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  IBM PS/2 Frequently Asked Questions  
 
Archive-name: PS2-FAQ
Previously-modified: 08/26/1999
Last-modified: 01/11/2002
Version: 6.0
Author: Christopher J. Feeny
Email: alkemyst@30moons.com
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 telling me no option files can be found, What am I doing wrong?
  Q) 1.11  I copied the option's ADF to the refdisk, but Setup cannot find it!
  Q) 1.12  I bought my PS/2 second hand who can I get technical support from?
  Q) 1.13  IBM tech. support says they do not know my answer now what?
  Q) 1.14  Where can I find support on the internet?
  Q) 1.15  I got an IBM MCA card with no labeling, How do I tell what it is?
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 board?
  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 with 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  I/O 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    Second IBM controller dumps W9x into MS-DOS mode!
  Q) 3.6    Which is better, SCSI or IDE or ESDI?
  Q) 3.7    Can MFM/RLL/ESDI/IDE and SCSI coexist?
  Q) 3.8    Can I use an IDE controller in my 85 / 90 / 95?
  Q) 3.9    What's the difference between SCSI and SCSI-2? Are they compatible?
  Q) 3.10  What are some common transfer rates of MCA SCSI Controllers?
  Q) 3.11  Can I use a non-IBM ESDI in a PS/2?
  Q) 3.12  Do I need a reference disk for my SCSI drive?
  Q) 3.13  What is a 16550UART and do I need one? Does my PS/2 have it?
  Q) 3.14  Should I buy an internal or external modem?
  Q) 3.15  What kinds of sound cards are available?
  Q) 3.16  Can I run both a SoundBlaster and the Audiovation/A?
  Q) 3.17  Can I fake a keyboard so my computer will boot without it?
  Q) 3.18  Which SCSI controller should I buy?
  Q) 3.19  How do I get my IBM SCSI controller with cache to 2MB?
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 and larger capacity version?
  Q) 4.5    How can I add a second floppy drive and what type will work with my PS/2?
  Q) 4.6    What is the Third floppy connector for?
  Q) 4.7    Will the * floppy drives damage my floppy controller?
  Q) 4.8    Is there an SVGA option for PS/2's?
  Q) 4.9    How can I add a CD-ROM to my PS/2?
  Q) 4.10  What are the jumper settings for a CD-ROM?
  Q) 4.11  How do I install Doze/W9x on a CD Rom w/IBM SCSI Controller?
  Q) 4.12  How can I build a Multimedia PS/2?
  Q) 4.13  How can I get sound effects in DOOM?
  Q) 4.14  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    How do I add up to 2MB of cache to the SCSI w/cache Adapter/A?
  Q) 5.4    I tried adding 1MB SIMMs to the SCSI w/cache, now it shows 0KB!
  Q) 5.5    Can I use the 4MB Modules in a machine that only calls for 1 or 2MB modules?
  Q) 5.6    Who has memory the cheapest?
  Q) 5.7    Is there a way to identify a PS/2 RAM card or SIMM?
  Q) 5.8    What is the ECC memory options on some of the newer PS/2s?
  Q) 5.9    What is this setting for ECC-P for on my 9585 (all models)?
  Q) 5.10  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 reports 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?
  Q) 6.7    Is my PS/2 Y2K (year 2000) compliant?
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    How do I make a SCSI Cable for an IBM 50 pin edgecard internal port?
  Q) 7.4    How do I make a Fast/Wide SCSI Cable for the IBM F/W SCSI Adapter?
  Q) 7.5    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? What would I need?
  Q) 8.6    Can I run Win98? What would I need?
  Q) 8.7    Why do I have a blank screen under MS-DOS mode?
  Q) 8.8    Why can't I see >16MB or >64MB Under W95?
  Q) 8.9    Why doesn't W95 not see my IDE Controller on my microchannel system?
  Q) 8.10  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 <ohlandl@charter.net> for all the parts he sent me and the FAQ submissions he still does.

   Charles Lasitter <cl@ncdm.com>, President of NC Direct Marketing, 919-286-0100. He sent me a working PS/2 95 with monitor. The merchandise was
   extremely clean and in great condition, keep in mind this was a donation...I am sure paying customers will receive better equipment still (if that is possible).
   He truly was very generous and is knowledgable in PS/2's. If anyone needs anything I would contact him first.

   And of course everyone else who has submitted info, sent me parts, and the occasional rare check that comes my way.


Since we last left our hero:

This document is now a web document...I will leave the old text one around...the only changes to this version (6.0) is a major conversion to HTML, including some of the additions from Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net and alot of clean up. I don't think there is anyone out there anymore without some method of viewing html code. The URL shall be http://www.30moons.com/ps2faq.php

Things have been hectic lately here...I still get a steady stream of PS/2 questions daily, so demand is still there for this document. Many questions are coming in for the Sony PS2 also :), some of those guys are hacking away at those too.

The new girlfriend search is on (again)...the lady I have lived with the past year packed up the apartment and dog and bought herself a house...oh well, so I moved back home (again) to save for a house this year. Life is pretty good though, don't know if I want another full-time girlfriend, but a nice girl is hard to live without.

Other than that I have been working on my website which will be rolling out with this FAQ, it's taken a year.

Also keep in mind that I do this for free and in my dwindling spare time. However I always respond within a week at most and usually within two days, so please bear with me and I will try to answer all questions timely.

If you feel like donating money, paypal me at: alkemyst@30moons.com . I can always use things for my Canon A50:

o PCMCIA to Compact Flash Adapters
o Compact Flash Cards
o NB-5H batteries

My address is 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 some 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 possibly use only this document for probably 90%+ of PS/2 issues. The c.s.i.p.h FAQ is full of information (over 300k I believe) that any PC-compatible owner can use almost everyday. The PS/2 FAQ (almost 300k by itself), therefore, tries to avoid repeating what can be obtained via that FAQ or other FAQ documents which are easily available.

To use this FAQ easily, click on the links in the Table of Contents.

If there are deficiencies, errors, and/or missing information you would like to see email me at: alkemyst@30moons.com
  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 | Slots | 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,
A=number of hard drives usually, if A, B, or E rules below don't apply
B=processor: A=386DX25 B=486SLC2/50 G=486SX20 H=486SX25 J=486DX25 K=486DX33 L=486DX2/50 M=486DX50
N=486DX2/66 P=586/60 Q=586/66 U/X=486SX/33 Y=586/90 0=<286-10 2=286-10 4=386DX20
5=386SLC20
C=hard drive type: 6=104 A=208/212 B=250 F=400 G=540 T=1GB V=2GB X=none

Fourth letter (if present) is county/language identifier, F=Canadian 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 <ohlandl@charter.net>)

Stumbled across a reference document with a good overall description of the 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 that do NOT change memory and I/O controllers run the risk of having an unbalanced system that is not as efficient. There are four types of Processor Complexes 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; Base 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) 92F0049
Type 1            "J" 486DX 25 MHz (announced Oct 1990) 64F0201
                  "K" 486DX 33 MHz (announced Oct 1990) 64F0198
Upgrade               486DX 50 MHz (announced June 1991)92F0048
Upgrade               486DX2 66/33 (announced Aug 1992) 64F0198
Cache Option          All Base/Type 1                   64F0199
* Level 2 memory cache socket for optional 256K write-through memory cache (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 processor 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)    92F0079
Type 2            "L" / Upgrade 486DX2 50/25 (announced April 1992)  92F0161
* 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 bit DMA.
* Faster bus arbitration (than Base 1) for busmasters to increase performance.
* Memory controller to support both interleaved (higher performance -pairs 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) 57F1597
Type 3                                                             82G2484
* 40 MB per second streaming data transfer support. This is an advanced Micro Channel I/O controller that provides faster data transfer rates to 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 memory concurrently through two paths, the Base 3 and 4 has buffers at both paths to provide better performance. Also the buffer on the adapter side (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, FIFO buffers, ECC logic) into one chip. This technology allows the high-speed 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 memory concurrently through two paths, the Base 3 and 4 has buffers at both paths to provide better performance. Also the buffer on the adapter side (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). Also 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, data, and status information between busmasters (and between busmasters and the system processor) to give increased performance. Capabilities such as command chaining, data chaining, and block data moves frees the processor from waiting for command completion before issuing the next command and frees the processor for other tasks while a busmaster operates in parallel. Adapters and device 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 this 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 Adapter 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 MC 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. See Appendix A for full list.
  Q) 1.4    Where do I get a Reference Disk for my PS/2?
I would first visit this URL: http://members.tripod.com/~ps2page/ps2files.htm

It seems very complete and it has order to it unlike IBM's site and as a bonus mid-day downloads are faster!
Thanks to Dennis Smith <ps2guru@geocities.com>.
[Rewrite by Aron Eisenpress <afecu@cunyvm.cuny.edu>]
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 same reference disk files are available from both sources, but the BBS also has many other files, such as product announcements, reference and configuration 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 address 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 refdisks.
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 .TG0 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 [enter]

Via the BBS, follow these steps:
o Log on to the IBM PC Co. BBS at 1-919-517-0001. Follow instructions until you get to the main menu. Type REF DISKS, read the agreement and answer 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 above.

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 format 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 Connection Personal Systems" CDROM. Some offices also have one (a good sign is if there are a lot of PS/2s in your office). It also includes some files unavailable 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 what .ADF you need.
  Q) 1.5    Which file is my Reference Disk? They are all cryptically written.
See Appendix B for a listing of Reference Disks.
  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 device, 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 and 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 time. This is useful if the system hangs or gets an error early in the full-test. To access the Advanced Diagnostics press <CTRL>-A from the Reference Disk Main Menu and it will allow you to select which test to perform after verifying 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 details).
  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, DISKCOPY 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 Diskettes and Where do I get them?
Option Diskettes are the .ADF files that allow the PS/2 to communicate properly with installed options/adapter cards and the 165 error code is also saying that 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 third party ones. A file index of all the files on the ftp site can be obtained by getting the FILES.TXT file which has 100k of disk name and descriptions of every disk IBM included with option, computers, and devices as well as some 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 you. 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 files, 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 copied the option's ADF to the refdisk, but Setup cannot find it!
From: Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net>

You must use "Copy an Option Diskette" under Setup to correctly copy a new or updated ADF to the Reference Disk or to the System Partition.

  Q) 1.12  I bought my PS/2 second hand who can I get technical support from?
IBM. The 800-772-2227 (1-800-PS2-2227) is open 24 hours a day for warrantied systems; however; there is no PS/2 models still under warranty so you will 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 rarely 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) 1.13  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 the 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 (usually symbolized by a lot of being put on hold 'while I find out the answer' type 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 answer. 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 phone support has changed to the 900 number system, but of course, you can always email me.
  Q) 1.14  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://www3.ncr.com/support/pc/pcdesc/library/adfs.shtml

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

EPRM

FCC ID# Search Engine
http://www.fcc.gov/oet/fccid
  Q) 1.15  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 production 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-static bag or surface and try not to move around to much because one static charge to a key area and it won't matter what the card is for. Then try and find out what IBM part numbers (IBMPN) and FRU (Field Replacement Unit)(IBMFRU) are 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 numbers 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 the card to give people an idea of what it is and this might also help someone 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 Direct's FCC ID Look-up at www.sbsdirect.com/fccenter.html. Lately these have proven excellent resorts though sometimes the descriptions given are vague you at least will know the manufacturer and purpose of the card.

Another method though I believe you need to have it installed and configured is a program on PC-DOS 6.3 which takes the 'electronic name' (POSID, a four digit number) of the MCA card and gives the description. And of course, QBMCA on http://members.aol.com/mcapage0/mcaindex.htm, it's 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's last a long time, but sometimes due to mother nature, the user or just age the motherboards (planar boards in IBM-speak) fail. These can be obtained in many places both new and used. Beware that the price of a new motherboard is steep from IBM. Some third-party dealers have them much cheaper than in the past. DakTech carries them still in either new or as good as new form with 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 obtained from Page Computers 800-886-0055 for a reasonable price ($139.00 for a Model 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. True Blue Parts 508-833-2225 (trueblueparts@mindspring.com) formally Micro Mart 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 motherboards, but if you have cash in memory and PS/2 proprietary items it is cheaper than replacing everything with new ISA/VLB/PCI based equipment. Also they offered Pentium processors, the ability to use standard SIMMs, and even VLB. These 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 Technologies. The IBM motherboards are only available from the Boulder Surplus Parts division and are limited as they are no longer being made. Also they were 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 so they are limited, if IBM Direct doesn't have them call Boulder.

