PS/2 FAQ Version 5.4

Previously-modified: 11/12/1998
Last-modified:  12/15/1998
Version: 5.4
Author: Christopher Feeny 
Email: alkemyst@shadow.net

Ver 5.2
11/01/98 Updated PS/2 PC chart.

Ver 5.3
11/11/98 Updated PS/2 UNIX information
11/11/98 Added part number and example price of Type 4 Processor card for 
Model 90/95, 300/500.
11/11/98 Virtual Keyboard and Mouse for PS/2 systems designated as non-local 
input (servers and
         the like).
11/11/98 Web support URL's added
11/11/98 Added solution to problem of Model 77 w/ XGA/2 running Win95 and 
blank screen at 
         shutdown. Under section 8.5.
11/12/98 Added link for Snooper under MCA card id section from Louis Ohland.
11/12/98 Added some notes on the max memory for PS/2's.
11/12/98 Added info on entering CMOS for type 4 complexes.
11/12/98 Added info on detecting speed of SIMM's installed for type 3/4 
complexes.
11/12/98 Added info on support for basic transfer speeds beyond 200ns. Under 
section 2.9.
11/12/98 More SVGA info.
11/12/98 Discovered cache can be added to the type 1 complex.
11/12/98 Updated Section 7.2, Cables.
11/12/98 Added notes that Win98 is not a good choice for PS/2 systems.

Ver 5.4
12/15/98 Updated UART info, any PS/2 with 16550A (16550AF) can support higher 
modem speeds.
12/15/98 Added information about 180 and 200MHz chips on the Pentium 90 Type 4 
processor         
         complex.






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Table of Contents:

S) 1.0 Introduction
 Q) Foreword
 Q) 1.1   What does this FAQ cover and how do I use this FAQ?
 Q) 1.2   What are the different PS/2s and their features?
 Q) 1.3   What are the IBM brand MCA cards?
 Q) 1.4   Where do I get a Reference Disk for my PS/2?
 Q) 1.5   Which file is my Reference Disk?  They are all cryptically
          written.
 Q) 1.6   What does the Reference Disk do?
 Q) 1.7   I hear there is more diagnostics hidden on the Reference Disk,
          where are they?
 Q) 1.8   Why can't I copy my Reference Disk, I want to make a backup?
 Q) 1.9   I got the Reference Disk, but now it is saying I need an Option
          Diskette/or giving me a 165 error at POST...What are Option
          Diskettes and Where do I get them?
 Q) 1.10  I got the Option Diskette, but the Reference Diskette is tellin
g me
          no option files can be found, What am I doing wrong?
 Q) 1.11  I bought my PS/2 second hand who can I get technical support fr
om?
 Q) 1.12  IBM tech. support says they do not know my answer now what?
 Q) 1.13  Where can I find support on the internet?
 Q) 1.14  I got an IBM MCA card with no labeling, How do I tell what it i
s?


S) 2.0 Motherboards
 Q) 2.1   Where can I find a PS/2 motherboard?
 Q) 2.2   Instead of a 'stock' motherboard can I get a more advanced boar
d?
 Q) 2.3   Will a standard motherboard work in a PS/2?
 Q) 2.4   What motherboards come with a cache and are more up-to-date wit
h
          today's standards?
 Q) 2.5   Which motherboards allow/prohibit additional on-board memory?
 Q) 2.6   Can I use normal 72-pin SIMMs?  30-pin SIMMs?
 Q) 2.7   How do I tell the speed of the PS/2 SIMMs I have now on my
          motherboard?
 Q) 2.8   What speed SIMMs do I need?
 Q) 2.9   How good is MCA and what does it offer?
 Q) 2.10  Which is better, ISA/EISA/VLB/PCI/etc?
 Q) 2.11  Will an ISA card work in an MCA (PS/2) machine?
 Q) 2.12  How do I enter the CMOS configuration menu?
 Q) 2.13  What is bus mastering anyway? 

S) 3.0 IO controllers/interfaces
 Q) 3.1   How do IDE/MFM/RLL/ESDI/SCSI interfaces work?
 Q) 3.2   How can I tell if I have MFM/RLL/ESDI/IDE/SCSI?
 Q) 3.3   Why won't my two hard drives work together?
 Q) 3.4   How do I install a second controller?
 Q) 3.5   Which is better, SCSI or IDE or ESDI?
 Q) 3.6   Can MFM/RLL/ESDI/IDE and SCSI coexist?
 Q) 3.7   What's the difference between SCSI and SCSI-2? Are they
          compatible?
 Q) 3.8   Can I use a non-IBM ESDI in a PS/2?
 Q) 3.9   Do I need a reference disk for my SCSI drive?
 Q) 3.10  What is a 16550UART and do I need one? Does my PS/2 have it?
 Q) 3.11  Should I buy an internal or external modem?
 Q) 3.12  What kinds of sound cards are available?
 Q) 3.13  Can I run both a SoundBlaster and the Audiovation/A?
 Q) 3.14  Can I fake a keyboard so my computer will boot without it?

S) 4.0 Upgrading Processor/Coprocessor/Disks/Video/CDROM
 Q) 4.1   I don't have the money for a new computer or motherboard, what 
can
          I do?
 Q) 4.2   What are the Benchmarks for the Processor Upgrades?
 Q) 4.3   Which Math Co-Processor do I use?
 Q) 4.4   How can get rid of my slow stock Hard Drive and get a faster an
d
          larger capacity version?
 Q) 4.5   How can I add a second floppy drive and what type will work wit
h
          my PS/2?
 Q) 4.6   Is there an SVGA option for PS/2s?
 Q) 4.7   How can I add a CD-ROM to my PS/2?
 Q) 4.8   How can I build a Multimedia PS/2?
 Q) 4.9   How can I get sound effects in DOOM?
 Q) 4.10  How can I make my PS/2 Model 90/95 a Pentium 180/200MMX machine
?

S) 5.0 Adding System and Cache memory
 Q) 5.1  How do I add memory to my PS/2 off the motherboard?
 Q) 5.2  How do I add cache memory to my PS/2?
 Q) 5.3  Can I use the 4MB Modules in a machine that only calls for 1 or
         2MB modules?
 Q) 5.4  Who has memory the cheapest?
 Q) 5.5  Is there a way to identify a PS/2 RAM card or SIMM?
 Q) 5.6  What is the ECC memory options on some of the newer PS/2s?
 Q) 5.7  What cache size do I have/can upgrade to?

S) 6.0 Diagnostics
 Q) 6.1  What do the POST beeps mean?
 Q) 6.2  What do the POST codes mean?
 Q) 6.3  Why when my system boots fine sometimes the reference disk repor
ts
         errors?
 Q) 6.4  How can I *REALLY* find out if these errors are just bogus?
 Q) 6.5  OK I got a problem, who can I get to fix it?
 Q) 6.6  What are the wrap plugs the reference disk sometimes refers too?

S) 7.0 Misc
 Q) 7.1  What is the pin out for ...?
 Q) 7.2  What is the special SCSI connector by IBM?
 Q) 7.3  Where are benchmark programs located. What do they mean?

S) 8.0 Operating Systems (OS)
 Q) 8.1  Can I run UNIX on my PS/2? Which UNIX variety works?
 Q) 8.2  Why won't certain UNIXs run on my PS/2?
 Q) 8.3  What is better for the PS/2, MSDOS or PCDOS?
 Q) 8.4  Can I run Windows?  What would I need?
 Q) 8.5  Can I run Win95/98? What would I need?
 Q) 8.6  Can I run Linux now?

S) 9.0 References
 Q) 9.1  Who makes upgrades for a PS/2 computer (company phone #'s)
 Q) 9.2  Is there automated FAX help available?

Appendix A     MCA Brand Card and Part Listing
Appendix B     IBM Reference Diskette Listing
Appendix C     .ADF Modification for dual SB and Audiovation/A use
Appendix D     POST Code Listing
Appendix E     Pinouts
Appendix F     PS/2 Sound Cards


S) 1.0 Introduction

Foreword

Thanks to:

Louis Ohland  for all the parts he sent me and the FA
Q
submissions he still does.

Charles Lasitter , President of NC Direct Marketing,
919-286-0100.  He sent me a working PS/2 95 with monitor.  The merchandis
e was
extremely clean and in great condition, keep in mind this was a donation.
..I
am sure paying customers will recieve better equipment still (if that is
possible).  He truly was very generous and is knowledgible in PS/2's.  If

anyone needs anything I would contact him first.

There is no cost for this document.  Also anyone is free to reprint and
reformat it, including the conversion to HTML, as long as the content doe
s not
change.  I only ask that those who can send me something...sort of like
shareware.  I am now a Computer Science degree-seeing college student and
 to
maintain this document and answer the emails I recieve daily is a sacrifi
ce. 
I try to get in a two hour workout every other day and run 5 miles every 
other
day, as well as try to keep girlfriends happy, to work, attend class and 
study
somewhere in there also, oh and eat and sleep.

Things I need right now are:
o Pentium 200MMX chip for my aging main system, even a 166MMX or somethin
g  
  comparable and faster than my P133. It needs to be 3.3 volts.  My
motherboard supports
  50,60,66MHz speeds and 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3 multiplers.

o Drive rails for the PS/2 95.  I need 3 sets.

o SCSI CD-ROM Drive, any speed.

o 256k Cache module for the Model 95 for my Type 1 processor card.

o Larger than 4MB SIMMS for my Model 95.  I currently have 4MBx8 for 32MB

total, I would like
  8MBx8 for 64MB.  This will be a LINUX setup for my education.

o Of course cash donations are always accepted.

My address will be 3702 Old Lighthouse Circle, Wellington, Florida  33414.


Q) 1.1  What does this FAQ cover and how do I use this FAQ?

This FAQ is for the PS/2's and most other MCA machines.  There may be som
e
information that is inaccurate for non-IBM machines and this information
should be gathered from the appropriate manufacturer.  Also this is meant
 as a
supplement to the comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware FAQ, although one could possib
ly
use only this document for probably 90%+ of PS/2 issues.  The c.s.i.p.h F
AQ is
full of information (over 300k I believe) that any PC-compatible owner ca
n use
almost everyday.  The PS2 FAQ (almost 300k by itself), therefore, tries t
o
avoid repeating what can be obtained via this FAQ or other FAQ documents 
which
are easily available. 

To use this FAQ easily, import it into any standard word processor and us
e a
global text search to find what you want.  For instance, on WordPerfect h
it F2
and enter the text you want to find and hit enter.  The section numbers f
rom
the table of contents make good search headings.  There are web-based ver
sions
(www.computercraft.com) of this document and although nicer for most, the
 idea
behind this FAQ is to give those with minimum ability access to the file.

If there are deficiencies, errors, and/or missing information you would l
ike
to see email me at: alkemyst@shadow.net


Q) 1.2  What are the different PS/2s and their features?
     Note: a very good reference can be found at ftp://ftp.simtel.com,
     in /.3/simtelnet/msdos/info/ps2-ref.zip (#25,30,50,55,60,70,73,80).
     (Thanks: dharding@saucer.cc.umr.edu)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
------------------
               |    ####-xxx   |           | Factory |KB L2 | Bus  | # of
  |
Drive |Intro| Min.
Model          |     Model     | Processor | set MHz |Cache | Type | Slot
s |
Bays  |Date | Price
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
------------------
Model 25       |8525-001/G01/+ | 8086      |  8 0W   |   0  | ISA8 |   2 
  |  
2   |08/87|$ 2095
Model 25-286   |8525-G06/H06   | 80286     |  10 1W  |   0  | ISA16|   2 
  |  
2   |10/90|$ 2215
Model 25LS     |8525           | 80286     |  10     |   0  | ISA  |     
  |  
    |     |
Model 30       |8530-001/2/21  | 8086      |  8 0W   |   0  | ISA8 |   3 
  |  
2   |04/87|$ 2595
Model 30-286   |8530-E01/E21   | 80286     |  10 1W  |   0  | ISA16|   3 
  |  
2   |09/88|$ 2965
Model 35SX     |8535-040/43/24X| 80386SX   |  20 0-2W|   0  | ISA16|   3 
  |  
2   |06/91|
Model 35SLC    |8535-050/55    | 80386SLC  |  20 0W  |   0  | ISA16|   3 
  |  
2   |04/92|
Model 35LS     |8535-14X/24X   | 386SX     |  20     |   0  | ISA  |     
  |  
    |01/91|
Model 40SX     |8540-040/43/45 | 80386SX   |  20 0-2W|   0  | ISA16|   5 
  |  
4   |06/91|
Model 40SLC    |8540-050/55    | 386SLC    |  20 0W  |   0  | ISA16|   5 
  |  
4   |04/92|
Model 50       |8550-021       | 80286     |  10 1W  |   0  | MCA16|   4 
  |  
3   |04/87|
Model 50Z      |8550-031/61    | 80286     |  10 0W  |   0  | MCA16|   4 
  |  
3   |08/88|
Model 53SLC2   |9553-0BB       | 80486SLC2 |  25/50  |      | MCA  |     
  |  
    |     |
Model 53LS     |9553-1BX/2BX   | 80486SLC2 |  25/50  |      | MCA  |     
  |  
    |     |
Model 55SX     |8555-031/61/L?#| 80386SX   |  16 0-2W|   0  | MCA16|   3 
  |  
2   |05/89|$ 5545
Model 55LS     |8555           | 80386SX   |  16 0-2W|   0  | MCA16|   3 
  |  
2   |10/90|
Model 56SX/LS  |8556-043/5/9/+ | 80386SX   |  20     |   0  | MCA16|   3 
  |  
2   |10/91|$ 3560
Model 56SLC    |8556-055/9/+   | 80386SLC  |  20     |   0  | MCA16|   3 
  |  
2   |02/92|$ 3615
Model 56SLC2   |9556-DB6/A     | 80486SLC2 |  25/50  |   0  | MCA16|   3 
  |  
2   |10/92|$ 2727
Model 57SX     |8557-045/9     | 80386SX   |  20     |   0  | MCA16|   5 
  |  
4   |06/91|$ 4165
Model 57SLC    |8557-055/9/05F | 80386SLC  |  20     |   0  | MCA16|   5 
  |  
4   |02/92|$ 4850
Model 57SLC2   |9557-DB6/A     | 80486SLC2 |  25/50  |      | MCA16|   5 
  |  
4   |     |
Model 57SLC3   |9557-          | 80486SLC3 |         |      | MCA16|   5 
  |  
4   |     |
Model 57 Ult.  |9557-1BA/2BA   | 80486SLC2 |  25/50  |      | MCA  |     
  |  
    |     |
Model 60       |8560-041/71    | 80286     |  10 1W  |   0  | MCA16|   8 
  |  
4   |04/87|$ 8245
Model 65SX     |8565-061/121   | 80386SX   |  16     |   0  | MCA16|   8 
  |  
4   |06/90|$ 7495
Model 70-Exx   |8570-E61       | 80386DX   |  16     |   0  | MCA32|   3 
  |  
3   |06/88|$ 8845
Model 70-xxx   |8570-061/121   | 80386DX   |  20     |   0  | MCA32|   3 
  |  
3   |06/88|$11795
Model 70-Axx   |8570-A21/61    | 80386DX   |  25     |  64  | MCA32|   3 
  |  
3   |     |$
Model 70-Bxx   |8570-B21/61    | 80486DX   |  25     |   0  | MCA32|   3 
  |  
3   |01/90|$17520
Model 70       |modification   | 80486DX2  | 16|20/33|   0  | MCA32|   3 
  |  
3   |10/93|
Model P70-386  |8570           | 80386DX   |  20     |      | MCA  |     
  |  
    |     |
Model P75-486  |8570           | 80486DX   |  33     |      | MCA  |     
  |  
    |     |
Model 76       |9576-DU6/DUA   | 80486SX   |  33     |   0  | MCA32|   3 
  |  
3   |10/92|$ 3434
Model 76       |9576-OPTION    | 80486DX2  |  33/66  |   0  | MCA32|   3 
  |  
3   |10/92|
Model 77 0Ux   |9577-0UF/UA    | 80486SX   |  33     |   0  | MCA32|   5 
  |  
4   |10/92|$ 4153
Model 77 0Nx   |9577-0NA/0NF   | 80486DX2  |  33/66  |   0  | MCA32|   5 
  |  
4   |10/92|$ 4920
Model 77 Ult.  |9577-1UA/1NA   | 80486DX2  |  33/66  |   0  | MCA32|   5 
  |  
4   |10/92|$
Model 80-0xx   |8580-041/071   | 80386DX   |  16     |   0  | MCA32|   8 
  | 
5/6  |04/87|$10895
Model 80-xxx   |8580-111/21/321| 80386DX   |  20     |   0  | MCA32|   8 
  | 
5/6  |04/87|
Model 80-Axx   |8580-A16/21/31 | 80386DX   |  25     |  64  | MCA32|   8 
  | 
5/6  |06/90|
Model 80       |modification   | 80486DX   |  25     |      | MCA32|   8 
  | 
5/6  |     |
Model 80       |modification   | 80486DX2  | 16|20/33|      | MCA32|   8 
  | 
5/6  |10/93|
Model 85-0Xx   |9585-0X6/A/G/T | 80486SX   |  33     |   0  | MCA32|   8 
  |  
7   |10/92|$ 5415
Model 85-0Kx   |9585-0KG/T     | 80486DX   |  33     |  128 | MCA32|   8 
  |  
7   |10/92|
Model 85-xNx   |9585-0NT/G/NNT | 80486DX2  |  33/66  |  256 | MCA32|   8 
  |  
7   |10/92|
Model 90 XP 486|8590-0G5/H5/+  | 80486SX   |  20/25  |   0  | MCA32|   4 
  |  
4   |10/90|$10555
Model 90 XP 486|8590-OPTION    | 80486DX   |  33     |   0  | MCA32|   4 
  |  
4   |10/90|
Model 90 XP 486|9590-DLA/LG/+  | 80486DX2  |  25/50  |   0  | MCA32|   4 
  |  
4   |03/93|$ 5300
Model 95 XP 486|8595-0G9/F     | 80486SX   |  20     |256opt| MCA32|   8 
  |  
7   |10/90|$12640
Model 95 XP 486|8595-0H9/F     | 80486SX   |  25     |256opt| MCA32|   8 
  |  
7   |10/90|
Model 95 XP 486|8595-0J9/D/F   | 80486DX   |  20     |256opt| MCA32|   8 
  |  
7   |10/90|
Model 95 XP 486|8595-0KD/F     | 80486DX   |  33     |256opt| MCA32|   8 
  |  
7   |10/90|
Model 95 XP 486|8595-0LF       | 80486DX   |  50     |256opt| MCA32|   8 
  |  
7   |10/90|
Model 95 XP 486|8595-0MG/T     | 80486DX   |  50     |  256 | MCA32|   8 
  |  
7   |10/90|
Model 95 XP 486|9595-0LF/G     | 80486DX2  |  25/50  |   0  | MCA32|   8 
  |  
7   |10/92|$ 8865
Model 95 XP 486|9595-0MF/G/T   | 80486DX   |  50     |  256 | MCA32|   8 
  |  
7   |06/91|
Model 95 Server|9595-1NG/T/V   | 80486DX2  |  33/66  |256opt| MCA32|   8 
  |  
7   |08/92|
Model 95 Server|9595-0PT/V/0PTF| Pentium   |  60     | 256  | MCA32|   8 
  |  
7   |08/93|
Model 95 Server|9595-0QG/V/+   | Pentium   |  66     | 256  | MCA32|   8 
  |  
7   |09/93|
Model 95 Array |9595-3NG/T     | 80486DX2  |  33/66  |256opt| MCA32|   8 
  |  
9   |08/92|
Model 95 Array |9595-3PG/T     | Pentium   |  60     | 256  | MCA32|   8 
  |  
9   |08/93|
Model 95 Array |9595-3QG/T     | Pentium   |  66     | 256  | MCA32|   8 
  |  
9   |09/93|

The -xxx suffix can usually be broken down to -ABC where,

A3Dnumber of hard drives usually, if A, B, or E rules below don't apply
B3Dprocessor:  A3D386DX25 B3D486SLC2/50 G3D486SX20 H3D486SX25   J3D
486DX25
              K3D486DX33 L3D486DX2/50  M3D486DX50 N3D486DX2/66 P3D58
6/60
              Q3D586/66  U/X3D486SX/33 Y3D586/90  03D<286-10   23D28
6-10
              43D386DX20 53D386SLC20    
C3Dhard drive type:  63D104 A3D208/212 B3D250 F3D400 G3D540 T3D1GB
 V3D2GB X3Dnone      
     
Fourth letter is county/language identifier, F3DCanadian French

All 85xx models are XGA or VGA, 95xx models are XGA-2 or SVGA.

LS models are usually identical to the SX counterparts but are diskless.

Model 90/95 special info follows below:
(Thanks Louis Ohland )

Stumbled across a reference document with a good overall description of t
he
four different complex types and their capabilities. I will get the link 
so
people can find the *.pdf also..

Some errata seemed to have snuck in- the DMA speed goes from 20 to 25MHz 
then
back again to 20MHz..

Original compiled by Roger Dodson, IBM. May 1996

The IBM Model 90, and Model 95, and PC Server 500 are unique in providing
 a
Processor Complex (adapter) that integrates the (1) processor, (2) memory

cache controller and L2 cache, (3) memory controller, (4) DMA controller,
 and
(5) I/O bus controller. This provides the capability to upgrade to new
technology by only replacing the Processor Complex.
Upgrading a processor along with the memory and I/O controller have a
significant effect on performance via a balanced, tuned system. Vendors t
hat
do NOT change memory and I/O controllers run the risk of having an unbala
nced
system that is not as efficient. There are four types of Processor Comple
xes
for these systems: Base or Type 1, 2, 3, and 4.

o   Processor Complexes are interchangeable among Model 90's, Model 95's,
 and
the PC Server 500.

* Any existing Model 90, Model 95, or PC Server 500 can be upgraded to a 
new
Processor Complex. For example, Base 1 to Base 2 or Base 3 or Base 4; Bas
e 2
to Base 4, etc. If "Upgrade" is listed above, then an upgrade option is
available.
All Processor Complexes withdrawn as of June 1996


Base 1          "G"           486SX 20 MHz      (announced Oct 1990)
Type 1          "J"           486DX 25 MHz      (announced Oct 1990)  64F
0201
                "K"           486DX 33 MHz      (announced Oct 1990)
                Upgrade       486DX 50 MHz      (announced June 1991)
                Upgrade       486DX2 66/33      (announced Aug 1992)  64F
0198
* Level 2 memory cache socket for optional 256K write-through memory cach
e
  (256 KB write-thru standard with 486DX 50 MHz).
* No math coprocessor socket ("J", "K", and "Upgrade" models already have
 a
  math coprocessor as part of 486DX).
* 24 bit DMA; 10-12 MHz.
* Dual path memory design (Dual Bus Interleave). Allows both the processo
r
  and busmasters to access memory concurrently though two paths.
* 20 MB per second data transfer support (for MCA bus).

Base 2          "H" / Upgrade 486SX 25 MHz      (announced Oct 1991)  92F
0079
Type 2          "L" / Upgrade 486DX2 50/25      (announced April 1992)92F
0161
* No Level 2 cache socket on complex.
* Math coprocessor socket on "H" model only to add 80487 math coprocessor

  or to add a 486DX2 50/25 MHz upgrade chip which has an integrated math
  coprocessor.
* High speed 25 MHz DMA so that it is now synchronous with the 486; 24 bi
t    

  DMA.
* Faster bus arbitration (than Base 1) for busmasters to increase
  performance.
* Memory controller to support both interleaved (higher performance -pair
s
  of SIMMs) and non-interleaved memory (allows single SIMMs).
* 20 MB per second data transfer support (for MCA bus).

Base 3           "M"/ Upgrade 486DX 50 MHz        (announced April 1992)
57F1579
Type 3
* 40 MB per second streaming data transfer support. This is an advanced
  Micro Channel I/O controller that provides faster data transfer rates t
o
  increase performance.
* Error Checking and Correcting (ECC) memory controller which will
  automatically correct any single bit errors on the fly (98% of memory
  errors are single bit); all 2 bit errors are found which halt system;
  some 3 and 4 bit errors are found which halt system; single bit errors
  are logged with optional software (NetFinity?) and multiple bit errors
  are logged in NVRAM.
* 256KB Level 2 memory cache (write-through) is standard.
* High speed 20 MHz DMA; 32 bit DMA so it can use DMA to directly address

  all memory; DMA supports Subsystem Control Block.
* Faster bus arbitration (than Base 1) for busmaster performance.
* Enhanced dual path memory design (Dual Bus Interleave).
  Although Base 1 allows both the processor and busmasters to access memo
ry
  concurrently through two paths, the Base 3 and 4 has buffers at both
  paths to provide better performance. Also the buffer on the adapter sid
e
  (I/O buffer) uses packet data transfers for writes. This means 16 bytes

  are collected and this packet is written in one cycle to memory as
  opposed to writing for every 4 bytes received (as with unbuffered
  systems).
* Subsystem Control Block enabled (see definition).
* Vital Product Data support. Allows software (LAN Network Manager, LAN
  Mgmt Utilities/2) to obtain a unique serial number (identifier) on the
  processor complex which is in ROM.
* Synchronous Channel Check support (see definition).
* Data bus parity support (see definition).
* A logging facility is provided (for ECC or system errors).

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners (listed on
Trademark sheet) No warranties are expressed or implied in this summary

Base 4          "N" / Upgrade 486DX2 66/33 MHz     (announced Sept 1993)
61G2343 $772.00!
Type 4          "P" / Upgrade Pentium 60 MHz       (announced Aug 1993) 
52G9362
                "Q" / Upgrade Pentium 66 MHz       (announced Sept 1993)
92F0120
                "Y" / Upgrade Pentium 90/60 MHz    (announced Oct 1994) 
06H3739 / 19H1027
* SynchroStream(TM)controller which uses IBM's most advanced technology
  packaging to integrate 5 major chips (memory, I/O, DMA controllers, FIF
O
  buffers, ECC logic) into one chip. This technology allows the high-spee
d
  interconnects and large streaming pipes that form the SynchroStream
  engine to provide state-of-the-art performance. The SynchroSteam
  controller synchronizes data traveling between major subsystems and
  allows it to stream in parallel, at full bandwidth, to each subsystem
  concurrently.
* 40 MB per second streaming data transfer support.
* Error Checking and Correcting (ECC) memory controller which will
  automatically correct any single bit errors on the fly (98% of memory
  errors are single bit); all 2 bit errors are found which halt system;
  some 3 and 4 bit errors are found which halt system; single bit errors
  are logged with optional software (NetFinity?) and multiple bit errors
  are logged in NVRAM.
* 256 MB memory addressability (Base 1, 2, and 3 is 64 MB memory
  addressability).
* 256 KB Level 2 memory cache (write-back) is standard on Pentium models.

  256 KB Level 2 memory cache (write-back) is standard on 486DX2 models.
* High speed 20 MHz DMA; 32 bit DMA so it can use DMA to directly address

  all memory; DMA supports Subsystem Control Block.
* Faster bus arbitration (than Base 1) for busmaster performance.
  Enhanced dual path memory design (Dual Bus Interleave).
* Although Base 1 allows both the processor and busmasters to access memo
ry
  concurrently through two paths, the Base 3 and 4 has buffers at both
  paths to provide better performance. Also the buffer on the adapter sid
e
  (I/O buffer) uses packet data transfers for writes. This means 16 Bytes

  are collected and this packet is written in one cycle to memory as
  opposed to writing for every 4 bytes received (as with unbuffered
  systems).
* Subsystem Control Block enabled (see definition)
* Enhanced Vital Product Data support. Allows software (LAN Network
  Manager, LAN Mgmt Utilities/2) to obtain a unique serial number
  (identifier) on the processor complex which is in ROM (like Base 3). Al
so
  provides unique ID (model/submodel), type/model/ serial number,
  manufacturing ID, planar FRU number, and planar part number.
* Synchronous Channel Check support (see definition).
* Data bus parity support (definition below).
* A logging facility is provided (for ECC or system errors).

DEFINITIONS
Subsystem Control Block provides for the enhanced transfer of command, da
ta,
and status information between busmasters (and between busmasters and the

system processor) to give increased performance. Capabilities such as com
mand
chaining, data chaining, and block data moves frees the processor from wa
iting
for command completion before issuing the next command and frees the proc
essor
for other tasks while a busmaster operates in parallel. Adapters and devi
ce
drivers must support this feature (many do today).

Synchronous Channel Check support provides for the signaling of errors
synchronously with the transfer in progress. Adapters and device drivers 
must
be designed to support this feature (none do today).

Data bus parity support provides for the verification of correct data as 
it is
transferred between the processor and memory and over the Micro Channel. 
All
data moved between individual components on the Processor Complex use thi
s
feature (processor, memory controller DMA, Micro Channel controller). IBM
's
Token-Ring LANStreamer MC 32, Auto LANStreamer MC 32, Dual LANStreamer MC
 32,
EtherStreamer MC 32, Dual EtherStreamer MC 32, SCSI-2 Fast/Wide Adapter/A
,
SCSI-2 RAID Controller, SCSI-2 RAID Adapter/A, and TURBOWAYS 100 ATM Adap
ter
support this feature.

IBM 32 bit MCA busmasters that support 40 MB/sec streaming:
+Token-Ring LANStreamer MC 32, Auto LANStreamer MC 32, Dual LANStreamer M
C 32
+EtherStreamer MC 32, Dual EtherStreamer MC 32
+SCSI-2 Fast/Wide Adapter/A
+SCSI-2 RAID Controller (in 95 A), SCSI-2 F/W Strm RAID Adapter/A
+All FDDI Micro Channel adapters
+3515 Adapter/A (actually supports 80 MB/sec if bus supports it)
+3514 Array Adapter (for external 3514 RAID 5 Array)
+ARTIC960 Co-processor Adapter (actually supports 80 MB/sec)
+TURBOWAYS 100 ATM Adapter
+Ethernet Quad PeerMaster Server Adapters (80 MB/sec)


Q) 1.3  What are the IBM brand MCA cards?

These are usually denoted with a /A suffix.  Here is a list of what is
current.

See Appendix A for full list.


Q) 1.4  Where do I get a Reference Disk for my PS/2?
[Rewrite by Aron Eisenpress ]

Reference Disks can be downloaded from two IBM sources, via ftp to
ftp.pc.ibm.com or by dialing the IBM PC Co. BBS at 1-919-517-0001.  The s
ame
reference disk files are available from both sources, but the BBS also ha
s
many other files, such as product announcements, reference and configurat
ion
information, some shareware and employee written programs, and many OS/2
related files.

Via ftp, follow these steps:
o Ftp to ftp.pc.ibm.com and log in as "anonymous" with your e-mail addres
s
  as the password.
o Select the "pub" directory, type:  cd pub [enter]
o Select the "pccbbs" directory, type: cd pccbbs [enter]
o If you don't know which file you need, look in allfiles.txt in the pub 
  
  directory; which includes short descriptions (also in this FAQ).
o The Reference Disk files are in the refdisks directory, type cd refdisk
s.
o Set transfer mode to binary, type bin [enter]
o Get the file you need, type get RFxxxxxxx.DSK (or whatever filename)
o If the Filename ends in .DSK you will need LDF.COM and if it ends in .T
G0
  you will need TGSFX.COM.
o Get back to the pub directory, type: cd .. [enter], cd .. [enter]
o Go to the UTILS directory, type cd UTILS [enter]
o Type: bin press return and then type: get LDF.COM or get TGSFX.COM [ent
er]

Via the BBS, follow these steps:
o Log on to the IBM PC Co. BBS at 1-919-517-0001. Follow instructions unt
il
  you get to the main menu.  Type REF DISKS, read the agreement and answe
r
  it.   Now you have access to directories 27 (ref disks) and 32 assuming
 you
  agreed.
o Type D to download then enter the filename.  Also LDF.COM or TGSFX.COM 
as
  outlined in the ftp directions.

