TBBS 2.x - DigiBoards Fail to Operate Properly

Contact:   eSoft, Inc. (Makers of TBBS)
           15200 E. Girard Ave., Suite 3000
           Aurora, CO  80014
           (303) 699-6565      Voice
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           support@esoft.com   E-Mail

DIGIBOARDS FAIL TO OPERATE PROPERLY
-----------------------------------

If you are experiencing odd DigiBoard failures or problems; such as modems 
that work and suddenly stop working, data loss problems, high speed operation 
doesn't always work right, etc.; and all conventional diagnostic processes 
have been investigated and ruled out, the problem may be related to the speed 
of the PC's bus (the bus being the interface between the expansion card and 
the motherboard of the machine).

A standard PC bus runs at a particular clock rate, which is separate from the 
clock rate of the PC's microprocessor.  The bus is supposed to run at 8 MHz
(approximate).  Many clone PCs (as well as mainstream brands) allow you to 
change the speed of the bus.  Doing so, however, will cause DigiBoards (and 
many other types of expansion cards) to fail sporadically.  

Determine whether your PC has a settable bus speed.  If it does, make sure it 
is set for a standard 8 MHz (approximate) speed.  This is accomplished through 
CMOS setup programs, or possibly through DIP switches or Berg jumpers on the 
PC's motherboard.  Consult your PC's manual or the manufacturer's tech support 
department to determine whether the bus speed is settable, and if so, how it 
is set.

PCs based on the AMI BIOS in particular have a settable bus speed as part of 
their CMOS setup routines.  With the AMI BIOS, these are the "CLOCK/" 
settings, such as "CLOCK/4" and "CLOCK/3" etc.  These settings allow you to 
configure the speed of the bus relative to the speed of the CPU.  For example, 
on a 33 MHz machine, setting the bus to "CLOCK/4" would give you a bus speed 
of 8.25 MHz (the clock speed, 33 MHz, divided by 4, equals 8.25).  This is an 
appropriate setting for the bus.  (CLOCK/4 means CLOCK divided by 4.)  CLOCK/2 
would be appropriate for 16 MHz PCs (16 divided by 2 is 8), while CLOCK/8 
would be appropriate for 66 MHz machines (66 divided by 8 is 8).  

Other options, such as "CLOCK/3" would be problematic in our example case, 
since 33 divided by 3 is 11, and running the bus at 11 MHz could easily cause 
a DigiBoard to malfunction.  The bottom line is if you have an AMI BIOS 
equipped machine, make sure that the CMOS bus speed setting are configured 
such that the bus runs about approximately 8 MHz to ensure proper DigiBoard 
operation. 

When it comes to bus speed, faster is definitely *NOT* better.

- END -
TBBS0068
Rev. 10/93

Copyright (C) 1994 eSoft, Inc., All Rights Reserved.  Permission granted
to distribute this file in its entirety, without modification, to any
interested party.  Any other use requires the written permission of
eSoft, Inc.

IMPORTANT:  The information herein is subject to change without notice.
Please call or write to confirm factual information of importance to you
or your organization.