There are two versions of Reply's motherboards: the TurboBoard (for models 30, 50/50Z, 55SX, and 70) and the PowerBoard (for models 25/25-286, 30-286, 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 max using 3 70ns parity SIMMs, on board 1MB DRAM video, and 3 16 bit slots (one 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 and 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 (http://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 way off. Even if you got it fastened into your case you would need a new power supply (which you would have to screw in some how) and then new floppy drives etc. You are better off selling the non-PS/2 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 80 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 which 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 cache 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 expansion 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
Model 90/95 with ECC        ?      256       0
	
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 <ohlandl@charter.net>
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 therefore 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 P90 Type 4 complex too <alkemyst@30moons.com> :)).
  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, but 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 IBM9314 L46056PE on the 18 chips that are attached to the SIMM, now if someone can 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 speed 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 <ohlandl@charter.net>:
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 other motherboard makers they should include it in their motherboard docs. Most of the time the 70ns 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 than 25MHz can get by with 85ns. If you upgrade to one of the new 486 replacement 386 CPUs you will probably need 80ns memory unless stated that it will work with normal system memory, 70ns and faster is probably a good idea and should be used as 80ns and slower memory is becoming obsolete.
  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 PCI (it actually is almost a true PCI slot, each differing only by how they grab interrupts), 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 it 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 card 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 can totally take over all functions of the CPU and FPU and cause no interference 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 MCA Video Toaster type card...it could be set up to allow you to configure certain 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 more 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 ns. for a 187.5 at 62.5 ns. 4 byte adr-wait-data and 40 MBytes/sec transfer cycle. This with 50 ns is on a 16MHz model 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 (100ns for the address and 100ns for the data which results in five million basic 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 two 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 instantaneous data transfer rate on the channel would be 5, 10, or 20MB per second. The matched-memory extension is a modification to the basic data transfer mode, which can improve the data transfer capabilities between the system master and channel-attached memory. When supported, it allows the basic transfer cycle 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 originator 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 necessary 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 and is known as streaming data mode (or streaming data procedure). Using streaming 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 using 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 lines 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 resulting effective data rate is 80MB per second. This is shown in Figure "Multiplexed Streaming Data Mode".

PS/2 Model 9595 (and possibly the 8595) can support the 100ns basic transfer cycle with the SCSI Fast/Wide adapter rather 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 transfer 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@30moons.com 10/23/94]

Here is a quick overview of the various bus architectures available for the PC and some of the strengths and weaknesses of each. Some terms are described 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 in 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 can 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 it. 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 arbiter limits its usefulness for bus mastering cards and its moderate cost limits its usefulness for low to mid bandwidth cards. Since it can coexist with EISA/ISA, a combination of all three 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 EISA. Great for both video cards and bus mastering SCSI/network cards.

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

=Terms=
Auto configurable: Allows software to identify the board's requirements and resolve any potential resource conflicts (IRQ/DMA/address/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 prevents CPU starvation while allowing a single device to use 100% of the available bandwidth. Other buses let a card hold the bus until it decides to release it and attempts to prevent starvation by having an active card voluntarily release the bus periodically ("bus 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 ability of the processor to reach all of main memory.

Backward compatible with ISA: Allows you to place an ISA card in the slot of a more advanced bus. Note, however, that the ISA card does not get any benefit from being in an advanced slot, instead, the slot reverts to an ISA slot. Other slots are unaffected.

The MCA specs at 10MHz show sustained throughput very close to VLB and 20MHz 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 <ohlandl@charter.net>:

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 to 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 should 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  I/O controllers/interface
  Q) 3.1    How do 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 drives that run on them. The descriptions below will contain a lot of techno-babble 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, not this FAQ.

FM, or Frequency Modulation, was the earliest scheme. Known as Single Density by many because of the floppies it was originally used on. This was popular 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 errors 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 one bit is recorded to indicate a flux reversal or a zero bit to indicate none. 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 reversals, one for the data and one for the clock.

Example of FM Data to Flux Transitions
Data Bit Flux encoding
1 TT
0 TN
T=flux transition
N=no 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 today. 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. By combining the clock and data cells into these patterns, the clock rate can be increased while keeping the same distance of transitions on the disk. RLL was invented by IBM first for mainframes, but by the 80's this technology flowed into the desktop PC's of the day and is still a viable encoded scheme. RLL gets its name from the two main functions of the patterns stored. One 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 with 1,7 used almost exclusively in all large drives. Using RLL 2,7 as the example, the numbering scheme is based on the fact that 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 as RLL 0,1 and RLL 1,3, respectively, however when they are discussed it is still by their 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)
T=Transition flux, N=No Transition flux, and .=data bit boundary.

Also there is a new encoding scheme called PRML, Partial-Response, Maximum-Likelihood that compacts data a further 40%. This uses DSP technology 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 transmits and receives data to and from the drive. Only the ST-506/412 and ESDI are true disk-controller to drive interfaces. SCSI and IDE are system level interfaces usually containing ST-506/412 or ESDI internally. SCSI adds an 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 and is named after the 5MB ST-506 drive and 10MB ST-412 drive originally attached to this interface. This was the interface of choice for almost all drive manufacturers during this time period. Also interestingly enough all drives 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) channels 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 Maxtor to succeed the ST-506/412 standard and provide more performance and later adopted by ANSI. Offered enhanced reliability by incorporating a ENDEC into 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 opened the way for the IDE standard which though slower was much cheaper to produce. ESDI also allowed for automatic drive configuration and defect mapping (sometimes). Also mostly compatible with the ST-506/412 interface in that if the system supported one, it usually would the other. Sometimes additional software would need to be run (for auto defect mapping as an example).

IDE, Integrated Drive Electronics - a generic term for any drive with built-in controller electronics. Though more often applied to ATA (AT Attachment) drives and is an ANSI standard. These were originally exclusively Hardcards 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 connect the controller to the bus and is actually a 40 pin subset of a 98 pin ISA slot. 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 IDE 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 circuitry which is why they are referred to as paddle boards by many (game paddle/joystick boards have very little circuitry also). An 8 bit variation 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, single 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 altering the perceived geometry of a drive to other programs which cannot handle more than 1024 cylinders. A 2000 cylinder drive with 16 heads would be translated as a 1000 cylinder drive with 32 heads). Translation methods rely on an enhanced BIOS and are known as Standard CHS (Cylinder Head Sector), Extended CHS or Large, LBA (Logical Block Addressing). It also allows faster data transfers with PIO (programmed Input Output) modes. 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 drives usually only the primary can support up to mode 4, the secondary is actually 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 drive 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. DMA is never used efficiently with an ISA bus, but with today's PCI boards speeds 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 buses. The SCSI bus does not talk directly to the devices either, but to each devices controller built into it (Most SCSI drives are actually IDE drives with SCSI bus adapter circuits added. Each device is given a SCSI ID. Up to 4 host 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 category 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 so 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 raised the transfer rate to 10MB/sec when each was used by itself. However, fast and wide can be combined and raise transfer rates to 20MB/sec. There was also a 32 bit specification defined, but was not implemented as being too expensive.
  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 the CMOS setup, assuming, of course, that it is in a working system.

ST-506/412 - 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 connect an ESDI drive to these cables, although it will attach the signals are different).

17 (MFM) or 26 (RLL) sectors per track.
One 34 pin cable is daisy-chained between up to two drives much like floppies, though due to different twist in the cable they are not interchangeable. Many of these interfaces include a provision for connecting floppies though.

A terminating resistor is used if only one drive is connected.

ESDI - 2 cables: 34 pin and a 20 pin (as stated in the ST-506/412 section both the 34 and 20 pin are identical in looks to the cables that are used 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 giving up to 1MB/sec transfer capability.

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

Sectors, heads and tracks are variable.

CMOS does not determine accurately.

SCSI-1 - 1 cable: 50 pins
SCSI-2 - 1 cable: 68 pins
PS/2 uses 60 pins so I am not sure if there is a way to tell between 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 arrangements are correct). IDE drives of different makes may just be incompatible, likewise occasionally different models of the same manufacturer are. Try two identical drives, swapping master and slave, or trying a combination of a third drive with any of the other two and the problem should usually cease.

SCSI: (Again assuming the user understands how to configure a SCSI adapter). 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 is not terminated or ID'd properly. Try changing the order.
  Q) 3.4    How do I install a second controller?
Simply plug it in and boot with the reference disk and viola. Of course, it is never this easy. Occasionally some controllers are incompatible with one another and it is impossible to get them to work together. For this reason try to keep controllers identical (use the same manufacturer at the very least).
  Q) 3.5    Second IBM controller dumps W9x into MS-DOS mode!
From: Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net>

W9x does NOT support shared interrupts (WinNT can). IBM made ALL it's drive controllers so they used IRQ14 ONLY.

Hardwired. So any multiple IBM ESDI or SCSI controller installation will cause an IRQ sharing situation. Thanks, M$!

  Q) 3.6    Which is better, SCSI or IDE or ESDI?
Again like the MCA versus ISA/EISA/VLB/PCI debate. There is what is better in theory and what is better in real life. ESDI is a dead standard with much faster and larger capacity, cheaper IDE drives out there, though it had the possibility of being the fastest. Unfortunately in the PS/2 arena you usually can't chose IDE which with the newer versions offers almost all of the speed of the best SCSI drives and still is the fastest single user, single task OS drive there is. SCSI, however, with multitasking operating systems shines, 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 drives the 10-20MB/sec performance is more than enough for many desktops.
  Q) 3.7    Can MFM/RLL/ESDI/IDE and SCSI coexist?
The PC is limited to two drive controllers total. SCSI, however, is a "host adapter" and not a drive controller. To the rest of your system, it appears more like an Ethernet card than a drive controller. For this reason, SCSI will always be able to coexist with any type drive controller. The main drawback here is that on most systems, you must boot off a disk on the primary drive 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. There 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 almost always exist together (MFM for the floppy drives and RLL for the fixed disks).
  Q) 3.8    Can I use an IDE controller in my 85 / 90 / 95?
From: Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net>

Er, usually, no. What happens on the IML systems (POST and BIOS on hard drive) is that the IDE controller is seen first.

(IO address, cannot be "fixed"). The system cannot find the IML information and chokes. If you really WANT to run an IDE controller in an IML system, you will have to boot from a refdisk. Maybe- Or you can use the "enhanced bios" complex AND enhanced SCSI BIOS. This combination will search for an IML source on any drive.

On flash based systems (Type 4 complex, all 9585, 76/77 Lacuna based) you can use an IDE controller without a problem.

These flash based systems can be set to boot from any drive.

  Q) 3.9    What's the difference between SCSI and SCSI-2? Are they compatible?
The main difference between SCSI and SCSI-2 are some new minor features that the average person will never notice. Both run at a maximum 5MB/s. Though Fast and Wide SCSI-2 double this speed and can be combined to quadruple it. 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 experienced such an incompatibility). On power up, the SCSI host adapter and each device(separately) determines 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) 3.10  What are some common transfer rates of MCA SCSI Controllers?
From: Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net>

Adaptec AHA-1640 5MB/s
BusLogic BT-640 5MB/s
BusLogic BT-646 (S or D) 10MB/s
SCSI /A Long Under 5MB/s
SCSI /A Short 5MB/s drive-controller, 16MB/s controller to bus
SCSI w/cache 5MB/s drive-controller, 16MB/s controller to bus
SCSI-2 10MB/s
SCSI-2 F/W 10MB/s narrow, 20MB/s Wide. 40MB/s to bus.

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

  Q) 3.11  Can I use a non-IBM ESDI in a PS/2?
[From: helling@uwindsor.ca <Helling Bernie>]
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 menu
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:
===============
INT 13h, function 1Ah
register-settings:

AH=1Ah ; format ESDI
AL=number of additional given defect-blocks; when AL=0 the address in ES:BX
is ignored
ES:BX=address of the table with the additional defect-blocks
CL=some options:
bits 7-5: must be 0
bit 4: when set an interrupt (int 15h with AH=0Fh, AL=some 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 3=0 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 3=1)
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)
DL=number 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:
=======================

>debug llformat.com
-r
AX=0000 BX=0000 CX=8195 DX=0000 SP=FFFE BP=0000 SI=0000 DI=0000
DS=2B78 ES=2B78 SS=2B78 CS=2B78 IP=0100 NV UP EI PL NZ NA PO NC
2B78:0100 E9C50D JMP 0EC8

>>>>> See that CX= 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 =>
>>>>> 8295)? do this to your number in its place. Use HEX! so an E
>>>>> =>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) 3.12  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 SCSI 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 arise (switching drives around works many times). Most tech support people have heard rumors that PS/2's need reference disks for everything and that they are incompatible with everything. So they either tell you to get the reference disk (usually from IBM as if they support third parties ever) or that their drive is not compatible with PS/2 computers. I would also call the SCSI adapter manufacturer (assuming they are still around and supporting it) for 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 Adaptec 1640 or the Future Domain MCS-700 (or the MCS-600 which is the same except 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) 3.13  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 serial 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 characters 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 lost. 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* make 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 dropping like a rock when file transfers are occurring, a 16550 may be helpful. If 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 data 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 <AFECU@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>:
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 controller 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 the Micro Channel PS/2 line: (Note, these are IBM's published times. I have been advised by Mark Seecof < marks@writ.com> 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 serial 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 with Type 2 serial port controllers do support FIFO mode.