After the files are obtained:

For .DSK files:
o Run LDF.COM so that the files LOADDSKF.EXE and PRODAID.TXT are
  extracted.  LOADDSKF.EXE is what you need, PRODAID.TXT is the IBM
  agreement.
o Insert a blank disk and type LOADDSKF filename.DSK A: (or B:) [/F to fo
rmat
  and /C to convert a 720KB image to a 1.44MB disk.]
o Ensure the proper disk is inserted and answer: "Y".
o Your reference disk is ready to go.

For .TG0 files:
o Run TGSFX.COM so that the files TELEGET.EXE and TGCONFIG.EXE are
  extracted.
o Run TGCONFIG and follow the prompts.

For more information on this procedure:
o On ftp, cd to UTILS and get DSK.HLP.
o On BBS, type HELP and read the instructions.

One other common source from dealers or IBM is the IBM "Technical Connect
ion
Personal Systems" CDROM.  Some offices also have one (a good sign is if t
here
are a lot of PS/2s in your office).  It also includes some files unavaila
ble
from the on-line sources.

Also check http://www3.ncr.com/support/pc/pcdesc/library/adfs.shtml

Also QBMCA on http://members.aol.com/mcapage0/mcaindex.htm can tell you w
hat
ADF you need.


Q) 1.5  Which file is my Reference Disk?  They are all cryptically writte
n.

See Appendix B.


Q) 1.6  What does the Reference Disk do?

The Reference Disk is your access to the internals of the PS/2, much like
accessing CMOS on other computers.  From the Reference Disk you can add
options, change the time and date, set up a configuration, check SCSI dev
ice,
change the settings of the options you added and test your system for
problems.  Once you have the Reference Disk running go to the Main Menu a
nd
Backup the Reference Disk and take one copy BEFORE you add options to it 
and
put it in a safe place.


Q) 1.7  I hear there is more diagnostics hidden on the Reference Disk,
        where are they?

This little known command allows one to test the system one test at a tim
e.
This is useful if the system hangs or gets an error early in the full-tes
t. To
access the Advanced Diagnostics press -A from the Reference Disk Ma
in
Menu and it will allow you to select which test to perform after verifyin
g the
present configuration.  Also these are more through tests and also offer 
hard
drive formatting options and some wrap plug port tests (see Q6.6 for deta
ils).


Q) 1.8  Why can't I copy my Reference Disk, I want to make a backup?

You can by selecting the option to backup the Reference Disk from the
Reference Disk Main Menu.  The files are written in a special way to the 
disk
and only the Reference Disk and LOADDSKF can create new/backup Reference 
Disks
unless a total disk copy program is used to copy the hidden files, DISKCO
PY
works.


Q) 1.9  I got the Reference Disk, but now it is saying I need an Option
        Diskette/or giving me a 165 error at POST...What are Option Diske
ttes
        and Where do I get them?

Option Diskettes are the .ADF files that allow the PS/2 to communicate
properly with installed options and the 165 error code is also saying tha
t the
proper .ADF file was not used to configure the system.  The BBS and
ftp.pc.ibm.com both have all the IBM option diskettes and some common thi
rd
party ones.  A file index of all the files on the ftp site can be obtaine
d by
getting the FILES.TXT file which has 100k of disk name and descriptions o
f
every disk IBM included with option, computers, and devices as well as so
me
third party software.  When you get the right one go to Copy an Option
Diskette in the Reference Disk Main Menu and it should do the work for yo
u.
Now just configure the system and you should be set.


Q) 1.10  I got the Option Diskette, but the Reference Diskette is telling
 me
         no option files can be found, What am I doing wrong?

Nothing usually.  Sometimes the Reference Disk can not copy the proper fi
les,
so look in the manual for the device and see what file(s) must be copied
manually over to the Reference Disk.  As always use a backup copy of the 
Ref
Disk.


Q) 1.11  I bought my PS/2 second hand who can I get technical support fro
m?

IBM.  The 800-772-2227 (1-800-PS2-2227) is open 24 hours a day for warran
tied
systems; however; there is no PS/2 models still under warranty so you wil
l
have to use the 1-900-555-2582 number.  They bill at $1.99 per minute the
 last
time I called (10/27/98).  Usually the staff is dead accurate and only ra
rely
is misinformation handed out.  However, the chances of misinformation is
greatly increased when calling during non-standard EST business hours as 
I
have experienced at 3am calls from the East Coast.

It seems lately I have been getting emails for people who have called the
 900
number, but could not get there questions answered.  This is not to fault
 IBM,
it simply is not practical to train your people on every machine released
, but
do I get to collect the 900 charges you the questions I answer? :).


Q) 1.12  IBM tech. support says they do not know my answer now what?

Well if they didn't connect you to the premium support section ask to be
connected there.  The Premium (I think that is what they call it) support
techs are usually a lot more adept at in-depth tech help, but sometimes t
he
normal tech does not connect you to them when you have a more advanced
problem so ask for them if you feel the person helping you is lost (usual
ly
symbolized by a lot of being put on hold 'while I find out the answer' ty
pe
responses).  Also it is a good idea to always call back later to double
check on things that you are not totally comfortable with the given answe
r.
Since these calls are no longer free it may not be practical to call back
. 
Also I am not sure the still have normal and Premium support since the ph
one
support has changed to the 900 number system, but of course, you can alwa
ys
email me.


Q) 1.13  Where can I find support on the internet?

9595
     http://www.inwave.com/~ohlandl/

Adapter Description Files (ADFs)
     http://www3.ncr.com/support/pc/pcdesc/library/adfs.shtml

THE COMPUTERCRAFT PS2 Resource Center
     http://www.computercraft.com/docs/ps2sect.html

IBM Canada Ltd - Vintage PCs
     http://www.can.ibm.com/helpware/vintage.html

IBM PCs Tech Library
     http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/cdt/hmm.html

IBM Link (last time I was there I could not find the PS/2 Info)
     http://www.ibmlink.ibm.com/ 

MICROCHANNEL ENTHUSIASTS PAGE / INDEX
     http://members.aol.com/mcapage0/mcaindex.htm

NeoInteractive MotherBoard Upgrades
     http://www.neointeractive.com/

PS/2 Page | Main
     http://members.tripod.com/~ps2page/

PSINFO
     http://www.co.umist.ac.uk/~ch/psinfo/psinfo.1.toc.html


Q) 1.14  I got an IBM MCA card with no labeling, How do I tell what it is
?

This is a big problem with IBM cards.  Most card manufacturers get label 
crazy
silk-screening their name and the card's name all over the card's
breadboard,yet IBM being the marketing giant doesn't need the extra produ
ction
step and goes with bare breadboards.

The first thing to do is to ground yourself (by touching the power supply
 of a
turned OFF computer is a good way) and try to set the card on an anti-sta
tic
bag or surface and try not to move around to much because one static char
ge to
a key area and it won't matter what the card is for.  Then try and find o
ut
what IBM part numbers (IBMPN) and FRU (Field Replacement Unit)(IBMFRU) ar
e
listed on the front and back of the card.  Contrary to popular belief you

cannot tell what the card does by these numbers as a class, i.e. not all
87Xxxxx cards are disk controllers and made in 1987.  With all the number
s
written down place the card in a anti-static bag and store it carefully. 
 Call
IBM at 1-800-772-2227 (or 900-555-2582 at $1.99/min) and ask them first. 

Chances are if the card is over two years old it is going to be a gamble 
at
best.  If they could not help, it is time to post your problem to
comp.sys.ibm.ps2.hardware for answers.  Try to render an ASCII image of t
he
card to give people an idea of what it is and this might also help someon
e
identify it on the spot.

Also the FCC# could be used as it almost never changes and is unique for 
each
card.  The FCC website is www.fcc.gov/oet/fccid.  There is also SBS Direc
t's
FCC ID Look-up at www.sbsdirect.com/fccenter.html.  Lately these have pro
ven
excellent resorts though sometimes the descriptions given are vague you a
t
least will know the manufacturer and purpose of the card.

Another method though I believe you need to have it installed and configu
red
is a program on PC-DOS 6.3 which takes the 'electronic name' (POSID, a fo
ur
digit
number) of the MCA card and gives the description.

And of course, QBMCA on http://members.aol.com/mcapage0/mcaindex.htm.

Another utility that reports on the POSID from MS-DOS is Snooper on
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jvias/snoop344.zip.


S) 2.0 Motherboards

Q) 2.1  Where can I find a PS/2 motherboard?

PS/2 last a long time, but sometimes due to mother nature, the user or ju
st
age the motherboards (planar boards in IBM-speak) fail.  These can be obt
ained
in many places both new and used.  Beware that the price of a new motherb
oard
is steep from IBM. Some third-party dealers have them much cheaper than i
n the
past.  DakTech carries them still in either new or as good as new form wi
th a
warranty, the Model 80-Axx series 25MHz motherboard with cache was only $
99
(10/27/98), there number is 800-325-3238.  Used motherboards could be obt
ained
from Page Computers 800-886-0055 for a reasonable price ($139.00 for a Mo
del
80-Axx w/ 90 day warranty).  I have bought two boards from them and have 
had
no problems with either.  The people working there are normally ex-IBM PS
/2
people who know a lot more than your average computer salvage types.  Tru
e
Blue Parts 508-833-2225 (trueblueparts@mindspring.com) formally Micro Mar
t has
the Model 80-Axx board for only $60.  Your best bet in general is to pick
 up a
Computer Shopper and scan the pages for PS/2 stuff and put the numbers in
 a
easy to find database (and also send new numbers found to me for FAQ
additions) so that whenever a problem arises you can look up the company 
that
sells what you need. 


Q) 2.2  Instead of a 'stock' motherboard can I get a more advanced board?

Reply Technologies sold new PS/2-type motherboards much cheaper than the 
IBM
versions.  These were high priced compared to normal PC-Clone motherboard
s,
but if you have cash in memory and PS/2 proprietary items it is cheaper t
han
replacing everything with new ISA/VLB/PCI based equipment. Also they offe
red
Pentium processors, the ability to use standard SIMMs, and even VLB.  The
se
are still available used and new from certain vendors, www.neointeractive
.com
is one such dealer. The types of motherboards available from IBM are the
486DX2/66 and 486BL2/66, and almost every 486 type from Reply Technologie
s. 
The IBM motherboards are only available from the Boulder Surplus Parts
division and are limited as they are no longer being made.  Also they wer
e
made only for the 60, 65SX, 70 and 80. 

There is a model 50/50Z and 55SX/LS planar board upgrade to 486SLC2/50
available currently from IBM.  Note: these were discontinued in Sept 94 s
o
they are limited, if IBM Direct doesn't have them call Boulder.

There are two versions of Reply's motherboards: the TurboBoard (for model
s 30,
50/50Z, 55SX, and 70) and the PowerBoard (for models     25/25-286, 30-28
6,
50/50Z, 55SX, 56 and 57, and 70).  Using the model 70 as the example, the

TurboBoard ($25.00) offers a 486SLC2 25/50 CPU, 387SX FPU socket, 16MB ma
x
using 3 70ns parity SIMMs, on board 1MB DRAM video, and 3 16 bit slots (o
ne
with video extension).  The PowerBoard ($95 with 486DX2/66) offers 486DX2
/66,
486DX4/100, or 586/100 with Intel Overdrive socket, 64MB max using 3 70ns

parity SIMMs, on-board 1MB (2MB+$25) 64 bit local bus video, two 32 bit a
nd
one 16 bit (with video extension) slots.  This is not a bad way to go. 
Processor upgrades are $25 for 486DX4/100 and $50 for 586/100.

The latest prices are as of 10/27/98 from Neointeractive
(www.neointeractive.com).


Q) 2.3  Will a standard motherboard work in a PS/2?

No...unless you are VERY lucky(and probably the only one in the world).  
Most
times the screw holes will not even come close, then the slots will be wa
y
off.  Even if you got it fastened into your case you would need a new pow
er
supply (which you would have to screw in some how) and then new floppy dr
ives
etc.  You are better off selling the system and starting from scratch.


Q) 2.4  What motherboards come with a cache and are more up-to-date with
        today's standards?

Well I am not going to be able to complete this section but the model 70 
and
80s with a 25MHz processor (8570/8580-Axx) come with a 64k L2 cache which
 is
very helpful.  Benchmarks on a 20MHz model 80 and 25MHz model 80 with the
cache showed Dhrystones at 4k for the 20MHz and at 7.7k for the 25MHz whi
ch is
a bigger difference than the 5MHz should give by itself.  As a matter of 
fact
a Cyrix DRx2-40 processor in a 20MHz machine gave only 8k Dhrystones, a c
ache
of some sort should always be obtained when purchasing a motherboard.


Q) 2.5  Which motherboards allow/prohibit additional on-board memory?

The following list shows what memory can be added.  The difference of the
 Max
System and Max Mother is what must be installed in the form of an expansi
on
card.

                         Factory    Max    Max  
Model                   Installed  Mother System
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
16 BIT
35/40-all                   2       16      16        
50-021                      1        2      16
50Z-031                     1        8      16
50Z-061                     2        8      16
53
55LS-LE0                    4        8      16
55LS-LT0                    4        8      16
55SX-031                    4        8      16
55SX-041                    4        8      16
55SX-061                    4        8      16 
55SX-081                    4        8      16
56
57SX-045                    4       16      16
57SX-049                    4       16      16
60-041                      1        1      16
60-071                      1        1      16
65SX-061                    2        8      16
65SX-121                    2        8      16
65SX-321                    2        8      16
32 BIT      
70-061                      2        6      16
70-081                      4        6      16
70-121                      2        6      16
70-161                      4        6      16
70-A16                      4        8      16
70-A21                      2        6      16
70-A61                      2        8      16
70-A81                      4        8      16
70-E61                      2        8      16
70 486-B21                  2        8      16
70 486-B61                  2        8      16
76      
77
80-041                      1        2      16        
80-071                      2        2      16
80-081                      4        4      16
80-111                      2        4      16
80-121                      2        4      16
80-161                      4        4      16
80-311                      2        4      16
80-321                      2        4      16
80-A16                      4        8      16
80-A21                      4        8      16
80-A31                      4        8      16
90 XP 486-0J5               8       64      64
90 XP 486-0J9               8       64      64
90 XP 486-0KD               8       64      64
90 XP 486-0J5               8       64      64
90 XP 486SX-0G5             4       64      64
90 XP 486SX-0G9             4       64      64
90 XP 486SX-0H5             8       64      64
90 XP 486SX-0H9             8       64      64
90 XP 486SX-0K9             8       64      64
90 XP 486SX-0KF             8       64      64
95 XP 486-0G9               4       64      64
95 XP 486-0GF               4       64      64
95 XP 486-0J9               8       64      64
95 XP 486-0JD               8       64      64
95 XP 486-0JF               8       64      64
95 XP 486-0KD               8       64      64
95 XP 486SX-0H9             8       64      64
95 XP 486SX-0HD             8       64      64
PORTABLE
P70 386-031                 2        8      16
P70 386-061                 4        8      16
P70 386-121                 4        8      16
P75 486-161                 8       16      16
P75 486-401                 8       16      16

According to Louis Ohland 

Max mother is what can be physically added to the motherboard.  Max
system is what can be added in the form of memory cards.  Max
system is also the maximum memory of the mother and expansion card
combined.

To make it easier- The 90 / 95 machines do not support MME
(Matched Memory Extension) and therefor cannot accept add-on
memory cards.

With the advent of the type 4 complex, you have either 64MB max
with parity, or 256MB max with ECC (my 9595-OYT has 128MB..)(Maybe
someone can send me a Type 4 complex too  :)).


Q) 2.6  Can I use normal 72-pin SIMMs?  30-pin SIMMs?

Nope, neither.  There are reports of some using non-PS/2 72-pin SIMMs, bu
t
these have not been verified by myself and also I suspect that they are
actually third party PS/2 SIMMs the user was unknowingly using.


Q) 2.7  How do I tell the speed of the PS/2 SIMMs I have now on my
        motherboard?

Most of the times unless labeled it will be hard.  IBM's numbering system
changes all the time and many times the cross-reference can not be made. 
 I
got a SIMM here that has a nice label stating IBM  2M  85NS  P/N 68X6127
FRU 92F0104.  Now if that label were removed I would only have 89X8922 IB
M9314
L46056PE on the 18 chips that are attached to the SIMM, now if someone ca
n
make 2M or 85NS out of those three numbers I would be impressed as a call
 to
IBM showed it as not identifiable. 

In  OS/2 WARP there is a program that tells what is installed and the spe
ed of
the SIMMs.  This program is the system information utility.  Although it 
would
be impractical for a large amount of unlabeled SIMMs, a few can be ID'ed 
this
way.

According to Louis Ohland :

The 9595 Type 4 (possibly type 3) can report in setup on the speed
and architecture (parity or ECC) of each chip by slot...


Q) 2.8  What speed SIMMs do I need?

Unlike buying clone motherboards, the speed of the SIMMs you should need 
will
usually be easily found out.  For standard IBM, call IBM and for all othe
r
motherboard makers they should include it in their motherboard docs.  Mos
t of
the time the 80ns memory is the most common on the newer machines.  120ns
 was
used on the older PS/2s (i.e. 50's and 60's) and most 386s at or less tha
n
25MHz can get by with 85ns.  If you upgrade to one of the new 486 replace
ment
386 CPUs you will probably need 80ns memory unless stated that it will wo
rk
with normal system memory, 70ns and faster is probably a good idea and sh
ould
be used as 80ns and slower memory is becoming obsolete.

From Louis Ohland :

The 9595 Type 4 (possibly type 3) can report in setup on the speed
and architecture (parity or ECC) of each chip by slot...


Q) 2.9  How good is MCA and what does it offer?

IBM is pushing the MCA bus again.  It is possible to make it as fast as V
LB,
it comes close now.  The new 700 machines will offer a dual bus, MCA/PCI
which will give the best of both worlds.  The *BEST* thing about MCA is i
t
usually offers the PLUG-and-PLAY everyone wants, at least in most cases. 
 You
simply copy the .ADF files onto your reference disk then plug the new car
d in
and turn on your system.  The computer will figure out where the card is 
and
configure it and for once you don't have to set 10 banks of 8 dipswitchs 
with
a pen :).  Also it offers the best bus mastering out there.  A MCA card c
an
totally take over all functions of the CPU and FPU and cause no interfere
nce
with the rest of the machine, also a MCA board can have its own CPU to do
 the
work of the peripheral it is attached.  For example lets say you had a MC
A
Video Toaster type card...it could be set up to allow you to configure ce
rtain
options, enter data, then have it process the data no matter how complex 
and
return to your normal machine and witness no slowdown at ALL.  MCA allows
 card
functions to be totally independent and self-controlled.

A problem faced by ISA was device addresses, and ISA bus is only capable 
of
1024 device addresses while MCA can address 65,280.  Also, MCA has far mo
re
grounds along the bus preventing radio emission.   Lastly, MCA can share
interrupts while ISA can not.

The speed of MCA is something underestimated by non-PS/2 users.  It is a 
very
fast and quiet (as far as RF interference goes).  Some specs are:

     The maximum transfer rates on a 10 MHz MCA bus:

                                 16 bit MCA       32 bit MCA
     Normal transfers           10MBytes/sec     20 MBytes/sec
     (adr/data)

     Short Burst and Long
     Streaming transfers        20MBytes/sec     40 MBytes/sec
     (adr/data data data ..)

     Multiplex Streaming       (not available)   80 MBytes/sec
     (as above and uses the
      `idle' adr lines to
      transfer data as well,
      for a 64 bit transfer)

     Matched Memory Cycle                        21.3 MBytes/sec
     (matched memory cycle
      changes the timing of                     (32 MBytes/sec w/o
      the MCA bus to 62.5                        added wait state
      nanosec. for a 187.5                       at 62.5 Nanosec.
      4 byte adr-wait-data                       and 40 MBytes/sec
      transfer cycle. This                       with 50 nanosec
      is on a 16MHz model                        timing)
      80 as an example.)


[Originator: benker@hp-8.cae.wisc.edu]

Since there have been so many discussions about all of this, I'm posting 
the
OFFICIAL MCA specs.  These are direct from IBM.  MCA, as you will notice,
 has
the capability to be faster than even the local bus technologies with a
transfer rate of up to 160MB/sec.  Hope all of this helps.

The basic transfer cycle on the Micro Channel is a minimum of 200ns (100n
s
for the address and 100ns for the data which results in five million basi
c
transfer cycles per second for a device running in burst mode.  As shown 
in
Figure "Basic Data Transfer Mode", a data transfer operation is done in t
wo
steps.  First the address for the transfer (either I/O adapter or memory
location) is selected, then up to four bytes of data is moved across the 
data
buffer.

Depending of the width of the data path (8, 16, or 32 bits) the instantan
eous
data transfer rate on the channel would be 5, 10, or 20MB per second.  Th
e
matched-memory extension is a modification to the basic data transfer mod
e,
which can improve the data transfer capabilities between the system maste
r and
channel-attached memory.  When supported, it allows the basic transfer cy
cle
of 200ns to be reduced.

The DMA controller on the system board requires two basic transfer cycles
 to
move either 8 bits or 16 bits of data.  It moves the data from the origin
ator
to a buffer in the DMA controller and then to the target device or memory
location.  Because two cycles are used per 8 or 16 bits of data, the data
transfer rate for DMA controllers is 2.5MB or 5MB per second.  For blocks
 of
sequential data transferred over the Micro Channel, it should not be nece
ssary
to specify the address information more than once.  Both the source and
destination devices should update the address for each cycle by the size 
of
the transferred data.  This technique is supported by the Micro Channel a
nd is
known as streaming data mode (or streaming data procedure).  Using stream
ing
data mode with 32 bit transfer, the effective transfer rate is 40MB per
second.  The usage of the address and data buses during a data transfer u
sing
streaming data procedure is shown in Figure "Streaming Data Mode".

When the Micro Channel is running in streaming data mode, the 32 address 
lines
are only used during the first cycle of the transfer.  These address line
s are
therefore available for transfer of an additional four bytes during each
following cycle.  This mode is called multiplexed streaming data mode and

gives an effective width of 64 bits (8 bytes) for each cycle.  The result
ing
effective data rate is 80MB per second.  This is shown in Figure "Multipl
exed
Streaming Data Mode".

PS/2 Model 9595 (and possibly the 8595) can support the 100ns basic trans
fer
cycle with the SCSI Fast/Wide adapterrather than the current 200ns.  With
 the
current cycle the Micro Channel is able to transfer sequential blocks of 
data
with transfer rates of 20, 40, and 80MB per second.

Systems implementing the faster transfer cycle would be able to reach tra
nsfer
speeds of up to 160MB per second.  These rates are essential for advanced

function bus masters, which must move large blocks of sequential data.


Q) 2.10  Which is better, ISA/EISA/VLB/PCI/etc?

[From: ralf@wpi.wpi.edu (Ralph Valentino)]
[updated: alkemyst@shadow.net 10/23/94]

Here is a quick overview of the various bus architectures available for t
he PC
and some of the strengths and weaknesses of each.  Some terms are describ
ed in
more detail at the bottom.

XT bus: Bus originally used in the IBM XT.
        8 data bits, 20 address bits
        4.77 MHz

   Comments: Obsolete, very similar to ISA bus, many XT cards will work i
n
             ISA slots.
     
ISA bus: Industry Standard Architecture bus (a.k.a. AT bus)
        8/16 data bits, 24 address bits (16Meg addressable)
        8-8.33MHz, asynchronous
        5.55M/s burst
        bus master support
        edge triggered TTL interrupts (IRQs) - no sharing
        low cost

   Comments: Ideal for low to mid bandwidth cards, though lack of IRQs ca
n
             quickly become annoying.
     
MCA bus: Micro Channel Architecture bus
        16/32 data bit, 32 address bits
        10-20MHz, up to 40MHz could be possible, asynchronous
        80M/s burst, synchronous
        full bus master capability
        good bus arbitration
        auto configurable
        IBM proprietary (not ISA/EISA/VLB compatible)

   Comments: Since MCA was proprietary, EISA was formed to compete with i
t. 
             EISA gained much more acceptance; MCA is all but dead.

EISA bus: Enhanced Industry Standard Architecture bus
        32 data bits, 32 address bits
        8-8.33MHz, synchronous
        32M/s burst (sustained)
        full bus master capability
        good bus arbitration
        auto configurable
        sharable IRQs, DMA channels
        backward compatible with ISA
        some acceptance outside of the PC architecture
        high cost

   Comments: EISA is great for high bandwidth bus mastering cards such as

             SCSI host adapters, but its high cost limits its usefulness 
for
             Other types of cards.  Very commonly used in servers.

VLB: VESA Local Bus
        32 data bits, 32 address bits
        25-40MHz, asynchronous
        130M/s burst (sustained is closer to 32M/s)
        bus master capability
        will coexist with ISA/EISA
        slot limited to 2 or 3 cards typical
        backward compatible with ISA
        moderate cost

   Comments: VLB is great for video cards, but its lack of a good bus arb
iter
             limits its usefulness for bus mastering cards and its modera
te
             cost limits its usefulness for low to mid bandwidth cards. 
             Since it can coexist with EISA/ISA, a combination of all thr
ee
             types of cards usually works best.
             
PCI:  Peripheral Component Interconnect
        32 data bits (64 bit option), 32 address bits (64 bit option)
        up to 33MHz, synchronous 
        120M/s burst (sustained) (240M/s with 64 bit option)
        full bus master capability
        good bus arbitration
        up to 6 peripherals
        auto configurable
        will coexist with ISA/EISA/MCA as well as another PCI bus
        strong acceptance outside of the PC architecture
        moderate cost

   Comments: Combines the speed of VLB with the advanced arbitration of E
ISA.
             Great for both video cards and bus mastering SCSI/network ca
rds.

VL 2.0: Video Local Bus version 2.0
        64 data bits, multiplexing and data buffering
        up to 50MHz
        est. 400M/s burst
        full bus mastering
        good bus arbitration
        specification not completed yet

               3DTerms3D

Auto configurable:  Allows software to identify the board's requirements 
and
                    resolve any potential resource conflicts (IRQ/DMA/add
ress
                    /BIOS/etc).

Bus master support:  Capable of First Party DMA transfers.

Full bus master capability:  Can support any First Party cycle from any
                             device, including another CPU.

Good bus arbitration:  Fair bus access during conflicts, no need to back 
off
                       unless another device needs the bus.  This prevent
s
                       CPU starvation while allowing a single device to u
se
                       100% of the available bandwidth.  Other buses let 
a
                       card hold the bus until it decides to release it a
nd
                       attempts to prevent starvation by having an active

                       card voluntarily release the bus periodically ("bu
s on
                       time") and remain off the bus for a period of time

                       ("bus off time") to give other devices, including 
the
                       CPU, a chance even if they don't want it.

16Meg addressable:  This limits first party DMA transfers to the lower 16
 Meg
                    of address space.  There are various software methods
 to
                    overcome this problem when more than 16 Megs of main
                    memory are available.  This has no effect on the abil
ity
                    of the processor to reach all of main memory.

Backward compatible with ISA:  Allows you to place an ISA card in the slo
t of
                               a more advanced bus.  Note, however, that 
the
                               ISA card does not get any benefit from bei
ng
                               In an advanced slot, instead, the slot rev
erts
                               To an ISA slot.  Other slots are unaffecte
d.

The MCA specs at 10MHz show sustained throughput very close to VLB and 20
MHz
MCA specs should be equal or superior to VLB, however, usually MCA cards 
do
not operate at these faster speeds of 20MHz.

TIME LINE

8088  8086      286            386              486                 586
                                                                     **
                                                                    VL2
                                                                    ***
                                                                   PCI2
                                                              *********
                                                              PCI1
                                                            ***********
                                                            VL1 
                                      *********************************  
 
                                      EISA
                                ***************************************
                               MCA
              *********************************************************
              AT bus              
*****************
PC bus


1982  1983  1984  1985  1986  1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992   1993  
  


Q) 2.11  Will an ISA card work in an MCA (PS/2) machine?

No, they will not.  MCA, unlike EISA and VLB, is not backward compatible 
with
ISA.


Q) 2.12  How do I enter the CMOS configuration menu?

If it is possible on your machine it is Ctrl-Alt-Ins after Ctrl-Alt-Del. 
 If
nothing happens when you hit Ctrl-Alt-Ins at the prompt then you must use
 the
reference disk to change CMOS values.

From Louis Ohland :
With the type 4 complex, you can hit Escape for quick boot (bypass memory

check)
and/or hit F1 to run setup.


Q) 2.13  What is bus mastering anyway?

Bus mastering is the ability of the MCA card to directly read and write t
o
main memory.  This allows the CPU do delegate I/O work out to the cards,
freeing it to do other things.  If you want a bus mastering card, you sho
uld
specifically request it and expect to pay more.  Also not all cards are
available in bus mastering form due to the fact that they do not have to 
be
independent to the rest of the system, and some because they can't be
independent.


S) 3.0 IO controllers/interfaces

Q) 3.1  How do FM/IDE/MFM/RLL/ESDI/SCSI interfaces work?

Ok, first FM, MFM, and RLL refer to the data encoding.  Almost all drives

today are RLL.  IDE, ESDI, and SCSI are types of interfaces and the drive
s
that run on them.  The descriptions below will contain a lot of techno-ba
bble
to most, but the purpose of this is to give an idea how they work and in 
that
capacity the text below should suffice.  UPGRADING AND REPAIRING PC'S by 
Scott
Mueller describes this much better as that is the purpose of his book, no
t
this FAQ.

FM, or Frequency Modulation, was the earliest scheme.  Known as Single De
nsity
by many because of the floppies it was originally used on.  This was popu
lar
in the 1970's, but with a limit of about 80k it quickly died out.

It is the simplest way to encode zeros and ones.  Also to prevent sync er
rors
in long streams of zeros or ones, two transition cells are used per bit. 
 A
data cell representing the zero or one and a clock cell representing what

amounts to the position or record.  In a data transition cell, either a o
ne
bit is recorded to indicate a flux reversal or a zero bit to indicate non
e.
The clock cell is used for each bit also.  So each time you change bits, 
the
clock cell reverses flux.  This works great except for the fact that you 
lose
half your storage capability since each data bit requires two flux revers
als,
one for the data and one for the clock.

Example of FM Data to Flux Transitions
Data Bit     Flux encoding
1            TT
0            TN

T3Dflux transition
N3Dno flux transition


MFM, or Modified Frequency Modulation was created to reduce this overhead
 and
compact more data into the same space.  This was done by reducing clock
transition cells.  A clock transition cell is only recorded if a zero bit
 is
preceded by a zero bit.  This amounts to twice the efficiency and is why 
MFM
became known as Double Density (as did the disks which were originally
formatted this way).  It is still used in almost all PC floppy drives tod
ay. 
MFM is also twice as fast as FM.

Example of MFM Data to Flux Transitions
Data Bit            Flux encoding
1                   NT (no clock cell encoding)
0 preceded by 0     TN (clock cell encoded)
0 preceded by 1     NN (no clock cell encoded)


RLL, or Run Length Limited, is today's method of choice.  RLL stores 50% 
more
data than MFM and three times the data of FM.  In RLL, groups of bits are

taken as a whole and combined to generate a pattern of flux reversals.  B
y
combining the clock and data cells into these patterns, the clock rate ca
n be
increase while keeping the same distance of transitions on the disk.

RLL was invented by IBM first for mainframes, but by the 80's this techno
logy
flowed into the desktop PC's of the day and is still a viable encoded sch
eme. 
RLL gets its name from the two main functions of the patterns stored.  On
e is
the minimum number (the run length) and maximum number (the run limit) of

transition cells allowed between two actual flux transitions.  There are
several schemes to this, but RLL 2,7 and RLL 1,7 are the most popular wit
h 1,7
used almost exclusively in all large drives.

Using RLL 2,7 as the example, the numbering scheme is based on the fact t
hat
there can be as few as 2 and as many as 7 transition cells separating two
 flux
transitions. Also, FM and MFM can be referred by RLL naming conventions a
s RLL
0,1 and RLL 1,3, respectively, however when they are discussed it is stil
l by
there original FM and MFM names. 

