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Groups > comp.sys.ibm.ps2.hardware > #71383

Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS

From Louis Ohland <ohland@charter.net>
Newsgroups comp.sys.ibm.ps2.hardware
Subject Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS
Date 2026-05-20 22:51 -0500
Organization csiph.com Internet News Service
Message-ID <10ulvg3$1qvj$1@csiph.com> (permalink)

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Folks, as usual with IBM, we are left with suspicions and suggestive 
passages.

This morning, I fed my Brittanies around 0510, brewed up a pot of French 
Press coffee. Then the utterances of Saint Katherine of Rohl came to me, 
unbidden.

The Corvette lacks a SCSI BIOS and the SCSI firmware has a "stub". What 
this stub does, or what procedure it calls, or what address it points 
to, I dunno.

Since the Corvette is an RS/6000 adapter, there is no announcement 
letter for it, instead, it is part of a system announcement letter, fer 
instance, for the 580. The POWER2 systems seem to be the first ones to 
support the Corvette's need for the SCSI BIOS internalized in IML code.

If we look at the "Enhanced Complex BIOS" or "Dual Boot" upgrade complex 
BIOS for the T1 -AND- T2, both are from Mar '92. The upgrade needs the 
T1 ver 1.31 refdisk or the T2 ver 1.21 refdisk are both from Nov '92.

The RETAIN tip about the Corvette in a 8595 says there are improvements 
in SCSI stuff, but no mention of the F/W.

The earliest POWER2 systems that offered the F/W are in mid-'94. But 
that doesn't mean the Corvette couldn't be ordered separately from the 
system. RPQ or special bid...

My SWAG is the Korvetten-class were under development in '92, and IBM 
most likely planned for introduction on the high-end 90/95 and on POWER2 
and better RS/6000.

Another thought, offering a high-end SCSI adapter that requires an 
upper-end product seems like pure IBM marketing.

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Thread

Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Louis Ohland <ohland@charter.net> - 2026-05-20 22:51 -0500
  Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Kevin Bowling <kevin.bowling@kev009.com> - 2026-05-20 21:53 -0700
    It depends... Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Louis Ohland <ohland@charter.net> - 2026-05-21 08:38 -0500
      Re: It depends... Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Kevin Bowling <kevin.bowling@kev009.com> - 2026-05-21 19:24 -0700
        Finally! A coherent question! Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Louis Ohland <ohland@charter.net> - 2026-05-22 06:10 -0500
          Re: Finally! A coherent question! Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Kevin Bowling <kevin.bowling@kev009.com> - 2026-05-22 11:17 -0700
    Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Louis Ohland <ohland@charter.net> - 2026-05-21 08:50 -0500
      Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Kevin Bowling <kevin.bowling@kev009.com> - 2026-05-21 11:26 -0700
        Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Louis Ohland <ohland@charter.net> - 2026-05-21 16:33 -0500
          Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Kevin Bowling <kevin.bowling@kev009.com> - 2026-05-21 15:46 -0700
  Re: Genesis device: The emergence of Corvette support in Complex BIOS Rick Ekblaw <ekblaw@vnet.ibm.com> - 2026-05-21 18:57 -0400

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