Dell Inc. Copyright (C) 2004, All Rights reserved. www.dell.com BIOS Release Notes =================================================================== =================================================================== Systems: Dell Latitude D400 Series Version: A06 Build Date: 06/28/2004 The following updates were made to the A05 BIOS to create the A06 BIOS: Issues Fixed: 1. Fixed issue in which the system may unexpectedly shutdown when booting with certain PCMCIA cards inserted. Enhancements: 1. Added support for informed hot-undocking. The undock method can be configured as either "Hot Undock" or "Warm Undock" using the new "Undocking Method" field on page 5 of System Setup. The system must be rebooted after changing this field. Previously, the system would only allow warm-undocking. When warm-undocking, the system enters Standby mode if the dock eject button is pressed or the user commands the Operating System to undock the computer from the Start Menu. The new default behavior is Hot Undock. This allows the system to stay powered on when undocking. PLEASE NOTE: Regardless of how "Undocking Method" is configured, the user must notify the system before undocking by either pressing the dock eject button or commanding the OS to undock the computer from the Start Menu. =================================================================== =================================================================== Systems: Dell Latitude D400 Series Version: A05 Build Date: 05/24/2004 The following updates were made to the A04 BIOS to create the A05 BIOS: Issues Fixed: 1. Fixed an issue where the "SmartCard Function" field was not visible in in BIOS Setup unless a BIOS Administrator password was installed. 2. Improved the battery charging algorithm for fully discharged batteries. 3. Fixed problem where a system running on batteries may resume immediately after entering a suspend state when the system is low on battery life. 4. Fixed an issue where the system may hang at the end of POST if a HUB with a UB device is connected. 5. Fixed an issue seen on Windows XP Service Pack 1 where the CPU speed may be reported incorrectly when resuming from hibernate if the user changed the AC adapter while in hibernate. 6. Fixed an issue where an incorrect CPU frequency may be stored in CMOS. 7. Fixed an intermittent issue where the NumLock LED would not behave as expected during POST. 8. Fixed intermittent memory allocation errors seen when using the Windows BIOS flash utility on systems with 128MB of memory installed. 9. Fixed problem where the battery LED will flash amber when the battery is swapped while in Standby. 10. Fixed issues where the system fails to boot to certain USB storage devices or any USB storage when several such devices are attached to the system. 11. Fixed issue seen after several Standby/Resume cycles in which an external USB keyboard can no longer be used to enter a BIOS or hard-disk drive password. 12. Fixed problem where some PCI video cards in the D-Dock may not function. 13. Update to Pre-boot System Assessment to build 3012. This version addresses problems when executing the hard-disk drive tests without AC power attached. 14. Fixed problem where a reboot is required for a System Setup boot order change to take effect. Now, if is pressed during POST to enter System Setup, and a boot order change is made, the new boot order will take effect upon exiting System Setup. 15. Fixed issue in which no audio is received from the analog audio channel of a DVD-RW drive in the media bay. 16. Fixed issue in which the IOtech DaqBook parallel port device fails to communicate when the Parallel Mode in System Setup is set to Bi-directional. 17. Fixed issue in which QuickSet may intermittently fail to detect a hotkey press, such as the CD Eject hotkey. Enhancements: 1. Added support for newer Intel MiniPCI wireless card. 2. Added support for WXGA TV. 3. Improved HDD detection. 4. Improved Windows BIOS flash program algorithm to prevent flashing when battery life is low. 5. Added support for booting from USB2.0 storage devices in USB2.0 mode. 6. Added support for DVD+/-RW drives to be displayed in System Setup and SMBIOS correctly. 7. Added feature to allow the BIOS Admin password to unlock the primary hard-disk drive password. For this feature to work, the BIOS Admin password must be installed at the time the drive password is created. Also, the BIOS Admin password will only unlock the password for a drive that is installed in the specific system on which the drive password is originally created. 