[incomplete please help me obtain the UART data on the other PS/2s. A good program is Snooper v3.30 by Vias and Associates for $39 available as shareware on most BBSs and internet ftp sites, please register if you decide to keep it]
  Q) 3.14  Should I buy an internal or external modem?
In general, it is better to go with an external modem for two reasons. First MCA slots are valuable commodities in most systems (i.e. Model 50s with only 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 slot 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) 3.15  What kinds of sound cards are available?
There are a few believe it or not. Though new they cost around $150 which is a little steep these days for a sound card with SoundBlasters selling for $30. Kahlon computers at http://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 due 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 capable of 44.1KHz sampling rates is SoundBlaster compatible and is currently being revised for better support. Another option is the M-Audio Capture/A which 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 and 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 does what you would like. The Chipchat is currently available in both 16 bit ($129) and 32 bit ($159 with wavetable)go to http://www.chipchat.com or call them 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 is also available linked up to a Future Domain SCSI-2 controller. One more option comes from Piper Research at http://www.piper-research.com and 612-459-2770, 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 Amplifier
o Half-Size Adapter
o Compatible with all Major
o Auto-configures like all MC cards Software Programs
o Multimedia PC Compatible
o Stereo Mixer & Amplifier
o Integrated 16 bit A/D and D/A Converters o Patented ESPCM Compression
o Programmable Digital Volume Control
o Windows compatible
o Programmable Sample Rates to 44.1 kHz OLE Compliant inc. Win95
o DOS-register compatible with SoundBlaster
o Several bundled Applets 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 Amplifier
o Half-Size Adapter
o Compatible with all Major
o Auto-configures like all MC cards Software Programs
o Multimedia PC Compatible o Stereo Mixer & Amplifier
o Integrated 16 bit A/D and D/A Converters o Patented ESPCM Compression
o Programmable Digital Volume Control
o Windows compatible
o Programmable Sample Rates to 44.1 kHz OLE Compliant inc. Win95
o DOS-register compatible with SoundBlaster
o Several bundled Applets
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 effect 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 the most compatibility in most games Piper uses the SoundBlaster Pro Chip from ESS. Most these cards may cause problems in the Windows environment as they were developed before Windows was around, however for DOS games the SoundBlaster Pro is THE card to have. The Audiovation/A and the others only emulate a SoundBlaster using Mwave technology which is THE thing for WINDOWS. So depending on what you do most choose a card, also two cards can be used 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 hardware and driver capabilities. It is important to consider both, since if there is no driver to support a hardware capability then the capability is not useable. 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-16ChipChat-32Piper-16/32Reply
HARDWARE:
16 bit rec/playYESYESYESYES
MPU-401 MIDIYESYESNOYES
WaveTableUpgradeYESNOUpgrade
FMYESYESYESYES
Stereo Mixer6 Channel6 Channel5 Channel5 Channel
SoundBlasterYESYESYESYES
CD audio connectorsYES,4YES,4YES,1YES,1
IBM Front Panel conn.YESYESYESNO
SOFTWARE DRIVERS:
16 bit rec/play
WIN 3.1YESYESYESYES
WIN 95YESYESYESNO
WIN NTYESYESYES?
OS/2YESYESYESNO
WIN-OS/2YESYESYES?
AIXYESYESNONO
WaveTable support
DOSupgradeYESNOupgrade
WIN 3.1upgradeYESNOupgrade
WIN 95upgradeYESNONO
WIN NTupgradeYESNO?
OS/2upgradeYESNONO
AIXupgradeYESNONO
General MidiupgradeYESNOYES
Roland MPU-401
DOSYESYESNOYES
WIN 3.1YESYESNOYES
WIN 95YESYESNONO
WIN NTYESYESNO?
OS/2YESYESNONO
AIXYESYESNONO
SOFTWARE COMPATIBILITY:
DOS GAMES - Out of the box play no problem
DOOMYESYESProblemsProblems
HERETICYESYESNO?
DESCENTYESYESNO?
Game with WaveTableYESYESNOSometimes
AGENCY APPROVALS - YES means can sell and ship to those countries:
World Wide ApprovalsYESYESNONO
CE-MARK (Europe,UK..)YESYESNONO
FCC-B (USA)YESYESYESYES
CSA (Canadian)YESYES??
VCCI (JAPAN)YESYESNONO

Also see Appendix F for a full listing of PS/2 Sound Cards.
  Q) 3.16  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 = av211.dsk, av212.dsk, av213.dsk, av21util.dsk).

See Appendix C for Program listing.
  Q) 3.17  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 at boot. Some have the option of canceling the keyboard test through a setting 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 <ohlandl@charter.net>
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 will 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 Guardian 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, and video signals to PS/2 and VGA standards. This enables any number of Mac or 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
  Q) 3.18  Which SCSI controller should I buy?
The IBM SCSI controller with cache is a good controller. It is SCSI-1 only, comes with 512k cache in two SIMM slots (upgradable to 2MB, see question 3.18), and is compatable with also all OS's. The part number is ?
92F0335 RAID
61G3594
92F0160 FAST/WIDE adapter/A
06G6759 SCSI Adapter II/A
65F9050
35G1981 SCSI Adapter II/A
  Q) 3.19  How do I get my IBM SCSI controller with cache to 2MB?
According to Peter H. Wendt <peterh.wendt@gecits-eu.com>:
There is only module that can be used to expand the IBM SCSI Adapter with cache/A from 512K cache to 2MB cache is the IBM P/N 30F5360 / FRU 74X8637, which is a 1MB x 9 bit (Parity) 120ns module *with* IBM-specific presence detection. Also Kingston had their KTM-1000/M30 module which also worked, but is no longer made.

The above-mentioned IBM modules can be found on the Mod. 30-286(8530-Hxx or -Bxx) with 80286-cpu - if anywhere at all. The chance in finding some is very, very low to find some these days.

I have been calling around myself to find replacement 30-286 modules and found OKI MSC2314-12YS9A and Hitachi 94-VOHB56A19BR-12, both of these are 120ns modules also.

Also from Carlyle Smith:
Here is a way to test your 30-pin 1MB SIMMs to see if they will work in your IBM MCA caching SCSI adapter. I found some in my junk SIMM bag that are now working fine in my XP95 machine. The key is to find 1MB SIMMs that have pins 24 and 26 shorted to ground (pin 9 or 22). These will work in the adapter.

This newsgroup prevoiusly reported that the adapter cache could be upgraded from 512K to 2 MB by replacing the 256K SIMMs with 1 MB matched SIMMs. However, it was said that only IBM SIMMs of the type used in the PS/2 Models 25 and 30 would work; that industry standard 30-pin 1 MB SIMMs would not work. Not wanting to pay $20 or more for a pair of IBM branded modules, I thought I would check out if I had any 30-pin SIMMs that would satisfy the bootup cache testing cycle of PS/2 Models 90 and 95.

Table I. below shows the comparison of standard pin assignments as compared to the IBM module design. It is clear that if one has an FET VOM (low probe voltage, less than 5 VDC), you can test SIMMs you might have laying around to see if they could be used, instead of paying large dollars for the almost non-existent SIMMs recycled from early PS/2s.
Table II. identifies the SIMMS that I tested.

Table III. shows the results of testing the SIMMs in the SCSI adapter in a Model 95. It is clear that if you probe pin 24 of a module, and find it connected to ground (pin 22), the module may work in the SCSI adapter. If pins 22 and 24 are not connected, it surely won't. If it is a 1MB SIMM and pins 24 and 26 are both grounded to pin 22, it will work in the cache slot with no problem.

I also found that I could take one of the Toshiba 1MB modules and one of the OKI 1 MB modules, and the machine booted up with no problems. This probably would not be a good idea for the long haul, but might be useful to get the adapter working in a pinch.


Comments? Have fun!
Table 1. SIMM Pin Assignment Differences
Pin NumberIndustry StandardIBM Design
19A10RAS1
24No conn.Pres. Det. IBM?
26Data bit 8 OutPres. Det.
  Open = 256K
  Grounded = 1 MB
28CAS ParityNo Conn.

A10 = Address bit 10
RAS1= Row Address Strobe 1
CAS = Column Address Strobe
In both types:Pins 9 and 22 are Grounded
 Pins 1 and 30 are +5 VDC
Table II. Identification of SIMM Modules Tested:
Index NumberNo. of ChipsChip LegendSubstrate Legend
19TIH8909L7SNTM4256 OU9
  TMS 4256 ?ML122L8909
22OKI M514256-80JMSC2324-12YS3A
 1OKI M51256-80221007
39AAA 2801J-07NMBS 18184268
  NMBSTCC-T-H7N
   MM2801J95-07
43QC ST513300J-061MG STB-C
  33C160 
59TC511000AJ-10THM91010 AS-10
  Toshiba89303
69HYB511000AJ-70 
  Siemens 
79OKI M511000-10NSC2314-12YS9A
  91201B923009
89AAA 1M 300J-07 
  NMB5 1116 
92HYB514400BJ-60HEA59100
 1HYB511000BJ-60 
Table III. Module Test Results Matrix
Index NumberWorks?Pin 24Pin 26Pin 28Reported Cache Size
1YesGroundOpenOpen512 Kb
2YesGroundOpenOpen512 Kb
3NoOpenNTNT-----
4YesGroundOpenOpen512 Kb
5YesGroundGroundOpen2 Mb
6NoGround1 KohmOpen-----
7YesGroundGroundOpen2 Mb
8NoOpenNTNT-----
9NoOpenNTNT-----
NT=not tested
Carlyle Smith
CSEZ Enterprises (such as it may be)
Wilmington, Delaware USA
Also according to Jerry Dumer <jhdumer@arn.net>:
Toshiba THM91010AS-10 SIMMs will work. He found them on a memory card in a Model 60.
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?
[PC Magazine 11-08-94, alkemyst@30moons.com]
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 replacements 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 architecture 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 than 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. [Formats: 486/NOW!: models 70/80 to 33PD3 or 33PS3 (don't know what the PD3 or PS3 maybe D=DX and S=SX.); MCMaster: for models 55, 56, 57, 65, 70, and 80: to 33MHz or 50MHz...note only 50MHz with 8MB+ boosted performance and so it did significantly. The price for this level is $1000-1400.][NDP: 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 for features and part numbers. These are expensive ($500-700) and are no longer 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 is 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 off from the rest (Hypertec). I talked to a IBM tech who actually had the Cyrix DRx2-50 and was asked to help test out this new chip. He stated he saw the same performance jump from going to a Cx486DRx2-50 from his 386DX25 as going to the BL2 from the Cyrix. I would call that an upgrade worth considering, 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 on a tight budget. Their DRx2 line offers clock doubled performance at a low price. The chips perform very well and just require removal of the 386 and popping in the new chip. Pricewise they can't be beat and though not offering the performance of their $500+ cousins they come close enough for most people at half the cost or more (This is due to their tiny 1k L.1 caches). [Formats: 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 systems 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 faster 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 least 1" or more room above the processor and can afford to give up peripheral card 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 CPU in some formats. [Formats: 386 to 486: DX16/DX20MHz to TI 486SXL2 or Blue 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 25/75MHz, 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: various.]

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 other than formats available. [Formats: 286 to 486: 6-16MHz to IBM 50MHz; 386 to 486: SX/DX16/20MHz to TI 40MHz, DX25MHz to TI 50MHz, DX25MHz to IBM 50MHz, SX/DX33MHz to IBM 66MHz, SX16MHz to IBM 48MHz, SX20MHz to IBM 60MHz, DX16/20MHz to IBM 60MHz, DX25MHz to IBM 75MHz, DX33 to IBM 99MHz; 486 to 486: 25MHz to 75MHz, 33MHz to 100MHz, 40MHz to 100MHz.][NDP: ?]

A small company called MicroModules System also offers CPU upgrades. They 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 chips will work, but these are no longer made and must be found used or in surplus 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 RAM 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 sense, 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 factor and speed not as important as being able to run the new 386+ software then 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 still selling their processor upgrades and prices have fallen dramatically. For the 486/33 systems you can get the AMD 586/133 (equivalent to a Pentium 75) for 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 the Processor Upgrades?
Benchmarks are meaningless to give as it would not be the same machine nor the same variables, but below are some 'averages'. Benchmarks are only good to compare the same settings to the same settings so if you have a machine 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 was not supported by PC Magazine's data. The 137% seems more real world as these 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 high cost.

Also note that a 486 is just an enhanced 386 with L1 cache. This L1 cache is responsible for up to a 500% performance increase. L2 caches can offer at most a 50% performance increase. Try disabling all caching on a 33MHz 486 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 Winstones was computed. Keep in mind that this benchmark is a benchmark which rates the execution of certain popular sequences, scripts, in about ten or so of the 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 were 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 different 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 give a good average number as there was no price range or brand criteria only what 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 numbers. The Pentium numbers came from an average by PC Magazine and should be a good average figure.
Processor Winstone Value
386/25MHz Winstone base w/4MB10.20 
386/25MHz Winstone base w/8MB13.60 
486/25MHz26.32 
CxS4029.95* 
486/33MHz34.32 
SLC2/5036.70* 
SLC2/6637.80* 
AMD4040.30* 
486DX2/50MHz43.50 
486/50MHz47.94 
486DX2/66MHz50.68 
Pentium73.30 
CX486DRx2/5014.20--
Rev to 486 2/5015.40   \
Rev to 486 3/7518.00        Keep in mind these could vary a lot
486/Now!11.20   /   depending what system the upgrade
MCMaster 50PD/815.00  |   is going into (i.e. MCMaster was only
  |   tested on a 386SX16 machine and
  |   the rest a Compaq 386DX/25e with
  |   only 4MB and with 8MB the Rev to 486
_|   2/50 did 23 Winstones and the 486/33
       did 36. So with more memory and better
       peripherals the upgrades should give
       truer 486 performance despite PC
       Magazines slams against them in general.
  Q) 4.3    Which Math Co-Processor do I use?
For 286 systems a 287, 386 systems a 387 and for processor upgrades usually 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 faster (5-15% in applications, up to 20% on certain benchmarks) than the Intel part.