Example of RLL 2,7 Data to Flux transitions
(Using IBM's ENDEC (ENcode/DECode) table only as there can be unlimited
variations to this encoding scheme)
Data          Flux encoding
10            NTNN
11            TNNN
000           NNNTNN
010           TNNTNN
011           NNTNNN
0010          NNTNNTNN
0011          NNNNTNNN

Example of the character "X" (01011000 in binary) showing the actual way 
it is
encoded on disk.
FM:      Bit  .0.1.0.1.1.0.0.0
         Flux TNTTTNTTTTTNTNTN 11 transitions
MFM:     Bit  .0.1.0.1.1.0.0.0
         Flux TNNTNNNTNTNNTNTN 6 transitions (50% of FM)
RLL 2,7: Bit  .0.1.0.1.1.0.0.0
         Flux TNNTNNTNNNNNNTNN 4 transitions (30% of FM)
T3DTransition flux, N3DNo Transition flux, and .3Ddata bit boundary.

Also there is a new encoding scheme called PRML, Partial-Response,
Maximum-Likelihood that compacts data a further 40%.  This uses DSP techn
ology
to clean the signal of noise and allow data to be stored closer together,

whereas the other three still have the same density of flux transitions.

Now on to interfaces.  There are a few:  ST-506/412, ESDI, IDE, and SCSI 
as
well as the variations of each (SCSI-2, ATA-2, etc).  The interface trans
mits
and receives data to and from the drive.  Only the ST-506/412 and ESDI ar
e
true disk-controller to drive interfaces.  SCSI and IDE are system level
interfaces usually containing ST-506/412 or ESDI internally.  SCSI adds a
n
extra level of interface that attaches directly to the system bus whereas
 IDE
is a direct bus interface.

ST-506/412 - developed by Seagate back around the beginning of the 80's a
nd is
named after the 5MB ST-506 drive and 10MB ST-412 drive originally attache
d to
this interface.  This was the interface of choice for almost all drive
manufacturers during this time period.  Also interestingly enough all dri
ves
using this interface were plug-and-play as long as the BIOS on the system

board supported the drive (when the IBM AT was introduced IBM removed the
 BIOS
off the ST-506/412 interface and included it into the IBM AT system BIOS)
. 
This interface is obsolete by today's standards, though it endured a long
 time
for an interface designed around a 5MB drive which at the end of its life
 was
connected to drives as large as 233MB!  Using two Drive Select (DS) chann
els
you could have up to two drives attached to this controller, DS1 was the 
C
drive and DS2 was D.

ESDI, Enhanced Small Device Interface - developed in the early 80's by Ma
xtor
to succeed the ST-506/412 standard and provide more performance and later

adopted by ANSI.  Offered enhanced reliability by incorporating a ENDEC i
nto
the drive.  Capable of 24 megabits/sec, though limited to 10-15 megabits/
sec
by almost all drives.  ESDI drives were not always compatible with other 
ESDI
drives due to implementation deviations between manufacturers and this op
ened
the way for the IDE standard which though slower was much cheaper to prod
uce. 


ESDI also allowed for automatic drive configuration and defect mapping
(sometimes).  Also mostly compatible with the ST-506/412 interface in tha
t if
the system supported one, it usually would the other.  Sometimes addition
al
software would need to be run (for auto defect mapping as an example).

IDE, Integrated Drive Electronics - a generic term for any drive with bui
lt-in
controller electronics.  Though more often applied to ATA (AT Attachment)

drives and is an ANSI standard.  These were originally exclusively Hardca
rds
where a small 3.5" ST-506/412 or ESDI drive was mounted directly to the
controller card.  More reliability due to the lack of ribbon cables and
reduced noise. 

Although the IDE cable ports are on the motherboards of today's computers
, the
actual controller is still in the drive.  The port is only used to connec
t the
controller to the bus and is actually a 40 pin subset of a 98 pin ISA slo
t. 
Having the controller built-in to each drive is why many times IDE drives

don't work together.  Both controllers compete to be the Master despite
assigning it a Slave status sometimes.  The usual workaround is to use ID
E
drives by the same manufacturer and also of the same specification.

PS/2 content:  in 1987 IBM offered IDE drives for MCA machines called MCA
 IDE
(a 16 bit device like ATA IDE).  These were connected to the bus thorough
 an
interposer card and needed only a few buffer chips and almost no circuitr
y
which is why they are referred to as paddle boards by many (game
paddle/joystick boards have very little circuitry also).  An 8 bit variat
ion
made it into the non-Microchannel Model 30 similar to XT IDE.

IDE drives offer the highest performance at any cost for a single user, s
ingle
tasking operating system.

ATA-1 was introduced in 1989 and ATA-2 (EIDE by Western Digital and Fast-
ATA
and Fast-ATA-2 by Seagate and Quantum) in 1995. 

ATA-2 allows for drives larger than 504MB by translation (basically alter
ing
the perceived geometry of a drive to other programs which cannot handle m
ore
than 1024 cylinders.  A 2000 cylinder drive with 16 heads would be transl
ated
as a 1000 cylinder drive with 32 heads). Translation methods rely on an
enhanced BIOS and are known as Standard CHS (Cylinder Head Sector), Exten
ded
CHS or Large, LBA (Logical Block Addressing). 

It also allows faster data transfers with PIO (programmed Input Output) m
odes.
 Mode 0 has a 600ns cycle time and limits transfers to 3.3MB/sec.  At its
 best
ATA-1 had a 240ns cycle time and transfer rate of 8.3MB/sec.  With ATA-2 
in
PIO mode 3 with its 180ns cycle time, transfer rates go to 11.1 and with 
mode
4 and a 120ns cycle the rate is 16.6MB/sec.  This implementation requires
 the
port to be a local bus port (VLB or PCI).  Also despite support for two d
rives
usually only the primary can support up to mode 4, the secondary is actua
lly
connected through the ISA bus and is limited to mode 2.

DMA (direct memory access) can also be used to exclude the CPU from the d
rive
to bus transfers using the system boards DMA controller to handle the
transactions.  Busmastering DMA controllers use their own DMA controller 
to
handle this and because of the extra complexity it drives up the cost.  D
MA is
never used efficiently with an ISA bus, but with today's PCI boards speed
s of
33MB/sec are now common.

SCSI, Small Computer System Interface - not really a disk interface, but 
a
system-level interface.  SCSI is a bus that supports up to eight devices.
  One
of these is the host adapter and the gateway between the SCSI and PC buse
s. 
The SCSI bus does not talk directly to the devices either, but to each de
vices
controller built into it (Most SCSI drives are actually IDE drives with S
CSI
bus adapter circuits added.  Each device is given a SCSI ID.  Up to 4 hos
t
adapters can be supported by most systems and with each able to control 7

other peripherals that gives a total of 28 devices.  Some newer SCSI
implementations can support 15 devices per bus.

The SCSI standard like ESDI is a hardware standard.  It does not specify 
how
communication is to be handled and as a result some SCSI devices are not
compatible with others.  Scanners and some CD-ROMS fall into these catego
ry as
they do not include the BIOS for self-booting hard drives.

There are several implementations of SCSI.

SCSI-1 included many features and commands, but listed them as optional s
o
many were not used causing incompatibility galore.  SCSI-1 was limited to

5MB/sec transfers.  SCSI-1 devices were 8 bit.

SCSI-2 fixed this by requiring 18 commands to be coded, a Common Command 
Set
(CCS).  SCSI-2 also brought support for CD-ROMS, tape drives, and other
devices.  There was Fast SCSI-2 and a 16 bit version called Wide SCSI-2.

Fast synchronous SCSI and Wide SCSI were an optional specifications and r
aised
the transfer rate to 10MB/sec when each was used by itself.  However, fas
t and
wide can be combined and raise transfer rates to 20MB/sec.  There was als
o a
32 bit specification defined, but was not implemented as being too expens
ive.


Q) 3.2  How can I tell if I have MFM/RLL/ESDI/IDE/SCSI?

Open the computer and check the model number of the drive and contact the

manufacturer is the only way to be 100% certain in many cases.

That aside, the first thing to check is the number of pins on the drive's

connector(s) and how many cables you have. The second thing to check is t
he
CMOS setup, assuming, of course, that it is in a working system.

ST-506/412 3D two or three cables (1 drive or 2 drives): two 20 pin, and
 one
             34 pin if two drives are connected (do not attempt to connec
t an
             ESDI drive to these cables, although it will attach the sign
als
             are different).
           
             17 (MFM) or 26 (RLL) sectors per track.

             One 34 pin cable is daisy-chained between up to two drives m
uch
             like floppies, though due to different twist in the cable th
ey
             are not interchangeable.  Many of these interfaces include a

             provision for connecting floppies though. 
            
             A terminating resistor is used if only one drive is connecte
d.

ESDI 3D 2 cables: 34 pin and a 20 pin (as stated in the ST-506/412 secti
on both

       the 34 and 20 pin are identical in looks to the cables that are us
ed
with
       the ST-506/412 interface, but do not connect a MFM or RLL drive to
 this

       interface).

       usually set up as type #1 in the CMOS and auto-configured at boot 
time

       32 sectors per track or more and almost always 1:1 interleave givi
ng
       up to 1MB/sec transfer capability.

IDE 3D 1 cable: 40 pins with three pin-header style connectors on it.  O
ne
      plugs into the IDE interface connector and the other far end into t
he
      primary drive (usually...sometimes this is the secondary), followed
 by
      the secondary being connected in the middle (again it is possible t
he
      primary is in the middle).

      Sectors, heads and tracks are variable.

        CMOS does not determine accurately.

SCSI-1 3D 1 cable: 50 pins
SCSI-2 3D 1 cable: 68 pins
         PS/2 uses 60 pins so I am not sure if there is a way to tell bet
ween 
 
         SCSI-1 and SCSI-2 on a PS/2

         Aftermarket controllers use the standard 50 pin and some use the

Apple
         SCSI connector for external drives.

         usually set up as "not installed" in the CMOS


Q) 3.3  Why won't my two hard drives work together?

IDE:  (Assuming the user has determined that the Master/Slave arrangement
s are
correct).  IDE drives of different makes may just be incompatible, likewi
se
occasionally different models of the same manufacturer are.  Try two iden
tical
drives, swapping master and slave, or trying a combination of a third dri
ve
with any of the other two and the problem should usually cease.

SCSI:  (Again assuming the user understands how to configure a SCSI adapt
er). 
If using SCSI-1 spec drives, there just may be incompatibilities between 
them,
try another drive preferably of the same manufacturer or better yet an
identical drive.  With later SCSI specifications, chances are something i
s not
terminated or ID'd properly.  Try changing the order.


Q) 3.4  How do I install a second controller?

Simply pull it in and boot with the reference disk and viola. Of course i
t is
never this easy.  Occasionally some controllers are incompatible with one

another and it is impossible to get them to work together.  For this reas
on
try to keep controllers identical (use the same manufacturer at the very
least).


Q) 3.5  Which is better, SCSI or IDE or ESDI?

Again like the MCA versus ISA/EISA/VLB/PCI debate.  There is what is bett
er in
theory and what is better in real life.  ESDI is a dead standard with muc
h
faster and larger capacity, cheaper IDE drives out there, though it had t
he
possibility of being the fastest.  Unfortunately in the PS/2 arena you us
ually
can't chose IDE which with the newer versions offers almost all of the sp
eed
of the best SCSI drives and still is the fastest single user, single task
 OS
drive there is.  SCSI, however, with multitasking operating systems shine
s,
especially the later Fast/Wide standards.  Though I do not know of any PS
/2
controller capable of the 40MB/sec and 80MB/sec of today's top SCSI drive
s the
10-20MB/sec performance is more than enough for many desktops.


Q) 3.6  Can MFM/RLL/ESDI/IDE and SCSI coexist?

The PC is limited to two drive controllers total.  SCSI, however, is a "h
ost
adapter" and not a drive controller.  To the rest of your system, it appe
ars
more like an Ethernet card than a drive controller. For this reason, SCSI
 will
always be able to coexist with any type dive controller.  The main drawba
ck
here is that on most systems, you must boot off a disk on the primary dri
ve
controller, if you have one.  That means if you have SCSI and IDE in your

system, for example, you can not directly boot from the SCSI drive.  Ther
e are
various ways to get around this limitation, including the use of a boot
manager.

MFM and RLL are the methods of writing the data to the disk and as such a
lmost
always exist together (MFM for the floppy drives and RLL for the fixed di
sks).


Q) 3.7  What's the difference between SCSI and SCSI-2? Are they compatibl
e?

The main difference between SCSI and SCSI-2 are some new minor features t
hat
the average person will never notice.  Both run at a maximum 5MB/s.  Thou
gh
Fast and Wide SCSI-2 double this speed and can be combined to quadruple i
t.
All versions of SCSI will work together (SCSI-1 in compatible with SCSI-1
 only
in theory as there was no set command set, however, I have never experien
ced
such an incompatibility).  On power up, the SCSI host adapter and each
device(separately) determine the best command set and the speed that each
 is
capable of.

For more information on this, refer to the comp.periphs.scsi FAQ.


Q) 3.8   Can I use a non-IBM ESDI in a PS/2?

[From: helling@uwindsor.ca ]

FORMATTING A NON_IBM ESDI DRIVE FOR A PS/2 80.

Well, it might have been impossible for me to put a simple MFM
hard drive into my model 80 PS/2, 4M, model 8580-111, but I
did get a NON-IBM ESDI drive installed, using a PS/2 ESDI
controller, and the following patched version of LLFORMAT.COM,
usually found on the 7080 reference disk....

First: a rumor that the following PS/2 80's LIKE MFM and ESDI:
041,071,111,311
and the following, which supposedly came with SCSI don't...
121, 161, possibly AXX...
This is unconfirmed, and mine is a 111, so it worked....

1) In dos, go to your ref disk, make a directory called SPARE,
copy LLFORMAT.COM to it (nice safe backup copy)
1a) Copy the dos DEBUG.EXE program onto the ref disk...

Now follow this, paying attention to my comments...
>>>> comment O mine....
---------------------------- QUOTING ---------------------------
: >3. This DEBUG procedure has been documented by Tillman Schmidt of
: >   Koeln, Germany following the translation of an article in the
: >   German c't Magazin fr Computertechnik, issue 5/1991, page 272f.

The reference-disk comes with a program to low-level-format a hard disk:
LLFORMAT.COM; boot from the reference-disk and press CTRL-A in the main m
enu
to get a menu for extended diagnose. To low-level-format a non-IBM-disk,
you have to patch llformat.com with debug as described below.

LLFORMAT.COM doesn't format a non-IBM-hard disk, because there is a
defect-map (info about defect blocks) on the cylinder before the last on
IBM-disks. But llformat.com only calls a BIOS-routine via INT 13h, where
one can set a flag to ignore the defect-map (set bits 0,1 in CL-register)

Here is the reference for the BIOS-low-level-formatting-routine:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
>>>> No idea what this means, but it's impressive as heck... read on......

ESDI-Formatter:
3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D
INT 13h, function 1Ah
register-settings:

AH3D1Ah   ; format ESDI
AL3Dnumber of additional given defect-blocks; when AL3D0 the address in
 ES:BX
   is ignored
ES:BX3Daddress of the table with the additional defect-blocks
CL3Dsome options:
  bits 7-5: must be 0
  bit 4: when set an interrupt (int 15h with AH3D0Fh, AL3Dsome status)
         is triggered after formatting one cylinder
         The interrupt-handler must clear the carry-flag CF, otherwise
         (or when an interrupt isn't handled) formatting is aborted
bit 3: when set the hard disk's surface is analyzed in detail;
         may be set only when the disk was formatted successfully with
         bit 33D0 before
  bit 2: a second defect map is written to disk, when this bit is 1;
         this defect-map contains the already known defects plus the ones
         given at address ES:BX and that found during detailed
         analysis (bit 33D1)
  bit 1: when this bit is set, the second defect-map is ignored
  bit 0: when this bit is set, the first defect-map is also ignored
         (this is normally written by the manufacturer)
         DL3Dnumber of hd; 80h for the first drive, 81h for the second
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
To ignore the defect-maps, you have to patch llformat.com as follows:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
---
>>>>>> Here comes the good part.....

PATCH FOR LLFORMAT.COM:
3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D

>debug llformat.com
-r
AX3D0000 BX3D0000 CX3D8195 DX3D0000 SP3DFFFE BP3D0000 SI3D0000 DI3D
0000
DS3D2B78 ES3D2B78 SS3D2B78 CS3D2B78 IP3D0100 NV UP EI PL NZ NA PO NC
2B78:0100 E9C50D JMP 0EC8

>>>>> See that CX3D number? I am a complete newbie at DEBUG,
but it has something to do with file length and position on
the floppy. Write yours down....

-s100 8295 b4 1a b0 00 8a  ; search formatting-routine

>>>>> See how it appears, again, incremented a bit (8195 3D>
>>>>> 8295)? do this to your number in its place. Use HEX! so an E
>>>>> 3D>F etc....
>>>>> Lord! I am debug clueless eh!

2B78:8272    ; the byte sequence is found twice
2B78:8284

>>>>> You, of course got different numbers... write em down...

-u8272
; ^^^^ this is the first of the two found addresses

>>>>>> do this with your first number, the second part, of
>>>>>> course... Your XXXX:XXXX numbers will be different, but
>>>>>> the rest will make sense, note that the screen will line up
>>>>>> the numbers in nice columns, not exactly as shown below...

; now debug shows this:
2B78:8272 B41A MOV AH,1A     ; select "FORMAT"-function
2B78:8274 B000 MOV AL,00     ; no additional defect map
2B78:8276 8A160473 MOV DL,[7304]
2B78:827A b114 MOV CL,14     ; <--- change 14 to 15!
2B78:827C 0A0E7377 OR CL,[7773]
2B78:8280 CD13 INT 13        ; BIOS-call
2B78:8282 7210 JB 8294       ; error -> return
2B78:8284 B41A MOV AH,1A
2B78:8286 B000 MOV AL,00
2B78:8288 8A160473 MOV DL,[7304]
2B78:828C B11C MOV CL,1C     ; <--- change 1c to 1d!
2B78:828E 0A0E7377 OR CL,[7773]
-u

>>>>>> Don't get antsy! just look, the -u means show next
>>>>>> page... NOW: see the lines to be changed above?
>>>>>> WRITE DOWN THEIR ADDRESS NUMBERS!!!

2B78:8292 CD13 INT 13
2B78:8294 C3 RET
2B78:8295 0000 ADD [BX+SI],AL
; and so on...

>>>>>> Now the scary part: -e for edit... unless you -w
>>>>>> something you can always -q then try again...

-e827B    ; <---- insert address of the first byte that must be changed
2B78:827B 14.15

>>>>>> USE your first change address number. The screen is
>>>>>> different from above. tap the space bar to get 14. then put 15
>>>>>> right after it. use the -u command to list it. did it change
>>>>>> correctly? Note the number right after the address changed
>>>>>> too, as well as the endmost... Actually, everything past the
>>>>>> first column is interpretation of it, but if it changed right,
>>>>>> you got it... If it didn't, -q and try again...

-e828D    ; <---- insert address of the second byte that must be changed
2B78:828D 1C.1D

>>>>>> One more time! Use -u to check both, then:

-w        ; save the patched program
Writing 08195 bytes

>>>>> Your mileage may vary...

-q        ; that's it
I hope this will help you!

Martin.
(schmidm@informatik.tu-muenchen.de)
------------------------- END QUOTE ----------------------
>>>>>> The above person posted the XLATION, and might have
developed this. I found it with DEJANEWS, thanks to a tip from
Aron Eisenpress, who has been invaluable with his help and
suggestions, etc...
Of course, I floundered through DEBUG (1st time) but it seemed
to go ok...

2) Install ESDI drive. Drive was previously set up to work
with an ISA card, a DTC, I think... Cabling is similar to an
MFM drive, drive 0 gets the middle, no twist wide cable plug, and
the skinny cable from the middle connector. Plug in the IBM
card in the top-most slot, (cables are SHORT), hook up power
and ground, cables to drive, insert REF disk, turn on....

Run auto-configuration, restart, computer sez to test the
drive...DON'T BOTHER.

3) Press CTRL-A instead, choose format the drive, DO IT.
3A) You get an error message, it wants to do a FACTORY REFORMAT,
   LET IT, it will take a while: 45 min for a CDC 94216-106,
   (1024x5x34spt) 86M. When finished, reboot with a dos disk,
   run FDISK and FORMAT C:/U/S.  Run a few surface tests using
   NDD or PCTOOLS, or whatever if you feel like it.
   OH yeh: I'm using dos 5....

4) CROW! Yehawwww!

Now, to try and get a second ESDI drive set up as D:
Hope this can help some others, Just trying to get the info
out where it can keep the old beasts going...
            

Q) 3.9  Do I need a reference disk for my SCSI drive?

No, only for the controller.  This question has come up a lot lately.  If
 you
are having problems getting a new drive to work with a existing working S
CSI
setup, call the drive manufacturer and try not to tell them it is a PS/2.
 
Also refer to some of the earlier SCSI questions about problems that aris
e
(switching drives around works many times).  Most tech support people hav
e
heard rumors that PS/2's need reference disks for everything and that the
y are
incompatible with everything.  So they either tell you to get the referen
ce
disk (usually from IBM as if they support third parties ever) or that the
ir
drive is not compatible with PS/2 computers.  I would also call the SCSI
adapter manufacturer (assuming they are still around and supporting it) f
or
clues.  Remember setting up SCSI drives can have a lot of variables, keep

checking for proper ID, proper termination, and the like.

When shopping for a SCSI controller card, I would recommend either the Ad
aptec
1640 or the Future Domain MCS-700 (or the MCS-600 which is the same excep
t
uses an Apple type DB-25 external SCSI connector instead of the standard 
50
pin.  Both use the 50 pin connector for the internal drives).


Q) 3.10  What is a 16550UART and do I need one? Does my PS/2 have it?

The 16550 is a UART with two 16 byte FIFOs.  A UART is the part of a seri
al
port that takes byte-wide (characters) data and converts it to bit-wide
(serial) data, and visa versa.  The FIFO is a buffer which can hold chara
cters
until the CPU is ready to remove it or until the serial line is ready to
transmit it.  The 'normal' UART in the PC (the 8250 or 16450) only has 1-
byte
FIFOs.  The additional 15 bytes can be useful when the CPU is busy doing 
other
things - if the CPU isn't able to remove data fast enough, it will be los
t.
The OS or program has to explicitly support 16550 to make full use of its
advantages.

A very important thing to note is that under DOS, the CPU doesn't have
anything else to do, so the 16550 is wasted.  Only under multitasking
operating systems does it really become useful.  The 16550 will *not* mak
e
your file transfers any faster, it will only prevent data from being lost
 and
relieve your CPU of some overhead.  If you notice system performance drop
ping
like a rock when file transfers are occurring, a 16550 may be helpful.  I
f
you see re-transmissions (bad packets) or "FIFO overrun's" during file
transfers under a multitasking OS, try the same thing under DOS - if the
errors go away, then chances are a 16550 will be useful.  If they remain,
 then
your problem is likely to be elsewhere.

PS/2s without the more modern 16550A UART are usually limited to lower da
ta
rates (not because of the 16550 UART but because the other UARTs are slow
).
Usually 14.4k max with no compression.  The PS/2 models and type of UART 
are
listed below.

From: Aron Eisenpress :
The following information is taken directly from the PS/2 Hardware
Interface Technical References.

Four types of serial port controllers have been used on the system
boards of PS/2's.

To programs, the Type 1 controller appears to be identical to the serial 
port
on the IBM Personal Computer AT IBM Personal Computer Serial/Parallel
Adapter.

The Type 2 controller incorporates all functions of the Type 1 and also
provides support of the first-in-first-out (FIFO) mode.

The Type 3 controller incorporates all functions of the Type 2 controller
 and
provides the Direct Memory Access (DMA) mode.

The Type 4 controller incorporates all the functions of the Type 3 contro
ller
and provides additional I/O addresses.

For type 1 and type 2 controllers data speed should not exceed 19.2kbaud.
Type 3 and type 4 controllers support up to 345.6 Kbaud.

Below is a list of the type of serial controller used in each model in th
e
Micro Channel PS/2 line:  (Note, these are IBM's published times.  I have
 been
advised by
Mark Seecof  that any PS/2 with the 16550A (including the

16550AF) is
capable of over 19.2 Kbaud as long as the software supports it).

           Model           Type of Serial Port        Max Speed
           -----           -------------------       -----------
           8550                    1,2                19.2 Kbaud
           8551 (N51)              2                  19.2 Kbaud
           8554 (CL57)             2                  19.2 Kbaud
           8555                    2                  19.2 Kbaud
           8556                    4                 345.6 Kbaud
           8557                    4                 345.6 Kbaud
           8560                    1,2                19.2 Kbaud
           8565                    2                  19.2 Kbaud
           8570                    2                  19.2 Kbaud
           8573 (P70)              2                  19.2 Kbaud
           8580                    1,2                19.2 Kbaud
           8590                    3                 345.6 Kbaud
           8595                    3                 345.6 Kbaud

IBM uses a proprietary chip instead of the 16550 UART in PS/2's.  The ser
ial
port controller in all of the above PS/2 models (except the PS/2  models 
55
and 65) is compatible with the National Semiconductor NS16450 serial port.
The serial port controller in the PS/2 models 55 and 65 is generally
compatible with the NS16550A serial-communications controller.

PS/2's with Type 2, Type 3, or Type 4 serial port controllers support the

first-in-first-out (FIFO) mode.  The exception is the PS/2 model 50 with 
a
Type 2 serial port controller.  According to the PS/2 Hardware Interface
Technical Reference - System Specific Information, model 60's and 80's wi
th
Type 2 serial port controllers do support FIFO mode.

[incomplete please help me obtain the UART data on the other PS/2s. A goo
d
program is Snooper v3.30 by Vias and Associates for $39 available as shar
eware
on most BBSs and internet ftp sites, please register if you decide to kee
p it]


Q) 3.11  Should I buy an internal or external modem?

In general, it is better to go with an external modem for two reasons.  F
irst
MCA slots are valuable commodities in most systems (i.e. Model 50s with o
nly 3
slots) and secondly, an MCA card modem will be a lot more money when a
standard external modem will work fine.  Also an external modem provides
visual clues to tell you what is going on with the data.

Sometimes internal is the only way to go though.  The Windsurfer Adapter
with its 14.4k data modem, 9600 FAX and telephone answering/voice mail is
only available internally, however, this is not such a waste of a MCA slo
t
as you are getting several products on one card.  I believe in its last
incarnation (it has been discountinued) some versions were 33.6k capable 
which
is still ok for many.


Q) 3.12  What kinds of sound cards are available?

There are a few believe it or not.  Though new they cost around $150 whic
h is
a little steep these days for a sound card with SoundBlasters selling for
 $30.
Kahlon computers at www.kahlon.com and 800-317-9989 offers one for $125
(though I am not sure who actually makes it).  The original was the
SoundBlaster MCV which is an 8 bit card and probably should be avoided du
e to
the problems it has with compatibility.  The SoundBlaster Pro MCV is a 8 
bit
card which supposedly works better, yet both SoundBlasters are no longer 
made.
 The next option is the Audiovation/A ($249) which is a 16 bit card capab
le of
44.1KHz sampling rates is SoundBlaster compatible and is currently being
revised for better support.  Another option is the M-Audio Capture/A whic
h is
said to be more of a sound editor than one for games.  Another option is 
the
WindSurfer Card.  This is probably overkill as solely a soundcard for its
 $400
low price, but it does offer a 14.4k modem (some up to 33.6k), 9600 FAX a
nd
telephone answering/voice mail on one card. This card is probably not as
compatible as the Audiovation is, but maybe worth a test to see if it doe
s
what you would like.  The Chipchat is currently available in both 16 bit
($129) and 32 bit ($159 with wavetable)go to www.chipchat.com or call the
m at
(313)565-4000.  Reply Technologies has a card out using the chipset from
Creative Labs, the Vibra 16, which is SoundBlaster 16 compatible and it i
s
also available linked up to a Future Domain SCSI-2 controller.  One more
option comes from Piper Research at www.piper-research.com  and 612-459-2
770,
this is a SoundBlaster compatible card.  They used to only make a 16 bit 
card
($129.95), but now they have a 32 bit version ($159.95) and a 32 bit with
 3D
sound ($179.95).

Here is the specs to the Piper Card:
(From: ejfluhr@wc101.residence.gatech.edu (Eric J. Fluhr) and
     corykim@vnet.ibm.com (Cory Kim))

Piper Research, Inc.
Attn: Sales
PO Box 241
Newport, MN  55055
Voice/Orders:  (612) 459-2770 (Mastercard/Visa/AmEx)
Fax:     (612) 458-1978


  16 bit stereo sound card.  Records, compresses and plays back voice,
  sound and music with computer controlled mixer settings and Yamaha OPL-
3
  based FM synthesis.  In addition, connections are provided for CD-audio
,
  line-in, dual joystick, MIDI and speakers.  Other key features include:

  o  Micro Channel Architecture compatible      o  4 Watt Stereo Amplifie
r
  o  Half-Size Adapter                          o  Compatible with all Ma
jor
  o  Auto-configures like all MC cards             Software Programs
  o  Multimedia PC Compatible                   o  Stereo Mixer & Amplifi
er
  o  Integrated 16 bit A/D and D/A Converters   o  Patented ESPCM Compres
sion
  o  Programmable Digital Volume Control        o  Windows compatible and
  o  Programmable Sample Rates to 44.1 kHz         OLE Compliant inc. Win
95
  o  DOS-register compatible with SoundBlaster  o  Several bundled Applet
s
                                                   and drivers

32 bit stereo sound card.  Records, compresses and plays back voice,
  sound and music with computer controlled mixer settings and Yamaha OPL-
3
  based FM synthesis.  In addition, connections are provided for CD-audio
,
  line-in, dual joystick, MIDI and speakers.  Other key features include:

  o  Micro Channel Architecture compatible      o  4 Watt Stereo Amplifie
r
  o  Half-Size Adapter                          o  Compatible with all Ma
jor
  o  Auto-configures like all MC cards             Software Programs
  o  Multimedia PC Compatible                   o  Stereo Mixer & Amplifi
er
  o  Integrated 16 bit A/D and D/A Converters   o  Patented ESPCM Compres
sion
  o  Programmable Digital Volume Control        o  Windows compatible and
  o  Programmable Sample Rates to 44.1 kHz         OLE Compliant inc. Win
95
  o  DOS-register compatible with SoundBlaster  o  Several bundled Applet
s
  o  Daugthercard connector for 3D sound option    and drivers
     (however this is useless as it must be
      purchased with the card).

3D Sound for SoundPiper 32.  Adds Spatializer(TM) two speaker surround ef
fect
  with three levels, independent bass and treble, MUST BE ORDERED WITH
  SoundPiper 32 as it cannot be bought separately.

The SoundBlaster and Piper Cards are industry standards and thus offer th
e
most compatibility in most games Piper uses the SoundBlaster Pro Chip fro
m
ESS.  Most these cards may cause problems in the Windows environment as t
hey
were developed before Windows was around, however for DOS games the
SoundBlaster Pro is THE card to have.  The Audiovation/A and the others o
nly
emulate a SoundBlaster using Mwave technology which is THE thing for WIND
OWS.
So depending on what you do most choose a card, also two cards can be use
d if
the reference disk is patched.

From thedean@ibm.net:
There has been much discussion regarding PS/2 Micro Channel - MCA - sound

cards. Here is a quick comparison.  This comparison addresses both hardwa
re 
and driver capabilities.  It is important to consider both, since if ther
e is
no driver to support a hardware capability then the capability is not use
able.

A perfect example is OS/2 drivers.  Although each sound card in this
comparison  has "16 bit" record/playback hardware, some cards use the
"SoundBlaster Pro MCV" driver shipped with OS/2 Warp.  This driver only
supports "8 bit", not allowing "16 bit" files to be recorded or played.

