AMIBIOS 6: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:53, 22 January 2024

AMIBIOS 6 is a version of AMIBIOS made by American Megatrends and often known with the core date 071595 (July 15, 1995) in string, although some few newer subcore dates such as 071599 (July 15, 1999) also exist.

It was mainstream for a very long time. It was the newest AMIBIOS version until 1999 when first instances of 07.00.xx were released, although it was still widely used by most manufacturers until April 2001 when it was finally replaced by 07.00.10.

Early versions (cores) of AMIBIOS 6 could still only detect up to 32 GB hard drives, however in around 1999 this limit was bumped up to 64 GB. AMIBIOS 6 was also the first version of AMIBIOS to include built-in PnP (Plug and Play) support, an easy hardware detection technology introduced with Microsoft Windows 95.

POST screen

As AMIBIOS 6 was in use for a very long time, some changes to the POST screen (along with other parts of the BIOS) have occurred. The EPA (Energy Star compliance logo, short for Environmental Protection Agency, used term by AwardBIOS and some enthusiasts) can also change depending on the OEM/motherboard manufacturer and the core version.

POST screen with small EPA, same EPA also used by AMI WinBIOS, often used by ones that have WinBIOS Setup Utility
POST screen with EPA on right corner
POST screen with EPA on top right corner
POST screen in VGA resolution (640x480), also often used on Chinese and Japanese BIOSes
POST screen in VGA resolution and with different EPA, used by some Gigabyte motherboards

Setup Utility

Unlike AMI WinBIOS and AMIBIOS 5, AMIBIOS 6 included a variety of setup utilities for use by OEMs/manufacturers. Early versions only had either the AMI WinBIOS Setup Utility or the Hi-Flex Setup Utility, while Easy Setup Utility (resembling the Intel AMI Hi-Flex fork setup) and Simple Setup Utility (resembling the newer AwardBIOS setup) were also introduced later.

Early Hi-Flex Setup Utility (1995), does not mention Hi-Flex
Later Hi-Flex Setup Utility (1996-2001), does mention Hi-Flex
Hi-Flex Setup Utility in VGA resolution, often was used on versions with Chinese or Japanese language support.
WinBIOS Setup Utility
Easy Setup Utility
Early Simple Setup Utility
Late Simple Setup Utility
Setup Utility used by some Gateway 2000/Advanced Logic Research (ALR) computers/motherboards, believed to be made by Intel for a beta of their AMIBIOS 6 fork

Bugs and quirks

NOTE: The following issues may not represent every AMIBIOS 6 release and may vary depending on the motherboard manufacturer's implementation and the core version.

People have reported Plug and Play related issues on early AMIBIOS versions with Plug and Play support (assumed to be AMIBIOS 6). The issues were said to be fixed in around 1997, however.

Some versions of AMIBIOS 6 also have a bug regarding CD-ROM boot where they often can't boot into Windows NT 4.0 or 5.x (2000, XP, Server 2003 etc.) installation disks. When attempted to, an NTLDR is missing error will appear, regardless of used disk.

Thomas Pabst of Tom's Hardware has also reported issues regarding IRQ routing with AMIBIOS 6 (mistakenly referred to as "AMI WinBIOS" by them due to used setup utility).