From: Vadim Zaliva (lord@crocodile.org)

For 486SLC use 386SX.
  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 ESDI card. SCSI in general offers better performance, the ability to add up to 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 the 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 product. (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 you 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 which 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:  [Not performed, email me if you have details]
EXTERNAL OPTION:  [Not performed, email me if you have details]

ADDING A 1.44MB DRIVE:
INTERNAL OPTION:
There are two types of 1.44MB drives and though they do the same thing they are not interchangeable on the internal level. One has the disk light above 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 simply a matter of either popping off the faceplate bezel blank sliding in the disk drive until it 'clicks' and popping on the new bezel. Sometimes the external case needs to be opened like a model 50 for example, but then the procedure is the same.

EXTERNAL OPTION:  [Not performed, email me if you have details]

ADDING A 2.88MB DRIVE:
INTERNAL OPTIONS:  [Not performed, email me if you have details]
EXTERNAL OPTIONS:  [Not performed, email me if you have details]

Now we will discuss the addition of a 1.2MB 5.25" drive. These can be both adding internally or externally. External is the common 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:  [Not performed, email me if you have details]
(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 possible 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 plug 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 inside 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 initialization of the parallel port is what is required). The print job can be empty also. 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 drive.

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-install 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 last hard drive, so that floppy came in as D or E. Works fine with SCO Xenix too. [I have been informed that the IBM drives also require the usage of one of the 3.5" floppy bays for a second drive card, is this the case for all 5 1/4" drives?]
  Q) 4.6    What is the Third floppy connector for?
From: Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net>

That is for a floppy controller based Tape Drive (The ITBU comes to mind). If you want to be retro, go for it, but any decent SCSI based tape will clean the floor with a floppy controller tape.

I did run three floppy drives in a 90 once. W95 did not like it (MS-DOS mode) but I was able to access all three floppy drives.
  Q) 4.7    Will the * floppy drives damage my floppy controller?
From: Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net>

They are Mitsubishi MF356F-899MF 2.88MB floppy drives. They have the "*" on the top of the blue eject button. Do NOT use * floppy drives in a 9585 (all models), Lacuna based 76 / 77 systems, and in 95A (dual serial / parallel ports) planars.

At this time, Peter Wendt opines that the extra wires used by the security features on the listed systems are not properly handled.

At present, I am confused. I pulled * floppy drives out of Bermudas with a 44 pin floppy controller header. There does not seem to be a specific floppy controller related to the problem, as the Bermudas had 82077AA, 82077SL, or NS PC8477AV with * floppy drives attached.

  Q) 4.8    Is there an SVGA option for PS/2's?
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 uses 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 colors.

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

Also on the high end, I know of Matrox making some in the $1k + range that have 1MB+ of VRAM but I have yet to hear of the performance or to run into someone who has purchased one. Also RasterOps Colorboard 1024MC can display 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 for 1280x1024x256 color support.

ATI has the Ultra Pro 2MB a 2MB VRAM card with a 32 bit accelerator. This card had be found for as low as $250 (retails for ~$500)[prices as of 1996]. I am curious to its performance as the 64 bit versions are top in their class, 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) 4.9    How can I add a CD-ROM 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 contact the manufacturer if CD drivers were not supplied.
  Q) 4.10  What are the jumper settings for a CD-ROM?
From: Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net>

Usually, the CD Rom is jumpered as ID 0, that is NO jumpers on any "IDx" pin. It's a relatively slow device on the SCSI chain. IF you have a multimedia system, you may want to set the CD to ID3. You MUST have "Parity" jumpered. IBM SCSI devices require parity (some Apple CD Roms do not have parity, and cannot be used). Leave PRV/ALW alone. If you cannot eject a CD, check this jumper. Leave "Test" unjumpered. If the CD is the last device on the SCSI cable, jumper "Term". This assumes that you have the terminating resistors (SIPs) or the termination is built-in. If it's an older model that uses discrete terminators, and they're lost, either get an in-line terminator or put the CD in the middle of the SCSI cable where it doesn't need termination.
  Q) 4.11  How do I install Doze/W9x on a CD Rom w/IBM SCSI Controller?
From: Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net>

You need the IBM CD Rom driver and ASPI4B.sys to do this. Two places to get info are http://62.253.119.146/ohland/FAQ/CDROMII.html#W95_Boot_Hack which has Dos and W95 autoexec.bat and config.sys examples, and http://members.aol.com/mcapage0/problem1.htm#probl06 which has the more involved method.

Do you need IBMCDROM.SYS and ASPI4B.SYS (email me)? This way you can get the device drivers and edit the autoexec and config yourself without finding or creating a 720KB floppy...
  Q) 4.12  How can I build a Multimedia PS/2?
You can build a multimedia PS/2 the same way as a normal PC. The exceptions are sound cards. As it stands now you must use the SB-pro or clone for DOS 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) 4.13  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 for 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) 4.14  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 3x60 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. As 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 they are to the Type 1, 2, and 3 complexes (as well as each different kind of those).

You need the "Y" upgrade of the Type 4 complex, announced Oct 1994, and known 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 afford 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 really 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. Modify 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 System390 so that you can use the Pentium® Overdrive 180Mhz with MMX chip. If you unplug the Pentium® 90Mhz chip from the complex and plug in the 180Mhz Pentium® Overdrive without this modification, you will experience two problems:

1. The electric fan that cools the Pentium® Overdrive chip will not have power to turn the blades. You will 'cook" (burn out) the Pentium® Overdrive due to inadequate cooling. (The 90Mhz Pentium® chip uses a heat sink instead 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 the 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 Pentium® processor. The old 90Mhz processor must be carefully removed. (A good quality jewler's screwdriver was useful to the author in starting to pry the chip from the socket and then working around the perimeter of the chip increasing in small increments. Insert the tip of the screwdriver between 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 pins on the Pentium® '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 cool, 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 new processor and the socket surface.
* Reinsert the processor complex into the PC Server and reconnect the signal 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 probably be necessary).
* You will note that the LED display on the front of the PC Server 500 will 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 necessarily
need a 32 bit card to get the max performance as will be shown.
(all cards tested on a Model 70-A21).

KEY:

 %READ = The read speed of memory using 4K blocks in sequence from 0MB to 16MB
         in relation to motherboard memory writes.
%WRITE = 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 = The as TESTED config, 8MB of 80ns RAM was used for each card.
   MAX = The maximum memory able to be put on the RAM card in MB.  Though 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 EMS.
  SIMM = 9 bit (30 pin) or 36 bit (72 pin) SIMM requirements.
SOCKET = The amount of SIMM sockets on the RAM card.
256-16 = The size of SIMM it can take in K or MB.
INTEGR = 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 cached 
         and is reflected below in slower speeds.  BOTH of course means both 
         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 being 
         tested by the system.  Unless the card does this any memory errors 
         do not get mapped out.
  POST = 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 = Whether the RAM card allows backfill of any deficiencies of the 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 = Either (P)arallel or (S)erial included or as an (o)ption. PS means
         one parallel and one serial included, PPSo means there is an option
         for 2 parallel and 1 serial port and so on.  NONE means no ports are
         provided or offered as an option.
MODELS = The supported models, A = Models 50-65SX, B = Models 70-80 and C =
         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 system and were recommended for the 486 90/95.)

Please note that the 16 bit cards scored just as well in most cases and are less money. Any card the scored percents of 80/71 operated at 0 wait states.

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 (http://www.chipchat.com) now sells the MicroRam 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, 70, P70, P75, 77 and 80, but not the 90 or 95. They are 32 bit cards, but can 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 upgrade card with cache built in.

From Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net>:
Type 1 complexes have a socket to add 256K L2 cache. http://www.bluestarusa.com has 2 available as of 1/7/99 for $85 each, I have no experience with this company.
  Q) 5.3    How do I add up to 2MB of cache to the SCSI w/cache Adapter /A?
From Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net>:

You must use a single-sided 30 pin SIMM. You can solder on some wires and cut some of the traces. The SCSI w/cache uses a peculiar kind of RAS and CAS scheme that resists slapping in any old 30 pin SIMM. http://john.ccac.rwth-aachen.de:8000/misc/ps2cache/

  Q) 5.4    I tried adding 1MB SIMMs to the SCSI w/cache, now it shows 0KB!
From Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net>:

If you use incompatible 30 pin SIMMs, the system will disable the cache. You will see "0KB" of cache under "Change Configuration". Don't despair. Replace the original 512K cache. Run the advanced diagnostics (Ctrl-A), choose Test the System and test the SCSI w/cache. The diagnostics will re-enable the cache.

  Q) 5.5    Can I use the 4MB Modules in a machine that only calls for 1 or 2MB modules?
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 had 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) 5.6    Who has memory the cheapest?
Really depends on what memory you are looking for. If it is SIMMs check http://www.pricewatch.com, if it is for proprietary IBM memory you are better off looking on comp.sys.ibm.ps2.hardware.
  Q) 5.7    Is there a way to identify a PS/2 RAM card or SIMM?
[From Aron Eisenpress <AFECU@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>]

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 about 4 years ago on 2-14mb adapters that had data integrity problems with 4mb SIMMs, 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 adapters. However, the recall has expired and IBM is no longer providing replacements.
  Q) 5.8    What is the ECC memory options on some of the newer PS/2s?
Normal parity memory allows for error-checking of single bit errors, but if a multiple bit error is encountered it usually will crash or return corrupt data. Either way there is no provision to correct the error. ECC (Error Correction Code) memory error-checks for both single and multiple bit errors and allows for correction of single bit errors.
Normal parity uses a single bit to protect 8 bits, ECC uses 7 bits to protect 64. Some motherboards/BIOS can allow the use of two normal parity DIMMs to do the work of one ECC DIMM. See section 5.9 below.
  Q) 5.9    What is this setting for ECC-P for on my 9585 (all models)?
From Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net>:

ECC-P takes advantage of the fact that a 64-bit word needs 8 bits of parity in order to detect single-bit errors (one bit/byte of data). Since it is also possible to use an ECC algorithm on 64 bits of data with 8 check bits, IBM designed a memory controller which implements the ECC algorithm using the standard memory SIMMs.

http://www.tavi.co.uk/ps2pages/ohland/memory_error_correct.html#ECC-P

  Q) 5.10  What cache size do I have/can upgrade to?
See the listing in section 1.2. As far as upgrading only the Type 1 can be upgraded with L2 cache I believe, all the rest either have it or don't.
S) 6.0  Diagnostics
  Q) 6.1    What do the POST beeps mean?
Beep(s) Errant device
No beepPower supply, system board
1 short beepSystem OK
2 short beepsPOST Error displayed on monitor
Repeating short beepsPower supply, system board
3 long beeps3270 keyboard card
1 long, 1 short beepSystem board
1 long, 2 short beepsDisplay adapter (MDA, CGA)
1 long, 3 short beepsEGA
Continuous beepPower 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 reports 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 most cases, POST is always right and the reference disk is tricked into thinking 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 system.
  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 <CTRL>-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-configure and then reboot and run the reference disk tests. If the system hangs now then there is a problem with the system not related to added options, contact 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 $295. All repairs are warranted for six months, even if it is not related to the original fault.

Micro Exchange [closed as of 10/28/98], 682 Passaic Avenue, Nutley, NJ 07110, (201)284-1200, FAX (201)284-1550. They have always been very professional 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 [closed 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 diagnostics) you need to provide the incoming signals to the port via a wrap plug. The 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 minimum 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 and 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'?
  Q) 6.7    Is my PS/2 Y2K (year 2000) compliant?
Please check the following link: http://members.aol.com/mcapage0/year2000.htm
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 worst 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 cable 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. It 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 alternative to all this is to use an internal SCSI device, if possible. The IBM internal SCSI connections are the same as those found in internal SCSI devices (the 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 SCSI cable.

Inmac (1-800-323-6905) also sells them (see their UnixSelect catalog). They call it a Mini-Centronics (60) connector. They charge a bit more than Storage 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 Mini-SCSI connector. Not all suppliers know this, and they will try to sell you 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 to 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 who could supply this. I had to get it straight from AMP. And it would have been 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 be almost impossible to solder. It is designed to have each of the tiny SCSI 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 <ohlandl@charter.net>:
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?C=1&M=BYPN&PN=786090-7&button.x=71&button.y=7

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?cart=98J18bnw.hyn&lpg=/dalco/cable5.tam&lpt=908737312.
  Q) 7.3    How do I make a SCSI Cable for an IBM 50 pin edgecard internal port?
From Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net>:

Thankfully, IBM followed most of the ANSI SCSI standard. Any common SCSI-1 (50 wire) cable will work. Just remove the connector that attaches to the SCSI controller and replace it with a crimp-on 50 pin edgecard connector. Note that Pin 1 is toward the mounting bracket and is on the circuitboard side! The "true" IBM afficianado knows that the SCSI cable exits the controller's connector to the side without components. 50 pin edgecard connector for the IBM SCSI /A, SCSI w/cache, and FW SCSI controller. Available from Dalco and Jameco...Dalco part 40720 .