MicroChannel
CARD ->                 ChipChat-16  ChipChat-32     Piper-16/32  Reply

HARDWARE:
16 bit rec/play         YES           YES            YES           YES
MPU-401 MIDI            YES           YES            NO            YES
WaveTable               upgrade       YES            NO            upgrad
e
FM                      YES           YES            YES           YES
Stereo Mixer            6 Channel     6 Channel      5 Channel     5 Chan
nel  

SoundBlaster            YES           YES            YES           YES
CD audio connectors     YES,4         YES,4          YES,1         YES,1
IBM Front Panel conn.   YES           YES            YES           NO

SOFTWARE DRIVERS:
16 bit rec/play
   WIN 3.1              YES           YES            YES           YES
   WIN 95               YES           YES            YES           NO
   WIN NT               YES           YES            YES           ?
   OS/2                 YES           YES            YES           NO
   WIN-OS/2             YES           YES            YES           ?
   AIX                  YES           YES            NO            NO
WaveTable support
   DOS                  upgrade       YES            NO            upgrad
e
   WIN 3.1              upgrade       YES            NO            upgrad
e
   WIN 95               upgrade       YES            NO            NO
   WIN NT               upgrade       YES            NO            ?
   OS/2                 upgrade       YES            NO            NO
   AIX                  upgrade       YES            NO            NO
   General Midi         upgrade       YES            NO            YES
Roland MPU-401
   DOS                  YES           YES            NO            YES
   WIN 3.1              YES           YES            NO            YES
   WIN 95               YES           YES            NO            NO
   WIN NT               YES           YES            NO            ?
   OS/2                 YES           YES            NO            NO
   AIX                  YES           YES            NO            NO

SOFTWARE COMPATIBILITY:
DOS GAMES - Out of the box play no problem
   DOOM                 YES           YES            Problems      Proble
ms
   HERETIC              YES           YES            NO            ?
   DESCENT              YES           YES            NO            ?
Game with WaveTable     YES           YES            NO            someti
mes

AGENCY APPROVALS - YES means can sell and ship to those countries
World Wide Approvals    YES           YES            NO            NO
CE-MARK (Europe,UK..)   YES           YES            NO            NO
FCC-B (USA)             YES           YES            YES           YES
CSA (Canadian)          YES           YES            ?             ?
VCCI (JAPAN)            YES           YES            NO            NO

Also see Appendix F for a full listing of PS/2 Sound Cards.


Q) 3.13 Can I run both a SoundBlaster and the Audiovation/A?

[Jacques@cpmc.ucl.ac.be (Alain Jacques)]
Yes, it works ... after patching the ADF file. What's conflicting is the
addresses of the game port, defined in both ADF's as fixed resources and
therefore the conflict cannot be managed by the POS itself. If you choose
 to
keep the game port on the SBPro, just as I did, your Audiovation ADF file
@8FD6.ADF should look like the end of this message.

If you have difficulties, don't hesitate to email to me.  BTW, there are 
new
Audiovation Windows drivers on IBM PC Co BBS (i.e. version 2.1 3D av211.
dsk,
av212.dsk, av213.dsk, av21util.dsk).

See Appendix C for Program listing.


Q) 3.14  Can I fake a keyboard so my computer will boot without it?

Well unlike the standard IBMs and clones, PS/2s perform a keyboard test a
t
boot.  Some have the option of canceling the keyboard test through a sett
ing
in the reference disk.  If you do not have this option you must leave the

keyboard attached (or if you have the engineering experience doctor up a
small board that sends the proper reponses to the test back and can plug
into the keyboard port :)).

Or use this device below reported by Louis Ohland 

http://www.raritan.com/newsite/guardian.htm.

Picture is at http://www.raritan.com/newsite/images/pgrdian.gif.

Blurb:
Each Guardian for PC, Mac, and Sun computers plugs into the keyboard port
and mouse port, and appears to the computer as its physical keyboard and
mouse. Since Guardian behaves like a keyboard and mouse, the computer wil
l
boot and run flawlessly.

Guardian is powered by the computer and provides ports so you can "hot"
connect a keyboard and mouse anytime to operate the system. Using Guardia
n
with PCs connected to a mechanical A/B switch will eliminate PC booting
and keyboard locking problems.

With Guardian in line, you can hot connect or disconnect MasterConsole
cable or a physical keyboard and mouse. For mission-critical servers
connected to Raritan's MasterConsole, Guardian provides a "fail-safe"
service port.

Guardian for Mac and Guardian for Sun also convert the keyboard, mouse, a
nd
video signals to PS/2 and VGA standards. This enables any number of Mac o
r
Sun computers equipped with Guardian, as well as PCs, to be connected to
MasterConsole and controlled with a single PS/2 keyboard, PS/2 mouse, and

VGA monitor.

Guardian for PS/2 -- APKME


S) 4.0 Upgrading Processor/Coprocessor/Disks/Video/CDROM

Q) 4.1  I don't have the money for a new computer or motherboard, what ca
n I
         do?

[PC Magazine 11-08-94, alkemyst@shadow.net)

Kingston Technology makes upgrades to raise the level of all chips (i.e. 
286
to 386, 386 to 486, 486 to 586).  Some are CPU replacements, others are
daughterboard cards, and the granddaddy is the MCMaster.  The CPU replace
ments
offer very little performance gain if your system is strapped with slow
peripherals and memory, but can get you running 386 or 486 software.  The

daughterboard 486/NOW! replaces both the CPU and math coprocessor, but
performance-wise it is a disappointment.  The MCMaster is MCA architectur
e in
action.  Using busmastering it allows the card to take over CPU functions
 and
make the computer run a lot faster using its own 128k L2 cache and up to 
32MB
of memory.  This card shows promise and in most cases performs better tha
n the
daughterboards and CPU plug-ins, however it lags slightly in DOS video
performance and video in general as it must 'cross' the bus on to the
motherboard.  Still the MCMaster is probably the fastest in this list and
 the
only upgrade that can add L2 cache to computers without the option.  [For
mats:
 486/NOW!:  models 70/80 to 33PD3 or 33PS3 (don't know what
the PD3 or PS3 maybe D3DDX and S3DSX.); MCMaster:  for models 55, 56, 5
7, 65,
70, and 80:  to 33MHz or 50MHz...note only 50MHz with 8MB+ boosted perfor
mance
and so it did significantly.  The price for this level is $1000-1400.][ND
P:
built in to the 486 chip.]

Intel has a SnapIn 386 module for PS/2 models 50, 50Z and 60. It features
 a
20MHz 80386SX, 16K cache and it can utilize an existing 80287 math
coprocessor. I have one in a model 60 and have had no problems with it.

IBM offers for the 386 PS/2 Model 70 and 80 with 16 or 20MHz processors a

Power Platform upgrade with a 486DX33 on it.  See above IBM PARTS LIST fo
r
features and part numbers.  These are expensive ($500-700) and are no lon
ger
made, but can still be obtained esp. from the Boulder Parts Surplus Plant

800-388-7080.

IBM re-released the Blue Lightning chip for PS/2's again.  This time it i
s for
the 25MHz machines also.  It offers 16K internal cache, enhanced 386/486
instruction set, and 33/66MHz performance (though the 33 will be replaced
 with
whatever your system runs at).  Also you can add a math
coprocessor.  The L1 cache design is supposed to be what sets this chip o
ff
from the rest (Hypertec).  I talked to a IBM tech who actually had the Cy
rix
DRx2-50 and was asked to help test out this new chip.  He stated he saw t
he
same performance jump from going to a Cx486DRx2-50 from his 386DX25 as go
ing
to the BL2 from the Cyrix.  I would call that an upgrade worth considerin
g,
esp. at the mere $345 IBM is asking.  IBMPN#13H6698 $345.

IBM also has a SLC2-66 chip out for 55SX offering up to 10x the
performance.  Features 16K L1 cache, enhanced instruction set, and allows
existing 387SX usage providing it is a 33MHz chip. IBMPN#13H6694 $259.

Cyrix offers very good options for the 386 to 486 conversion if you are o
n
a tight budget.  Their DRx2 line offers clock doubled performance at a lo
w
price.  The chips perform very well and just require removal of the 386 a
nd
popping in the new chip.  Pricewise they can't be beat and though not off
ering
the performance of their $500+ cousins they come close enough for most pe
ople
at half the cost or more (This is due to their tiny 1k L.1 caches). [Form
ats:
386 to 486 only:  DX16MHz to 16/32MHZ, DX20MHz to 20/40MHz, 25MHz to
25/50MHz, DX33MHz to 33/66MHz, none for 40MHz yet.  DX16MHz and 20MHz sys
tems
can use the 25MHz chip if available.  Some versions for SX models.][NDP: 
 387,
Cyrix 83D87 rec.]

Evergreen's Rev to DX4 and 486 chips are more expensive and generally fas
ter
than most others at a lower prices.  One problem is compatibility, many
computers can not run at the clock tripled and quadrupled rates and must
fall back to clock doubled rate negating the extra cost of the upgrade.
Another note is the processor board cards will not work with all systems 
due
to space constraints, it is best to measure and make sure you got at leas
t 1"
or more room above the processor and can afford to give up peripheral car
d
space if it is in the way.  A processor card may be worth it if it works 
due
to the fact of a larger L1 cache and the usage of an IBM Blue Lightning C
PU
in some formats.  [Formats:  386 to 486: DX16/DX20MHz to TI 486SXL2 or Bl
ue
Lightning 16/48 or 20/60, DX25MHz to TI 486SXL2 or Blue Lightning 25/75,
DX33MHz to Blue Lightning 33/66 or 33/99; 486 to 486:  SX/DX25MHz to 25/7
5MHz,
SX/DX33MHz to 33/99MHz, SX/DX50MHz to 50/100MHz.  Note the DX4 only clock

triples or doubles not quadruples like a DX4 seems it should.][NDP: vario
us.]

H.Co is offering many chips now from 286 to 486 all the way to a 386 to
DX4/100.  I am interested to see how these perform as I have no info othe
r
than formats available.  [Formats:  286 to 486:  6-16MHz to IBM50MHz; 386
to 486:  SX/DX16/20MHz to TI40MHz, DX25MHz to TI50MHz, DX25MHz to IBM50MH
z,
SX/DX33MHz to IBM66MHz, SX16MHz to IBM48MHz, SX20MHz to IBM60MHz, DX16/20
MHz
to IBM 60MHz, DX25MHz to IBM75MHz, DX33 to IBM99MHz; 486 to 486: 25MHz to
75MHz, 33MHz to 100MHz, 40MHz to 100MHz.][NDP:  ?]

A small company called MicroModules System also offers CPU upgrades.  The
y
are at 10500-A Ridgeview Court, Cupertino, CA  95014-0736.  408-864-7437.
Then there are AOX Inc.'s MicroMASTER busmaster boards. From 386-20 to
486/33 with up to 8MB of RAM on board. This is what the Kingston is now.
Kingston bought the rights to manufacture the MicroMaster.  The early 286
to 386 versions can utilize 132PGA chips and usually 486DLC and DRx2 chip
s
will work, but these are no longer made and must be found used or in surp
lus
warehouses.  [Formats:  286 to 386:  to 20MHz, 25MHz, 33Mhz][NDP:  387.]

In summary the MCMaster fully configured, i.e. 486/50 with 8 to 16MB of R
AM
offered the best performance, followed closely by Evergreen's DX4, Cyrix 
and
finally Kingston.  H.Co, IBM, Intel, and AOX were not tested.

Also note that adding 8MB of RAM will usually add as much performance as 
the
CPU upgrades do and add a lot more performance if combined with the CPU
upgrade.  The addition of RAM, a Video card, faster hard drive, and a new
 CPU
will make the most improvement and if done over a period of time makes se
nse,
however if these are going to be bought 'lump sum' it is probably better 
to
buy a 486 clone if you are looking for speed.  If reliability is a big fa
ctor
and speed not as important as being able to run the new 386+ software the
n
with PS/2's usually there are no problems as there are with most clones.

Update as of 10/28/98, there are no processor cards (AOX MicroMaster or
MCMaster) available for the PS/2's anymore.  Evergreen and Kingston are s
till
selling their processor upgrades and prices have fallen dramatically.  Fo
r the
486/33 systems you can get the AMD 586/133 (equivalent to a Pentium 75) f
or
about $70 from CompUSA, Fry's, or Circuit City (list is about $129 for
Evergreen's and $99 for Kingston).


Q) 4.2  What are the Benchmarks for these Processor Upgrades?

Benchmarks are meaningless to give as it would not be the same machine no
r
the same variables but below are some 'averages'.  Benchmarks are only go
od
to compare the same settings to the same settings so if you have a machin
e
listed and have different marks don't post to USENET asking why, as it is
simply because you have a different configuration.  The basic outline
discussed above gives you the breakdown in percent a CPU upgrade is worth
36-134%, a daugtherboard is worth 137-681%(681% percent seems high and wa
s
not supported by PC Magazine's data. The 137% seems more real world as th
ese
are very close to direct CPU replacements for the most part), and an MCA
processor card 263% which offered the largest increase, but at a very hig
h
cost.

Also note that a 486 is just an enhanced 386 with L1 cache.  This L1 cach
e
is responsible for up to a 500% performance increase.  L2 caches can offe
r at
most a 50% performance increase.  Try disabling all caching on a 33MHz 48
6 and
compare the marks to a 33MHz 386 you will be surprised how close they are.

Winstones are the most quoted benchmark today, so a table of average Wins
tones
was computed.  Keep in mind that this benchmark is a benchmark which rate
s the
execution of certain popular sequences, scripts, in about ten or so of th
e
most popular window programs.  With this in mind this should give a *very
*
real world figure.  Also keep in mind that when the processor upgrades we
re
done, the systems below remained stock which is very crippling especially
 with
a 486 trying to pull files from a 20ms access hard drive.

The processor quoted benchmarks came from a database of at least 50 diffe
rent
platforms each for the 25, 33, 2/50, 2/66 with the 33 and 66 MHz numbers 
being
taken as an average of no less than 50 machines for each.  This should gi
ve a
good average number as there was no price range or brand criteria only wh
at
was available to the home user (i.e. no FCC class A or non-FCC tested
dynamos).

The 50MHz numbers were for 5 tested machines.  The AM40, CxS40, and SLC2
numbers are for two or less machines each and may be bad examples of the
capability of the chips being either superior or inferior to average numb
ers.
The Pentium numbers came from an average by PC Magazine and should be a g
ood
average figure.

Processor                       Winstone Value
--------------------------------------------------
386/25MHz Winstone base w/4MB   10.20
386/25MHz Winstone base w/8MB   13.60
486/25MHz                       26.32
CxS40                           29.95*
486/33MHz                       34.32
SLC2/50                         36.70*
SLC2/66                         37.80*
AMD40                           40.30*
486DX2/50MHz                    43.50
486/50MHz                       47.94
486DX2/66MHz                    50.68
Pentium                         73.30
CX486DRx2/50                    14.20 --
Rev to 486 2/50                 15.40   \
Rev to 486 3/75                 18.00    Keep in mind these could vary a 
lot
486/Now!                        11.20   / depending what system the upgra
de
MCMaster 50PD/8                 15.00 --  is going into (i.e. MCMaster wa
s
                                          only tested on a 386SX16 machin
e
                                          and the rest a Compaq 386DX/25e
                                          with only 4MB and with 8MB the
                                          Rev to 486 2/50 did 23 Winstone
s
                                          and the 486/33 did 36.  So with

                                          more memory and better peripher
als
                                          the upgrades should give truer 
486
                                          performance despite PC Magazine
s
                                          slams against them in general.


Q) 4.3  Which Math Co-Processor should I use?

For 286 systems a 287, 386 systems a 387 and for processor upgrades usual
ly
the same unless they perform NDP functions on chip.  It may be wise to
purchase an enhanced NDP, such as the 83D87 from Cyrix which is much fast
er
(5-15% in applications, up to 20% on certain benchmarks) than the Intel p
art.


Q) 4.4  How can get rid of my slow stock Hard Drive and get a faster and
        larger capacity version?

PS/2's are notorious for slow, low capacity hard drives.  The Model 50's
20MB drive has 80ms access!  The easiest way to go is to add a SCSI or ES
DI
card.  SCSI in general offers better performance, the ability to add up t
o 7
peripherals and easy to find drives.  ESDI offers more UNIX compatibility
(though with new drivers this will change) and was stock on some PS/2's,
most now use SCSI.  If you have SCSI or ESDI already you can add at least
 one
more drive no problem.  It is a bad idea in general to try and replace th
e
MFM type ST-506 drives on early PS/2s as buying a SCSI card and new hard 
drive
is a cheaper, faster and more reliable solution.

Keep in mind that if you add a SCSI drive and controller make sure the
controller has boot ability in the BIOS or else you will have to boot off
 of
the original PS/2 drive.


Q) 4.5  How can I add a second floppy drive and what type will work with 
my
        PS/2?

Kits for mounting these drives can be obtained from PS Solutions 214-783-
6997.
They sell high quality, complete kits for almost every possible internal 
drive
mounting option.

3.5" internal for:
     25/30, 50Z/70, 50(front bay 50Z/70)
     60/65/80         (via a 5.25" internal mount and allow for two half-
high
                       3.5"/5.25" mounts)

3.5" 'H'-skid type for:
     35/40/56/57/76/77(via the 5.25" int. option)
  
5.25" internal for: 
     35/40/56/57/76/77(all with 3.5" mount options available)
     60/65/80         (vertical mount, also with dual half-high 3.5"/5.25
"
                       options)
     90               (for removable media in the 5.25" bay w/ 3.5"HD opt
.)
     85/95            (for removable media and rails for fixed media)

For systems with 'slide-it-right-in' options the necessary bezels can be
obtained from DakTech 800-325-3238 very cheaply for a high quality produc
t.
(Also for bezels with missing clear plastic 'windows' which make it hard 
to
see the drive lights.)

First, we will discuss the 3.5" addition as it is a more common event. 

The first thing you need to do is to determine the MB capacity of what yo
u
want to add.  There is 720K/1.44MB/2.88MB and they can all read/write at 
their
level or lower (i.e. a 2.88MB can read/write 1.44MB and 720K).  Not all
systems can use all 3.5" drives.  [I would like to include a list of whic
h
systems CAN'T use the 1.44MB drives and which systems CAN use the 2.88MB
drive].  After determining what you need/want to add you can start the
installation.

*ADDING A 720K DRIVE:

*INTERNAL OPTION:
*EXTERNAL OPTION:


ADDING A 1.44MB DRIVE:

INTERNAL OPTION:
There are two types of 1.44MB drives and though they do the same thing th
ey
are not interchangeable on the internal level.  One has the disk light ab
ove
the media slot and the other has it below the media slot (there are other
 ways
to tell but this is the easiest method).  Once you determine this it is s
imply
a matter of either popping off the faceplate bezel blank sliding in the d
isk
drive until it 'clicks' and popping on the new bezel.  Sometimes the exte
rnal
case needs to be opened like a model 50 for example, but then the procedu
re is
the same.

*EXTERNAL OPTION:


*ADDING A 2.88MB DRIVE:

*INTERNAL OPTIONS:
*EXTERNAL OPTIONS:

Now we will discuss the addition of a 1.2MB 5.25" drive.

These can be both adding internally or externally.  External is the commo
n way
as most PS/2s do not provide a 5.25" floppy bay and those that do usually
require a vertical mounting arrangement.

*The models supporting a direct 5.25" mount internally are:

All other's need to either buy the kits listed above or need to use an
external mounting option.

*INTERNAL MOUNTING:
*The internal 5.25" drive is installed by sliding it into the bay
 [someone please contact me with the directions for the direct installs
..do they click into place like the 3.5" drives or do they require
screws/or combination.]

The kit-type installations are completed by following the manufacturers
guidelines for the kit then going to the drive hookup section below.

*Hooking up the drive to the drive card:

EXTERNAL MOUNTING:

Find a place on you desk or area where the likelihood of the drive being
knocked down is low.  Then set the drive down and detach the cable if pos
sible
from the drive to prevent it being dragged around in the installation
procedures.

Now you are ready to set it up:

IBM:
Open the case of the computer, find an empty MCA slot. Plug in the floppy
controller card and run the cable to it.  Now close up the computer and p
lug
in the 5.25" external drive and you should be all set.

Cristie drive (available only in the UK?):
The drive connects to the B-3.5" floppy connector. The cable then goes in
side
the computer, through the slot in the back and finally to the drive.
It doesn't actually use a slot, but looks neater than having a cable run 
out
the front B: drive bay to the 5.25" drive.

Radio Shack/Tandy's 5.25":
This drive will give you 360 and 1.2mb formats via the parallel port, and
allows you to plug your printer in too -- so you lose neither a drive bay
, an
expansion slot, or much money. The drive can be temperamental, usually
requiring a print job before the drive is acknowledged (maybe initializat
ion
of the parallel port is what is required). The print job can be empty als
o.
This drive is an ideal solution which lets you keep your tape backup and
expansion cards in place, even if requiring an extra step to use the driv
e.

Sysgen unit:
Its not a very awkward installation.  Just pop off the cover. Unplug the
floppy connector.   Snap a small board in on supplied post, and re-instal
l
the floppy connector and route the other out the box to the external unit.
It works as drive B in 1.2 meg mode.  The IBM's I saw mapped above the la
st
hard drive, so that floppy came in as D or E. Works fine with SCO Xenix t
oo.

[I have been informed that the IBM drives also require the usage of one o
f the
3.5" floppy bays for a second drive card, is this the case for all 5 1/4"
drives?]


Q) 4.6  Is there a SVGA option for my PS/2?

There's XGA and XGA/2 from IBM and the Reply Video Adapter from Reply
Technologies. Both of these have 1MB of unexpandable VRAM and can display
 256
colors at 1024x768 non-interlaced and go to 1280x1024x16.  The IBM card u
ses a
IBM chip and the Reply the Cirrus Logic CD-GL 5426 chipset which is VESA
compatible.

IBM also has a SVGA card for servers.  As such, it maxes out at 256 color
s.

A note about XGA/2, it is not VESA compatible at the hardware level...the
re
are drivers that allow it to be VESA compliant but these drivers freak ou
t
many pieces of commercial software...be advised.

Also on the high end, I know of Matrox making some in the $1k + range tha
t
have 1MB+ of VRAM but I have yet to hear of the performance or to run int
o
someone who has purchased one.  Also RasterOps Colorboard 1024MC can disp
lay
1024x768x16.7M (no modes above 1024x768) with the 3MB of VRAM it has, but
 it
is slow compared to other video cards and expensive. Also I am curious as
 to
the specs of the IBM Image I Adapter which is about $2.7k with 3MB VRAM f
or
1280x1024x256 color support.

ATI has the Ultra Pro 2MB a 2MB VRAM card with a 32 bit accelerator.  Thi
s
card had be found for as low as $250 (retails for ~$500)[prices as of 199
6]. 
I am curious to its performance as the 64 bit versions are top in their c
lass,
but for just the ability to get greater color depth the 2MB card is worth
 it. 
Be advised that ATI has the habit of constantly changing its drivers so
compatibility issues may arise and a downtime for new drivers may be upon
 you.
 It uses the Mach32 chipset so is widely supported, NT 4.0 supports this 
also.


Q) 4.7  How can I add a CD-ROM drive to my PS/2?

Most of the time an external CD-ROM can be added if you have a SCSI card 
with
no problem.  Internal CD-ROMs can be added to any PS/2 with a 5 1/4" bay,
 some
that have internal 5 1/4" bays (60/65SX/80) can use special bezels to
vertically mount a CD-ROM.  In these cases caddy-type drive are mandatory.
The drivers needed are usually dependant on which SCSI card you use so co
ntact
the manufacturer if CD drivers were not supplied.


Q) 4.8  How can I build a Multimedia PS/2?

You can build a multimedia PS/2 the same way as a normal PC.  The excepti
ons
are sound cards.  As it stands now you must use the SB-pro or clone for D
OS
and the Audiovation/A or equivalent for windows.  Any SCSI CD-ROM should
work with a SCSI card and any big monitor will work.  Reply Technologies,
Matrox, and ATI all make video cards for SVGA, some have up to 3MB of RAM.
Also any speaker setup will work with the soundcards providing they have
they same connectors (usu. RCA or mini RCA).  Other than that you will
want a fast hard drive and probably a 33MHz or faster machine.

Here is an example:

PS/2 Model 80-A21
Cyrix Cx486DRx2-50 Processor upgrade with 33D87 NDP.
Mag DX15F Monitor
Reply Technology Video Adapter
Plextor 4x CD-ROM (internal mounted)
Piper or ChipChat SB-Pro sound card
Audiovation/A sound card
Seagate ST-3600N SCSI hard drive
Future Domain MCS-600 SCSI controller.
Sony Speakers
CH Game Card III
Generic PC joystick


Q) 4.9  How can I get sound effects in DOOM?

[From: cousinad@aol.com (Cousin AD)]

Option #1:
Choose all the WRONG settings for the DMA, IRQ and I/O address.  Save
settings and play...  You may still need to re-boot one time before this
works.

Option #2:
Choose the wrong setting for the I/O Address (use the correct settings fo
r
the IRQ & DMA).

The above worked for me, but I found problems setting-up for modem play...
 I figured, hey, you can't have it all...  Then I got another suggestion
that really solved the problem...

Option #3:
Choose all the CORRECT settings for the DMA, IRQ and I/O Address.  Exit
set-up and choose yes to "Save settings before exit."  Then, before
starting DOOM, open the file DEFAULT.CFG in an ASCII text editor (MS-DOS
"EDIT" for instance).  Change the "SND_SBPORT" line from 544 to 220 or
240, depending on your SoundBlaster MCV configuration.  Save the
DEFAULT.CFG file and start DOOM...

Q) 4.10  How can I make my PS/2 Model 90/95 a Pentium 180/200MMX machine?

First it is going to always be a P180MMX as the clock tripling runs at 3x
60
and
there is no easy way to modify this, although if a budding Electrical
Engineering
student wants to do so I am sure the list would love a P233MMX version. A
s
long
as the chip is above the rated speed you are OK, just like it made sense 
to
always buy the 33MHz 387 math coprocessor as you could use it in any 387 
slot
and not have to repurchase a FPU when you upgraded CPU's.

Secondly, you must use the Overdrive version of the P180MMX or P200MMX as
 the
non-Overdrive version do not work properly in this capacity.

Also note the P90 version of the Type 4 complex is needed.  Contrary to
popular
belief all of the Type 4 complexes are as different from each other as th
ey
are
to the Type 1, 2, and 3 complexes (as well as each different kind of thos
e).

You need the "Y" upgrade of the Type 4 complex, announced Oct 1994, and k
nown
as
IBM Part Number/FRU#  06H3739 or 19H1027 (and a few other crossreferenced

numbers).
These go for about as much as a small third world country (or half the
continental
United States if purchased directly from IBM).  So make sure you can affo
rd to
lose
this board should any of the below modifications screw up your processor 
board
or
PC.  If performed as outlined and no mistakes are made it is a totally
reliable
modification and brings your machine to the front of the pack.  Remember 
most
applications peak out at 200-233MHz Pentium speeds and the PII's are real
ly
only
useful for games, high-end graphics, and high-end multiuser server
applications.

The complete breakdown with pics is available at:
http://www.inwave.com/~ohlandl/P90upgrd.html

Disclaimer

Modifying your processor complex with these instructions will void your
warranty
and may cause irreparable damage resulting in a non-functioning processor

complex
if performed incorrectly. There are no warranties expressed or implied. M
odify
at
your own risk. (Manufacturers warranty on newly purchased PC Server 500's
 was
usually three years depending on country of purchase. Check your warranty

information if concerned or unsure. Optional service contracts may have
altered
or extended your period.)
 

Introduction

The following instructions can assist you in modifying the 90Mhz Pentium
processor
complex that was originally manufactured in the IBM PC Server 500 System3
90 so
that you can use the PentiumAE Overdrive 180Mhz with MMX chip. If you un
plug
the
PentiumAE 90Mhz chip from the complex and plug in the 180Mhz PentiumAE 
Overdrive

without this modification, you will experience two problems:

I. The electric fan that cools the PentiumAE Overdrive chip will not hav
e power

   to turn the blades. You will 'cook" (burn out) the PentiumAE Overdriv
e due
to
   inadequate cooling. (The 90Mhz PentiumAE chip uses a heat sink instea
d of an

   electric fan.)
2. Without providing 5 volts to the overdrive chip, the chip will run at 
about
   25Mhz which is slower than the installed 90Mhz chip.

Directions

* Locate and have a working reference diskette for the PC Server 500
available.
  You will need it if you use a different processor complex board than th
e one
  currently installed. You should not need it if you remove, modify, and
replace
  the same processor complex board that is currently installed. Better to

locate
  and have it ready than to not have it.
* The processor complex does not use a ZIF (zero insertion force) socket 
for
the
  PentiumAE processor. The old 90Mhz processor must be carefully removed
. (A
good
  quality jewler's screwdriver was useful to the author in starting to pr
y the
  chip from the socket and then working around the perimeter of the chip
  increasing in small increments. Insert the tip of the screwdriver betwe
en
the
  socket and the chip. Use only the socket surface and not other chips or

edges
  on the board as fulcrums for prying.)
* Solder an insulated wire from the +5 volt regulator to the two unused p
ins
on
  the PentiumAE 'internally no-connect'.
* The two pins are technically labeled AN01 and AN03. There are no labels

visible
  that say AN01 or AN03.
* After the wire has been soldered to all three points and allowed to coo
l,
  carefully align all pins of the new processor to their respective holes

taking
  note of the key (missing pin on one corner). Carefully push the new
processor
  into the holes. The new processor pins may be longer than those of the 
old
  processor and therefore there may be a gap between the bottom of the ne
w
  processor and the socket surface.
* Reinsert the processor complex into the PC Server and reconnect the sig
nal
wire.
  Power on the server and assure that the fan on the Pentium Overdrive
processor is
  turning (a flashlight aimed at the fan when power is applied will proba
bly
be
  necessary).
* You will note that the LED display on the front of the PC Server 500 wi
ll
say
  "60Mhz" instead of "90Mhz." This is normal.

Modify at your own risk! Modification will void warranty.
    

S) 5.0 Adding System and Cache Memory

Q) 5.1  How do I add memory to my PS/2 off the motherboard?

[Test from PC Magazine January 28, 1992]

There are several RAM cards out there for the PS/2 and you do not necessa
rily
need a 32 bit card to get the max performance as will be shown.
(all cards tested on a Model 70-A21).

