CN1110748C

CN1110748C - Method for increasing capacity of Boot ROM as carrier to extend BIOS software of computer and its carrier

Info

Publication number: CN1110748C
Application number: CN00106120A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘海全
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-04-26
Filing date: 2000-04-26
Publication date: 2003-06-04
Anticipated expiration: 2020-04-26
Also published as: CN1274114A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a Boot ROM capacity increasing method using a cheap network card with Boot ROM as a carrier of BIOS expansion software of a computer, and a carrier. The maximum capacity can be increased from 32K to 128K bytes or more; at least one or more output control signals in a control chip supporting the Boot ROM are redefined as Boot ROM page address signals to make the signals respectively correspond to a plurality of different Boot ROM pages. The present invention has the advantages of simplicity and practicality; the BIOS expansion software of the computer can realize strong functions on the basis of low cost.

Description

Compatibilizing method and carrier thereof as the Boot ROM of the carrier of computing machine expanded BIOS software

Technical field:

The present invention is a kind of compatibilizing method and carrier thereof that uses the cheap network interface card of band Boot ROM as the Boot ROM of the carrier of computing machine expanded BIOS software.

Background technology:

Computer BIOS software is the software in the electronic chip (being commonly called as the BIOS chip) that is solidificated on the computer motherboard, it finishes power-on self-test, equipment disposition and the opening initialization of computing machine, at the software interface that sets various hardware devices (such as keyboard, display, hard disk, floppy drive or the like) so that after operating system and accessible with application software and the control, it is sought and starts the operating system, and further control is transferred to operating system manage.

Some computer software; telecommunication network such as the non-disk workstation starts software, early stage anti-virus software, start shooting password authentication software, hard disk data protection software or the like; they need just take over the control of part computer hardware before os starting, and finished some function.The common name of these softwares is exactly a computing machine expanded BIOS software, and they are the expansion and the extension of computer BIOS software, equally with computer BIOS software be solidificated in the electronic chip, want and computing machine expanded function plug-in card bundles production and selling.The early stage antivirus card and the hard disk protecting card of current trend are exactly this class computer product.

ISA/EISA is the early stage industrial standard of computing machine, and computing machine expanded function ISA plug-in card is as the carrier of computing machine expanded BIOS software, simplicity of design not only, and (can in 20 yuan of Renminbi) with low cost.But, along with eliminating and PCI standard popular of ISA/EISA standard, there has not been the slot of ISA/EISA standard on a lot of computer motherboards, force computing machine expanded function plug-in card to have to adopt the PCI standard.Since the PCI standard design a lot of Premium Features, the PCI plug-in card must be finished these functions with special hardware interface chip, thus the PCI plug-in card not only design than ISA/EISA plug-in card complexity many, and cost also significantly improves.Be subjected to the problem of Boot ROM capacity limit, directly use the carrier of the cheap network interface card of band Boot ROM as computing machine expanded BIOS software, computing machine expanded BIOS software can only be realized limited function.

In order to address the above problem, the object of the present invention is to provide a kind of compatibilizing method and carrier thereof that uses the cheap network interface card of band BootROM as the Boot ROM of the carrier of computing machine expanded BIOS software, thereby make the Boot ROM of this cheap network interface card can solidify the more computing machine expanded BIOS of code software.Like this, computing machine expanded BIOS software just can be realized more strong functions on basis cheaply, and can design the installation and the use of software simple more, understand, intelligent, hommization.

Summary of the invention:

Solution of the present invention is: as the compatibilizing method of the BootROM of the carrier of computing machine expanded BIOS software, keep selected control signal original function constant, used as the page address signal, change the page address signal by corresponding software, to support at least one or a plurality of output control signal in the control chip of Boot ROM to be defined as Boot ROM page address signal again, under the control of programming software, the page address signal is made up by certain form (as the scale-of-two or the decimal system etc.), make it corresponding different respectively Boot ROM pages or leaves with several, the max cap. of each Boot ROM page or leaf has certain value, the max cap. of the Boot ROM that increase-volume is later is exactly 2 times of this definite value or 4 times or 8 times etc., as long as can control the non-address signal of output type of selected output control signal state exactly with software programming, can be used as the page address signal, realize the increase-volume of storer Boot ROM and be used for computing machine expanded BIOS software carrier, the maximum multiple of increase-volume is the power of 2 page address number of signals, such as three page address signals are arranged, then the maximum multiple of increase-volume is 2 ³=8.