8. Added support for newer versions of the Intel Pentium M processor. The BIOS release has been validated on the following operating systems: 1. Microsoft Windows XP =================================================================== =================== End of A05 Release Notes ===================== =================================================================== Systems: Dell Latitude D400 Series Version: A04 Build Date: 12/15/2003 The A04 BIOS was not released. =================================================================== =================== End of A04 Release Notes ===================== =================================================================== Systems: Dell Latitude D400 Series Version: A03 Build Date: 10/15/2003 The following updates were made to the A02 BIOS to create the A03 BIOS: Issues Fixed: 1. Fixed issue in DOS where if a USB key is the boot device the System will hang for a few minutes before displaying an error message if the USB key is removed. The BIOS release has been validated on the following operating systems: 1. Microsoft Windows XP =================================================================== =================== End of A03 Release Notes ===================== =================================================================== Systems: Dell Latitude D400 Series Version: A02 Build Date: 08/20/2003 The following updates were made to the A01 BIOS to create the A02 BIOS: Issues Fixed: 1. Fixed hang seen during boot with the HP PSC2200 all-in-one USB printer attached. 2. Fixed issue where the system would shutdown if the battery drained to a critically low level while the system was in Standby. 3. Fixed issue where the battery LED may flash amber when the battery is swapped while in Standby. 4. Fixed issue where pressing while in BIOS Setup may not function if the "Enable Keypad" option is set to "By NumLock". 5. Fixed issue where SMBIOS may not report an accurate battery capacity for a fully-charged, Dell-supported battery. 6. Decreased the amount of time required for the system to enter Standby after closing the lid. 7. Fixed issue where a USB floppy attached to the system may be lost during an OS CD installation. 8. Prevent system from spending an excessive amount of time in POST if a non-compliant USB storage device is attached. 9. Fixed issue where a USB floppy disk drive may fail to initialize. 10. Fixed issue where the Bluetooth LED may not turn off when performing a warm undock. 11. Fixed issue where the Scroll Lock key on an external keyboard cannot be used during a Dell Diags keyboard test when "External Hot Key" is set to "Scroll Lock" in BIOS Setup. Enhancements: 1. Updated the Broadcom option ROM to the 6.2.11 release. 2. Added a SmartCard Function field on page 4 of BIOS Setup to allow the system administrator to enable or disable the SmartCard feature. 3. Added support for newer Intel Pentium M processors. 4. Added new flash code for combined Windows and DOS BIOS flash utility. The BIOS release has been validated on the following operating systems: 1. Microsoft Windows XP =================================================================== =================== End of A02 Release Notes ===================== =================================================================== Systems: Dell Latitude D400 Series Version: A01 Build Date: 07/08/2003 Intel 855GM Video BIOS version is 2945. The following updates were made to the A00 BIOS to create the A01 BIOS: Issues Fixed: ============= 1. Fixed issue in which the system cannot boot from an Intel network adapter installed in the D-Dock PCI Slot. 2. Fixed issue in which PC16 cards not recognized after booting from the on-board network adapter followed by a hard disk drive boot. 3. Fixed a hang that occurred when booting El Torito hard disk drive emulation CDs from USB optical drives. This issue could be seen when installing Windows XP from a USB CD-ROM drive. 4. Fixed issue in which the and keys may have no effect during POST when using a USB keyboard. 5. Added workaround for some USB Keys that resulted in the system hanging if multiple USB devices were present. 6. Prevent system from spending an excessive amount of time in POST if a non-compliant USB storage device is attached. 7. Fixed a problem with certain USB devices (eg., Belkin USB key) where these devices would operate very slowly. 8. Fixed an issue where the CMOS Setup field for SpeedStep(tm) would not disable SpeedStep(tm) transitions under Windows XP when this field was set to DISABLED. Features Added: =============== 1. Show memory speed in System Setup next to the memory capacity in System Setup on Page 1. 2. Launch the built-in Pre-boot System Assessment (PSA) if the Fn key is held down while the power button is pressed. Note: The system will still support booting into PSA mode when pressing the MUTE button while pressing the power button. 3. Optimized thermal algorithm for the case when the system is docked. 4. Updated the Pre-boot System Assessment to build version 3011, which supports enhanced LCD diagnostics. The BIOS release has been validated on the following operating systems: 1. Microsoft Windows 2000 ACPI 2. Microsoft Windows XP =================================================================== =================== End of A01 Release Notes ===================== =================================================================== Systems: Dell Latitude D400 Series Version: A00 Build Date: 04/28/2003 Intel 855GM Video BIOS version is 2945. Initial release of the BIOS The BIOS release has been validated on the following operating systems: 1. Microsoft Windows XP 2. Microsoft Windows 2000 ACPI =================================================================== =================== End of A00 Release Notes ===================== ===================================================================