KEY:

 %READ 3D The read speed of memory using 4K blocks in sequence from 0MB 
to 16MB
         in relation to motherboard memory writes.
%WRITE 3D The write speed of memory using 4K blocks in sequence from 1MB
 to
         16MB blocks in relation to motherboard memory writes. (not less 
than
         1MB due to that memory being of the resident OS)
TESTED 3D The as TESTED config, 8MB of 80ns RAM was used for each card.
   MAX 3D The maximum memory able to be put on the RAM card in MB.  Thou
gh MCA
         computers don't allow DMA or direct memory access transfers past
         16MB, certain OS's for non-DMA type usage i.e. disk caches and E
MS.
  SIMM 3D 9 bit (30 pin) or 36 bit (72 pin) SIMM requirements.
SOCKET 3D The amount of SIMM sockets on the RAM card.
256-16 3D The size of SIMM it can take in K or MB.
INTEGR 3D The integration of the card to the system.  BIOS is the right 
way
         and allows all memory to be read at or during POST.  T0 is Track
 0
         method which is not as per IBM spec. This uses a special driver 
from
         the hard drive before the OS loads and thus is not usually cache
d
         and is reflected below in slower speeds.  BOTH of course means b
oth
         can be used (on the CuRAM if BIOS is used 16MB is max and if T0 
is
         used then 32MB is possible).  T0 also has the problem of not bei
ng
         tested by the system.  Unless the card does this any memory erro
rs
         do not get mapped out.
  POST 3D Whether or not the memory is shown on the screen at POST.  All
 BIOS
         type card 'POST' their memory, but some do not show it.
BKFILL 3D Whether the RAM card allows backfill of any deficiencies of th
e 640k
         base system RAM, more useful in 1MB systems and can allow 0
         wait access through the MCA channel and increase performance on
         such systems by 50%.
 PORTS 3D Either (P)arallel or (S)erial included or as an (o)ption. PS m
eans
         one parallel and one serial included, PPSo means there is an opt
ion
         for 2 parallel and 1 serial port and so on.  NONE means no ports
 are
         provided or offered as an option.
MODELS 3D The supported models, A 3D Models 50-65SX, B 3D Models 70-80
 and C 3D
         Models 90-95.  Note if BC is specified it means a 32 bit card.  
Cards
         with only a B designation do not work with 50-65SX or for some
         reason the Model 90-95 even though it was a 32 bit card.
                _________________________________________________________
___
               |   | % | T |   |   | S |  |  |  |  |  |  |  I |  | B|    
|M
               | % | W | E |   |   | O |  |  |  |  |  |  |  N |  | K| P  
|O
               | R | R | S |   | S | C | 2|  |  |  |  |  |  T | P| F| O  
|D
               | E | I | T | M | I | K | 5|  |  |  |  |  |  E | O| I| R  
|E
               | A | T | E | A | M | E | 6| 1| 2| 4| 8|16|  G | S| L| T  
|L 
               | D | E | D | X | M | T | K| M| M| M| M| M|  R | T| L| S  
|S
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
AboveBoard MC  |80 |71 | 4 | 32|9  | 8 | Y| Y| N| Y| N| N|BIOS| N| Y|PSo 
|AB
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
AMS Memory     |66 |46 | 8 | 16|36 | 4 | N| Y| Y| Y| N| N|BIOS| Y| N|PSo 
|BC
32DI           |   |   |   |   |   |   |  |  |  |  |  |  |    |  |  |    
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Capital OS/RAM |80 |71 | 8 |  8|9  | 8 | Y| Y| N| N| N| N|BIOS| N| N|NONE
|ABC
32             |   |   |   |   |   |   |  |  |  |  |  |  |    |  |  |    
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Capital OS/RAM |80 |71 | 8 |128|9  | 8 | N| Y| N| Y| N| Y|BIOS| N| Y|NONE
|ABC
32+            |   |   |   |   |   |   |  |  |  |  |  |  |    |  |  |    
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
CuRAM MC32     |80 |50 | 8 | 32|36 | 4 | N| Y| Y| Y| Y| N|BOTH| Y| N|NONE
|BC
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Kingston       |80 |71 | 8 | 16|36 | 4 | N| Y| Y| Y| N| N|BIOS| Y| N|NONE
|BC
KTM 3011-4     |   |   |   |   |   |   |  |  |  |  |  |  |    |  |  |    
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
MicroRAM       |80 |71 | 8 | 32|36 | 4 | N| Y| Y| Y| Y| N|BIOS| Y| Y|NONE
|ABC
SC             |   |   |   |   |   |   |  |  |  |  |  |  |    |  |  |    
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
MicroRAM       |80 |71 | 8 | 32|9  | 8 | Y| Y| N| Y| N| N|BIOS| Y| Y|PSSo
|BC
386            |   |   |   |   |   |   |  |  |  |  |  |  |    |  |  |    
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Parity+Plus    |69 |50 | 8 |  8|9  | 8 | Y| Y| N| N| N| N| T0 | N| N|NONE
|B
P32010         |   |   |   |   |   |   |  |  |  |  |  |  |    |  |  |    
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
RAMQuest       |80 |45 | 8 |  8|9  | 8 | Y| Y| N| N| N| N|BIOS| Y| Y|PS  
|AB
16/32          |   |   |   |   |   |   |  |  |  |  |  |  |    |  |  |    
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
SIMMply-RAM    |80 |71 | 8 | 32|36 | 4 | N| Y| Y| Y| Y| N|BIOS| Y| N|NONE
|BC
for PS/2 32 bit|   |   |   |   |   |   |  |  |  |  |  |  |    |  |  |    
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

The winner here was the MicroRAM SC (a 16 bit card).  Both cheap and with
 many
memory options.  The 386 version offers a parallel and dual serial option
 that
would be a wise purchase if you needed those but the 9 bit memory it uses

needs to be installed in banks of four and thus in general the SC is the
preferred solution offering 100% of the performance of its 32 bit brother
 in a
16 bit config. (note:  I don't know if the 16 bit cards will work as well
 with
processor upgrades, but clearly they worked as well in the 386/25MHz syst
em
and were recommended for the 486 90/95.)

Please note that the 16 bit cards scored just as well in most cases and a
re
less money.  Any card the scored percents of 80/71 operated at 0 wait sta
tes.
The MicroRAM allows 1 wait state with 120ns and matched memory with 100ns
,
it will operate at 0 wait states with 85ns memory (this was not tested in
this test and is purely from the manufacturers mouth).

As of 1998, ChipChat (313)565-4000 (www.chipchat.com) now sells the Micro
Ram
SC cards.  They have been changed a bit though I think as they no longer 
work
on the Model 90 or 95.  They use four 36 bit 72 pin 80ns parity SIMMs in 
any
combination of 1, 2, 4 or 8MB chips, are compatible with models 55, 57, 7
0,
P70, P75, 77 and 80, but not the 90 or 95.  They are 32 bit cards, but ca
n
also be used in a 16 bit slot.  They are also compatible with Win 95 and 
NT.


Q) 5.2  How do I add cache memory to my PS/2?

You can't unless it comes already on the board or you purchase a CPU upgr
ade
card with cache built in.

From Louis Ohland :

Type 1 complexes have a socket to add 256K L2 cache.  This can be had for
 $25
from NSI at www.wwtrading.com/ps2.htm.


Q) 5.3  Can I use 4MB modules if IBM only calls for 2MB?

Supposedly you can, but not per IBM.  I had both a 80/20MHz and 80/25MHz 
here
recently with both 4MB and 2MB modules, but forgot to test this when I ha
d
the chance.  I don't want to say you definitely can until I or someone I 
trust
has done so.  Until then by the memory at your own risk, it may very well

work, but give data dropout at times.


Q) 5.4  Who has memory the cheapest?

Really depends on what memory you are looking for.  If it is SIMMs check
www.pricewatch.com, if it is for proprietary IBM memory you are better of
f
looking on comp.sys.ibm.ps2.hardware.


Q) 5.5  Is there a way to identify a PS/2 RAM card or SIMM?

[From Aron Eisenpress ]

If the SIMM slots are 3 on the left and 1 on the right then it is a 2-14.
  If
the slots are 2 and 2 then it is a 2-8mb adapter.  There was a recall abo
ut 4
years ago on 2-14mb adapters that had data integrity problems with 4mb SI
MMs,
but the problem was not ever produced outside the lab that was reported. 
 If
it is 2-14 and has a sticker then it is probably one of the problem adapt
ers.
However, the recall has expired and IBM is no longer providing replacemen
ts.


Q) 5.6  What is the ECC memory option on some of the newer PS/2s?


Q) 5.7  What cache size do I have/can I upgrade to?


S) 6.0 Diagnostics

Q) 6.1  What do the POST beeps mean?

Beep(s)                 Errant device
No beep                 Power supply, system board
1 short beep            System OK
2 short beeps           POST Error displayed on monitor
Repeating short beeps   Power supply, system board
3 long beeps            3270 keyboard card
1 long, 1 short beeps   System board
1 long, 2 short beeps   Display adapter (MDA, CGA)
1 long, 3 short beeps   EGA
Continuous beep         Power supply, system board


Q) 6.2  What do the POST codes mean?

Note if errors are encountered with the reference disk in the drive they 
will
be identified.

See Appendix D for full listing.


Q) 6.3  Why when my system boots fine sometimes the reference disk 
        diagnostics report errors?

This is usually a case of non-IBM components added to the system.  Some
examples are video adapters, hard drive controllers, and the like.  In mo
st
cases, POST is always right and the reference disk is tricked into thinki
ng
there is a problem so don't have a heart attack when it gives you the:
'Replace system board' message it could just be a normal option generated
error.  Also lock-ups are common with some video cards added to the syste
m.


Q) 6.4  How can I *REALLY* find out if these errors are just bogus?

The *EASY* method if your system hangs on the full tests is to enter -A
from the reference disk main menu and select the test it hung up on.  If
everything checks out then no problem.

If you want it to run the full test without hanging the only method is to
remove each card and reboot with the reference disk allow it to auto-conf
igure
and then reboot and run the reference disk tests.  If the system hangs no
w
then there is a problem with the system not related to added options, con
tact
IBM or a repair tech promptly and try not to use the machine until it is
looked at.


Q) 6.5  OK I got a problem, who can I get to fix it?

Solutronix [closed as of 10/28/98], 7255 Flying Cloud Dr., Eden Prairie, 
MN
55344; 800-875-2580.  In one example, they replaced the video driver chip
 and
several "likely to fail" chips.  The repair, including shipping, cost $29
5. 
All repairs are warranted for six months, even if it is not related to th
e
original fault.

Micro Exchange [closed as of 10/28/98], 682 Passaic Avenue, Nutley, NJ  0
7110,
(201)284-1200, FAX (201)284-1550.  They have always been very professiona
l in
all of our transactions.  They sell used/demo and some new parts as well 
as
doing repairs.  In February their rates for system board repairs were:

8570/20MHz  $145          8570/25MHz    $155         8573       $225
8580/16MHz  $160          8580/20MHz    $165         8580/25MHz $170
8590        $275          8595          $325

Their warranty and repair offering is very similar to Solutronix.

In early 1993 IBM introduced the Personal Systems Card Repair service [cl
osed
as of 10/28/98]. The number is 800-759-6995, and their address is:

IBM
Attn: PSCR
11400 Burnet Road
Austin, TX 78758-3493

They offer 24-hour and 5-day turn-around service (the difference in price
 is
about $50), and the repairs carry the typical IBM 1-year warranty.

Anyone know of a good repair facility???  They are all currently closed.


Q)  6.6  What are the wrap plugs the reference disk sometimes refers too?

In order to perform a total test of the ports (when running IBM diagnosti
cs)
you need to provide the incoming signals to the port via a wrap plug.  Th
e
constructions of each (serial and parallel) are listed below:


                     PARALLEL PORT WRAP PLUG

To construct this wrap plug use a DB25 male connector. Utilizing a minimu
m
of 30AWG wire make connections as listed below:

      pin   1  to  13

      pin   2  to  15

      pin  10  to  16

      pin  11  to  17

      pin  12  to  14
 
Then before running the diagnostics attach the DB25 to the parallel port.

                      SERIAL PORT WRAP PLUG

To construct this wrap plug use a standard RS232 DB25 female connector an
d
wire these pins together.  Also using a minimum of 30AWG wire.

Updated via Brian Lee (blee@fish.share.net) who read the IBM FAX page.

       pin  2  to   3

       pin  4  to   5

       pin  5  to   8

       pin  6  to  20
    
       pin 20  to  22

Then attach this to the serial port before running the diagnostics.
           
Please note I have not tested this on an actual PS/2, but this does work 
on
standard ports and PS/2s don't have any propriety-type pins on the serial
 or
parallel ports.  Can someone let me know if these are the right 'loops'?


S) 7.0 Misc

Q) 7.1  What is the pin out for ...?

This is my attempt to have every pinout on a PS/2 listed and named.  At w
orst
this will solve the problem of someone referring to a DB9 as 'The little 
port
with some holes in it and in a 'D' on its side shape' :).  And at best it
 will
provide the information to build cables yourself and hybridize certain ca
ble
sets.

See Appendix E for listing.


Q) 7.2  What is the special SCSI connector by IBM?

I have just bought a third-party SCSI cable for my PS/2, and it works.  I
t
allows you to connect the 60-pin PS/2 SCSI adapter external connection to
 any
device with a standard 50-pin Centronics connector. So, there are three
options for getting this type of connector. By the way, the PS/2 SCSI
connector is the same as the one on the RS6000.  Of course, the alternati
ve
to all this is to use an internal SCSI device, if possible. The IBM inter
nal
SCSI connections are the same as those found in internal SCSI devices (th
e
50-pin rectangular connector).


FIRST OPTION:

Buy the IBM cable from your IBM dealer.  The part number is 32G4143.  It 
will
cost about $49.


SECOND OPTION:

Buy a third-party cable. I bought mine from Storage Solutions [closed as 
of
10/28/98]. Their number is (203)325-0035. Mine cost $75 for a 5' cable.  

Storage Solutions call the IBM connector a  "60-pin compressed" connector

(though they are not really pins - it's really a kind of edge connector).
 
They also know what you're talking about if you just call it an RS6000 SC
SI
cable.

Inmac (1-800-323-6905) also sells them (see their UnixSelect catalog).  T
hey
call it a Mini-Centronics (60) connector.  They charge a bit more than St
orage
Solutions.

There are probably other suppliers.  The key piece of information is that
 it
is
the same connector as on RS6000 machines. The IBM connector is *not* a Mi
ni-
SCSI connector. Not all suppliers know this, and they will try to sell yo
u
Mini-SCSI (which has 50 pins and is smaller than the IBM connector).

THIRD SOLUTION:

Make your own.  The SCSI connector is available from AMP (1-800-522-6752 
or
1-800-526-5142 or (717)564-0100).  The AMP part number is 557025-6 (not t
o be
confused with the 557025-5, which is the same connector, but without
thumbscrews to hold it in the SCSI port).  AMP also calls it a CHAMP .050
Series III Plug Cable Connector.  I was unable to find any AMP dealers wh
o
could supply this. I had to get it straight from AMP. And it would have b
een
so complicated for them to supply one as a normal order that they sent me
 one
as a free sample.  In the end I didn't use it though.  It turned out to b
e
almost impossible to solder.  It is designed to have each of the tiny SCS
I
wires forced into a slot that automatically strips the cable.  You'd need
 a
special tool to do that.  By the way, I bought a cheap SCSI cable and cut
 one
end off, so that I wouldn't have to solder the other end as well.

From Louis Ohland :

What about the internal cable for the Fast/Wide SCSI? I'm getting
close to getting the flat, .025 pitch cable and the AMP HPDB68
786090-7,http://connect.amp.com/AMP/bin/AMP.
Connect?C3D1&M3DBYPN&PN3D786090-7&button.x3D71&button.y3D7

The biggest problem is finding the Molex mini-centronics (called
half-pitch) 71660, http://www.molex.com/product/micro/71660i.html

After two months, I have THREE coming....

Another thing is the 50 pin edgecard connector for the IBM
controller. Available from Dalco and Jameco...Dalco part 40720
http://www.dalco.com/cgi-bin/nph-tame.exe/dalco/conrib.tam?cart3D98J18bn
w.
hyn&lpg3D/dalco/cable5.tam&lpt3D908737312.


Q) 7.3  Where are benchmark programs located. What do they mean?

Benchmarks programs are a good way to compare systems and even better to 
see
how changes to a system affect it, however, it is unreliably to compare
benchmarks to other benchmarks (even if the programs are the same) unless
 the
same environments are used.

A very good and pretty much the standard benchmark program is COMPTEST ve
rsion
2.59 is the latest on 10/94).  This is excellent to compare system to sys
tem
and describes how to set up the autoexec and config files to run the test

under.  This is the control variable and allows apples to be compared to
apples.  This is a public domain program and probably the best in its cla
ss.

Other standards are somewhat variable as to what they will rate your syst
em as
A LOT of hardware manufacturers (esp. video card) are setting up benchmar
k
'sniffers' on their hardware to give back excellent numbers to the common
types of benchmark tests.  I would like a list of benchmarks known to be
 sniffed' for and the hardware that does 'sniff'.  The best way to preven
t
this is to make new benchmark test constantly and not to buy the benchmar
k
programs whose creators share what the tests look for with the manufactur
ers
before they come out.  What happens is X-company is coming out with a new
benchmark program, then Hardware R Us requests the parameters of the test
ing
and figures out what to send back to the benchmarking software to get FAS
T
but REALISTIC marks.  Usually the benchmark company is affiliated with th
e
hardware company so both benefit.


S) 8.0 Operating Systems (OS)

Q)  8.1  Can I run UNIX on my PS/2? Which UNIX variety works?

According to C. Beauregard:

Currently, most of the common disk controllers are supported: IBM SCSI,
IBM ESDI, AHA-1640, Buslogic, Future Domain.  X Windows runs under XGA,
XGA-2, 8514, VGA, etc.  Network cards include 3c523, 3c529, assorted
WD/SMC, IBM Ethernet Adapter/A, and a few ethernet, Token ring, and :)
Arcnet.  Basically, it's running on almost all MCA machines in one form o
r
another including most PS/2s, NCRs, Apricot, and some other extremenly
weird configurations (An IBM P390 300Mhz Pentium Pro with 1Gb of RAM, for
example).

The 2.0.x kernel series is supported via patches available at glycerine.
As well, MCA support is now in the 2.1.x kernel (well, with a few bugs),
meaning MCA hardware will be fully supported in Linux 2.2, although
support from specific distributions will probably come a little slower.
The exception is Debian, which has had complete MCA support since 2.0.

There's also been some work done on NetBSD for MCA, and Bob Eager is
working on some other BSD support.  Linux, of course, is way ahead of the
game.


Q)  8.2  Why won't certain UNIXs run on my PS/2?

The only thing that stops anything type of program from running on a PS/2
that would normally run on any other machine with the same CPU/memory etc

are usually the device drivers.  In the case of UNIX more than likely it 
is
just a matter of obtaining the correct disk drivers.  If you have ESDI an
d
want to run LINUX there is a ESDI fix available.  If you have a SCSI that
 is
compatible with any of the supported drivers you are ok also. Currently
there is a large Linux/MCA following and Linux is by itself a great OS...
32 bit and totally stable. 

For questions on Linux/MCA go to:
http://glycerine.itsmm.uni.edu/mca.


Q)  8.3  What is better for the PS/2, MSDOS or PCDOS?

I would have to say it is a toss-up.  In one hand, PC-DOS supplies specia
l
programs that are optimized for/unique to the PS/2 and may be helpful, bu
t
then
you have the problem that something may not be compatible with the MS-DOS
standard.  By purchasing MS-DOS, you may not get the special programs you
 need
to run certain diagnostics, and procedures on your PS/2, but you do get a
 100%
compatible DOS.  Buy whichever you think you will need, PC-DOS should be
more than 98% compatible with anything MS-DOS has, but if you have someth
ing
in that 2% incompatible area the decision is practically made for you.

Another note is that DOS is on its way out in the form we know it today.
The routines and procedures are being incorporated into GUIs (Graphical
User Interfaces) like Windows, OS/2, and of course as always UNIX.
If you are still one holding out on running Windows or OS/2 you really
should start as soon as you get far behind in the realm of OS's and it
will be hard to catch up.

Actually DOS is out...run Windows 95/98 or UNIX/LINUX if possible and don
't
worry about it unless you are running applications that rely on a DOS ver
sion
that does not run under Windows 98 or UNIX/LINUX or you need a low disk s
pace
OS. 


Q)  8.4  Can I run Windows?  What would I need?

Any PS/2 with the basic requirements can run all of the standard OS's,
such as OS/2 and Windows, even Windows for Workgroups and Win95.  Just
make sure you read the box carefully and that your machine has all the
requirements.  Even though Windows and other OS's can run in 2-3 MB it
is wise to at least have 4MB and 8MB is a more comfortable range.  Try
to get as much RAM as possible as the more RAM you have the faster/more
efficiently your machine will run.

One system.ini line that should be added for the PS/2 user is under the
Enh 386 section, add the line InitPS2MouseAtExit3DFalse.  This prevents
Windows from reinitializing the mouse on a PS/2 and thus causing a 5-10
second delay.


Q)  8.5  Can I run Win95/98? What would I need?

For Win95 if your system meets the CPU, memory and hard drive space
requirements (386DX20 or better, 4MB, and 10-87 MB of hard drive space + 
14MB
- system memory for the swap file)...Load it and go.  That is really all 
there
is to say.  The one thing Microsoft has down is making it easy to install

their software.  If you can run 3.1 or 3.11, Win 95 should also work and 
be
faster.

As to Win98, the I have heard it does not support the PS/2 line well and 
to
avoid it.  Louis Ohland recently stated this too.  I still run Win95 on m
y
regular machines as Win98 seems abrasive to me.  There is nothing OSR2 do
es
not have that I would want from Win98.  BTW if anyone has OSR2.5 (or the
latest version) I really would like it.

Special solution to XGA/2 related problem (happened on Model 77, don't kn
ow if
other models are effected).  From pester69@hotmail.com

I've got a tip I found out about from ps2guru@geocities.com.

Scenario:
You've got a PS/2 77 running xga2 and Win95 but when you shut down to dos
the screen goes completely blank.

Solution:
1) Go into Windows Explorer, look in the "windows" folder for an icon mar
ked
"Exit to DOS".
2) Using the right mouse button, click the icon, and choose "properties".

3) Click the "Program" tab.  In the "cmd line" box,place the cursor at th
e end
of the
   C:\...command.com, add a space, then the switch "/k mode co80". Click
"Apply", then "OK"


Q)  8.6  Can I run Linux now?

Almost 100% of the time providing you are at least running a 386.  Almost

every SCSI card is supported.  And if you can't run the latest kernel the

invaders kernel (ftp://invaders.dcrl.nd.edu) usually will run and is very

full-featured itself.


S) 9.0 References

Q)  9.1  Who makes upgrades for a PS/2 computer (company phone #'s)

Advanced Microcomputer Systems, Inc.
1460 SW 3rd Street, Suite B-8
Pompano Beach, FL 33069
1-800-972-3733
(305) 784-0900
   Fax sheet available
  (I/O cards: 1-4 normal and fast serial cards, parallel and Extended Par
allel

   Port (EPP) cards)

AOX 800-232-1269/800-726-0269 [no longer open 10/28/98]
   MicroMax 386/16MB and MCA Master (486/64MB $575)

Business Computer Products
401 Venture Drive, Suite C
S. Daytona, FL  32119
1-904-760-9300
   PS/2 accessory mounting supplies and hardware

ChipChat
Dearborn, Michigan
1-313-565-4000
  (ChipChat sound cards and MicroRAM SC memory cards)

CompuD 800-929-9333
818-787-2074
818-787-1956
www.compu-d.com (check under the liquidation heading)
   PS/2 supplier

Computer Discount Warehouse 800-726-4239
   CPU upgrades

Cyrix
2703 N Central Expressway
Richardson, TX 75080
(800)GO-CYRIX (462-9749)
   386 to 486 upgrade processors
   Co-Processors

DakTech 800-325-3238
   PS/2 N.O.S and parts

Evergreen Technologies Inc.
915 NW 8th Street
Corvallis, OR  97330
(800)733-0934
(503)757-0934
Fax (503)757-7350
  Processor upgrades (AMD 586/133 (about a Pentium 75 $129 direct, ~$70
through
  CompUSA, Fry's, or Circuit City)

First Source 800-692-9866
www.firstsource.com

Future Domain 800-879-7599 [no longer in business as of 10/28/98]
BBS 714-588-6870
   MCS-600 and MCS-700 SCSI controllers (offering 32 bit file/disk access
 in
   windows)

General Technics
PO Box 2676
38 Raynor Avenue
Ronkonkoma, NY 11779-6618
1-800-GT-SALE-8
   (hard drives, memory, modems, processors, cd-roms, etc.)

GOODRICH, HANSON & ASSOCIATES, INC.
(GHACORP)  (a Dun & Bradstreet rated company)
302-324-1650  |  E-Mail<71520.2701@compuserve.com>
Terms: PO's from qualified organizations, COD/cash/MO/Personal Check, Pre
paid
     This company seems to offer very good deals on closed out items and 
a   
     lot is PS/2 merchandise.  Lately good deals on modem accelerators an
d BL3

     chips. [as of 10/29/98 I only got voice mail and no call back].

H.Co
16812 Hale Ave
Irvine, CA 92714
(800)726-2477
(714)833-3222
Fax (714)833-3389
   All types of processor upgrades from 286 up
   RAM and memory cards

IBM Boulder Parts Plant 800-388-7080

IBM PS/2 Tech Support 800-772-2227 (800 number no longer applies to PS/2'
s)
   All PS/2 Tech support (24hours)
   If out of warranty 1-900-555-2582 $1.99/min (first min. free)
   Or $35 per incident...ouch I guess the $20k for my model 80 did not
   include Lifetime support....
   (Thanks for the dhart@freenet.grfn.org)

IBM Factory Outlet 800-426-7015

Kahlon 800-317-9989
www.kahlon.com
   PS/2 Supplier works with some large universities (they may be able to
   order for you at a discount)
 
Kingston Technology Corporation
17600 Newhope Street
Fountain Valley, CA  92708
(800)835-6575
(714)435-2600
(714)435-2699
Fax:???
   Hard disk (DataCard combined hardcard/memory card)upgrades
   Processor upgrades (SLC/Now!, 486/Now!, TC5x86/133 $99, MCMaster
   discontinued)
   Memory

Micro Exchange [closed as of 10/28/98]
682 Passaic Avenue
Nutley, NJ  07110
(201)284-1200
FAX (201)284-1550
   PS/2 repair.

True Blue Parts (f/k/a Micro Mart)
Trueblueparts@mindspring.com
1-508-833-2225
  Memory, motherboards (Model 80-Axx for only $60)

Page Computers 800-886-0055 
   All PS/2 parts and systems, new/used.

PC Parts 800-666-9373
www.pcpartsinc.com

Piper Research, Inc.
Attn: Sales
PO Box 241
Newport, MN  55055
1-612-459-2770
FAX: 1-612-881-5840
Tech support BBS: 1-612-730-5860
FAX: 1-408-428-6633
E-Mail: 74544.3103@compuserve.com
www.piper-research.com
   Offers MCA SoundBlaster compatible card.

Quarterdeck
   QEMM memory manager
   MCA support file updates are at:
   http://www.qdeck.com/technote/mca.html


Recycled Computer Parts 972-484-6447

Reply Corporation [out of business 10/28/98, but products can be obtained

through www.neointeractive.com]
4435 Fortran Drive
San Jose, CA  95134
(800)955-5295
(408)956-2732
Fax (408)942-4897
   Processor upgrades
   Hard disk upgrades
   Motherboards with VLB
 
SOS
1-800-767-2554 (Jason in Sales)
Hard disk drives, Motherboards, Memory, systems, and misc.
  (Model 80 1.44MB drives for $15)

Solutronix 800-875-2580 [closed as of 10/28/98]
   PS/2 repair


Q)  9.2  Is there automated FAX help available?

[From: Aron Eisenpress ]

             IBM Personal Computer Company Automated Fax System
                    Complete Catalog Dated:  01/31/1995
                                800-IBM-3395
                 Revised by author for PS/2 related only FAXes
        Let me know if I omitted something you feel important to PS/2s