  Q) 7.4    How do I make a Fast/Wide SCSI Cable for the IBM F/W SCSI Adapter?
From Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net>:

Any .025 pitch cable with HPDB68 drive connectors will work (called SCSI-3), but the IBM F/W SCSI adapter's Fast/Wide internal port uses the "P" connector. (Molex 71660, AMP 1-557089-2) also called a VMC (VESA Media Channel) connector.

Newark has the AMP equivalent. 1-557089-2, Newark # 97F8813 but OH is zero. Oh-oh...

Digikey lists it as 1-557089-2-ND, but BO until 07/03/2000

Mouser lists it as 571-15570892, but call (800) 346-6873 for availability...

Amphenol makes some kick-butt cable, Loose pair Twist 'N' Flat 425-3006-068 ($440/100ft!)

Black woven cable sheathing is TechFlex Cable Sleeve
CCPT2X Dia: 0.125" Actual to 0.440 expanded $12 for 25'.
CCPT3X Dia: 0.250" Actual to 0.750 expanded $15 for 25'.

68 Pin .025 Pitch Flat Cable Dalco# 59610, $1.50 a foot

HPDB68 Female Connector Dalco# 59611, $4.25 ea.
Pull tab for the 68 pin AMP hard drive connector is a 88450-8.

  Q) 7.5    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 version 2.59 is the latest on 10/94). This is excellent to compare system to system 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 class.

Other standards are somewhat variable as to what they will rate your system as A LOT of hardware manufacturers (esp. video card) are setting up benchmark '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 prevent this is to make new benchmark test constantly and not to buy the benchmark programs whose creators share what the tests look for with the manufacturers 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 testing and figures out what to send back to the benchmarking software to get FAST but REALISTIC marks. Usually the benchmark company is affiliated with the 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 or 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 and 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.

From: Vadim Zaliva (lord@crocodile.org)
Many modern Linux distributions (RedHat 7.2, Mandrake 8.1) compile their kernel with "math emulation" option switched off. These kernels would not boot on machine with 386 or 486SLC CPU without math coprocessor. That means you will not able to install it using their stock floppy installation disks - you have to make custom ones.

One of distributions which does have a kernel with math emulation is FloppyFW (http://www.zelow.no/floppyfw/index.html). I've tested version 1.9.9.
  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 special programs that are optimized for/unique to the PS/2 and may be helpful, but 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 something 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.

[Update: Late 1998] 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 version that does not run under Windows 98 or UNIX/LINUX or you need a low disk space 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 InitPS2MouseAtExit=False. 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 my regular machines as Win98 seems abrasive to me. There is nothing OSR2 does not have that I would want from Win98.

From Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net>:

95 works without many tricks - you will have to add the IBMCDROM.SYS MS-DOS driver to the Win95 starter disk.

Ohland's chaotic explanation and W95/Doze examples are HERE
Wendt's Eurotrash explanation for CD Roms specifically is HERE
  Q) 8.6    Can I run Win98? What would I need?
From Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net>:

From our Anarcho-techno Hacker

You'd experienced a very familar problem - some machines (with SPOCK SCSI that is) run Win98, some don't. The problem is the SCSI miniport driver SPOCK.MPD. It fails, you don't have a CD-ROM any longer, machine runs in 16-bit mode and all drives outside the ones on the first HD are no longer accessible.

There is no fix for the machines that *need* to run on the Spock SCSI. (56 /57, P75, Bermuda 76 / 77, 85, 90, old 95).

However: Win98SE worked on *my* Bermuda-77. The "First Edition" failed. But Win98SE also failed to run on the 9595-AMT, where Win98 1E failed too.

It has to do something with the IOSUBSYS - or with the bus and device detection repectively. MCA is not supported with Win98 ... and obviously M$ found a secret way to keep them out.

Win98 First Edition will not work - Second Edition will. The 1st has a bug that drops the machines with <50MHz base clock *and* IBM MCA SCSI adapter into 16-bit compatibility mode with e.g. a CD-ROM inaccessible. Second edition works fine and I'd installed it on a couple of PS/2 so far. Don't forget to run SETUP /NM from the Win98 CD to bypass the processor speed detection (or else you end up in a silly error message that your CPU is too slow).

Win98 (any version) has its pitfalls on MCA-based machines. It may run on some - but fail on others ... your individual mileage may vary.

(BTW: it was not the DX50 Type 3 -AMT where 98 failed to run but the -AKD DX33 Type 1. Any 98 ran on the -AMT) Don't know for the mix-architecture machines like PC-730 / 750 or Server 320 / 520 with PCI / MCA. They are *basically* PCI machines with add-on PCI-MCA bridge in the case of the PC-730 / 750. Most likely Win98 has its problems properly identifying and initializing the bridge chip - and the MCA cards behind it.


Success so far:
- 9577-0NA "Bermuda" with onboard SCSI
- 9577-BTG "Lacuna" with Fast SCSI-2 (which ran 98 1.Ed already too)
- 9590-AH5 w. T2 DX2-25/50 platform and cached SCSI
- 8573-401 P75 w. DX-33 and onboard SCSI

Failed to run:
- 9595-B20 w. T4 P60 platform and cached SCSI
- 8595-AKD w T1 DX2-33/66 platform

Christian Hansen pipes up with-
FYI: On my PC Server 320, win95B happily recognizes both PCI slots (graphics and sound), as well as the MCA based network adapter. One of the serial ports (COM2) switched off in BIOS, to free up some resources.

Haven't tried with win98 though. Hmm - think I have a disk lying around for experiments.... no promises made.

  Q) 8.7    Why do I have a blank screen under MS-DOS mode?
Special solution to XGA/2 related problem (happened on Model 77, don't know if other models are affected). From pester69@hotmail.com
I've got a tip I found out about from ps2guru@geocities.com.

Scenario:
You've got a PS/2 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 marked "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 the end of the C:\... command.com, add a space, then the switch "/k mode co80". Click "Apply", then "OK"

  Q) 8.8    Why can't I see >16MB or >64MB Under W95?
From Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net>:

Older versions of Win95 used a HIMEM.SYS which only uses a clone API call to detect memory. This works fine with 16MB or 64MB (depends on Win95 version) but barfs with >16MB or >64MB. (Please make sure your video aperture is disabled under system programs, this can cause >16MB memory to be not accessible). Supposedly, OSR2 and greater have the updated HIMEM.SYS, also, Win98 has the fix built-in.

For a real boring explanation, go HERE
For M$'s explanation, look for Q137755
Ask Louis to mail you a copy of the updated HIMEM.SYS
  Q) 8.9    Why doesn't W95 not see my IDE Controller on my microchannel system?
From Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net>:

After installing Windows 95 on an IBM 95xx computer with a standard IDE hard disk and controller, the following message may appear: "Windows has detected that your computer is not configured" blah, blah, blah... Windows 95 does not detect standard IDE hard disks on MCA computers. See Windoze KB article Q134452

If you can confirm that the computer has a standard IDE hard disk, manually add the ESDI/IDE driver to get 32-bit protected-mode functionality. To do so, follow these steps:

1.Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2.Double-click the Add New Hardware icon, and then click Next.
3.Click No, and then click Next.
4.Click Hard Disk Controllers, and then click Next.
5.In the Models box, click Standard IDE/ESDI Controller, and then click Next.
6.Accept the default resource settings for the device. Click Next.

These settings work on a lacuna 9577- YMMD...
     Standard IDE/ESDI HD Controller
     IO Range 01F0-01F7
     IO Range 03F6-03F6
     IRQ 14

NOTE: If the computer is configured for non-standard resources, these settings may not work correctly and will have to be set manually.

7.Click Finish.
8.When you are prompted to restart your computer, do so.

  Q) 8.10  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.
From Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net>:

Uh, hell yes. For you unfortunates (?) with a Pentium PS/2, there is the little "HLT" problem with Linux.

