How to decode BIOS errors

[nmaclean]

I have a Gateway P75 with an Intel Overdrive processor. The BIOS is 1992 vintage from AMI, version 1.00.11.AX1T.

Immediately after reporting keyboard and mouse detected and prior to "installing" hard disks, the following error is reported:

Auto-Configuration Error: 03:0E
Bus#:01 Device#:00 Function#:00

The PC has been functioning like this for years with no apparent consequences, so my attitude has been if it ain't broke don't fix it. But now I'm trying to change around my hard drive configuration (make a current slave a master) without success (I'll probably pursue that in another forum). I'm wondering whether this error may have something to do with this problem.

In any event, I'd like to know how to track down the error.

 

[stevieblunder]

The Bus-Device-Function refers to the PCI bus. Bus 01 (vs Bus 00) means it's probably some card plugged into a PCI slot. "PCI sniffer" may help. The bios may be confused by old PnP data that is not valid, ie a card has been removed. There is probably a BIOS option to allow this non-volatile memory to be updated.

Master or slave IDE drives depend on a jumer on the drive. Old 40 wire cables may not connect pin28 to the last connector, making it the slave drive if that drive is jumpered to "Cable Select". But not all cables did this, so cable select would make both the master, and that doesn't work. It's best to forget cable select on 40 wire cables, and jumper one drive as master and the other as slave, using either connector.

The 80 wire high speed IDE cable standard requires that cable select is supported, but you may still want to not use it. That way, you can put the master and slave drives on iether connector.

I assume you understand master/slave vs primary/secondary IDE. The secodary IDE port is a second cable and jack on the mother board.

 

[nmaclean]

Thanks for the post. I'll see if I can find a copy of PCI Sniffer. Given that this machine is 8 years old I have definitely added and removed a number of PCI cards.

The hard drive issue is more acute. I have a 3.5G drive that has been slaved since I added it 5 years ago. It's faster and has twice the cache as the master. I giving the PC to my son and decided to clean it up and optimize it.

I intended to switch the jumpers, reformat and reinstall the OS. Now I've gotten to the point where the BIOS won't recognize the drive at all. It's a 40 wire cable, NOT cable select. I've got another thread going in the hard drive forum, any help would be appreciated.

Near as I can tell from original documentation, this system shipped with a WD 730Mb IDE drive. The slave drive I'm having trouble with is EIDE. Could there be an issue with having the EIDE drive as master that might not have cropped up as long as it was a slave to an IDE drive?

I'm stumped.