-4gpv3 A-Trend 4GPV3], [https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/a-trend-4gpv3-1 4GPV3.1] and [https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/mecer-corporation-b860-rev-a MECER CORPORATION B860 (REV. A)]
 |All three motherboards support the same ROM upgrade (V080B425)
@@ Line 213: / Line 213: @@
 |V1.53
 |November 20, 1993
-|Available
+|{{Available}}
 |[https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/octek-hippo-op Octek HIPPO OP]
 |
@@ Line 252: / Line 252: @@
 |V1.60
 |January 26, 1994
-|Available
+|{{Available}}
 |[https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/bek-tronic-bek-3739 BEK-tronic BEK-3739] and [https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/edom-wintech-ma013-x Edom/WinTech MA013-X]
 |Earliest known version with the blue background setup utility. Both motherboards support the same ROM upgrade (V084B4BH)
@@ Line 259: / Line 259: @@
 |V1.61
 |February 5, 1994
-|Available
+|{{Available}}
 |[https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/ibm-eteq-486slc2 IBM ETEQ 486SLC2]
 |
@@ Line 283: / Line 283: @@
 |V1.65
 |April 18, 1994
-|Available
+|{{Available}}
 |
 * [https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/cache-computers-cache-bat-486-model-319 Cache Computers CACHE BAT 486 (Model 319)]
@@ Line 300: / Line 300: @@
 |V1.66
 |October 31, 1994
-|Available
+|{{Available}}
 |[https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/octek-hippo-dca-1-486-rev.-1.0 Octek HIPPO DCA 1 486 REV. 1.0]
 |
@@ Line 307: / Line 307: @@
 |V1.67
 |November 23, 1994
-|Available
+|{{Available}}
 |[https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/alaris-leopard-rev-a Alaris Leopard REV A]
 |Last known version of MR BIOS V1.x
@@ Line 314: / Line 314: @@
 |V2.00
 |October 13, 1994
-|Available
+|{{Available}}
 |[https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/octek-bison-iii-rev.-1.0 Octek BISON III REV. 1.0]
 |First version of MR BIOS V2.x
@@ Line 328: / Line 328: @@
 |V2.02
 |November 29, 1994
-|Available
+|{{Available}}
 |[https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/jetway-j-403tg-v2.0 Jetway J-403TG V2.0]
 |
@@ Line 347: / Line 347: @@
 |V2.05
 |December 28, 1994
-|Available
+|{{Available}}
 |[https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/alaris-tornado-2 Alaris Tornado 2]
 |
@@ Line 376: / Line 376: @@
 |V2.10
 |January 16, 1995
-|Available
+|{{Available}}
 |[https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/4027 Octek HIPPO DCA II 486-33]
 |Last known version of MR BIOS V2.x
 |
 |}