    Doc
    Num                      Document Description                      Pa
ges
   -----     -----------------------------------------------------     --
---
   11498     * Options By IBM: Auto 16/4 Token-Ring Adapters             
  4
   11495     * Options By IBM: Serial Infrared Adapters                  
  4
   11650     * Options By IBM: Video/Graphics Memory Upgrades            
  2
   20046     Comm: Artic Specs - Interrupts, Jumpers & Pinouts           
 12
   20004     Comm: ARTIC X.25 Interface, X.21 bis/V.24 Pinouts           
  1
   20012     Comm: Artic, Dual Port, V.35 Cable Pin Assignments          
  1
   20053     Comm: ASCII Terminal Cable - RS-232C (9 Pin) Pinout         
  1
   20094     Comm: AT Commands Set                                       
  3
   20051     Comm: Cabling Issues and Port Pinouts                       
  2
   20007     Comm: Dual Asynch Adapter Pinouts                           
  1
   20032     Comm: Dual Asynch I/O Addresses                             
  1
   12535     Comm: PC Artic Adapter - Diagnostics Hints                  
  2
   12534     Comm: PC ARTIC(RIC) Switch Settings/Jumper Locations        
  1
   13403     Comm: WaveRunner Digital Modem                              
  4
   20045     Comm: X.21/V.35 Cable Pinouts & V.35 Pin Assignments        
  2
   14010     DOS: Changing Hard Drive Partition Size                     
  1
   13034     DRM: PS/2 E - Pricing Information - (4-5-94)                
  2
   13095     DRM: PS/2 Server 95 - Pricing (8-23-94)                     
  1
   10809     EduQuest: PS/2 Tape - Tips and Techniques                   
  2
   16023     Misc: ADF File Number Cross Reference                       
 11
   36008     Misc: IBM Phone Numbers (Voice, BBS & Fax)                  
  4
   16008     Misc: Mouse Port Pinouts                                    
  1
   20031     Misc: Multi Protocol Adapter and SDLC Pinout                
  1
   20005     Misc: Mwave,Windsurfer Communications Adapter User          
 10
   36009     Misc: Phone Listing - Voice, BBS, & Fax - OEM               
  5
   20010     Misc: RS-232-C-Interface Pin Assignments                    
  1
   16005     Misc: SCSI Hard Drive Switch Settings                       
  1
   11098     Misc: Video Capture Adapter/A                               
  4
   16021     Misc: Video Port Pinouts                                    
  2
   20804     Misc: Wrap Plug (Loopback) Wiring Pinouts                   
  1
   11359     Misc: XGA - 2 Product Information                           
  4
   16007     Misc: XGA - Adapter Scan and Refresh Rates                  
  1
   16037     Misc: XGA - Installation of XGA Adapter/A                   
  1
   14067     Misc: XGA-Understanding XGA-XGA vs. 8514/A-Installing       
  2
   11089     Multimedia: M-Audio Capture & Playback Adap & Adap/A        
  4
   11090     Multimedia: M-Motion Video Adap/A & M-Control Prgm/2        
  4
   22003     Multimedia: M-Motion Video Adapter/A Connections            
  1
   11230     Multimedia: M-Motion Video Adptr/A & M-Control Prgm/2       
  3
   10109     Network: 16/4 Busmaster EISA Adapter                        
  2
   25002     Network: Token Ring Diagnostic On PS/2 Server 295           
  1
   14023     Network: Token Ring Pinouts                                 
  4
   11220     Network: Token-Ring Network 16/4 Adapter/A Busmaster        
  2
   15054     OBI: MCA SCSI Adapter User Guide - Configuration            
  2
   15057     OBI: MCA SCSI Adapter User Guide - Solving Problems         
  2
   15058     OBI: MCA SCSI Adapter User Guide-Help & Service Info        
  2
   15052     OBI: MCA SCSI Adapter User Guide-Install Adapter            
  3
   15053     OBI: MCA SCSI Adapter User Guide-Install SCSI Device        
  2
   15051     OBI: MCA SCSI Adapter User Guide-Installing Drivers         
  2
   15055     OBI: MCA SCSI Adapter User Guide-Multiple SCSI Adpts        
  2
   15056     OBI: MCA SCSI Adapter User Guide-SCSI Controller            
  2
   15049     OBI: MCA SCSI Adapter User Guide-System Programs            
  2
   15050     OBI: MCA SCSI Adapter User Guide-Update Ref. Disk           
  2
   11473     Options By IBM: MCA SCSI-2 Adapters - Glossy                
  4
   11462     Options By IBM: SIMM & DIMM Memory Products                 
  6
   11455     Options By IBM: WaveRunner Digital Modems - Glossy          
  6
   11260     PS Quick Reference - PS/2 Models (AT BUS)                   
  1
   11261     PS Quick Reference - PS/2 Models (MCA) 08/17/94             
 14
   60027     PS/2 REF: Bus Architectures                                 
  1
   60053     PS/2 REF: Displays Reference (Low end-active matrix)        
  1
   60050     PS/2 REF: Displays Reference (P series/95xx)                
  1
   60056     PS/2 REF: Displays Reference (Technology)                   
  1
   60052     PS/2 REF: Displays Reference (Touch)                        
  1
   60051     PS/2 REF: Displays Reference (V series/63xx)                
  1
   60055     PS/2 REF: Displays Reference (withdrawn - 1 of 2)           
  1
   60064     PS/2 REF: Ethernet, FDDI, ARCNET                            
  1
   60081     PS/2 REF: IBM Displays (withdrawn - 2 of 2)                 
  1
   60075     PS/2 REF: IBM Displays S/S                                  
  1
   60079     PS/2 REF: IBM SCSI Disks (2 GB or higher)                   
  1
   60023     PS/2 REF: IBM SCSI Disks (up to 1.12 GB)                    
  1
   60065     PS/2 REF: IBM Server 500                                    
  1
   60001     PS/2 REF: IBM Servers                                       
  1
   60066     PS/2 REF: IBM Servers - withdrawn                           
  1
   60080     PS/2 REF: IBM ThinkPad Options                              
  1
   60026     PS/2 REF: Local Bus Architectures - I                       
  1
   60062     PS/2 REF: Local Bus Architectures - II                      
  1
   60005     PS/2 REF: Model 90 and 95 Processor Complexes               
  1
   60054     PS/2 REF: Monochrome and Image                              
  1
   60031     PS/2 REF: OS/2 2.1 compared to Windows 3.1                  
  1
   60030     PS/2 REF: OS/2 2.1 compared to Windows NT                   
  1
   60029     PS/2 REF: OS/2 2.1 Overview                                 
  1
   60033     PS/2 REF: OS/2 LAN Server 1.3 and 2.0                       
  1
   60034     PS/2 REF: OS/2 LAN Server 3.0                               
  1
   60008     PS/2 REF: OverDrive Processors                              
  1
   60067     PS/2 REF: PC 300-486 models                                 
  1
   60072     PS/2 REF: PC 300-P60 models                                 
  1
   60068     PS/2 REF: PC 330 and 350 (Pentium)                          
  1
   60073     PS/2 REF: PC 700 PCCI/ISA models                            
  1
   60074     PS/2 REF: PC 700 PCI/MCA models                             
  1
   60069     PS/2 REF: PC 730 and PC 750 (PCI/ISA)                       
  1
   60070     PS/2 REF: PC 730 and PC 750 (PCI/MCA)                       
  1
   60016     PS/2 REF: PC Processors (386SX to Blue Lightning)           
  1
   60017     PS/2 REF: PC Processors (486 family)                        
  1
   60061     PS/2 REF: PC Processors (Blue Lightning DX2)                
  1
   60018     PS/2 REF: PC Processors (Pentium)                           
  1
   60002     PS/2 REF: PC Server (PCI/EISA Server)                       
  1
   60000     PS/2 REF: Personal Systems Ref. Index Version 77            
  1
   60020     PS/2 REF: PowerPC Processors (601, 603)                     
  1
   60082     PS/2 REF: PowerPC Processors (604,620)                      
  1
   60019     PS/2 REF: PowerPC Processors (Overview)                     
  1
   60058     PS/2 REF: Printers Reference                                
  1
   60021     PS/2 REF: Processor Performance                             
  1
   60009     PS/2 REF: PS/2 (53 to 57)                                   
  1
   60010     PS/2 REF: PS/2 (76 to 90)                                   
  1
   60014     PS/2 REF: PS/2 E                                            
  1
   60011     PS/2 REF: PS/2 Model 53                                     
  1
   60012     PS/2 REF: PS/2 Model 56 and 57                              
  1
   60013     PS/2 REF: PS/2 Model 76 and 77 (i/s)                        
  1
   60015     PS/2 REF: PS/2 Reference (Ultimedia-withdrawn)              
  1
   60006     PS/2 REF: PS/2 Server 195                                   
  1
   60007     PS/2 REF: PS/2 Server 295                                   
  1
   60025     PS/2 REF: RAID(Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks)        
  1
   60022     PS/2 REF: SCSI and IDE Technology                           
  1
   60060     PS/2 REF: SCSI Controllers (Micro Channel)                  
  1
   60024     PS/2 REF: SCSI Controllers (non Micro Channel)              
  1
   60063     PS/2 REF: SCSI Disks - Withdrawn                            
  1
   60003     PS/2 REF: Server 85                                         
  1
   60004     PS/2 REF: Server 95 (Base 4 models)                         
  1
   60049     PS/2 REF: ThinkPad 300, 500, 700, 700C - withdrawn          
  1
   60048     PS/2 REF: ThinkPad 350, 350C, 500                           
  1
   60047     PS/2 REF: ThinkPad 360                                      
  1
   60076     PS/2 REF: ThinkPad 360CSE/CE                                
  1
   60046     PS/2 REF: ThinkPad 710T, 720, 720C                          
  1
   60045     PS/2 REF: ThinkPad 730T                                     
  1
   60044     PS/2 REF: ThinkPad 750                                      
  1
   60043     PS/2 REF: ThinkPad 755                                      
  1
   60078     PS/2 REF: ThinkPad 755CD                                    
  1
   60077     PS/2 REF: ThinkPad 755CSE/CE                                
  1
   60035     PS/2 REF: Token-Ring, 100VG-AnyLAN, ATM                     
  1
   60099     PS/2 REF: Trademarks                                        
  1
   60039     PS/2 REF: ValuePoint - Fall 1993 models                     
  1
   60036     PS/2 REF: ValuePoint - Spring 1994 models                   
  1
   60040     PS/2 REF: ValuePoint Reference (Fall 1993 models)           
  1
   60038     PS/2 REF: ValuePoint Reference (P60/D models)               
  1
   60042     PS/2 REF: ValuePoint Reference (Si models)                  
  1
   60037     PS/2 REF: ValuePoint Reference (Spring 1994 models)         
  1
   60041     PS/2 REF: ValuePoint Si                                     
  1
   60057     PS/2 REF: Video Reference                                   
  1
   60028     PS/2 REF: Why IBM is a better buy than a clone              
  1
   16074     PS/2: 25 Pin Serial Port Pin Outs                           
  1
   12056     PS/2: 25-Pin D-Shell Connector - Printer Adapter            
  1
   11342     PS/2: 3.5 Inch Enhanced Rewritable Optical Drive            
  2
   12050     PS/2: 30286 Power Supply Connector                          
  2
   11217     PS/2: 3510 & 3511 External Enclosure                        
  2
   12055     PS/2: 40-Pin Card-Edge & 34-Pin Header Interface            
  2
   11405     PS/2: 486SLC3 Processor Upgrade for 56/57 Systems           
  1
   12005     PS/2: 5.25" Rewritable Optical Disk Cartridge               
  1
   11620     PS/2: 53 53LS 486SLC2                                       
  1
   11056     PS/2: 56 SLC, LS 56 SX and 56 LS - Glossy                   
  4
   11057     PS/2: 57 486SLC2 57SLC - Glossy                             
  4
   11119     PS/2: 76-486 - Glossy                                       
  4
   11604     PS/2: 76/77 Options Fax Sheet                               
  3
   11603     PS/2: 76/77 Spec Sheet                                      
  7
   11162     PS/2: 77 486DX2 & 77486SX                                   
  4
   16058     PS/2: 90 XP 486 Information                                 
  2
   11013     PS/2: 90 XP 486 Series                                      
  6
   14065     PS/2: 90/95 - Selective Boot Assignments                    
  1
   11093     PS/2: 90XP 486 Series                                       
  5
   11073     PS/2: 95 High Performance Servers - Overview                
 19
   11071     PS/2: 95 XP 486 50 MHz Server Information                   
  5
   11014     PS/2: 95 XP 486 Series                                      
  6
   11026     PS/2: 9553 53 486SLC2 & 53LS 486SLC2 Empower the            
  4
   11159     PS/2: 9556 486SLC2, 56SLC & 56SLC LS - Glossy               
  4
   11406     PS/2: 9556, 9556LS, 9557, & M57 486SLC3 - Glossy            
  5
   11338     PS/2: ActionMedia II The Digital Future of Multimedia       
 11
   16069     PS/2: Cached Processor Option for Models 56/57 Guide        
  7
   11079     PS/2: Carton Replacements                                   
  1
   14036     PS/2: Comparison of 386SX/386SL/386SLC/386, 486SX/486       
  1
   16016     PS/2: Diskette Drive Connector - 34 Pin                     
  1
   16002     PS/2: Diskette Drive Pinouts - 40 Pin Card Edge             
  1
   16036     PS/2: Diskette Drive Signal Assingments - 40 Pin Card       
  1
   12008     PS/2: Drive Type Table                                      
  1
   16001     PS/2: External Diskette Drive Cable Pinouts                 
  1
   11001     PS/2: Facts and Features before April 1992 - Glossy         
 10
   20019     PS/2: Fax Concentrator Adapter/A                            
  2
   16027     PS/2: Hard Drive Parameters for AT & PS/2 Products          
  1
   11282     PS/2: High-Performance Plannar (Processor) Upgrades         
  4
   11629     PS/2: IBM Personal Systems(R) Desktop Systems               
 11
   16076     PS/2: Installation - Storage Media and Devices              
  8
   16067     PS/2: Installation Planning - Health and Safety             
  4
   16070     PS/2: Installation Plannning - Surge Protection             
  2
   11212     PS/2: Integrated Server 85 - Glossy                         
  4
   11168     PS/2: Large Storage Options                                 
  6
   16077     PS/2: Line Current Calculations                             
  3
   16066     PS/2: Memory Options - Quick Reference                      
  3
   11036     PS/2: Memory Options Guide as of 1-13-94                    
 19
   16075     PS/2: Micro Channel Architecture Features/Functions         
  3
   16086     PS/2: Model 70 System Board Diskette Drive Connectors       
  1
   11012     PS/2: Model 80 386                                          
  6
   12021     PS/2: Model L40 Data/Fax Modem Operating Instructions       
  7
   14068     PS/2: Model L40SX - Battery Concerns                        
  2
   12006     PS/2: Model L40SX - Battery Life Guide                      
  4
   12019     PS/2: Model L40SX - Hints and Tips                          
  4
   11078     PS/2: Most Commonly Ordered Publications                    
  1
   11249     PS/2: New PS/2 Models 56&57 - General Information           
  1
   12072     PS/2: Note Information                                      
  1
   14081     PS/2: Notebook / Laptop / Portable - Comparisons            
  2
   11155     PS/2: One Day Adapter Card Repair                           
  3
   16011     PS/2: Parallel Port Pinouts                                 
  1
   11032     PS/2: PCMCIA Adapter/2                                      
  2
   16048     PS/2: Pin Assignmnts - Video & Printer/Scanner Cables       
  1
   11602     PS/2: Planar Upgrade Spec Sheet                             
  2
   16079     PS/2: Planning - Non-Office Computer Environment            
  6
   16019     PS/2: Power Connector Voltages (At-Bus and MCA)             
  3
   11479     PS/2: PS/2 E - A New Dimension - Glossy                     
  2
   12045     PS/2: PS/2 TV - Connecting A VCR                            
  3
   11095     PS/2: PS/2 TV - Glossy                                      
  4
   22009     PS/2: PS/2 TV - Installation Information                    
  3
   16003     PS/2: Reference Diskette Versions                           
  1
   11021     PS/2: SCSI                                                  
  6
   16014     PS/2: SCSI Adapter Pinouts                                  
  1
   16029     PS/2: SCSI Adapters                                         
  1
   16110     PS/2: SCSI Hard Disk Drive - Product Description            
  2
   12047     PS/2: Service Hints System Boards, Hard Disks & Clock       
  1
   11480     PS/2: Specs                                                 
  4
   14079     PS/2: System BIOS Information                               
  2
   14035     PS/2: System Update Diskette - DASDDRVR.SYS                 
  1
   16031     PS/2: Tape 2.0 - Restore Command                            
  1
   16087     PS/2: The Benefits of MCA Versus At-Bus                     
  3
   11154     PS/2: TMC-850 IBM SCSI Adapter Option Kits                  
  2
   11184     PS/2: Touch Select - Glossy                                 
  3
   11166     PS/2: Ultimedia Family                                      
  6
   22005     PS/2: Ultimedia Model M57 SLC - Glossy                      
  4
   14064     PS/2: Understanding Model Numbers                           
  2
   11420     Servers: PS/2 Powerful Network Servers-General Info         
  1
   11376     Servers: PS/2 Server 195 - Glossy                           
  8
   11171     Servers: PS/2 Server 295 -Glossy                            
  8
   11121     Servers: PS/2 Server 85 - Glossy                            
  4
   11358     Servers: PS/2 Server 85 466 AND 433 - Glossy                
  6
   11293     Servers: PS/2 Server 95 560 and 466 - Glossy                
  6
   11356     Servers: PS/2 Server 95 Array 566,560 & 466 - Glossy        
  6
   11210     Servers: PS/ValuePoint Mini-Tower                           
  2


Appendix A     MCA Brand Cards and Parts

IBMPN     Name/Description
       
         EMULATORS

74F3465  3270 LOCAL BOARD/A:   IBM 3270 for 50,50Z,55SX,60,65SX,70 & 80. 
Half
                               sized. Replaces 53F6384/25F8448/74F3459/
                               74F4460.
                   
69X6279  5250 LOCAL BD/A:      IBM System 36/38, AS400 Workstation Emulat
or.
                               Half sized. Direct Twinax. Req. Software a
nd
                               Cable.

69X6287  5250 LOCAL KT/A:      As above with Software and Cable.

6451114  ADPT MULTI PROTO/A:   Multi-protocol for SNA/SDLC, BSC and
                               asynchronous environments. Req. additional
                               Hard and Software.

         LAN

1501223  ADPT BASEBAND/A:      Baseband NIC (Network Interface Card). 1 p
er
                               CPU on network. 2megabits/sec trans.

59G8998  LANSTREAM ADPT MC16:  LANStreamer 16 bit. 4 or 16 Mbps over
                               unshielded twisted pair or IBM cable. Need
                               6339098 cable to attach to TRN network. RP
L
                               standard.

92F8942  LANSTREAM ADPT MC32:  LANStreamer 32 bit.


74F9410  TRN 16/4 ADAP/A:      Token-Ring Network 16/4 Adapter. Half size
d.
                               4 or 16 Mbps. Req. 6339098 cable. Replaces
                               16F1133.

69X8138  TRN ADAP/A:           Token-Ring for NIC network. 4Mbps. Req. TR
                               adapter and LAN.

         COMMUNICATION

09F1897  IBM ARTIC M/2 512K:   Realtime Interface Co-Processor Multiport/
2.

00F5531  IBM ARTIC M/2 I/F CB: Multiport Interface 3 meter Cable. Attache
s
                               to the ARTIC 8 port interface board.

16F1820  IBM ARTIC M/2 1MB:    Realtime Interface Co-Processor Multiport/
2.
                               Req. DOS or OS/2 support, and cables or
                               interface card.

16F1858  IBM X.25 CO PROC/2:   IBM X.25 Co-Processor/2 communications
                               adapter. 512K memory, supports v.24, v.35,
 and
                               x.21 non-switched with appropriate cable.

16F1869  IBM X.25 CBL OPT V24: IBM X.25 Cable Option v.24. Connects from 
back
                               of the X.25 interface Co-Processor (16F185
8)
                               to modem
                              
16F1871  IBM X.25 CBL OPT V35: IBM X.25 Cable Option v.35. 10'cable with 
wrap
                               plug. For 16F1858.

6451013  IBM DUAL ASYNC /A:    IBM Dual Asynchronous Adapter /A. Greater
                               comm. speed when used with OS/2. 2 indepen
dent
                               RS-232 ports, max of 3 9pin male. Req. one
                               expansion slot.


         ADVANCED VIDEO

69F9734  ACTIONMEDIA CAPTURE:  ActionMedia II Capture Option for AMII
                               adapters 69F9730 (ISA) and 69F9732 (MCA). 
Adds
                               NTSC/PAL video/audio inputs and recording
                               ability.

69F9732  ACTIONMEDIA II/A 2MB: ActionMedia II Video Adapter/A 2MB VRAM.
                               Playback digitized DVI full-motion video a
nd
                               audio w/o ext. video/audio. Superimpose VG
A
                               graphics on video. Recording req. 69F9734.

35G4712  IMGE ADAP/A 1MB UPGR: PS/2 Image Adapter 1MB. Use with ImagePlus
                               Workstation. Supports 1600x1200 mono and
                               1280x1024 color. Compatable with VGA and
                               8514/A modes. Supports 8506/7/8 displays.
                               Printer option use 07F4402.

35G4713  IMGE APAP/A 3MB UPGR: As above but 1280x1024x256.

07F4406  IMGE ADP/A MEM EXP K: Use with 44F9914 Image Adpt/A to expand
                               resolution to 1600x1280x16 greys.

07F4402  IMGE ADP/A PRTR OPT:  Printer Scanner Option used with 44F9914 I
mage
                               Adapt/A to attach 3812002 Printer, 4216020
                               Printer 3117 and 3118 Scanner.

92F3379  M-MOTION VID ADPT/A:  M-Motion Video Adapter/A. Full-motion vide
o,
                               Still-image video, and audio. Superimpose 
VGA
                               graphics over video. Up to 3 NTSC inputs. 
Req.
                               04G3544 software.

92F3380  VIDEO CAPTURE ADPT/A: Video Capture Adapter/A. Allows viewing
                               and/or digitizing of STILL images from NTS
C
                               source.

87F4773  IBM ADPT XGA-2/A:     PS/2 XGA-2 Display Adapter/A. 16/32 bit bu
s
                               master, req. i386SX and higher. 1280x1024
                               max resolution, 256 colors. Refresh up to
                               75MHz.  More than double performance of
                               75X5887.

75X5889  IBM MEM EXP KT XGA/A: PS/2 Video Memory Expansion Option. For al
l
                               PS/2 models supported by 75X5887 XGA displ
ay
                               adapter. Upgrade to 1MB of video memory fo
r
                               1024x768x256 color support.

75X5887  IBM ADPT XGA/A:       PS/2 XGA Display Adapter/A.  1024x768
                               Interlaced resolution.  Use 75X5887 memory
                               option for 1024x768x256NI support.

49G2716  IMGE I ADP/A:         PS/2 Image Adapter for use with 9504001,
                               6091191 and 9517001 monitors.

         ADVANCED AUDIO

60G3879  AUDIOVATION ADPT/A:   Audiovation Adapter/A. SoundBlaster
                               Compatable. MPC. 16 bit audio with samplin
g up
                               to 44.1Khz.

92F3379  M-AUDIO CAPT ADAPT/A: M-Audio Capture Adapter/A. Captures,
                               digitizes, and plays back high quality aud
io.
                               Digitial audio processing, including
                               compression/decompression.

         PROCESSOR UPGRADES

32G3279  50Z PLANAR BOARD:     Planar upgrade for 50 and 50Z. Complete sy
stem
                               board w/ IBM 486SLC2-50. Built in SVGA w/ 
1MB.
                               Uses existing drives. 4MB of RAM exp. to 1
6MB
                               w/ 6450902, 6450128, or 6450130.

32G3283  55 PLANAR BOARD:      As above for 55SX/LS.

32G4144  MDL70 PRCUPG 486DX33: i486DX33 for 16/20MHz Model 70's. Uses sys
tem
                               memory.

32G4148  MDL80 PRCUPG 486DX33: As above for 16/20MHz Model 80's.

32G3606  IBM 486SLC2 PROC UPG: 486SLC2 for 56SX, 56SLC, 57SX, 57SLC, and
                               M57SLC from 386SX, 386SLC, and 486SX.
                               20/40MHz.

70G8992  IBM 486DX2/66 PLANAR: 486DX2/66 Upgrade Planar Board for 60, 65,
 and
                               80. Int. Math Co-proc. 128MB max. on 8 SIM
M
                               sockets. P24T upgradeable. Opt. L2 cache. 
ECC
                               memory. 70/80ns.  SVGA 1024x768. IDE
                               controller.

32G3296  IBM 486BL2/66 PLANAR: 486BL2/66 Upgrade Planar Board for 60, 65,
 and
                               80. Same as above with no Math Co-proc.

70G8988  IBM 486DX33 PLANAR:   486DX33 Upgrade Planar for Model 70. Int. 
Math
                               Co-proc. 31MB addressable on 2 SIMM Socket
s
                               (4/16MB), P24T. 70/80ns memory.  SVGA
                               1024x768. IDE controller.

32G3300  IBM 486BL2/66 PLANAR: 486BL2/66 for Model 70. As above but no Ma
th
                               Co-proc.
        
32G3335  60/65/80 HARDFILE KT: No description at FAQ time. ?Kit to mount 
hard
                               drive in Model 60, 65, and 80 systems with
                               planar upgrade?

32G3331  70 HARDFILE KIT:      No description at FAQ time. ?Kit to mount 
hard
                               drive in Model 70 systems with planar upgr
ade?
     
         STORAGE DEVICES AND ADPT

82G1778  53LS UPGRADE KIT:     Allow 9553LS to support floppy/hard drive
                               installs.

6451042  CBL SCSI OPT/OPT EXT: 50pin SCSI to 50pin SCSI.  2 feet long.

32G2958  ENH CD-ROM II INT DR: Compact Drive Read Only Memory II Internal
                               Drive. Performs at max. data rate of 327kb
/sec
                               and 205ms access speed.

32G2960  ENH CD-ROM II KIT C:  Allows 32G2958 to be installed in a Model 
90.

6451072  IBM 1.44 MB DSK DRV:  1.44 MB 1" high. Supports SCSI Models 65, 
80,
                               90 and 95.  Mod 30 when 1st drive indicato
r
                               is below media slot req. 6451034, 55LS req.
                               6451035, 55SX no add. req.

6451130  IBM 1.44MB DDR:       1.44 MB 1" high. 3.5" drive. Models 35LX,
                               35LS, 40SX and 57SX. LS req. 6451037.

6451037  IBM 1.44MB INST KT:   Bezel and cable kit for 1.44MB DDR        
 
                               installation into LS type machines.

6450353  IBM 1.44MB DDR 50-80: 1.44 MB 1" high. 3.5" drive. Model 30 uses
                               planar board if 1st drive indicator above
                               media slot, 50, 50Z, 60, 70, and 80. Model
 30
                               req. 6451037. No 55SX or P70.

6451046  IBM 160MB HDR SCSI:   160 MB SCSI Fixed Disk Drive. 160MB format
ted
                               internal drive with 32k buffer and 16ms ac
cess
                               time.  Models 57SX, 60, 65, 80, 90, and 95.
                               Non-SCSI models req. 6451109 or 6451110, a
nd
                               some may req. 6451053.

70G7164  IBM 1GB DR SERVER 95: 1GB Fixed Drive for Server 95. 36 month
                               warranty.

32G4198  IBM 1GB SCSI HDR:     1GB SCSI-2 Internal Hard Disk Drive. 8.7ms
                               access time. Supports 9590, 9595, 9556, 95
57,
                               9576, 9577, 9585, 8590, 8595, 8556, 8557, 
and
                               8580.

32G4336  IBM 2.0GB SCSI HDR:   2GB SCSI Hard Drive.

6451121  IBM 2.3GB SCSI TDR:   2.3GB SCSI Internal Tape Drive. Use 21F859
5
                               cart.

6451272  IBM 2.88MB DDR:       2.88MB 3.5" Disk Drive. Models 9556, 9557,
                               8556, 8557, 9576, and 9577. 720KB and 1.44
KB
                               compatable.

6451271  IBM 2.88MB ENH DDR:   Enhanced 2.88MB 3.5" Disk Drive. Models 95
85,
                               9595, 8590 (0H5, 0H9, 0L9, 0LF) and 8595 (
0H9,
                               0HF).

6451242  IBM 212MB HDR SCSI:   212MB Fixed Disk Drive. Int. in all PS/2 w
ith
                               SCSI standard and ext. in all others with 
SCSI
                               CPUs.

32G4195  IBM 340MB AT HDR:     340MB AT Hard Drive. Models 8535xxx, 8540x
xx.
                               Includes screws, slide and tray.

6451066  IBM 5.2 DDR/1,2 INT:  5.25" Internal 1.2MB Disk Drive. Models 35
,
                               40, 57, 90, and 95. No slot req. 35LS req.
                               6451127.

62G4151  IBM 540MB SCSI HDR:   540MB SCSI-2 Internal Hard Disk Drive. 8.7
ms
                               access. Models 9590, 9595, 9585, 9556, 955
7,
                               9576, 9577, 8580, 8595, 8556, 8557, 8580.


30F5279  IBM 80/120MB INT TBU: Internal Tape Backup Unit 80MB/120MB. 3.5"
                               high. Models 35SX thru 95 (except 55SX/LS 
and
                               P70). Req. 87F9826 cable on SCSI models an
d
                               software.

6451109  IBM ADAPT SCSI:       16 bit SCSI Micro Channel Adapter for all
                               non-SCSI 16 bit systems. Replaces 6451005.

6451133  IBM ADAPT/CACHE SCSI: 32 bit SCSI Micro Channel Adapter with Cac
he
                               for all non-SCSI 32 bit systems. Replaces
                               6451110.

6451145  IBM CD-ROM II KIT A:  Compact Read Only Memory II Drive Kit A. F
or
                               inst. of drive 6451104 in models 60, 65SX,
 80
                               and 95 SCSI. Req. 6451133 or 6451109.

6451146  IBM CD-ROM II KIT B:  Compact Read Only Memory II Drive Kit B. F
or
                               inst. of drive 6451104 and enclosure 35100
V0
                               allows ext. installation in all PS/2s. Non
-
                               SCSI req. 6451133 or 6451109.

6451126  IBM OPTICAL DR KIT A: Optical Drive Kit A. For install of drive
                               6450162 in models 60 and 80 (-041,-071,-11
1,
                               -311).

6451295  IBM R/W OPTICAL DR:   3.5" Enhanced Rewritable Optical Drive. Al
l
                               SCSI PS/2 internally or external with
                               enclosure. 256KB buffer and 40ms seek time.

6451039  IBM SCSI EXT TERM:    SCSI Terminator for use with 6451110. Inc.
                               with 6451139.

6451053  IBM SCSI HD KIT A:    SCSI Hard Drive Kit A. Allows two SCSI fix
ed
                               disk drives to be installed in non-SCSI mo
dels
                               60, 80, and a 3rd and 4th drive in SCSI mo
dels
                               65 and 80. Converts one 5.25" full-high ba
y
                               into two 3.5" half-high.

6451120  IBM SCSI HDR KIT D:   SCSI Hard Drive Kit D. For install of 60MB
 or
                               120MB SCSI fixed disk drive in model 57, 9
0,
                               95, or external enclosure 3511003.

92F3340  IBM TAPE BKUP KT OS2: Convenience kit for OS/2. Inc. program,
                               30F5279, and mini tape cart DC2120. SCSI
                               models req. cable 87F9826.

64G3736  TBU KIT 250 DOS:      As above for DOS.

64G3713  TBU KIT 250 WINDOWS:  As above for Windows.

         MEMORY BOARDS

87F9856  IBM 2MB MEM OPT KIT:  32 bit Full size with 2MB memory, expands 
to
                               14MB. Models 70, 80, and P70. Accepts 6450
603,
                               6450604, 6450608, and 87F9977 modules.

87F9860  IBM 4MB MEM OPT KIT:  As above but with intially 4MB, expands to
                               14MB.

32G3720  IBM 16MB ECC MEM70NS: 16MB of 70ns ECC memory.

30F5360  IBM 2MB MEMRY 120NS:  2MB of 120ns memory for 25-286 and 30-286.
 Max
                               of 4 added to 1497259 and 6 added to 30F53
62.
                               Existing 512K chips must be removed, AB432
0
                               is the preferred solution.

6450902  IBM 2MB MEMRY 70NS:   2MB of 70ns memory.

6450608  IBM 2MB MEMRY 80NS:   2MB of 80ns memory.

6450604  IBM 2MB MEMRY 85NS:   2MB of 85ns memory. (Also 92F0104)

6450902  IBM 2MB MEMRY 70NS:   2MB of 70ns memory.

6450128  IBM 4MB MEMRY 70NS:   4MB of 70ns memory. (Also 92F0105)

87F9977  IBM 4MB MEMRY 80NS:   4MB of 80ns memory.

6451159  IBM 8MB MEM ECC70NS:  8MB of 70ns ECC memory.

6450130  IBM 8MB MEMRY 70NS:   8MB of 70ns memory.

         MODEMS

82G7259  WINDSURFER ADPTR/A:   Windsurfer communications adapter/A. with
                               integ. 14.4Kbps data modem, 9600bps FAX.
                               Telephone answering/voice mail. MIDI inter
face
                               capable. Supports Windows 3.1 MPC Audio Ap
ps.
                               Soundblaster compatable.

60G0736  WAVERUNNER ADPTR/A:   Digital FAX/Modem adapter/A. 64k bps over 
ISDN
                               Basic Rate ISDN (BRI) provides two B chann
els
                               of up to 64k bps voice/data and one D chan
nel
                               for signaling info at 16kKbps; Bell 103, 2
12,
                               V.22bis, V.32, V.32bis compatible; packet
                               level bonding for IP packets; support for 
CAPI
                               and WinISDN APIs, 4:1 compression using V.
42bis
                               over V.120 or ISDN via modem, 56k bps or 6
4k
                               bps with other ISDN devices; X.25 on B and
 D
                               channels when using CM/2 with OS/2; suppor
ts
                               Euro-ISDN, 1TR6, and VN4; G3 fax; includes

                               DataFAX Lite and TurboCom for Windows soft
ware
                               (3.5"). 10-foot phone cable; req's 386SX o
r
                               better processor in a PC capable of suppor
ting
                               DMA bus master operation, OS/2 2.1 or MS
                               Windows 3.1; uses Mwave DSP for software
                               upgradeable functionality; 5 year warranty.
                    
Please note these PART NUMBERS tend to change and if you have a IBM part
simular to what is listed here, but with a different IBMPN then call
800-772-2227 for a cross-reference.  Also some options listed may work in

other machines, but are not called for per IBM, in general if it works it
works. I would recommend a comp.sys.ibm.ps2.hardware post though before
buying something expensive on speculation that your PS/2 is 'close enough
'
to another for compatability (if you are buying used equipment, IBM PC
Direct offers 30-day unconditional money-back returns if purchased throug
h
them).


