  We have analyzed ASCA data of 27 early-type galaxies, and studied the
properties of their X-ray emitting ISM (Inter Stellar
  Medium) in detail. We found that overlapping lines and free-bound continuum
cause strong coupling in the derived abundances of various elements. The
abundance determination is also difficult due to the uncertainties in the Fe-L
atomic physics, because Fe-L lines couple with O and Ne K-lines. However, when
abundances of $\alpha$-elements are fixed, all the plasma codes give similar Fe
abundances with a scattering of only 20-30%. To relax the strong coupling among
the elements, we included 20% systematic errors in the Fe-L region of the
spectra. Then, in X-ray luminous galaxies, the derived abundance of Fe and
$\alpha$-elements both became $\sim 1$ solar within a factor of 2. This result
relaxes the previous severe discrepancy between the ISM and stellar
metallicities. The ISM metallicity in X-ray fainter galaxies is still
uncertain, but we can at least constrain that contribution from type-Ia SN to
the ISM abundance is lower than in X-ray luminous systems. These results
strongly suggest that a large fraction of SN Ia products have escaped into
intergalactic space.