Intel fork

Main page: List of BIOS and UEFI firmwares used by Intel motherboards

Intel forked AMIBIOS 6 subcore date 071595 in around 1998 and began using it on their motherboards. This fork sometimes also used an unusual 063200 core number (last for regular AMIBIOS 6 was 063100). It was later replaced with the AMIBIOS 8 fork in around 2003.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[File:AMIBIOS 6 POST screen.png|thumb|The POST screen used by early AMIBIOS 6, although some slight changes have occurred over years]]
-AMIBIOS 6 is a version of [[AMIBIOS]] made by [[American Megatrends]] and often known with the subcore date <code>071595</code> (July 15, 1995), although some few newer subcore dates such as <code>071599</code> (July 15, 1999) do exist. It was used for a very long time, from 1995 to around 2001 when it was replaced by [[AMIBIOS 07.00.10]] (which then quickly got replaced by [[AMIBIOS 8]]).
+AMIBIOS 6 is a version of [[AMIBIOS]] made by [[American Megatrends]] and often known with the core date <code>071595</code> (July 15, 1995) in string, although some few newer subcore dates such as <code>071599</code> (July 15, 1999) also exist.
-Early versions (cores) of AMIBIOS 6 could still only detect up to 32 GB hard drives, however in around 1999 this limit was bumped up to 64 GB. AMIBIOS 6 was also the first version of AMIBIOS to include built-in PnP (Plug and Play) support, an easy hardware detection technology used by [[Microsoft Windows 95]] and newer versions.
+It was mainstream for a very long time. It was the newest AMIBIOS version until 1999 when first instances of [[AMIBIOS 07.00.xx|07.00.xx]] were released, although it was still widely used by most manufacturers until April 2001 when it was finally replaced by 07.00.10.
+Early versions (cores) of AMIBIOS 6 could still only detect up to 32 GB hard drives, however in around 1999 this limit was bumped up to 64 GB. AMIBIOS 6 was also the first version of AMIBIOS to include built-in PnP (Plug and Play) support, an easy hardware detection technology introduced with [[Microsoft Windows 95]].
 == POST screen ==
-As AMIBIOS 6 was in use for a very long time, some changes to the POST screen (and the setup utilities and overall some features as well) have occurred. The EPA (Energy Star compliance logo, short for '''E'''nvironmental '''P'''rotection '''A'''gency, used term by [[AwardBIOS]] and some enthusiasts) can also change depending on OEM/motherboard manufacturer and core version.
+As AMIBIOS 6 was in use for a very long time, some changes to the POST screen (along with other parts of the BIOS) have occurred. The EPA (Energy Star compliance logo, short for '''E'''nvironmental '''P'''rotection '''A'''gency, used term by [[AwardBIOS]] and some enthusiasts) can also change depending on the OEM/motherboard manufacturer and the core version.
 <gallery mode="packed" widths="180px" heights="100px">
 File:AMIBIOS_6_POST_small_EPA.png|POST screen with small EPA, same EPA also used by AMI WinBIOS, often used by ones that have WinBIOS Setup Utility
@@ Line 15: / Line 17: @@
 == Setup Utility ==
-Unlike AMI WinBIOS and AMIBIOS 5, AMIBIOS 6 included a variety of setup utilities for use by OEMs/manufacturers. Early versions only had AMI WinBIOS Setup Utility or Hi-Flex Setup Utility, while Easy Setup Utility (resembling the [[AMI Hi-Flex BIOS#Intel fork|Intel AMI Hi-Flex fork setup]]) and Simple Setup Utility (resembling the newer [[AwardBIOS]] setup) were also introduced later.
+Unlike AMI WinBIOS and AMIBIOS 5, AMIBIOS 6 included a variety of setup utilities for use by OEMs/manufacturers. Early versions only had either the AMI WinBIOS Setup Utility or the Hi-Flex Setup Utility, while Easy Setup Utility (resembling the [[AMI Hi-Flex BIOS#Intel fork|Intel AMI Hi-Flex fork setup]]) and Simple Setup Utility (resembling the newer [[AwardBIOS]] setup) were also introduced later.
 <gallery mode="packed" widths="180px" heights="100px">
 File:AMIBIOS 6 Hi-Flex Setup Utility (Early).png|Early Hi-Flex Setup Utility (1995), does not mention Hi-Flex
@@ Line 28: / Line 30: @@
 == Bugs and quirks ==
-'''''NOTE:''' The following issues may not represent every AMIBIOS 6 release and may vary depending on the motherboard manufacturer's BIOS code and bugs found in some specific releases of AMIBIOS 6.''
+'''''NOTE:''' The following issues may not represent every AMIBIOS 6 release and may vary depending on the motherboard manufacturer's implementation and the core version.''
 [https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/ami-or-award-any-preferences.345180/post-95507 People have reported Plug and Play related issues] on early AMIBIOS versions with Plug and Play support (assumed to be AMIBIOS 6). The issues were said to be fixed in around 1997, however.
-Some versions of AMIBIOS 6 also have a bug regarding CD-ROM boot where they often can't boot into Windows NT 5.x (2000, XP, Server 2003 etc.) installation disks. When attempted to, an NTLDR is missing error will appear, regardless of used disk.
+Some versions of AMIBIOS 6 also have a bug regarding CD-ROM boot where they often can't boot into Windows NT 4.0 or 5.x (2000, XP, Server 2003 etc.) installation disks. When attempted to, an NTLDR is missing error will appear, regardless of used disk.
 Thomas Pabst of Tom's Hardware [https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/review-slot-1-motherboards-intel-440bx-chipset,67.html has also reported issues regarding IRQ routing with AMIBIOS 6 (mistakenly referred to as "AMI WinBIOS" by them due to used setup utility)].
@@ Line 40: / Line 42: @@
 ''Main page: [[List of BIOS and UEFI firmwares used by Intel motherboards]]''
-Intel forked AMIBIOS 6 subcore date <code>071595</code> in around 1998 and began using it on their motherboards. This fork also used an unusual <code>063200</code> core number (last for regular AMIBIOS 6 was <code>063100</code>). It was also later replaced with [[AMIBIOS 8#Intel fork|their AMIBIOS 8 fork]] in early-2000s.
+Intel forked AMIBIOS 6 subcore date <code>071595</code> in around 1998 and began using it on their motherboards. This fork sometimes also used an unusual <code>063200</code> core number (last for regular AMIBIOS 6 was <code>063100</code>). It was later replaced with [[AMIBIOS 8#Intel fork|the AMIBIOS 8 fork]] in around 2003.