AP-578
2/21/97 12:57 PM 24329102.DOC
INTEL CONFIDENTIAL
(until publication date)
happen in native mode because there is no delay
through external hardware.
Thus the native mode FPU exception handler can
omit the test to see if the kernel is the FPU owner,
and the DNA handler for a native mode system can
omit the step of setting the kernel as the FPU
owner at the handler’s beginning. Since however
these simplifications are minor and save little code,
it would be a reasonable and conservative habit (as
long as the MS-DOS compatible mode is widely
used) to include these steps in all systems.
Note that the special DP (Dual Processing) mode
for Pentium processors, and also the more general
Intel MultiProcessor Specification for systems with
multiple Pentium or Pentium Pro processors,
support FPU exception handling only in the native
mode. Intel does not recommend using the
MS-DOS compatible FPU mode for systems using
more than one processor.
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