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 Parallel Port (EPP) cards)
AOX   [no longer open 10/28/98]
800-232-1269/800-726-0269
MicroMax 386/16MB and MCA Master (486/64MB $575)
BLUE STAR USA
7 October Hill, Suite 4
Holliston, MA 01746
(508) 429-3001
(508) 429-3007 Fax
http://www.bluestarusa.com
Extensive listing of IBM parts, however must know the IBM FRU as there are no descriptions.
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
http://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
(503)757-7350 Fax
Processor upgrades (AMD 586/133 (about a Pentium 75 $129 direct, ~$70 through CompUSA, Fry's, or Circuit City)
First Source
800-692-9866
http://www.firstsource.com
Future Domain   [no longer open 10/28/98]
800-879-7599
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.   [no calls returned 10/29/98]
(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, Prepaid
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 and BL3 chips.
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 to: dhart@freenet.grfn.org)
IBM Factory Outlet
800-426-7015
Kahlon
800-317-9989
http://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), and 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)
NeoInterative
http://www.neointeractive.com
Took over Reply Tecnologies' inventory, motherboards, CPUs, memory, and more
Page Computers   [As of 1/22/98 they are pulling out of the PS/2 market.]
800-886-0055
All PS/2 parts and systems, new/used.
PC Parts
800-666-9373
http://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
http://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 http://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   [closed as of 10/28/98]
800-875-2580
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)
  Q) 9.2    Is there automated FAX help available?
[From: Aron Eisenpress <afecu@cunyvm.cuny.edu>]
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
NumDocument DescriptionPages
11498* Options By IBM: Auto 16/4 Token-Ring Adapters4
11495* Options By IBM: Serial Infrared Adapters4
11650* Options By IBM: Video/Graphics Memory Upgrades2
20046Comm: Artic Specs - Interrupts, Jumpers & Pinouts12
20004Comm: ARTIC X.25 Interface, X.21 bis/V.24 Pinouts1
20012Comm: Artic, Dual Port, V.35 Cable Pin Assignments1
20053Comm: ASCII Terminal Cable - RS-232C (9 Pin) Pinout1
20094Comm: AT Commands Set3
20051Comm: Cabling Issues and Port Pinouts2
20007Comm: Dual Asynch Adapter Pinouts1
20032Comm: Dual Asynch I/O Addresses1
12535Comm: PC Artic Adapter - Diagnostics Hints2
12534Comm: PC ARTIC(RIC) Switch Settings/Jumper Locations1
13403Comm: WaveRunner Digital Modem4
20045Comm: X.21/V.35 Cable Pinouts & V.35 Pin Assignments2
14010DOS: Changing Hard Drive Partition Size1
13034DRM: PS/2 E - Pricing Information - (4-5-94)2
13095DRM: PS/2 Server 95 - Pricing (8-23-94)1
10809EduQuest: PS/2 Tape - Tips and Techniques2
16023Misc: ADF File Number Cross Reference11
36008Misc: IBM Phone Numbers (Voice, BBS & Fax)4
16008Misc: Mouse Port Pinouts1
20031Misc: Multi Protocol Adapter and SDLC Pinout1
20005Misc: Mwave,Windsurfer Communications Adapter User10
36009Misc: Phone Listing - Voice, BBS, & Fax - OEM5
20010Misc: RS-232-C-Interface Pin Assignments1
16005Misc: SCSI Hard Drive Switch Settings1
11098Misc: Video Capture Adapter/A4
16021Misc: Video Port Pinouts2
20804Misc: Wrap Plug (Loopback) Wiring Pinouts1
11359Misc: XGA - 2 Product Information4
16007Misc: XGA - Adapter Scan and Refresh Rates1
16037Misc: XGA - Installation of XGA Adapter/A1
14067Misc: XGA-Understanding XGA-XGA vs. 8514/A-Installing2
11089Multimedia: M-Audio Capture & Playback Adap & Adap/A4
11090Multimedia: M-Motion Video Adap/A & M-Control Prgm/24
22003Multimedia: M-Motion Video Adapter/A Connections1
11230Multimedia: M-Motion Video Adptr/A & M-Control Prgm/23
10109Network: 16/4 Busmaster EISA Adapter2
25002Network: Token Ring Diagnostic On PS/2 Server 2951
14023Network: Token Ring Pinouts4
11220Network: Token-Ring Network 16/4 Adapter/A Busmaster2
15054OBI: MCA SCSI Adapter User Guide - Configuration2
15057OBI: MCA SCSI Adapter User Guide - Solving Problems2
15058OBI: MCA SCSI Adapter User Guide-Help & Service Info2
15052OBI: MCA SCSI Adapter User Guide-Install Adapter3
15053OBI: MCA SCSI Adapter User Guide-Install SCSI Device2
15051OBI: MCA SCSI Adapter User Guide-Installing Drivers2
15055OBI: MCA SCSI Adapter User Guide-Multiple SCSI Adpts2
15056OBI: MCA SCSI Adapter User Guide-SCSI Controller2
15049OBI: MCA SCSI Adapter User Guide-System Programs2
15050OBI: MCA SCSI Adapter User Guide-Update Ref. Disk2
11473Options By IBM: MCA SCSI-2 Adapters - Glossy4
11462Options By IBM: SIMM & DIMM Memory Products6
11455Options By IBM: WaveRunner Digital Modems - Glossy6
11260PS Quick Reference - PS/2 Models (AT BUS)1
11261PS Quick Reference - PS/2 Models (MCA) 08/17/9414
60027PS/2 REF: Bus Architectures1
60053PS/2 REF: Displays Reference (Low end-active matrix)1
60050PS/2 REF: Displays Reference (P series/95xx)1
60056PS/2 REF: Displays Reference (Technology)1
60052PS/2 REF: Displays Reference (Touch)1
60051PS/2 REF: Displays Reference (V series/63xx)1
60055PS/2 REF: Displays Reference (withdrawn - 1 of 2)1
60064PS/2 REF: Ethernet, FDDI, ARCNET1
60081PS/2 REF: IBM Displays (withdrawn - 2 of 2)1
60075PS/2 REF: IBM Displays S/S1
60079PS/2 REF: IBM SCSI Disks (2 GB or higher)1
60023PS/2 REF: IBM SCSI Disks (up to 1.12 GB)1
60065PS/2 REF: IBM Server 5001
60001PS/2 REF: IBM Servers1
60066PS/2 REF: IBM Servers - withdrawn1
60080PS/2 REF: IBM ThinkPad Options1
60026PS/2 REF: Local Bus Architectures - I1
60062PS/2 REF: Local Bus Architectures - II1
60005PS/2 REF: Model 90 and 95 Processor Complexes1
60054PS/2 REF: Monochrome and Image1
60031PS/2 REF: OS/2 2.1 compared to Windows 3.11
60030PS/2 REF: OS/2 2.1 compared to Windows NT1
60029PS/2 REF: OS/2 2.1 Overview1
60033PS/2 REF: OS/2 LAN Server 1.3 and 2.01
60034PS/2 REF: OS/2 LAN Server 3.01
60008PS/2 REF: OverDrive Processors1
60067PS/2 REF: PC 300-486 models1
60072PS/2 REF: PC 300-P60 models1
60068PS/2 REF: PC 330 and 350 (Pentium)1
60073PS/2 REF: PC 700 PCCI/ISA models1
60074PS/2 REF: PC 700 PCI/MCA models1
60069PS/2 REF: PC 730 and PC 750 (PCI/ISA)1
60070PS/2 REF: PC 730 and PC 750 (PCI/MCA)1
60016PS/2 REF: PC Processors (386SX to Blue Lightning)1
60017PS/2 REF: PC Processors (486 family)1
60061PS/2 REF: PC Processors (Blue Lightning DX2)1
60018PS/2 REF: PC Processors (Pentium)1
60002PS/2 REF: PC Server (PCI/EISA Server)1
60000PS/2 REF: Personal Systems Ref. Index Version 771
60020PS/2 REF: PowerPC Processors (601, 603)1
60082PS/2 REF: PowerPC Processors (604,620)1
60019PS/2 REF: PowerPC Processors (Overview)1
60058PS/2 REF: Printers Reference1
60021PS/2 REF: Processor Performance1
60009PS/2 REF: PS/2 (53 to 57)1
60010PS/2 REF: PS/2 (76 to 90)1
60014PS/2 REF: PS/2 E1
60011PS/2 REF: PS/2 Model 531
60012PS/2 REF: PS/2 Model 56 and 571
60013PS/2 REF: PS/2 Model 76 and 77 (i/s)1
60015PS/2 REF: PS/2 Reference (Ultimedia-withdrawn)1
60006PS/2 REF: PS/2 Server 1951
60007PS/2 REF: PS/2 Server 2951
60025PS/2 REF: RAID(Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks)1
60022PS/2 REF: SCSI and IDE Technology1
60060PS/2 REF: SCSI Controllers (Micro Channel)1
60024PS/2 REF: SCSI Controllers (non Micro Channel)1
60063PS/2 REF: SCSI Disks - Withdrawn1
60003PS/2 REF: Server 851
60004PS/2 REF: Server 95 (Base 4 models)1
60049PS/2 REF: ThinkPad 300, 500, 700, 700C - withdrawn1
60048PS/2 REF: ThinkPad 350, 350C, 5001
60047PS/2 REF: ThinkPad 3601
60076PS/2 REF: ThinkPad 360CSE/CE1
60046PS/2 REF: ThinkPad 710T, 720, 720C1
60045PS/2 REF: ThinkPad 730T1
60044PS/2 REF: ThinkPad 7501
60043PS/2 REF: ThinkPad 7551
60078PS/2 REF: ThinkPad 755CD1
60077PS/2 REF: ThinkPad 755CSE/CE1
60035PS/2 REF: Token-Ring, 100VG-AnyLAN, ATM1
60099PS/2 REF: Trademarks1
60039PS/2 REF: ValuePoint - Fall 1993 models1
60036PS/2 REF: ValuePoint - Spring 1994 models1
60040PS/2 REF: ValuePoint Reference (Fall 1993 models)1
60038PS/2 REF: ValuePoint Reference (P60/D models)1
60042PS/2 REF: ValuePoint Reference (Si models)1
60037PS/2 REF: ValuePoint Reference (Spring 1994 models)1
60041PS/2 REF: ValuePoint Si1
60057PS/2 REF: Video Reference1
60028PS/2 REF: Why IBM is a better buy than a clone1
16074PS/2: 25 Pin Serial Port Pin Outs1
12056PS/2: 25-Pin D-Shell Connector - Printer Adapter1
11342PS/2: 3.5 Inch Enhanced Rewritable Optical Drive2
12050PS/2: 30286 Power Supply Connector2
11217PS/2: 3510 & 3511 External Enclosure2
12055PS/2: 40-Pin Card-Edge & 34-Pin Header Interface2
11405PS/2: 486SLC3 Processor Upgrade for 56/57 Systems1
12005PS/2: 5.25" Rewritable Optical Disk Cartridge1
11620PS/2: 53 53LS 486SLC21
11056PS/2: 56 SLC, LS 56 SX and 56 LS - Glossy4
11057PS/2: 57 486SLC2 57SLC - Glossy4
11119PS/2: 76-486 - Glossy4
11604PS/2: 76/77 Options Fax Sheet3
11603PS/2: 76/77 Spec Sheet7
11162PS/2: 77 486DX2 & 77486SX4
16058PS/2: 90 XP 486 Information2
11013PS/2: 90 XP 486 Series6
14065PS/2: 90/95 - Selective Boot Assignments1
11093PS/2: 90XP 486 Series5
11073PS/2: 95 High Performance Servers - Overview19
11071PS/2: 95 XP 486 50 MHz Server Information5
11014PS/2: 95 XP 486 Series6
11026PS/2: 9553 53 486SLC2 & 53LS 486SLC2 Empower the4
11159PS/2: 9556 486SLC2, 56SLC & 56SLC LS - Glossy4
11406PS/2: 9556, 9556LS, 9557, & M57 486SLC3 - Glossy5
11338PS/2: ActionMedia II The Digital Future of Multimedia11
16069PS/2: Cached Processor Option for Models 56/57 Guide7
11079PS/2: Carton Replacements1
14036PS/2: Comparison of 386SX/386SL/386SLC/386, 486SX/4861
16016PS/2: Diskette Drive Connector - 34 Pin1
16002PS/2: Diskette Drive Pinouts - 40 Pin Card Edge1
16036PS/2: Diskette Drive Signal Assingments - 40 Pin Card1
12008PS/2: Drive Type Table1
16001PS/2: External Diskette Drive Cable Pinouts1
11001PS/2: Facts and Features before April 1992 - Glossy10
20019PS/2: Fax Concentrator Adapter/A2
16027PS/2: Hard Drive Parameters for AT & PS/2 Products1
11282PS/2: High-Performance Plannar (Processor) Upgrades4
11629PS/2: IBM Personal Systems(R) Desktop Systems11
16076PS/2: Installation - Storage Media and Devices8
16067PS/2: Installation Planning - Health and Safety4
16070PS/2: Installation Plannning - Surge Protection2
11212PS/2: Integrated Server 85 - Glossy4
11168PS/2: Large Storage Options6
16077PS/2: Line Current Calculations3
16066PS/2: Memory Options - Quick Reference3
11036PS/2: Memory Options Guide as of 1-13-9419
16075PS/2: Micro Channel Architecture Features/Functions3
16086PS/2: Model 70 System Board Diskette Drive Connectors1
11012PS/2: Model 80 3866
12021PS/2: Model L40 Data/Fax Modem Operating Instructions7
14068PS/2: Model L40SX - Battery Concerns2
12006PS/2: Model L40SX - Battery Life Guide4
12019PS/2: Model L40SX - Hints and Tips4
11078PS/2: Most Commonly Ordered Publications1
11249PS/2: New PS/2 Models 56&57 - General Information1
12072PS/2: Note Information1
14081PS/2: Notebook / Laptop / Portable - Comparisons2
11155PS/2: One Day Adapter Card Repair3
16011PS/2: Parallel Port Pinouts1
11032PS/2: PCMCIA Adapter/22
16048PS/2: Pin Assignmnts - Video & Printer/Scanner Cables1
11602PS/2: Planar Upgrade Spec Sheet2
16079PS/2: Planning - Non-Office Computer Environment6
16019PS/2: Power Connector Voltages (At-Bus and MCA)3
11479PS/2: PS/2 E - A New Dimension - Glossy2
12045PS/2: PS/2 TV - Connecting A VCR3
11095PS/2: PS/2 TV - Glossy4
22009PS/2: PS/2 TV - Installation Information3
16003PS/2: Reference Diskette Versions1
11021PS/2: SCSI6
16014PS/2: SCSI Adapter Pinouts1
16029PS/2: SCSI Adapters1
16110PS/2: SCSI Hard Disk Drive - Product Description2
12047PS/2: Service Hints System Boards, Hard Disks & Clock1
11480PS/2: Specs4
14079PS/2: System BIOS Information2
14035PS/2: System Update Diskette - DASDDRVR.SYS1