Adopt the computing machine expanded BIOS software carrier of compatibilizing method of the present invention, comprise the control chip and the storer Boot ROM that support storer Boot ROM, control chip comprises several output control signals, described output control signal is connected with corresponding parts according to its function separately, and at least one in the described control chip or a plurality of output control signal are as BootROM page address signal incoming memory Boot ROM again.

Described output control signal can be the control signal of the configuration information that reads or revise pci bus interface and network control or/and light the control signal of pilot lamp during network connection.

Described Boot rom chip socket increases newly corresponding to the output control signal of selecting corresponding pin.

Compatibilizing method of the present invention and products thereof is simple, practical, with low cost, computing machine expanded BIOS software just can be realized more strong functions on basis cheaply, and can design the installation and the use of software simple more, understand, intelligent, hommization.

Below by specific embodiment the present invention is described in detail:

Description of drawings:

Fig. 1 is two page address signal connection diagrams selecting two output control signals;

Fig. 2 is for selecting two to export the former Boot ROM of control signals and the window mapping graph of the BootROM after the increase-volume;

Fig. 3 is a page address signal connection diagram of selecting an output control signal among another embodiment;

Fig. 4 is the former Boot ROM of an output control signal and the window mapping graph of the Boot ROM after the increase-volume.

Embodiment:

Select the cheap network interface card of the PCI standard FDX Ethernet network control chip RTL8029AS of Taiwan Realtek company production for use as pci bus interface chip and network control chip, the present invention is keeping under the constant prerequisite of the original overall network function of this network interface card, the max cap. of the Boot ROM of this network interface card can be risen to 64KB or 128KB from 32KB, thereby the Boot ROM that makes this type network interface card can solidify the more computing machine expanded BIOS of code software, such computing machine expanded BIOS software just can be realized more strong functions, and can design the installation and the use of software simpler, understand, intelligent, hommization.

With reference to figure 1 and Fig. 2, control chip RTL8029AS only provides [MA14...MA0] totally 15 address signals, and the max cap. that can visit is 2 ¹⁵=2 ⁵* 2 ¹⁰=2 ⁵The K=32K byte, the present invention adopts method of signal multiplexing, when reading or revise the control signal EECS of configuration information of pci bus interface and network control and network connection, selection lights the control signal LED_BNC of pilot lamp, pass through programming software, keeping EECS, under the situation that LED_BNC two signal original functions are not affected, these two signals are defined as Boot ROM page address signal [PAGEA1 again, PAGEA0], these two page address signals have 00 by scale-of-two, 01,10,11 (decimal system is 0,1,2,3) four kinds of combinations, correspond respectively to four different Boot ROM pages or leaves, we are referred to as the 0th with it, 1,2,3 pages, the max cap. of each Boot ROM is the 32K byte, so the max cap. of the Boot ROM that increase-volume is later is exactly 4 * 32K=128K byte, as taking pictures, from the window of same 32K byte, by changing signal EECS, the page address signal of LED_BNC, we can see four different zones with different content.Conversely, present embodiment is exactly with the Boot ROM that a capacity is the 128K byte Boot ROM page or leaf that to be divided into four capacity be the 32K byte, then by changing the page address signal, Boot ROM with the original 32K byte of control chip RTL8029AS is each Boot ROM page or leaf of window access, thereby realizes the increase-volume of Boot ROM.