Appendix B     IBM Reference Disk Listing

[From: ftp.pc.ibm.com as of 10/30/98]

IBM PCC BBS
(919)-517-0001
3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D
3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D
3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D
3D
Reference & Adapter Diskettes
/pub/pccbbs/refdisks
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
---
160mslct.exe   136456 03-06-91  PS/2 160MB SCSI fixed restoration dsk
25-286ad.exe   241630 08-04-95  PS/2 Model 25-286 Advanded Diags V 1.0
253540dg.exe   292630 10-18-93  PS/2 Adv Diag 25,35,40 disk ver 1.20
25start.tg0    289990 07-21-93  IBM PS/2 MOD 25 starter diskette v1.0
25sxstr.exe    293588 05-06-92  Adv Diag for 25, 35, 40 v1.3
30start.exe    311255 07-02-96  PS/2 model 30 starter disk
3540st.exe     293656 12-04-93  Models 35 & 40 starter disk ver. 1.03
3_3boot.exe    126208 08-24-95  DOS 3.3 Boot disk with maint. files
40sxdiag.tg0   282344 07-09-91  Advanced Diag v1.02 for 40SX
4xsnd22.zip   1316800 07-24-96  Sound Disk 2of2 for 4x Stereo PCMCIA CD
5-25boot.exe   151819 08-24-95  DOS 3.3 BOOT DISK W/ MAINT. FILES
5140star.exe   311787 07-14-94  5140 PCC Starter Disk w/APP Selector
55ls65rf.exe   461821 01-02-92  55ls & 65 Reference Diskette
56patch.exe     18038 10-18-94  56 LS patch for 169 errors.
70_flash.exe    71700 09-12-94  Mod 70 Planar Upgrade - BIOS v 1.18.02
7677_201.exe  1049563 07-15-94  76/77 I&S OS/2 2.0 Video Driver Disk 1
7677_202.exe   752888 07-15-94  76/77 I&S OS/2 2.0 Video Driver Disk 2
7677diag.exe   390712 10-18-95  G7GT55A 76/77 I&S Diagnostic disk v3.11
7677dosd.exe   727016 12-06-94  76/77 I&S DOS/Win S3 Graphics Disk v1.2
7677flsh.exe   225495 03-12-96  76/77 I&S Flash Update Disk Revision 7 G7
GT59A

7677ref.exe    774689 10-19-95  76/77 I&S Reference Disk v3.10
7677scsi.exe   515335 07-02-96  Future Domain SCSI-2 Option Disk v1.00
7677wnet.exe   707331 10-20-94  76/77 S3 Windows drvrs for Novell Ntwks
953540st.exe   405829 03-01-94  9535/9540 Starter Disk version 1.00
adv25dia.exe   140884 04-18-91  PS/2 Model 25 Advanced Diag ver 1.00
adv30286.exe   193226 07-02-96  Advanced Diags for Mod-30 & Mod-25 286s
adv30dig.exe   142180 08-20-92  Advanced diag for Model/30 8086
atdg207.exe    148558 02-07-97  Adv Diag PC/AT & XT-286 v.2.07 360K
atdg207.tg0    131074 11-10-94  Adv Diags Disk PC/AT & XT-286 v.2.07
blc_util.exe    27438 01-27-95  70/80 Blue-Lightning proc u/g util disk
bopt103.exe    376224 03-26-93  enable all enhanced memory - see 5 line .
..The

                                files contained allow users with AT LEAST
 ONE
                                Enhanced Memory Adapter with ROM installe
d to
                                enable all memory contained on all instal
led
                                Enhanced Memory Adapters. This included
                                systems that hBOPT103.LAB label for IBM l
abel
                                prg.for BOPT103.EXE
bopt103.lab       996 03-25-93  label for IBM label prg.for BOPT103.EXE
bopt103.txt       397 03-25-93  Text file for BOPT103.EXE
disk02.sys      36893 02-17-94  76/77 I & S OS/2 1.3 Installation Fix
dspos212.zip  1010375 06-18-96  MWAVE for OS/2 Disk 1 of 2 for 25H2749
dspos222.zip   230364 06-18-96  MWAVE for OS/2 Disk 2 of 2 for 25H2749
dspwav16.zip  1212865 06-18-96  MWAVE for Win3.1x Disk 1of6 for 25H2749
dspwav26.zip  1339530 06-18-96  MWAVE for Win3.1x Disk 2of6 for 25H2749
dspwav36.zip  1335967 06-18-96  MWAVE for Win3.1x Disk 3of6 for 25H2749
dspwav46.zip  1272865 06-18-96  MWAVE for Win3.1x Disk 4of6 for 25H2749
dspwav56.zip  1339659 06-18-96  MWAVE for Win3.1x Disk 5of6 for 25H2749
dspwav66.zip   369270 06-18-96  MWAVE for Win3.1x Disk 6of6 for 25H2749
ether32a.exe   303949 03-30-93  32bit 3Connect Ether/A Opt Disk v1.00
g7jt60a.exe    225221 08-18-97  PS/2 - Model 76/77 Bios revision level 8 
build

                                60A
g7jt61a.exe    225303 04-27-98  Flash BIOS Update diskette v61a 9576, 957
7
interfac.exe   207422 04-11-94  Interface code for 8514/A 1.02
irlan.exe      473495 09-07-94  IR Lan version 2.10 replacement disk
kelrec.exe     840280 08-24-95  Kelso Recovery Diskette
m5060pu.exe    215084 02-25-94  50/60 Microelectronics PU opt. diskette
mod30286.exe   458650 07-02-96  Mod 30-286 Starter diskette v 1.02
n51ref.exe     616270 07-29-93  PS/2 model for N51 v1.10
opt3514.exe    369863 04-14-93  3514 Startable Option Diskette v1.15
opt4a.exe      351832 03-12-93  Option dsk for 4/A w/updted diag
os2dpmv.exe    130051 06-01-94  OS/2 Display Power Management Drivers
os2power.exe   184965 10-04-94  XGA Power mgnt. drivers for OS/2
p70-386r.exe   483171 04-22-94  P70-386 Reference disk
pageprtr.com     6709 04-02-93  Per Page Ptr Adp/A Opt Dsk V.1.10
pc_net.exe     115857 07-02-96  PC Network Diagnostics V.2.0
pccadv11.exe   102472 12-02-91  PC Convertible Advance Diag ver 1.11
powrscsi.exe   323562 07-02-96  Future Domain PowerSCSI Util Disk v1.00
powscsi4.exe   751872 03-24-97  Future Domain Power SCSI Util. Disk v4.1
ps1diag1.exe   151584 07-02-96  PS/1 Diagnostics Diskette
ps1diag2.exe   159556 09-17-92  PS/1 Type 2121 Advanced Diagnostics
ps1diag3.exe   293224 09-17-92  PS/1 Type 2123 Advanced Diagnostics
ps1diag4.exe   135247 10-20-92  PS/1 Type 1 2133/2155 Advanced Diags.
ps2estrt.exe   457749 04-11-95  9533E Starter Diskette v1.0
ps2eutil.exe   437208 04-23-96  9533E utilities disk version 1.0
ps2mouse.zip     9196 09-25-95  IBM PS/2 Mouse Program Diskette Ver 1.00
rd7677a.exe    335394 04-08-94  Adv Diags. for 9576/9577 Ver 1.10
rd855657.exe   308552 02-14-95  Diagnostic Disk for 8556/8557 v2.04
rd9553a.exe    324726 11-24-93  Diagnostics for 9553 v1.00
rd955657.exe   332850 07-02-96  Diagnostic Disk for 9556/9557 v2.04
rf5055pu.exe   641901 10-01-96  Mod 50/50z/55 System Board Upgrd RefDsk
rf5060a.exe    418375 07-01-96  PS2 50/50Z/60 ref disk, v 1.08
rf5565a.exe    461821 07-02-96  PS/2 Model 55/65 Ref Disk ver 1.05
rf70486a.exe   441168 04-23-92  PS/2 Model 70-486 Reference Disk v1.06
rf7080a.exe    450404 07-01-96  Model 8570/8580 Reference Disk ver 1.12
rf70plan.exe   632877 07-02-96  Model 70 Planar Ref DIsk
rf7677a.exe    647418 07-02-96  Ref. Diskette for Mod. 76 & 77 Ver 1.10
rf855657.exe   537776 07-02-96  Reference Disk for 8556/8557 v2.10
rf90386a.exe   515172 03-01-93  PS/2 MOD 90XP/386 ref diskette
rf9553a.exe    529771 11-25-93  Reference disk for 9553 V1.10
rf955657.exe   579652 07-02-96  Reference Disk for 9556/9557 v1.10
rfp70a.exe     483171 04-24-92  Ref Disk for a P70
rfp75a.exe     525532 07-02-96  PS/2 Mod P75 486 Ref. Disk - ver 1.00
rs25286a.tg0   500048 08-18-93  PS/2 Model 25-286 Starter disk - V1.00
s3-cid.cmd      29284 03-07-95  CMD file for LAcuna (S3928) CID Install
trbm.exe       314282 10-30-92  Token-Ring 16/4/A Busmaster Ref v. 1.02
utte131.exe    897512 11-15-94  PCMCIA Device Drivers for 9533
vpadv100.exe   144419 12-22-92  PS/VP Adv Diags-Mach Type 6384, V1.00
                                ...PS/ValuePoint Advanced Diagnostics -
                                Machine Type 6384, Ver 1.00 For IBM Deale
rs
                                and support personnel only. Not provided 
with
                                ValuePoint machine shipments. (C)IBM Corp
.
                                1981, 1992
wavdos12.zip   405704 06-18-96  MWAVE for DOS Disk 1 of 2 for 25H2749
wavdos22.zip   473273 06-18-96  MWAVE for DOS Disk 2 of 2 for 25H2749
wavos211.zip   193208 06-18-96  MWAVE for OS/2 v2.11 Disk 1of1 25H2749
wavwarp1.zip   127369 06-18-96  MWAVE for Warp Disk 1 of 1 for 25H2749
win30drv.exe   368198 05-07-93  XGA-2 drivers for Windows 3.0
winpower.exe   220234 10-13-95  DOS/ Windows 3.x DPMS drivers
xga210.exe     883754 11-15-93  XGA-2 Drivers Win 3.1 & Vesa v2.10
xga211.exe     877913 12-28-93  XGA/XGA2 DOS,WIN,ACAD, VESA DMQS v2.11
xga212.exe     960857 08-16-94  XGA/XGA2 Drv v2.12 DMQS/DOS/WIN311
xga2adp.exe    493919 04-22-94  Option Disk for XGA-2 Adapter v2.2
xgadoc.txt     118900 01-07-94  XGA/XGA-2 tech support supplemental
xgaopt.exe     493919 08-05-93  XGA/XGA2 Display Adapter Options Disk
xgapatch.com    28185 04-06-95  XGA Patch files for 9533 Starter Disk
xgautil.exe     67714 08-09-94  XGA/XGA2 Utilities (P70.EXE & P75.EXE)
xtdgs225.dsk   126350 07-01-91  Advanced Diags, PC, XT, & PPC ver 2.25


3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D
3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D
3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D
3D

Quick Scan to Verify if you have latest version.

  Disk                    Current Version
  Model 25
  Model 25-286
  Model 30
  Model 30-286
  Model 35                     1.21
  Model 40                     1.21
  Model 50/60                  1.08
  Model 53
  Model 55/65                  1.??
  Model 56/57                  1.10
  Model 65
  Model 70/80 386              1.12
  Model P70 386                1.??
  Model 70 486                 1.06
  Model P75 486                1.??
  Model 76/77                  1.10
  Model 85                     1.10
  Model 90-0Gx/0Jx/0Kx         1.31
  Model 90-0Hx                 1.??
  Model 95-0Gx/0Jx/0Kx         1.31

Also a call to IBM 1-800-772-2227 will help, and it won't hurt to take a 
guess
as it will tell you if you have the wrong reference disk.


Appendix C     .ADF Modification to run SB and Audiovation/A together.

[Note this is untested by FAQ author, also I would like the patch to keep
the joystick port on the Audiovation too so the reader can decide which h
e
would like to do.]

AdapterId 08FD6h

AdapterName "IBM Audiovation Adapter"

NumBytes 4

FixedResources
;To enable PS/1 MIDI mode change pos[0]3DXX00X0XX to pos[0]3DXX00XXXX a
nd
;uncomment the lines related to MIDI at the end of this file
     pos[0]3DXX00X0XXb
     pos[1]3D0000XXXXb
     pos[3]3D11XXXXXXb

Begin NoDMA
      NamedItem Prompt "I/O Address Selection"
      choice "0400-041F 04F8-04FF" pos[3]3DXX000001b io 0400h-041fh 04f8
h-04ffh
      choice "0800-081F 08F8-08FF" pos[3]3DXX000010b io 0800h-081fh 08f8
h-08ffh
      choice "0C00-0C1F 0CF8-0CFF" pos[3]3DXX000011b io 0c00h-0c1fh 0cf8
h-0cffh
      choice "1000-101F 10F8-10FF" pos[3]3DXX000100b io 1000h-101fh 10f8
h-10ffh
      choice "1400-141F 14F8-14FF" pos[3]3DXX000101b io 1400h-141fh 14f8
h-14ffh
      choice "1800-181F 18F8-18FF" pos[3]3DXX000110b io 1800h-181fh 18f8
h-18ffh
      choice "1C00-1C1F 1CF8-1CFF" pos[3]3DXX000111b io 1c00h-1c1fh 1cf8
h-1cffh
      choice "2000-201F 20F8-20FF" pos[3]3DXX001000b io 2000h-201fh 20f8
h-20ffh
      choice "2400-241F 24F8-24FF" pos[3]3DXX001001b io 2400h-241fh 24f8
h-24ffh
      choice "2800-281F 28F8-28FF" pos[3]3DXX001010b io 2800h-281fh 28f8
h-28ffh
      choice "2C00-2C1F 2CF8-2CFF" pos[3]3DXX001011b io 2c00h-2c1fh 2cf8
h-2cffh
      choice "3000-301F 30F8-30FF" pos[3]3DXX001100b io 3000h-301fh 30f8
h-30ffh
      choice "3400-341F 34F8-34FF" pos[3]3DXX001101b io 3400h-341fh 34f8
h-34ffh
      choice "3800-381F 38F8-38FF" pos[3]3DXX001110b io 3800h-381fh 38f8
h-38ffh
      choice "3C00-3C1F 3CF8-3CFF" pos[3]3DXX001111b io 3c00h-3c1fh 3cf8
h-3cffh
      choice "4000-401F 40F8-40FF" pos[3]3DXX010000b io 4000h-401fh 40f8
h-40ffh
      choice "4400-441F 44F8-44FF" pos[3]3DXX010001b io 4400h-441fh 44f8
h-44ffh
      choice "4800-481F 48F8-48FF" pos[3]3DXX010010b io 4800h-481fh 48f8
h-48ffh
      choice "4C00-4C1F 4CF8-4CFF" pos[3]3DXX010011b io 4c00h-4c1fh 4cf8
h-4cffh

   Help
      "This item enables the selection of I/O addresses that are used by 
the
      adapter.  Conflicting I/O addresses are marked with an asterisk and
      should be changed. Use the F53DPrevious and the F63DNext keys to 
change
      conflicting addresses in the 'Change Configuration' window."

   NamedItem Prompt "Arbitration Level"
      choice "Level 8" pos[1]3DXXXX1000b arb 08h
      choice "Level 9" pos[1]3DXXXX1001b arb 09h
      choice "Level A" pos[1]3DXXXX1010b arb 0ah
      choice "Level B" pos[1]3DXXXX1011b arb 0bh
      choice "Level C" pos[1]3DXXXX1100b arb 0ch
      choice "Level D" pos[1]3DXXXX1101b arb 0dh
      choice "Level E" pos[1]3DXXXX1110b arb 0eh
      choice "Level 1" pos[1]3DXXXX0001b arb 01h
      choice "Level 3" pos[1]3DXXXX0011b arb 03h
      choice "Level 5" pos[1]3DXXXX0101b arb 05h
      choice "Level 6" pos[1]3DXXXX0110b arb 06h
      choice "Level 7" pos[1]3DXXXX0111b arb 07h

   Help
      "This item enables the selection of available MicroChannel Arbitrat
ion
      levels. Conflicting levels are marked with an asterisk and should b
e
      changed. Use the F53DPrevious and the F63DNext keys to change con
flicting
      levels in the 'Change Configuration' window."

   NamedItem Prompt "Fairness Enable/Disable"
      choice "Disabled" pos[0]3D0XXXXXXXb
      choice "Enabled" pos[0]3D1XXXXXXXb

   Help
      "This item enables the MicroChannel Fairness feature to be enabled 
or
      disabled. The recommended setting is disabled."

;To enable PS/1 MIDI mode - uncomment the following lines and re-configur
e
;  NamedItem Prompt "MIDI Port Enable/Disable"
;     choice "Enabled" pos[0]3DXXXXX1XXb io 0330h-0335h int 7
;     choice "Disabled" pos[0]3DXXXXX0XXb
;
;  Help
;     "MIDI may be enabled or disabled by the user. If an MPU adapter is 
also
;     installed in the same system using Primary addresses, set this item
 to
;     'Disabled' or use the Alternate addresses for the MPU."

   NamedItem Prompt "DSP Interrupt Selection"
      choice "Interrupt Level 15 decimal"   pos[0]3DXXXXXXXXb int 15

   Help
      "The Digital Signal Processor Interrupt level is
      set at 15. It cannot be configured."

End


Appendix D     POST Code Listing


Compiled from IBM Technical Reference, and IBM Hardware,
Maintenance and Service Manuals.

Code Descriptions
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
01x  Undetermined problem errors

02x  Power supply errors

1xx  System Board Errors
101  System Board Error; Interrupt failure
102  System Board Error; Timer failure
103  System Board Error; Timer Interrupt failure
104  System Board Error; Protected mode failure
105  System Board Error; Last 8042 command not accepted
106  System Board Error; Converting logic test
107  System Board Error; Hot Non Maskable Interrupt test
108  System Board Error; Timer bus test
109  System Board Error; Memory select error
110  PS/2 System Board Error; Parity check error
111  PS/2 Memory adaptor error
112  PS/2 MicroChannel arbitration error
113  PS/2 MicroChannel arbitration error
114  PS/2 External ROM checksum Error (common to 2-8MB Memory card)
121  Unexpected hardware interrupts occured
131  PC system board cassette port wrap test failure
161  System Options Not Set-(Run SETUP); Dead battery
162  System Options Not Set-(Run SETUP); CMOS checksum/configuration erro
r
163  Time & Date Not Set-(Run SETUP); Clock not updating
164  Memory Size Error-(Run SETUP); CMOS setting does not match memory
165  PS/2 System options not set
166  PS/2 MicroChannel adapter time-out error
199  User indicated INSTALLED DEVICES list is not correct

2xx  Memory (RAM) errors
201  Memory test failure, error location will be displayed in hexadecimal
202  Memory address error, address lines 00-15
203  Memory address error, address lines 16-23
215  PS/2 Motherboard memory failure
216  PS/2 Motherboard memory failure

3xx  Keyboard errors
301  Keyboard did not respond to software reset or a stuck key failure
       was detected.  If a stuck key was detected, the scan code for the
       key is displayed in hexadecimal.
302  System Unit Keylock is Locked
303  Keyboard or System Unit Error
304  Keyboard or System Unit Error; Keyboard clock high
305  PS/2 Keyboard fuse (on system board) error

4xx  Monochrome Display Adapter (MDA) errors
4xx  PS/2 System board parallel port errors
401  Monochrome memory test, horizontal sync frequency test, or video
       test failure
401  PS/2 System board parallel port failure
408  User indicated display attributes failure
416  User indicated character set failure
424  User indicated 80x25 mode failure
432  Parallel port test failure; monochrome display adapter

5xx  Color Graphics Adapter (CGA) errors
501  CGA memory test, horizontal sync frequency test, or video test
       failure
508  User indicated display attribute failure
516  User indicated character set failure
524  User indicated 80x25 mode failure
532  User indicated 40x25 mode failure
540  User indicated 320x200 graphics mode failure
548  User indicated 640x200 graphics mode failure

6xx  Floppy drive/adapter errors
601  Floppy drive/adapter Power On Self Test failure
602  Drive test failure; disk boot record not valid
606  Drive changeline function failure; drive error
607  Disk is write protected; drive error
608  Bad command; drive error
610  Disk initialization failure; track 0 bad
611  Time-out; drive error
612  Bad Controller chip
613  Bad Direct Memory Access; drive error
614  Bad Direct Memory Access; boundary overrun
615  Bad index timing; drive error
616  Drive speed error
621  Bad seek; drive error
622  Bad Cyclic Redundancy Check; drive error
623  Record not found; drive error
624  Bad address mark; drive error
625  Bad Controller chip; seek error
626  Disk data compare error

7xx  8087, 80287 or 80387 math coprocessor errors

9xx  Parallel printer adapter errors
901  Parallel printer adapter test failure

10xx Alternate parallel printer adapter errors
1001 Alternate parallel printer adapter test failure

11xx Asynchronous communications adapter errors
11xx PS/2 System board async port errors
1101 Asynchronous communications adapter test failure
1102 PS/2 System board async port or serial device error
1106 PS/2 System board async port or serial device error
1107 PS/2 System board async port or serial cable error
1108 PS/2 System board async port or serial device error
1109 PS/2 System board async port or serial device error
1112 PS/2 System board async port error
1118 PS/2 System board async port error
1119 PS/2 System board async port error

12xx Alternate asynchronous communications adapter errors
12xx PS/2 Dual async adapter error
1201 Alternate asynchronous communications adapter test failure
1202 PS/2 Dual async adapter or serial device error
1206
1207 PS/2 Dual async adapter or serial cable error
1208 PS/2 Dual async adapter or serial device error
1209
1212 PS/2 Dual async adapter or system board error
1218
1219
1227
1233
1234

13xx Game control adapter errors
1301 Game control adapter test failure
1301 Joy-stick test failure

14xx Matrix Printer errors

15xx Synchronous data link control (SDLC) communications adapter errors
1510 8255 port B failure
1511 8255 port A failure
1512 8255 port C failure
1513 8253 timer 1 did not reach terminal count
1514 8253 timer 1 stuck on
1515 8253 timer 0 did not reach terminal count
1516 8253 timer 0 stuck on
1517 8253 timer 2 did not reach terminal count
1518 8253 timer 2 stuck on
1519 8273 port B error
1520 8273 port A error
1521 8273 command/read time-out
1522 Interrupt level 4 failure
1523 Ring Indicate stuck on
1524 Receive clock stuck on
1525 Transmit clock stuck on
1526 Test indicate stuck on
1527 Ring indicate not on
1528 Receive clock not on
1529 Transmit clock not on
1530 Test indicate not on
1531 Data set ready not on
1532 Carrier detect not on
1533 Clear to send not on
1534 Data set ready stuck on
1536 Clear to send stuck on
1537 Level 3 interrupt failure
1538 Receive interrupt results error
1539 Wrap data compare error
1540 Direct Memory Access channel 1 error
1541 Direct Memory Access channel 1 error
1542 Error in 8273 error checking or status reporting
1547 Stray interrupt level 4
1548 Stray interrupt level 3
1549 Interrupt presentation sequence time-out

16xx Display emulation errors (327x, 5520, 525x)

17xx Fixed disk errors
1701 Fixed disk POST error
1702 Fixed disk adapter error
1703 Fixed disk drive error
1704 Fixed disk adapter or drive error
1780 Fixed disk 0 failure
1781 Fixed disk 1 failure
1782 Fixed disk controller failure
1790 Fixed disk 0 error
1791 Fixed disk 1 error

18xx I/O expansion unit errors
1801 I/O expansion unit POST error
1810 Enable/Disable failure
1811 Extender card wrap test failure; disabled
1812 High order address lines failure; disabled
1813 Wait state failure; disabled
1814 Enable/Disable could not be set on
1815 Wait state failure; disabled
1816 Extender card wrap test failure; enabled
1817 High order address lines failure; enabled
1818 Disable not functioning
1819 Wait request switch not set correctly
1820 Receiver card wrap test failure
1821 Receiver high order address lines failure

19xx 3270 PC attachment card errors

20xx Binary synchronous (BSC) adapter errors
2010 8255 port A failure
2011 8255 port B failure
2012 8255 port C failure
2013 8253 timer 1 did not reach terminal count
2014 8253 timer 1 stuck on
2015 8253 timer 2 did not reach terminal count or timer 2 stuck on
2017 8251 Data set ready failed to come on
2018 8251 Clear to send not sensed
2019 8251 Data set ready stuck on
2020 8251 Clear to send stuck on
2021 8251 hardware reset failure
2022 8251 software reset failure
2023 8251 software "error reset" failure
2024 8251 transmit ready did not come on
2025 8251 receive ready did not come on
2026 8251 could not force "overrun" error status
2027 Interrupt failure; no timer interrupt
2028 Interrupt failure; transmit, replace card or planar
2029 Interrupt failure; transmit, replace card
2030 Interrupt failure; receive, replace card or planar
2031 Interrupt failure; receive, replace card
2033 Ring indicate stuck on
2034 Receive clock stuck on
2035 Transmit clock stuck on
2036 Test indicate stuck on
2037 Ring indicate stuck on
2038 Receive clock not on
2039 Transmit clock not on
2040 Test indicate not on
2041 Data set ready not on
2042 Carrier detect not on
2043 Clear to send not on
2044 Data set ready stuck on
2045 Carrier detect stuck on
2046 Clear to send stuck on
2047 Unexpected transmit interrupt
2048 Unexpected receive interrupt
2049 Transmit data did not equal receive data
2050 8251 detected overrun error
2051 Lost data set ready during data wrap
2052 Receive time-out during data wrap

21xx Alternate binary synchronous communications adapter errors
2110 8255 port A failure
2111 8255 port B failure
2112 8255 port C failure
2113 8253 timer 1 did not reach terminal count
2114 8253 timer 1 stuck on
2115 8253 timer 2 did not reach terminal count or timer 2 stuck on.
2117 8251 Data set ready failed to come on
2118 8251 Clear to send not sensed
2119 8251 Data set ready stuck on
2120 8251 Clear to send stuck on
2121 8251 hardware reset failure
2122 8251 software reset failure
2123 8251 software "error reset" failure
2124 8251 transmit ready did not come on
2125 8251 receive ready did not come on
2126 8251 could not force "overrun" error status
2127 Interrupt failure; no timer interrupt
2128 Interrupt failure; transmit, replace card or planar
2129 Interrupt failure; transmit, replace card
2130 Interrupt failure; receive, replace card or planar
2131 Interrupt failure; receive, replace card
2133 Ring indicate stuck on
2134 Receive clock stuck on
2135 Transmit clock stuck on
2136 Test indicate stuck on
2137 Ring indicate stuck on
2138 Receive clock not on
2139 Transmit clock not on
2140 Test indicate not on
2141 Data set ready not on
2142 Carrier detect not on
2143 Clear to send not on
2144 Data set ready stuck on
2145 Carrier detect stuck on
2146 Clear to send stuck on
2147 Unexpected transmit interrupt
2148 Unexpected receive interrupt
2149 Transmit Data did not equal receive data
2150 8251 detected overrun error
2151 Lost data set ready during data wrap
2152 Receive time-out during data wrap

22xx Cluster adapter errors

24xx Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) errors
24xx PS/2 System board Video Graphics Array (VGA) errors
2401 PS/2 Video Cable error (tbarnum@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu)

26xx XT/370 errors

27xx AT/370 errors

28xx 3278/79 emulation adapter errors

29xx Color/graphics printer errors

30xx Primary PC Network adapter error
3001 Processor test failure
3002 ROM checksum test failure
3003 Unit ID PROM test failure
3004 RAM test failure
3005 Host Interface Controller test failure
3006 +/- 12v test failure
3007 Digital loopback test failure
3008 Host detected Host Interface Controller failure
3009 Sync failure and no Go bit
3010 Host Interface Controller test OK and no Go bit
3011 Go bit and no Command 41
3012 Card not present
3013 Digital failure; fall through
3015 Analog failure
3041 Hot carrier; not this card
3042 Hot carrier; this card!

31xx Secondary PC Network adapter errors
3101 Processor test failure
3102 ROM check test failure
3103 Unit ID PROM test failure
3104 RAM test failure
3105 Host Interface Controller test failure
3106 +/- 12v test failure
3107 Digital loopback test failure
3108 Host detected Host Interface Controller failure
3109 Sync failure and no Go bit
3110 Host Interface Controller test OK and no Go bit
3111 Go bit and no Command 41
3112 Card not present
3113 Digital failure; fall through
3115 Analog failure
3141 Hot carrier; not this card
3142 Hot carrier; this card!

33xx Compact printer errors

36xx General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB) adapter errors

38xx Data acquisition adapter errors

39xx Professional graphics controller errors

71xx Voice communications adapter errors

73xx 3.5" external diskette drive errors
7306 Disk changeline function failure; track 0 bad
7307 Disk is write protected; drive error
7308 Bad command; drive error
7310 Disk initialization failure; track 0 bad
7311 Time-out; drive error
7312 Bad Controller chip
7313 Bad Direct Memory Access; drive error
7314 Bad Direct Memory Access; boundary overrun
7315 Bad index timing; drive error
7316 Drive speed error
7321 Bad seek; drive error
7322 Bad Cyclic Redundancy Check; drive error
7323 Record not found; drive error
7324 Bad address mark; drive error
7325 Bad Controller chip; seek error

74xx IBM PS/2 Display adapter (VGA card) errors

85xx IBM Expanded Memory Adapter (XMA) errors

86xx PS/2 Pointing device errors
8601 PS/2 Pointing device error
8602 PS/2 Pointing device error
8603 PS/2 Pointing device error or System board failure

89xx Music feature card errors

9670 SCSI adapter error

100xx     PS/2 Multiprotocol adapter errors
10002     PS/2 Multiprotocol adapter or serial device error
10006     PS/2 Multiprotocol adapter or serial device error
10007     PS/2 Multiprotocol adapter or communications cable error
10008     PS/2 Multiprotocol adapter or serial device error
10009     PS/2 Multiprotocol adapter or serial device error
10012     PS/2 Multiprotocol adapter or system board error.
10018
10019
10042
10056

104xx     PS/2 ESDI Fixed disk errors
10480     PS/2 ESDI Fixed disk 0 failure
10481     PS/2 ESDI Fixed disk 1 failure
10482     PS/2 ESDI Fixed disk controller failure
10483     PS/2 ESDI Fixed disk controller failure
10490     PS/2 ESDI Fixed disk 0 error
10491     PS/2 ESDI Fixed disk 1 error

21060     SCSI device error, Device not recognized

I99920    IML error
In reference diagnoses these numbers are reported as eight digit numbers.
  A
VGA error at post might be 2410 but in the reference disk it is reported 
as
00241000.


Appendix E     Pinouts


 6pin DIN Male          DB15-S Male
    --+--               ----------------------
   / 6+5 \              \   1  2  3  4  5    /
  | 4   3 |              \ 6  7  8  9 10    /
   \ 1 2 /                \ 11 12 13 14 15 /
    -----                  ----------------


DB9 (DE-9) Male                DB15 (DA-15) Male
-------------           --------------------------
\ 1 2 3 4 5 /           \ 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8 /
 \ 6 7 8 9 /             \ 9  10 11 12 13 14 15 /
  ---------               ----------------------

DB25 Male                             IDC-50 Male
 ------------------------------        -------------------
 \ 1  2  3  4  5  7  8 ... 13 /       | 1  3  5  7 ... 49 |
  \ 14 15 16 17 18 .......25 /        | 2  4  6  8 ... 50 |
   --------------------------          -------------------

(Power Connector) Male     
  __________
 /          \
| 4  3  2  1 |
 ------------



*Motherboard Power Connectors *NEED ASCII OF BOARD POWER CONNECTOR

30 pin SIMM                         72 pin SIMM
-------------------------------     -------------------------------------
--
|                             |     |                                    
 |
 )                            |      )                 _                 
 |
 --|||||||||||||||||||||||||---      --|||||||||||||||/ \|||||||||||||||-
--
   1                       30          1             36  37            72




MIDI 5pin DIN
   MIDI In                 MIDI Out
pin     assignment      pin     assignment
1       N/C             1       N/C
2       N/C             2       GND
3       N/C             3       N/C
4       Current Src     4       Current Sync
5       Current Sync    5       Current Src

Power Connector Male            
pin     assignment             
1       +12V                    
2       +12V return               
3       +5V return                   
4       +5V              

PS/2 Keyboard Connector 5pin-DIN
pin     assignment
1      +KBD data
2      Reserved
3      Ground
4      +5 Vdc
5      +KBD clk
6      Reserved
Shield  Frame ground

PS/2 Mouse/6pin DIN
[Thanks to Ian Wilson ]
pin   assignment
1     Data   
2     Not Connected
3     Signal Ground
4     +5 VDC
5     CLock
6     Not Connected
Shield  Frame ground


Game Port DB15-Female
pin     assignment      pin     assignment
1       +5V DC          2       Button 4 (A_PB1)
3       Position 0(A_X) 4       GND
5       GND             6       Position 1 (A_Y)
7       Button 5(A_PB2) 8       +5V DC
9       +5V DC          10      Button 6 (B_PB1)
11      Position 2(B_X) 12      GND
13      Position 3(B_Y) 14      Button 7 (B_PB2)
15      +5V DC


Serial Port DB9-Male DB25-Male
9-pin   25-pin  assignment
1       8       DCD (Data Carrier Detect)
2       3       RX  (Receive Data)
3       2       TX  (Transmit Data)
4       20      DTR (Data Terminal Ready)
5       7       GND (Signal Ground)
6       6       DSR (Data Set Ready)
7       4       RTS (Request To Send)
8       5       CTS (Clear To Send)
9       22      RI  (Ring Indicator)


Parallel Port DB25-Female
pin     assignment      pin     assignment
1       -Strobe         2       Data 0
3       Data 1          4       Data 2
5       Data 3          6       Data 4
7       Data 5          8       Data 6
9       Data 7          10      -Ack
11      Busy            12      Paper Empty
13      Select          14      -Auto Feed
15      -Error          16      -Init
17      -Slct in        18      GND
19      GND             20      GND
21      GND             22      GND
23      GND             24      GND
25      GND


Parallel Port Centronics-36
1       -Strobe         2       Data 0
3       Data 1          4       Data 2
5       Data 3          6       Data 4
7       Data 5          8       Data 6
9       Data 7          10      -Ack
11      Busy            12      Paper Empty
13      Select          14      -Auto Feed
15      {OSCXT}         16      Signal GND
17      Frame GND       18      +5v
19      GND             20      GND
21      GND             22      GND
23      GND             24      GND
25      GND             26      GND
27      GND             28      GND
29      GND             30      GND
31      -Prime          32      -Error
33      Signal GND      34      N/C
35      N/C             36      N/C


MCA IDE Hard Disk Interface
pin     assignment      pin     assignment
A1      -CD SETUP       B1      Address Bit 15
A2      Address Bit 13  B2      Address Bit 14
A3      GROUND          B3      GROUND
A4      Address Bit 11  B4      OSC (14.3 MHz)
A5      Address Bit 10  B5      GROUND
A6      Address Bit 9   B6      Address Bit 12
A7      +5 VDC          B7      -CMD
A8      Address Bit 8   B8      -CD SFDBK
A9      Address Bit 7   B9      GROUND
A10     Address Bit 6   B10     Data Bit 1
A11     +5 VDC          B11     Data Bit 3
A12     Address Bit 5   B12     Data Bit 4
A13     Address Bit 4   B13     GROUND
A14     Address Bit 3   B14     CHRESET
A15     +5 VDC          B15     Data Bit 8
A16     Address Bit 2   B16     Data Bit 9
A17     Address Bit 1   B17     GROUND
A18     Address Bit 0   B18     Data Bit 12
A19     +12 VDC         B19     Data Bit 14
A20     -ADL            B20     Data Bit 15
A21     -PREEMPT        B21     GROUND
A22     -BURST          B22     Data Bit 0
A23     +5 VDC          B23     Data Bit 2
A24     ARB 0           B24     Data Bit 5
A25     ARB 1           B25     GROUND
A26     ARB 2           B26     Data Bit 6
A27     +12 VDC         B27     Data Bit 7
A28     ARB 3           B28     Data Bit 10
A29     +ARB/-GRANT     B29     GROUND
A30     -TC             B30     Data Bit 11
A31     +5 VDC          B31     Data Bit 13
A32     -S0             B32     -SBHE
A33     -S1             B33     GROUND
A34     +M/-O           B34     -CD DS 16
A35     GROUND          B35     -IRQ 14
A36     CD CHRDY        B36     GROUND

IDE Hard Disk Interface for Model 25/30
pin     assignment      pin     assignment
1       -RESET          2       -Disk Installed
3       Data Bit 0      4       GROUND
5       Data Bit 1      6       GROUND
7       Data Bit 2      8       GROUND
9       Data Bit 3      10      GROUND
11      Data Bit 4      12      GROUND
13      Data Bit 5      14      GROUND
15      Data Bit 6      16      GROUND
17      Data Bit 7      18      GROUND
19      -IOR            20      GROUND
21      -IOW            22      GROUND
23      -CS1FX          24      GROUND
25      Address Bit 0   26      GROUND
27      Address Bit 1   28      GROUND
29      Address Bit 2   30      +5 VDC
31      RESERVED        32      +5 VDC
33      -DACK 3         34      GROUND
35      DRQ 3           36      GROUND
37      IRQ 5           38      GROUND
39      I/O CH RDY      40      +12 VDC
41      Spare           42      +12 VDC
43      Spare           44      +12 VDC


ESDI Hard Disk Interface
               ESDI IDC-34
pin     assignment      pin     assignment
1       GROUND          2       -HD SLCT 3
3       GROUND          4       -HD SLCT 2
5       GROUND          6       -WRITE GATE
7       GROUND          8       -CNFG/STATUS
9       GROUND          10      -XFER ACK
11      GROUND          12      -ATTENTION
13      GROUND          14      -HD SLCT 0
15      KEY (no pin)    16      -SECTOR
17      GROUND          18      -HD SLCT 1
19      GROUND          20      -INDEX
21      GROUND          22      -READY
23      GROUND          24      -XFER REQ
25      GROUND          26      -DRV SLCT 0
27      GROUND          28      -DRV SLCT 1
29      GROUND          30      Reserved
31      GROUND          32      -READ GATE
33      GROUND          34      -CMD DATA

               ESDI IDC-20
pin     assignment      pin      assignment
1       -DRV SLCTD      2        -SECTOR
3       -CMD COMPL      4        -ADDR MK EN
5       -GROUND         6        GROUND
7       +WRITE CLK      8        -WRITE CLK
9       GROUND          10       +RD/REF CLK
11      -RD/REF CLK     12       GROUND  
13      +NRZ WRITE      14       -NRZ WRITE
15      GROUND          16       GROUND
17      +NRZ READ       18       -NRZ READ
19      GROUND          20       -INDEX


ST506/412 Hard Disk Interface
         ST-506/412 34 pin connector
pin     assignment      pin     assignment
1       GROUND          2       -HD SLCT 3
3       GROUND          4       -HD SLCT 2
5       GROUND          6       -WRITE GATE
7       GROUND          8       -SEEK CMPLT
9       GROUND          10      -TRACK 0
11      GROUND          12      -WRITE FAULT
13      GROUND          14      -HD SLCT 0
15      KEY (no pin)    16      Not Connected
17      GROUND          18      -HD SLCT 1
19      GROUND          20      -INDEX
21      GROUND          22      -READY
23      GROUND          24      -STEP
25      GROUND          26      -DRV SLCT 0
27      GROUND          28      -DRV SLCT 1
29      GROUND          30      Not Connected
31      GROUND          32      Not Connected
33      GROUND          34      -DIRECTION IN

          ST-506/412 20 pin connector
pin     assignment      pin      assignment
1       -DRV SLCTD      2        GROUND
3       Not Connected   4        GROUND
5       Not Connected   6        GROUND
7       Not Connected   8        Key (no pin)
9       Not Connected   10       Not Connected
11      GROUND          12       GROUND  
13      +MFM WRITE      14       -MFM WRITE
15      GROUND          16       GROUND
17      +MFM READ       18       -MFM READ
19      GROUND          20       -INDEX


VGA DB15-S Female DB9 Female
15-pin  9-pin   assignment
1       1       Red
2       2       Green
3       3       Blue
4       -       Monitor ID bit 2
5       -       N/C
6       6       GND (red return)
7       7       GND (green return)
8       8       GND (blue return)
9       -       N/C
10      -       GND
11      -       Monitor ID bit 0
12      -       Minitor ID bit 1
13      4       Horizontal Sync
14      5       Vertical Sync
15      -       N/C

Monitor ID bit 0: reserved
Monitor ID bit 1: GND 3D mono, OPEN 3D color
Monochrome monitors use the green signal


CGA DB9 Female
pin   assignment
1     GND
2     GND
3     Red
4     Green
5     Blue
6     Intensity
7     (reserved)
8     Horizontal Sync
9     Vertical Sync


EGA DB9 Female
pin   assignment
1     GND
2     Secondary Red
3     Primary Red
4     Primary Green
5     Primary Blue
6     Secondary Green / Intensity
7     Secondary Blue / Mono Video
8     Horizontal Drive
9     Vertical Drive

 
Null Modem:
Connector 1 to  Connector 2
DTR             DSR/DCD
DSR/DCD         DTR
RTS             CTS
CTS             RTS
TXD             RXD
RXD             TXD
GND             GND

  
30 pin Fast Page Mode SIMM  256kx8 256kx9 1Mx8 1Mx9 4Mx8 4Mx9
pin     assignment|pin  assignment|pin  assignment|pin  assignment
1       Vcc       |9       Gnd    |17      A8     |25      DQ7
2       -CAS      |10      DQ2    |18      A9     |26      QP
3       DQ0       |11      A4     |19      A10    |27      -RAS
4       A0        |12      A5     |20      DQ5    |28      -CASP
5       A1        |13      DQ3    |21      -WE    |29      DP
6       DQ1       |14      A6     |22      Gnd    |30      Vcc
7       A2        |15      A7     |23      DQ6
8       A3        |16      DQ4    |24      N/C

Notes:
QP, CASP and DP are N/C on all x8 bit modules
a9 is a N/C on 256k modules
a10 is a N/C on 256k and 1M modules


72 pin Fast Page Mode SIMM  256k/512k/1M/2M/4M/8M x 32/36 bit
pin     assignment|pin  assignment|pin  assignment|pin  assignment
1       Gnd       |19      A10    |37      MP1    |55      DQ11
2       DQ0       |20      DQ4    |38      MP3    |56      DQ27
3       DQ16      |21      DQ20   |39      Gnd    |57      DQ12
4       DQ1       |22      DQ5    |40      -CAS0  |58      DQ28
5       DQ17      |23      DQ21   |41      -CAS2  |59      Vcc
6       DQ2       |24      DQ6    |42      -CAS3  |60      DQ29
7       DQ18      |25      DQ22   |43      -CAS1  |61      DQ13
8       DQ3       |26      DQ7    |44      -RAS0  |62      DQ30
9       DQ19      |27      DQ23   |45      -RAS1  |63      DQ14
10      Vcc       |28      A7     |46      N/C    |64      DQ31
11      N/C       |29      N/C    |47      -WE    |65      DQ15
12      A0        |30      Vcc    |48      N/C    |66      N/C
13      A1        |31      A8     |49      DQ8    |67      PD1
14      A2        |32      A9     |50      DQ24   |68      PD2
15      A3        |33      -RAS3  |51      DQ9    |69      PD3
16      A4        |34      -RAS2  |52      DQ25   |70      PD4
17      A5        |35      MP2    |53      DQ10   |71      N/C
18      A6        |36      MP0    |54      DQ26   |72      Gnd

Notes:
MP0,MP1,MP2,MP3 are N/C on all x32 bit modules
a9 is a N/C on 256k and 512k modules
a10 is a N/C on 256k, 512k, 1M and 4M modules
RAS1/RAS3 are N/C on 256k, 1M and 4M modules


*PS/2 72 pin SIMM

SCSI Connector Pinouts (Single Ended)

3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D
3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D
3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D3D

Pin   Signal            Pin   Signal
----------------------------------------------------
 1    Ground        31    Ground
 2    Data 0        32    -Attention
 3    Ground        33    Ground
 4    Data1         34    Ground
 5    Ground        35    Ground
 6    Data 2        36    -Busy
 7    Ground        37    Ground
 8    Data 3        38    -Acknowledge
 9    Ground        39    Ground
10    Data 4        40    -Reset
11    Ground        41    Ground
12    Data 5        42    -Message
13    Ground        43    Ground
14    Data 6        44     -Select
15    Ground        45    Ground
16    Data 7        46    -Control/Data
17    Ground        47    Ground
18    Data P        48    -Request
19    Ground        49    Ground
20    Ground        50    -Input/Output
21    Ground        51    Reserved (PS/2 only)
22    Ground        52    Reserved (PS/2 only)
23    Ground        53    Reserved (PS/2 only)
24    Ground        54    Reserved (PS/2 only)
25    Not Connected 55    Reserved (PS/2 only)
26    Terminator Pwr56    Reserved (PS/2 only)
27    Ground        57    Reserved (PS/2 only)
28    Ground        58    Reserved (PS/2 only)
29    Ground        59    Reserved (PS/2 only)
30    Ground        60    Reserved (PS/2 only)

This layout is the same as the IDC-50 SCSI Socket/cable end with
signals 51-60 being added in the PS/2 variety.


PS/2 1.44MB Floppy pinout(could someone verify this)
Pin   I/O   Signal            Pin   I/O   Signal
---   ---   ------            ---   ---   ------
1     n/a   -2nd drive        2      o    -high density select
3     n/a   reserved          4     n/a   reserved
5     n/a   ground            6     n/a   reserved
7     n/a   signal ground     8      i    -index
9     n/a   signal ground     10     o    reserved
11    n/a   signal ground     12     o    -drive select
13    n/a   ground            14     o    reserved
15    n/a   signal ground     16     o    -motor enable
17    n/a   signal ground     18     o    -direction in
19    n/a   signal ground     20     o    -step
21    n/a   signal ground     22     o    -write data
23    n/a   signal ground     24     o    -write enable
25    n/a   signal ground     26     i    -track 0
27    n/a   signal ground     28     i    -write protect
29    n/a   signal ground     30     i    -read data
31    n/a   signal ground     32     o    -head 1 select
33    n/a   signal ground     34     i    -diskette change
35    n/a   ground            36    n/a   ground
37    n/a   ground            38     o    +5 VDC
39    n/a   ground            40     o    +12 VDC

PS/2 34 pin Floppy pinout (not sure please verify)
Pin   I/O   Signal              Pin   I/O   Signal
---   ---   ------              ---   ---   ------
1     n/a   Signal Return       2      o    Data rate select 1
3     n/a   +5V DC              4     n/a   Drive Type ID 1
5     n/a   Signal Return       6     n/a   +12V DC
7     n/a   signal ground       8      i    -index
9     n/a   Drive Type ID 0     10     o    reserved
11    n/a   signal ground       12     o    -drive select
13    n/a   ground              14     o    reserved
15    n/a   signal ground       16     o    -motor enable
17    n/a   Media Type ID 1     18     o    -direction in
19    n/a   signal ground       20     o    -step
21    n/a   signal ground       22     o    -write data
23    n/a   signal ground       24     o    -write enable
25    n/a   signal ground       26     i    -track 0
27    n/a   Media Type ID 0     28     i    -write protect
29    n/a   signal ground       30     i    -read data
31    n/a   signal ground       32     o    -head 1 select
33    n/a   Data Rate Select 0  34     i    -diskette change

PS/2 44-Pin Disk Controller [Thanks to Make Sakaki and chris@ship.net]
The Model 25/30(286?) HardDrive is an old XT IDE type drive.  The connect
or to
the system-board is a ribbon cable that is not compatible to the "standar
d"
clone connection.

-----------------------------+-----------------------------
Pin     I/O     Signal       |  Pin     I/O     Signal
-----------------------------+-----------------------------
21      I       -IOW         |  22      N/A     Ground
23      I       -DISK CS     |  24      N/A     Ground
25      I       A0           |  26      N/A     Ground
27      I       A1           |  28      N/A     Ground
29      I       A2           |  30      N/A     +5 VDC
31      N/A     Reserved     |  32      I/O     +5 VDC
33      I/O     -DACK3       |  34      N/A     Ground
35      I/O     DRQ3         |  36      N/A     Ground
37      O       IRQ5         |  38      N/A     Ground
39      O       IO CH RDY    |  40      I       +12 VDC
41      N/A     Spare        |  42      I       +12 VDC
43      N/A     Spare        |  44      I       +12 VDC
-----------------------------+-----------------------------

The HD requires +12V and +5V.
Get +12V from wire 40/42/44, and +5V from 30/32.
Get Ground from wire 34/36/38 and 24/26/28.


  (Standard Clone) Power Connector:


      40 34 24
      42 36 26 30    <--- (Pins/Wires Connected)
      44 38 28 32
       |  |  |  |
       |  |  |  |
     ______________
     | |        | |
     | |        | |   Top
     | |        | |
     | |        | |
     --------------
       ____________
      /           |              +12v 3D Red
     | O  O  O  O |   Front       +5V 3D Yellow
     --------------                 G 3D Black (Sometimes Orange)
     12v  G  G  5v



Appendix F     PS/2 Sound Cards

From: Jacques@cpmc.ucl.ac.be (Alain Jacques)

*************************************************************************
*****
*                  Sound Cards for the MCA BUS computer                  
    *
*************************************************************************
****
2/23/95

Below is a list of nineteen audio cards for the Micro-channel computer.  
    
Twelve of these Audio cards are known to be out of production and are not
    
currently available.  These are labeled "(No longer in production)" after
 the
product name.                                                            
    

While some cards are no longer on the market as new, you may have some lu
ck  
locating a dealer with old stock (slim chance), or find one used in the  
    
classifieds somewhere.  Older sound cards may not have 16 bit stereo and 
other
features found in newer sound cards.  Be sure to verify what you are gett
ing
and what your programs require to avoid any suprises and disapointments. 
    

Note that not all sound cards are suitable for game play.  Some are desig
ned 
for business audio needs only.  Look for cards labeled as "Sound Blaster 
    
compatible" if you wish to play games with the card in question.  Note th
at  
Sound Blaster compatibility is not always 100% in cards not made by Creat
ive 
Labs.  What this means is some games may play perfectly, others may not. 
    

*************************************************************************
****

 Product:   Ad Lib Gold 2000MC  (No longer in production)

 Company:   Ad Lib, Inc.
 Address:   220 Grande Allee, E, Ste. 850
            Quebec City, QB, CD  G1R 2J1
            800-463-2686; 418-529-9676
            FAX: 418-529-1159
            Tech support: 418-529-6252

 Category:  PC Boards (video, fax, motherboards, controllers, ...)
              Special Function Boards

 Specs:     Pricing: $500
            Standard warranty included: 1 yr.
            Date announced: 1992
            Function: Audio processing
            Compatible with: MCA PS/2 Model 50, 60, 70, 80
            Interfaces provided: SCSI interface
            Size of board: 3/4 length


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

 Product:   Model VP800  (No longer in production)

 Company:   Antex Electronics Corp.
 Address:   16100 S. Figueroa St.
            Gardena, CA  90248
            800-338-4231; 310-532-3092
            FAX: 310-532-8509
            Tech support: Use toll-free no.

 Category:  PC Boards (video, fax, motherboards, controllers, ...)
              Special Function Boards

 Specs:     Pricing: $325
            Date announced: 1991
            Function: Audio processing
            Compatible with: MCA
            Size of board: Full length


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

 Product:  AT&T Business Audio for MCA
           AT&T/GIS Kit# 3099-K070

 Company:  AT&T
           Direct sales: 800-542-9907 (AT&T Direct)

 Category: PC Boards
             Sound Boards/MIDI

 Comes with the following applications:
   Sound Finder
   Quick Recorder
   Voice & Sound Animation
   Voice Pilot
   ProofReader

 Kit includes:
   Microphone w/stand
   Pair of lightweight headphones
   Four pin cable for connecting to CD-ROM audio outputs
   Mini plug connectors for:
      Microphone
     Headphones or external speakers
     Stereo Line in
     Stereo Line out
   Microsoft Sound System version 2.0 (5 diskettes)
   AT&T Business Audio Diagnostics (1 diskette)
   MS BA User Guide
   Hardware users guide

 Requires:
   Intel 486 or higher
   640Mb + 4Mb extended
   10Mb of disk space
   VGA Display
   Works with DOS; Windows 3.1, Windows NT.

 Configurable for Sound Blaster compatibility with an enclosed utility.
 Rated by the FCC for class B use,


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

 Product:   Sound Blaster MCV  (No longer in production)

 Company:   Creative Labs, Inc. (subsidiary of Creative Technology)
 Address:   1901 McCarthy Blvd.
            Milpitas, CA  95035
            800-998-LABS; 408-428-6600
            FAX: 408-428-6611
            Tech support: 408-428-6622

 Category:  PC Boards (video, fax, motherboards, controllers, ...)
              Special Function Boards

 Specs:     Pricing: $350
            Date announced: 1991
            Function: Audio processing
            Compatible with: MCA PS/2 Model 50, 60, 70, 80
            Graphics standard supported: VGA
            Interfaces provided: MIDI interface
            Size of board: 3/4 length


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

 Product:   Audio Capture/Playback Adapter  (No longer in production)

 Company:   IBM (International Business Machines)
 Address:   Old Orchard Rd.
            Armonk, NY  10504
            800-426-2468; 914-765-1900
            Tech support: Use toll-free no.

 Category:  PC Boards (video, fax, motherboards, controllers, ...)
              Special Function Boards

 Specs:     Pricing: $565
            Standard warranty included: 90-day
            Date announced: 1989
            Function: Audio processing
            Compatible with: MCA PS/2 Model 50, 60, 70, 80


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

 Product:  Audiovation Adapter/A

 Company:  IBM (International Business Machines)
 Address:  Old Orchard Rd.
           Armonk, NY  10504
           800-426-3333; 914-765-1900
           Direct sales: 800-426-7695 (IBM PC Direct)
           Tech support: 800-237-5511
           Tech support BBS: 919-517-0001; 800-847-7211 (OS2)

 Category: PC Boards
              Sound Boards/MIDI

 Specs:    Mfr. suggested list price: $300
           Standard warranty included: 1 yr.
           Date announced: 1993
           Product classification: Sound board
           Compatibility: MCA
           Audio recording size: 16 bit
           Audio recording rate: 4-44.1 KHz stereo
           Audio playback size: 16 bit
           Audio playback rate: 4-44.1 KHz stereo
           Sound card compatibility: Sound Blaster
           Synthesizer type: Wavetable
           Interfaces/connectors: CD-ROM; MIDI; Joystick; Line-in; Line-o
ut;
              Microphone


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

 Product:  Ultimedia Audio Adapter

 Company:  IBM (International Business Machines)
 Address:  Old Orchard Rd.
           Armonk, NY  10504
           800-426-3333; 914-765-1900
           Direct sales: 800-426-7695 (IBM PC Direct)
           Tech support: 800-237-5511
           Tech support BBS: 919-517-0001; 800-847-7211 (OS2)

 Category: PC Boards
              Sound Boards/MIDI

 Specs:    Mfr. suggested list price: $295
           Date announced: 1994 *
           Product classification: Sound board
           Compatibility: MCA
           Audio recording size: 16 bit
           Audio recording rate: 44 KHz stereo
           Audio playback size: 16 bit
           Audio playback rate: 44 KHz stereo
           Interfaces/connectors: Microphone


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

 Product:  Ultimedia M-Audio Capture/Playback Adapter/A

 Company:  IBM (International Business Machines)
 Address:  Old Orchard Rd.
           Armonk, NY  10504
           800-426-3333; 914-765-1900
           Direct sales: 800-426-7695 (IBM PC Direct)
           Tech support: 800-237-5511
           Tech support BBS: 919-517-0001; 800-847-7211 (OS2)

 Category: PC Boards
              Sound Boards/MIDI

 Specs:    Mfr. suggested list price: $235
           Date announced: 1991 *
           Product classification: Sound board
           Compatibility: MCA
           Audio recording size: 16 bit
           Audio recording rate: 8-44.1 KHz stereo
           Audio playback size: 16 bit
           Audio playback rate: 8-44.1 KHz stereo
           General MIDI standard supported: Yes
           Interfaces/connectors: Line-in; Line-out; Microphone


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

 Product:   ActionMedia 750 Capture Board/MCA  (No longer in production)

 Company:   Intel Corp.
 Address:   2200 Mission College Blvd.
            Santa Clara, CA  95054
            800-538-3373; 408-765-8080
            FAX: 408-765-1821

 Category:  PC Boards (video, fax, motherboards, controllers, ...)
              Video/Graphics Boards

 Specs:     Pricing: $2,150
            Date announced: 1990
            Function: Motion video
            Compatible with: MCA PS/2 Model 50, 60, 70, 80
            Additional functions: Converts analog audio and video signals
 into
              digital data; captures two-channel audio, hi-res still imag
es
              and motion video from live or recorded sources


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

 Product:   ActionMedia 750 Delivery Board/MCA  (No longer in production)

 Company:   Intel Corp.
 Address:   2200 Mission College Blvd.
            Santa Clara, CA  95054
            800-538-3373; 408-765-8080
            FAX: 408-765-1821

 Category:  PC Boards (video, fax, motherboards, controllers, ...)
              Video/Graphics Boards

 Specs:     Pricing: $1,995-$2,495
            Date announced: 1990
            Function: Motion video
            Compatible with: MCA PS/2 Model 50, 60, 70, 80
            Bits per pixel: 24
            Number of colors available: 16.8M
            Graphics resolution: 1024x480; 768/512x480
            RAM: 1M-2M bytes
            Size of board: Full length
            Additional functions: Enables playback of motion video, still
              images, graphics and audio from digital storage media


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

 Product:   ActionMedia II Capture Board/MCA  (No longer in production)

 Company:  IBM (International Business Machines)
 Address:  Old Orchard Rd.
           Armonk, NY  10504
           800-426-3333; 914-765-1900
           Direct sales: 800-426-7695 (IBM PC Direct)
           Tech support: 800-237-5511
           Tech support BBS: 919-517-0001; 800-847-7211 (OS2)

 Category:  PC Boards (video, fax, motherboards, controllers, ...)
              Video/Graphics Boards

 Specs:     Pricing: $495
            Standard warranty included: 1 yr.
            Date announced: 1991
            Function: Motion video
            Compatible with: MCA
            Additional functions: Digitizes analog audio and video analog
             signals; captures audio, still images and motion video from 
live
             or recorded sources


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

 Product:   ActionMedia II Delivery Board/MCA

 Company:  IBM (International Business Machines)
 Address:  Old Orchard Rd.
           Armonk, NY  10504
           800-426-3333; 914-765-1900
           Direct sales: 800-426-7695 (IBM PC Direct)
           Tech support: 800-237-5511
           Tech support BBS: 919-517-0001; 800-847-7211 (OS2)

 Category:  PC Boards (video, fax, motherboards, controllers, ...)
              Video/Graphics Boards

 Specs:     Pricing: $995
            Standard warranty included: 1 yr.
            Date announced: 1991
            Function: Motion video
            Compatible with: MCA
            Number of colors available: 16.8M
            Size of board: Full length
            Additional functions: Provides still and motion video with au
dio
              compression, decompression, video manipulation and graphics
              functions; S-VHS video output for PAL or NTSC


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

 Product:  Gloria

 Company:  Jovian Logic Corp.
 Address:  47929 Fremont Blvd.
           Fremont, CA  94538
           510-651-4823
           FAX: 510-651-1343
           Tech support BBS: 510-651-6989

 Category: PC Boards
              Sound Boards/MIDI

 Specs:    Mfr. suggested list price: $495
           Standard warranty included: 2 yr.
           Date announced: 1994
           Product classification: Sound board
           Compatibility: ISA (16 bit); MCA
           Audio recording size: 16 bit
           Audio recording rate: 16-44.1 KHz stereo
           Audio playback size: 16 bit
           Audio playback rate: 16-44.1 KHz stereo
           Interfaces/connectors: Line-in; Line-out; Microphone


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

 Product:   Super VideoWindows-MCA  (No longer in production)

 Company:   New Media Graphics Corp.
 Address:   780 Boston Rd.
            Billerica, MA  01821
            800-288-2207; 508-663-0666
            FAX: 508-663-6678
            Tech support: 508-663-0666, ext. 126

 Category:  PC Boards (video, fax, motherboards, controllers, ...)
              Video/Graphics Boards

 Specs:     Pricing: $995
            Standard warranty included: 1 yr.
            Date announced: 1991
            Function: Motion video
            Compatible with: MCA
            Bits per pixel: 24
            Number of colors available: 16.7M
            Graphics resolution: 800x600
            RAM: 750K bytes
            Size of board: 3/4 length
            Additional functions: Plays full-motion video and stereo audi
o in
              any size window; individual frame storage; graphics/text
              overlay; NTSC or PAL input


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

 Product:  DSA-340  (No longer in production)

 Company:  Online Computer Systems,Inc. (subsidiary of Reed International
,PLC)
 Address:  20251 Century Blvd.
           Germantown, MD  20874
           800-922-9204; 301-428-3700
           FAX: 301-428-2903
           Tech support: 800-643-4351

 Category: PC Boards (video, fax, sound, controllers, ...)
              Sound Boards/MIDI

 Specs:    Pricing: $595
           Date announced: 1988
           Product classification: Sound board
           Compatibility: MCA
           Audio recording size: 8 bit
           Audio recording rate: 4-12 KHz stereo
           Audio playback size: 8 bit
           Audio playback rate: 4-12 KHz stereo
           Interfaces/connectors: Line-in; Line-out


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

 Product:   DSA-1640  (No longer in production)

 Company:   Online Computer Systems, Inc.
 Address:   20251 Century Blvd.
            Germantown, MD  20874
            800-922-9204; 301-428-3700
            FAX: 301-428-2903
            Tech support: 800-643-4351

 Category:  PC Boards (video, fax, motherboards, controllers, ...)
              Special Function Boards

 Specs:     Pricing: $1,095
            Date announced: 1991
            Function: Audio processing
            Compatible with: MCA
            Size of board: Full length


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

 Product: Sound Piper

 Company: Piper Research, Inc.
          Attn: Sales
          PO Box 241
          Newport, MN  55055
          1-612-459-2770
          FAX: 1-612-881-5840
          Tech support BBS: 1-612-730-5860
          FAX: 1-408-428-6633
          E-Mail: 74544.3103@compuserve.com
          www.piper-research.com

** Currently NOT sold through re-sellers, order direct from Piper Researc
h.

 Category: PC Boards
              Sound Boards/MIDI

 Specs:    Mfr. suggested list price: $129.95-179.95
           Limited warranty included: 1 yr. BBS
           Date announced:
           Product classification: Sound board; Multimedia PC compatible
           Compatibility: MCA Half size adapter
           Environments: DOS, Windows 3.1, OS/2
           Audio recording size: 16 bit
           Audio recording rate: 4-44.1 KHz stereo
           Audio playback size: 16 bit
           Audio playback rate: 4-44.1 KHz stereo
           Sound card compatibility: Sound Blaster
           Synthesizer type: Yamaha OPL3 20 voice stereo FM Music Synthes
izer
           Interfaces/connectors: MIDI; Joystick; Line-in; Line-out;
                                  Microphone; 4 watt stereo amplifier out
put

 Features:
 - Patented ESPCM compression
 - Programmable digital volume control
 - Stereo mixer and amplifier
 - Compatible with all major software programs

 Bundled software:
 - Audio recorder
 - Audio reminder
 - Audio chime library
 - Chime
 - Mixer
 - Stopwatch
 - Talking calculator
 - Talking clock - Timer

 Summary:
 The SoundPiper 16 is a state-of-the-art, high integration 16 bit stereo
 sound card for PS/2 Micro Channel Architecture personal computers. 
 The SoundPiper 16 has a built in 5 channel mixer for both record and
 layback. It has stereo inputs for CD-audio, line-in, music synthesis,
 and digital audio, and a mono input for a microphone.  It is now even
 better with the 32 bit and 32 bit 3D sound versions.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

 Product:  MPU-IMC

 Company:  Roland Corp. U.S.
 Address:  7200 Dominion Circle
           Los Angeles, CA  90040-3696
           213-685-5141
           FAX: 213-722-0911
           Tech support: Use main no.

 Category: PC Boards
              Sound Boards/MIDI

 Specs:    Mfr. suggested list price: $179
           Standard warranty included: 1 yr.
           Date announced: 1992
           Product classification: MIDI interface
           Compatibility: MCA PS/2
           MPU-401 compatible: Yes
           Interfaces/connectors: MIDI-in; MIDI-out; Tape-in; Tape-out;
              Metronome out


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

 Product:  Mwave/MCA

 Company:  Texas Instruments, Inc.
 Address:  135000 N. Central Expwy.
           Dallas, TX  75265
           800-848-3927; 214-995-2011
           FAX: 214-995-4360
           Tech support: 817-774-6660
 Tech support BBS:817-774-6809 (Printers)

 Category: PC Boards
              Sound Boards/MIDI

 Specs:    Mfr. suggested list price: $150-$200
           Date announced: 1992
           Product classification: Sound board
           Compatibility: MCA PS/2 Model 50, 60, 70, 80
           Audio recording size: 16 bit
           Audio recording rate: 8-44.1 KHz stereo
           Audio playback size: 16 bit
           Audio playback rate: 8-44.1 KHz stereo
           Sound card compatibility: Sound Blaster
           Synthesizer type: Wavetable
           Interfaces/connectors: Joystick; Line-in; Line-out


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Mirrored from Compu$erve

END OF PS/2 FAQ

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