Change the page address signal and finished by software, during electrifying startup, EECS=0 under disposing usually, also has LED_BNC=0, so [PAGEA1, PAGEA0]=00, what 32KBBoot ROM window was selected is first page of Boot ROM page or leaf.The software programming of RTL8029AS is disclosed, by control chip RTL8029AS is carried out software programming, the state of EECS, LED_BNC can be changed and keep original function at an easy rate, and software just can be visited the content of other three Boot ROM pages or leaves like this, thereby realizes the purpose of increase-volume.

In the present embodiment, because EECS, the output signal that this class signal of LED_BNC all is the TTL/CMOS standard, has bigger driving force, generally can drive the chip of 8 TTL/CMOS standards at most, the page address signal of the present invention's definition, only in the process of computer starting, just use when reading the computing machine expanded BIOS software that solidifies among the Boot ROM, after this, the page address signal is in idle condition, revert to the function that they had originally fully, neither can influence the original function of signal, also can not lose because signal has recovered original function as the due function of page address signal because software programming changes the state of page address signal.

To the PCI standard FDX Ethernet network control chip RTL8029AS that supports Boot ROM cheap network interface card as pci bus interface chip and network control chip, utilize compatibilizing method of the present invention that it is changed a little, it not only is still the network interface card of a cheapness, surpasses the 32KB byte even the hardware carrier of the PCI standard of the computing machine expanded BIOS software of 128K byte nearly but also can be used as code.Present embodiment is to the improvement of hardware, just original Boot rom chip socket is become 32 new pin sockets from 28 original pin sockets, four newly-increased pins (new pin 1, new pin 2, new pin 30, new pin 31) are connected accordingly, cost increases less than 1%, in 0.5 yuan of Renminbi again.

With reference to figure 3 and Fig. 4, the PCI network control chip RTL8139 that selects for use Taiwan Realtek company to produce, the Boot ROM that it supported 128KB originally only selects for use control signal EECS as the page address signal, can make Boot ROM increase-volume to 256KB.Certainly, adopt the present invention, also can make its increase-volume to more.

Claims

1. compatibilizing method as the Boot ROM of the carrier of computing machine expanded BIOS software, it is characterized in that: keep selected output control signal original function constant, used as the page address signal, change the page address signal by corresponding software, to support at least one or a plurality of output control signal in the control chip of Boot ROM to be defined as Boot ROM page address signal again, under the control of programming software, the page address signal is made up by scale-of-two or metric form, make it to correspond respectively to different Boot ROM pages or leaves.

2. the compatibilizing method of the BootROM of the carrier as computing machine expanded BIOS software as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that: Boot ROM is divided into two Boot ROM pages or leaves.

3. the compatibilizing method of the BootROM of the carrier as computing machine expanded BIOS software as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that: Boot ROM is divided into four Boot ROM pages or leaves.

4. the compatibilizing method of the BootROM of the carrier as computing machine expanded BIOS software as claimed in claim 3 is characterized in that: original Boot rom chip socket is become 32 new pin sockets from 28 original pin sockets.

5. as the compatibilizing method of the Boot ROM of claim 1,2,3 or 4 described carriers as computing machine expanded BIOS software, it is characterized in that: described output control signal is to read or revise the control signal of configuration information of pci bus interface and network control or/and light the control signal of pilot lamp during network connection.

6. employing is as the computing machine expanded BIOS software carrier of the compatibilizing method of the Boot ROM of the carrier of computing machine expanded BIOS software, comprise the control chip and the storer Boot ROM that support storer Boot ROM, control chip comprises several output control signals, described output control signal is connected with corresponding parts according to its function separately, it is characterized in that: at least one in the described control chip or a plurality of output control signal are as Boot ROM page address signal incoming memory Boot ROM again.

7. computing machine expanded BIOS software carrier as claimed in claim 6 is characterized in that: described output control signal is to read or revise the control signal of configuration information of pci bus interface and network control or/and light the control signal of pilot lamp during network connection.

8. as claim 6 or 7 described computing machine expanded BIOS software carriers, it is characterized in that: Boot rom chip socket increases newly corresponding to the output control signal of selecting corresponding pin.