16031PS/2: Tape 2.0 - Restore Command1
16087PS/2: The Benefits of MCA Versus At-Bus3
11154PS/2: TMC-850 IBM SCSI Adapter Option Kits2
11184PS/2: Touch Select - Glossy3
11166PS/2: Ultimedia Family6
22005PS/2: Ultimedia Model M57 SLC - Glossy4
14064PS/2: Understanding Model Numbers2
11420Servers: PS/2 Powerful Network Servers-General Info1
11376Servers: PS/2 Server 195 - Glossy8
11171Servers: PS/2 Server 295 -Glossy8
11121Servers: PS/2 Server 85 - Glossy4
11358Servers: PS/2 Server 85 466 AND 433 - Glossy6
11293Servers: PS/2 Server 95 560 and 466 - Glossy6
11356Servers: PS/2 Server 95 Array 566,560 & 466 - Glossy6
11210Servers: PS/ValuePoint Mini-Tower2
Appendix A  MCA Brand Card and Part Listing
IBM Part#NameDescription
EMULATORS
74F34653270 LOCAL BOARD/AIBM 3270 for 50,50Z,55SX,60,65SX,70 & 80. Half sized. Replaces 53F6384/25F8448/74F3459/74F4460.
69X62795250 LOCAL BD/AIBM System 36/38, AS400 Workstation Emulator. Half sized. Direct Twinax. Req. Software and Cable.
69X62875250 LOCAL KT/AAs above with Software and Cable.
6451114ADPT MULTI PROTO/AMulti-protocol for SNA/SDLC, BSC and asynchronous environments. Req. additional Hard and Software.
LAN
1501223ADPT BASEBAND/ABaseband NIC (Network Interface Card). 1 per CPU on network. 2megabits/sec trans.
59G8998LANSTREAM ADPT MC16LANStreamer 16 bit. 4 or 16 Mbps over unshielded twisted pair or IBM cable. Need 6339098 cable to attach to TRN network. RPL standard.
92F8942LANSTREAM ADPT MC32LANStreamer 32 bit.
74F9410TRN 16/4 ADAP/AToken-Ring Network 16/4 Adapter. Half sized. 4 or 16 Mbps. Req. 6339098 cable. Replaces 16F1133.
69X8138TRN ADAP/AToken-Ring for NIC network. 4Mbps. Req. TR adapter and LAN.
COMMUNICATION
09F1897IBM ARTIC M/2 512KRealtime Interface Co-Processor Multiport/2.
00F5531IBM ARTIC M/2 I/F CBMultiport Interface 3 meter Cable. Attaches to the ARTIC 8 port interface board.
16F1820IBM ARTIC M/2 1MBRealtime Interface Co-Processor Multiport/2. Req. DOS or OS/2 support, and cables or interface card.
16F1858IBM X.25 CO PROC/2IBM X.25 Co-Processor/2 communications adapter. 512K memory, supports v.24, v.35, and x.21 non-switched with appropriate cable.
16F1869IBM X.25 CBL OPT V24IBM X.25 Cable Option v.24. Connects from back of the X.25 interface Co-Processor (16F1858) to modem
16F1871IBM X.25 CBL OPT V35IBM X.25 Cable Option v.35. 10'cable with wrap plug. For 16F1858.
6451013IBM DUAL ASYNC /AIBM Dual Asynchronous Adapter /A. Greater comm. speed when used with OS/2. 2 independent RS-232 ports, max of 3 9pin male. Req. one expansion slot.
ADVANCED VIDEO
69F9734ACTIONMEDIA CAPTUREActionMedia II Capture Option for AMII adapters 69F9730 (ISA) and 69F9732 (MCA). Adds NTSC/PAL video/audio inputs and recording ability.
69F9732ACTIONMEDIA II/A 2MBActionMedia II Video Adapter/A 2MB VRAM. Playback digitized DVI full-motion video and audio w/o ext. video/audio. Superimpose VGA graphics on video. Recording req. 69F9734.
35G4712IMGE ADAP/A 1MB UPGRPS/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.
35G4713IMGE APAP/A 3MB UPGRAs above but 1280x1024x256.
07F4406IMGE ADP/A MEM EXP KUse with 44F9914 Image Adpt/A to expand resolution to 1600x1280x16 greys.
07F4402IMGE ADP/A PRTR OPTPrinter Scanner Option used with 44F9914 Image Adapt/A to attach 3812002 Printer, 4216020 Printer 3117 and 3118 Scanner.
92F3379M-MOTION VID ADPT/AM-Motion Video Adapter/A. Full-motion video, Still-image video, and audio. Superimpose VGA graphics over video. Up to 3 NTSC inputs. Req. 04G3544 software.
92F3380VIDEO CAPTURE ADPT/AVideo Capture Adapter/A. Allows viewing and/or digitizing of STILL images from NTSC source.
87F4773IBM ADPT XGA-2/APS/2 XGA-2 Display Adapter/A. 16/32 bit bus master, req. i386SX and higher. 1280x1024 max resolution, 256 colors. Refresh up to 75MHz. More than double performance of 75X5887.
75X5889IBM MEM EXP KT XGA/APS/2 Video Memory Expansion Option. For all PS/2 models supported by 75X5887 XGA display adapter. Upgrade to 1MB of video memory for 1024x768x256 color support.
75X5887IBM ADPT XGA/APS/2 XGA Display Adapter/A. 1024x768 Interlaced resolution. Use 75X5887 memory option for 1024x768x256NI support.
49G2716IMGE I ADP/APS/2 Image Adapter for use with 9504001, 6091191 and 9517001 monitors.
ADVANCED AUDIO
60G3879AUDIOVATION ADPT/AAudiovation Adapter/A. SoundBlaster Compatable. MPC. 16 bit audio with sampling up to 44.1Khz.
92F3379M-AUDIO CAPT ADAPT/AM-Audio Capture Adapter/A. Captures, digitizes, and plays back high quality audio. Digitial audio processing, including compression/decompression.
PROCESSOR UPGRADES
32G327950Z PLANAR BOARDPlanar upgrade for 50 and 50Z. Complete system board w/ IBM 486SLC2-50. Built in SVGA w/ 1MB. Uses existing drives. 4MB of RAM exp. to 16MB w/ 6450902, 6450128, or 6450130.
32G328355 PLANAR BOARDAs above for 55SX/LS.
32G4144MDL70 PRCUPG 486DX33i486DX33 for 16/20MHz Model 70's. Uses system memory.
32G4148MDL80 PRCUPG 486DX33As above for 16/20MHz Model 80's.
32G3606IBM 486SLC2 PROC UPG486SLC2 for 56SX, 56SLC, 57SX, 57SLC, and M57SLC from 386SX, 386SLC, and 486SX. 20/40MHz.
70G8992IBM 486DX2/66 PLANAR486DX2/66 Upgrade Planar Board for 60, 65, and 80. Int. Math Co-proc. 128MB max. on 8 SIMM sockets. P24T upgradeable. Opt. L2 cache. ECC memory. 70/80ns. SVGA 1024x768. IDE controller.
32G3296IBM 486BL2/66 PLANAR486BL2/66 Upgrade Planar Board for 60, 65, and 80. Same as above with no Math Co-proc.
70G8988IBM 486DX33 PLANAR486DX33 Upgrade Planar for Model 70. Int. Math Co-proc. 31MB addressable on 2 SIMM Sockets (4/16MB), P24T. 70/80ns memory. SVGA 1024x768. IDE controller.
32G3300IBM 486BL2/66 PLANAR486BL2/66 for Model 70. As above but no Math Co-proc.
32G333560/65/80 HARDFILE KTNo description at FAQ time. ?Kit to mount hard drive in Model 60, 65, and 80 systems with planar upgrade?
32G333170 HARDFILE KITNo description at FAQ time. ?Kit to mount hard drive in Model 70 systems with planar upgrade?
STORAGE DEVICES AND ADPT
82G177853LS UPGRADE KITAllow 9553LS to support floppy/hard drive installs.
6451042CBL SCSI OPT/OPT EXT50pin SCSI to 50pin SCSI. 2 feet long.
32G2958ENH CD-ROM II INT DRCompact Drive Read Only Memory II Internal Drive. Performs at max. data rate of 327kb/sec and 205ms access speed.
32G2960ENH CD-ROM II KIT CAllows 32G2958 to be installed in a Model 90.
6451072IBM 1.44 MB DSK DRV1.44 MB 1" high. Supports SCSI Models 65, 80, 90 and 95. Mod 30 when 1st drive indicator is below media slot req. 6451034, 55LS req. 6451035, 55SX no add. req.
6451130IBM 1.44MB DDR1.44 MB 1" high. 3.5" drive. Models 35LX, 35LS, 40SX and 57SX. LS req. 6451037.
6451037IBM 1.44MB INST KTBezel and cable kit for 1.44MB DDR installation into LS type machines.
6450353IBM 1.44MB DDR 50-801.44 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.
6451046IBM 160MB HDR SCSI160 MB SCSI Fixed Disk Drive. 160MB formatted internal drive with 32k buffer and 16ms access time. Models 57SX, 60, 65, 80, 90, and 95. Non-SCSI models req. 6451109 or 6451110, and some may req. 6451053.
70G7164IBM 1GB DR SERVER 951GB Fixed Drive for Server 95. 36 month warranty.
32G4198IBM 1GB SCSI HDR1GB SCSI-2 Internal Hard Disk Drive. 8.7ms access time. Supports 9590, 9595, 9556, 9557, 9576, 9577, 9585, 8590, 8595, 8556, 8557, and 8580.
32G4336IBM 2.0GB SCSI HDR2GB SCSI Hard Drive.
6451121IBM 2.3GB SCSI TDR2.3GB SCSI Internal Tape Drive. Use 21F8595 cart.
6451272IBM 2.88MB DDR2.88MB 3.5" Disk Drive. Models 9556, 9557, 8556, 8557, 9576, and 9577. 720KB and 1.44KB compatable.
6451271IBM 2.88MB ENH DDREnhanced 2.88MB 3.5" Disk Drive. Models 9585, 9595, 8590 (0H5, 0H9, 0L9, 0LF) and 8595 (0H9, 0HF).
6451242IBM 212MB HDR SCSI212MB Fixed Disk Drive. Int. in all PS/2 with SCSI standard and ext. in all others with SCSI CPUs.
32G4195IBM 340MB AT HDR340MB AT Hard Drive. Models 8535xxx, 8540xxx. Includes screws, slide and tray.
6451066IBM 5.2 DDR/1,2 INT5.25" Internal 1.2MB Disk Drive. Models 35, 40, 57, 90, and 95. No slot req. 35LS req. 6451127.
62G4151IBM 540MB SCSI HDR540MB SCSI-2 Internal Hard Disk Drive. 8.7ms access. Models 9590, 9595, 9585, 9556, 9557, 9576, 9577, 8580, 8595, 8556, 8557, 8580.
30F5279IBM 80/120MB INT TBUInternal Tape Backup Unit 80MB/120MB. 3.5" high. Models 35SX thru 95 (except 55SX/LS and P70). Req. 87F9826 cable on SCSI models and software.
6451109IBM ADAPT SCSI16 bit SCSI Micro Channel Adapter for all non-SCSI 16 bit systems. Replaces 6451005.
6451133IBM ADAPT/CACHE SCSI32 bit SCSI Micro Channel Adapter with Cache for all non-SCSI 32 bit systems. Replaces 6451110.
6451145IBM CD-ROM II KIT ACompact Read Only Memory II Drive Kit A. For inst. of drive 6451104 in models 60, 65SX, 80 and 95 SCSI. Req. 6451133 or 6451109.
6451146IBM CD-ROM II KIT BCompact Read Only Memory II Drive Kit B. For inst. of drive 6451104 and enclosure 35100V0 allows ext. installation in all PS/2s. Non- SCSI req. 6451133 or 6451109.
6451126IBM OPTICAL DR KIT AOptical Drive Kit A. For install of drive 6450162 in models 60 and 80 (-041,-071,-111, -311).
6451295IBM R/W OPTICAL DR3.5" Enhanced Rewritable Optical Drive. All SCSI PS/2 internally or external with enclosure. 256KB buffer and 40ms seek time.
6451039IBM SCSI EXT TERMSCSI Terminator for use with 6451110. Inc. with 6451139.
6451053IBM SCSI HD KIT ASCSI Hard Drive Kit A. Allows two SCSI fixed disk drives to be installed in non-SCSI models 60, 80, and a 3rd and 4th drive in SCSI models 65 and 80. Converts one 5.25" full-high bay into two 3.5" half-high.
6451120IBM SCSI HDR KIT DSCSI Hard Drive Kit D. For install of 60MB or 120MB SCSI fixed disk drive in model 57, 90, 95, or external enclosure 3511003.
92F3340IBM TAPE BKUP KT OS2Convenience kit for OS/2. Inc. program, 30F5279, and mini tape cart DC2120. SCSI models req. cable 87F9826.
64G3736TBU KIT 250 DOSAs above for DOS.
64G3713TBU KIT 250 WINDOWSAs above for Windows.
MEMORY BOARDS
87F9856IBM 2MB MEM OPT KIT32 bit Full size with 2MB memory, expands to 14MB. Models 70, 80, and P70. Accepts 6450603, 6450604, 6450608, and 87F9977 modules.
87F9860IBM 4MB MEM OPT KITAs above but with intially 4MB, expands to 14MB.
32G3720IBM 16MB ECC MEM70NS16MB of 70ns ECC memory.
30F5360IBM 2MB MEMRY 120NS2MB of 120ns memory for 25-286 and 30-286. Max of 4 added to 1497259 and 6 added to 30F5362. Existing 512K chips must be removed, AB4320 is the preferred solution.
6450902IBM 2MB MEMRY 70NS2MB of 70ns memory.
6450608IBM 2MB MEMRY 80NS2MB of 80ns memory.
6450604IBM 2MB MEMRY 85NS2MB of 85ns memory. (Also 92F0104)
6450902IBM 2MB MEMRY 70NS2MB of 70ns memory.
6450128IBM 4MB MEMRY 70NS4MB of 70ns memory. (Also 92F0105)
87F9977IBM 4MB MEMRY 80NS4MB of 80ns memory.
6451159IBM 8MB MEM ECC70NS8MB of 70ns ECC memory.
6450130IBM 8MB MEMRY 70NS8MB of 70ns memory.
MODEMS
82G7259WINDSURFER ADPTR/AWindsurfer communications adapter/A. with integ. 14.4Kbps data modem, 9600bps FAX. Telephone answering/voice mail. MIDI interface capable. Supports Windows 3.1 MPC Audio Apps. Soundblaster compatable.
60G0736WAVERUNNER ADPTR/ADigital FAX/Modem adapter/A. 64k bps over ISDN Basic Rate ISDN (BRI) provides two B channels of up to 64k bps voice/data and one D channel for signaling info at 16kKbps; Bell 103, 212, 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 64k bps with other ISDN devices; X.25 on B and D channels when using CM/2 with OS/2; supports Euro-ISDN, 1TR6, and VN4; G3 fax; includes DataFAX Lite and TurboCom for Windows software (3.5"). 10-foot phone cable; req's 386SX or better processor in a PC capable of supporting 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 similar to what is listed here, but with a different IBM Part# 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 through them).
Appendix B  IBM Reference Diskette Listing
From Louis Ohland <ohlandl@charter.net>:

Warning! IBM changed the PCBBS! . 04/30/00

I'm lazy. These links will lead you to Dennis Smith's PS/2 Page and his links. The ADF link will take you to Peter Wendt's The Microchannel Enthusiast's Page and his Java Script ADF search engine.

B.1 Starter/Reference Disks
85xx series
95xx series
86xx series

B.2 Diagnostic Disks

85xx series
95xx series
86xx series

B.3 Microcode Update Disks&

BIOS
Adapters

B.4 Option Disks

Option Disks

B.5 Driver Disks

Driver Disks

B.6 ADF Files
ADF Files

Outdated listing (useful for file searches though)
[From: ftp://ftp.pc.ibm.com as of 10/30/98, changed 04/30/00 so see below] 
IBM PCC BBS
(919)-517-0001
============================================================================
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 G7GT59A 
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 installed to 
                                enable all memory contained on all installed 
                                Enhanced Memory Adapters. This included 
                                systems that hBOPT103.LAB label for IBM label 
                                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, 9577 
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 Dealers 
                                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 


============================================================================

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 for dual SB and Audiovation/A use
[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 he would like to do.]
AdapterId 08FD6h

AdapterName "IBM Audiovation Adapter"

NumBytes 4

FixedResources
;To enable PS/1 MIDI mode change pos[0]=XX00X0XX to pos[0]=XX00XXXX and
;uncomment the lines related to MIDI at the end of this file
     pos[0]=XX00X0XXb
     pos[1]=0000XXXXb
     pos[3]=11XXXXXXb

Begin NoDMA
      NamedItem Prompt "I/O Address Selection"
      choice "0400-041F 04F8-04FF" pos[3]=XX000001b io 0400h-041fh 04f8h-04ffh
      choice "0800-081F 08F8-08FF" pos[3]=XX000010b io 0800h-081fh 08f8h-08ffh
      choice "0C00-0C1F 0CF8-0CFF" pos[3]=XX000011b io 0c00h-0c1fh 0cf8h-0cffh
      choice "1000-101F 10F8-10FF" pos[3]=XX000100b io 1000h-101fh 10f8h-10ffh
      choice "1400-141F 14F8-14FF" pos[3]=XX000101b io 1400h-141fh 14f8h-14ffh
      choice "1800-181F 18F8-18FF" pos[3]=XX000110b io 1800h-181fh 18f8h-18ffh
      choice "1C00-1C1F 1CF8-1CFF" pos[3]=XX000111b io 1c00h-1c1fh 1cf8h-1cffh
      choice "2000-201F 20F8-20FF" pos[3]=XX001000b io 2000h-201fh 20f8h-20ffh
      choice "2400-241F 24F8-24FF" pos[3]=XX001001b io 2400h-241fh 24f8h-24ffh
      choice "2800-281F 28F8-28FF" pos[3]=XX001010b io 2800h-281fh 28f8h-28ffh
      choice "2C00-2C1F 2CF8-2CFF" pos[3]=XX001011b io 2c00h-2c1fh 2cf8h-2cffh
      choice "3000-301F 30F8-30FF" pos[3]=XX001100b io 3000h-301fh 30f8h-30ffh
      choice "3400-341F 34F8-34FF" pos[3]=XX001101b io 3400h-341fh 34f8h-34ffh
      choice "3800-381F 38F8-38FF" pos[3]=XX001110b io 3800h-381fh 38f8h-38ffh
      choice "3C00-3C1F 3CF8-3CFF" pos[3]=XX001111b io 3c00h-3c1fh 3cf8h-3cffh
      choice "4000-401F 40F8-40FF" pos[3]=XX010000b io 4000h-401fh 40f8h-40ffh
      choice "4400-441F 44F8-44FF" pos[3]=XX010001b io 4400h-441fh 44f8h-44ffh
      choice "4800-481F 48F8-48FF" pos[3]=XX010010b io 4800h-481fh 48f8h-48ffh
      choice "4C00-4C1F 4CF8-4CFF" pos[3]=XX010011b io 4c00h-4c1fh 4cf8h-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 F5=Previous and the F6=Next keys to change
      conflicting addresses in the 'Change Configuration' window."

   NamedItem Prompt "Arbitration Level"
      choice "Level 8" pos[1]=XXXX1000b arb 08h
      choice "Level 9" pos[1]=XXXX1001b arb 09h
      choice "Level A" pos[1]=XXXX1010b arb 0ah
      choice "Level B" pos[1]=XXXX1011b arb 0bh
      choice "Level C" pos[1]=XXXX1100b arb 0ch
      choice "Level D" pos[1]=XXXX1101b arb 0dh
      choice "Level E" pos[1]=XXXX1110b arb 0eh
      choice "Level 1" pos[1]=XXXX0001b arb 01h
      choice "Level 3" pos[1]=XXXX0011b arb 03h
      choice "Level 5" pos[1]=XXXX0101b arb 05h
      choice "Level 6" pos[1]=XXXX0110b arb 06h
      choice "Level 7" pos[1]=XXXX0111b arb 07h

   Help
      "This item enables the selection of available MicroChannel Arbitration
      levels. Conflicting levels are marked with an asterisk and should be
      changed. Use the F5=Previous and the F6=Next keys to change conflicting
      levels in the 'Change Configuration' window."

   NamedItem Prompt "Fairness Enable/Disable"
      choice "Disabled" pos[0]=0XXXXXXXb
      choice "Enabled" pos[0]=1XXXXXXXb

   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-configure
;  NamedItem Prompt "MIDI Port Enable/Disable"
;     choice "Enabled" pos[0]=XXXXX1XXb io 0330h-0335h int 7
;     choice "Disabled" pos[0]=XXXXX0XXb
;
;  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]=XXXXXXXXb 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.
CodeDescriptions
01xUndetermined problem errors
02xPower supply errors
1xxSystem Board Errors
101System Board Error; Interrupt failure
102System Board Error; Timer failure
103System Board Error; Timer Interrupt failure
104System Board Error; Protected mode failure
105System Board Error; Last 8042 command not accepted
106System Board Error; Converting logic test
107System Board Error; Hot Non Maskable Interrupt test
108System Board Error; Timer bus test
109System Board Error; Memory select error
110PS/2 System Board Error; Parity check error
111PS/2 Memory adaptor error
112PS/2 MicroChannel arbitration error
113PS/2 MicroChannel arbitration error
114PS/2 External ROM checksum Error (common to 2-8MB Memory card)
121Unexpected hardware interrupts occured
131PC system board cassette port wrap test failure
161System Options Not Set-(Run SETUP); Dead battery
162System Options Not Set-(Run SETUP); CMOS checksum/configuration error
163Time & Date Not Set-(Run SETUP); Clock not updating
164Memory Size Error-(Run SETUP); CMOS setting does not match memory
165PS/2 System options not set
166PS/2 MicroChannel adapter time-out error
199User indicated INSTALLED DEVICES list is not correct
2xxMemory (RAM) errors
201Memory test failure, error location will be displayed in hexadecimal
202Memory address error, address lines 00-15
203Memory address error, address lines 16-23
215PS/2 Motherboard memory failure
216PS/2 Motherboard memory failure
3xxKeyboard errors
301Keyboard 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.
302System Unit Keylock is Locked
303Keyboard or System Unit Error
304Keyboard or System Unit Error; Keyboard clock high
305PS/2 Keyboard fuse (on system board) error
4xxMonochrome Display Adapter (MDA) errors
4xxPS/2 System board parallel port errors
401Monochrome memory test, horizontal sync frequency test, or video test failure
401PS/2 System board parallel port failure
408User indicated display attributes failure
416User indicated character set failure
424User indicated 80x25 mode failure
432Parallel port test failure; monochrome display adapter
5xxColor Graphics Adapter (CGA) errors
501CGA memory test, horizontal sync frequency test, or video test failure
508User indicated display attribute failure
516User indicated character set failure
524User indicated 80x25 mode failure
532User indicated 40x25 mode failure
540User indicated 320x200 graphics mode failure
548User indicated 640x200 graphics mode failure
6xxFloppy drive/adapter errors
601Floppy drive/adapter Power On Self Test failure
602Drive test failure; disk boot record not valid
606Drive changeline function failure; drive error
607Disk is write protected; drive error
608Bad command; drive error
610Disk initialization failure; track 0 bad
611Time-out; drive error
612Bad Controller chip
613Bad Direct Memory Access; drive error
614Bad Direct Memory Access; boundary overrun
615Bad index timing; drive error
616Drive speed error
621Bad seek; drive error
622Bad Cyclic Redundancy Check; drive error
623Record not found; drive error
624Bad address mark; drive error
625Bad Controller chip; seek error
626Disk data compare error
7xx8087, 80287 or 80387 math coprocessor errors
9xxParallel printer adapter errors
901Parallel printer adapter test failure
10xxAlternate parallel printer adapter errors
1001Alternate parallel printer adapter test failure
11xxAsynchronous communications adapter errors
11xxPS/2 System board async port errors
1101Asynchronous communications adapter test failure
1102PS/2 System board async port or serial device error
1106PS/2 System board async port or serial device error
1107PS/2 System board async port or serial cable error
1108PS/2 System board async port or serial device error
1109PS/2 System board async port or serial device error
1112PS/2 System board async port error
1118PS/2 System board async port error
1119PS/2 System board async port error
12xxAlternate asynchronous communications adapter errors
12xxPS/2 Dual async adapter error
1201Alternate asynchronous communications adapter test failure
1202PS/2 Dual async adapter or serial device error
1206 
1207PS/2 Dual async adapter or serial cable error
1208PS/2 Dual async adapter or serial device error
1209 
1212PS/2 Dual async adapter or system board error
1218 
1219 
1227 
1233 
1234 
13xxGame control adapter errors
1301Game control adapter test failure
1301Joy-stick test failure
14xxMatrix Printer errors
15xxSynchronous data link control (SDLC) communications adapter errors
15108255 port B failure
15118255 port A failure
15128255 port C failure
15138253 timer 1 did not reach terminal count
15148253 timer 1 stuck on
15158253 timer 0 did not reach terminal count
15168253 timer 0 stuck on
15178253 timer 2 did not reach terminal count
15188253 timer 2 stuck on
15198273 port B error
15208273 port A error
15218273 command/read time-out
1522Interrupt level 4 failure
1523Ring Indicate stuck on
1524Receive clock stuck on
1525Transmit clock stuck on
1526Test indicate stuck on
1527Ring indicate not on
1528Receive clock not on
1529Transmit clock not on
1530Test indicate not on
1531Data set ready not on
1532Carrier detect not on
1533Clear to send not on
1534Data set ready stuck on
1536Clear to send stuck on
1537Level 3 interrupt failure
1538Receive interrupt results error
1539Wrap data compare error
1540Direct Memory Access channel 1 error
1541Direct Memory Access channel 1 error
1542Error in 8273 error checking or status reporting
1547Stray interrupt level 4
1548Stray interrupt level 3
1549Interrupt presentation sequence time-out
16xxDisplay emulation errors (327x, 5520, 525x)
17xxFixed disk errors
1701Fixed disk POST error
1702Fixed disk adapter error
1703Fixed disk drive error
1704Fixed disk adapter or drive error
1780Fixed disk 0 failure
1781Fixed disk 1 failure
1782Fixed disk controller failure
1790Fixed disk 0 error
1791Fixed disk 1 error
18xxI/O expansion unit errors
1801I/O expansion unit POST error
1810Enable/Disable failure
1811Extender card wrap test failure; disabled
1812High order address lines failure; disabled
1813Wait state failure; disabled
1814Enable/Disable could not be set on
1815Wait state failure; disabled
1816Extender card wrap test failure; enabled
1817High order address lines failure; enabled
1818Disable not functioning
1819Wait request switch not set correctly
1820Receiver card wrap test failure
1821Receiver high order address lines failure
19xx3270 PC attachment card errors
20xxBinary synchronous (BSC) adapter errors
20108255 port A failure
20118255 port B failure
20128255 port C failure
20138253 timer 1 did not reach terminal count
20148253 timer 1 stuck on
20158253 timer 2 did not reach terminal count or timer 2 stuck on
20178251 Data set ready failed to come on
20188251 Clear to send not sensed
20198251 Data set ready stuck on
20208251 Clear to send stuck on
20218251 hardware reset failure
20228251 software reset failure
20238251 software "error reset" failure
20248251 transmit ready did not come on
20258251 receive ready did not come on
20268251 could not force "overrun" error status
2027Interrupt failure; no timer interrupt
2028Interrupt failure; transmit, replace card or planar
2029Interrupt failure; transmit, replace card
2030Interrupt failure; receive, replace card or planar
2031Interrupt failure; receive, replace card
2033Ring indicate stuck on
2034Receive clock stuck on
2035Transmit clock stuck on
2036Test indicate stuck on
2037Ring indicate stuck on
2038Receive clock not on
2039Transmit clock not on
2040Test indicate not on
2041Data set ready not on
2042Carrier detect not on
2043Clear to send not on
2044Data set ready stuck on
2045Carrier detect stuck on
2046Clear to send stuck on
2047Unexpected transmit interrupt
2048Unexpected receive interrupt
2049Transmit data did not equal receive data
20508251 detected overrun error
2051Lost data set ready during data wrap
2052Receive time-out during data wrap
21xxAlternate binary synchronous communications adapter errors
21108255 port A failure
21118255 port B failure
21128255 port C failure
21138253 timer 1 did not reach terminal count
21148253 timer 1 stuck on
21158253 timer 2 did not reach terminal count or timer 2 stuck on.
21178251 Data set ready failed to come on
21188251 Clear to send not sensed
21198251 Data set ready stuck on
21208251 Clear to send stuck on
21218251 hardware reset failure
21228251 software reset failure
21238251 software "error reset" failure
21248251 transmit ready did not come on
21258251 receive ready did not come on
21268251 could not force "overrun" error status
2127Interrupt failure; no timer interrupt
2128Interrupt failure; transmit, replace card or planar
2129Interrupt failure; transmit, replace card
2130Interrupt failure; receive, replace card or planar
2131Interrupt failure; receive, replace card
2133Ring indicate stuck on
2134Receive clock stuck on
2135Transmit clock stuck on
2136Test indicate stuck on
2137Ring indicate stuck on
2138Receive clock not on
2139Transmit clock not on
2140Test indicate not on
2141Data set ready not on
2142Carrier detect not on
2143Clear to send not on
2144Data set ready stuck on
2145Carrier detect stuck on
2146Clear to send stuck on
2147Unexpected transmit interrupt
2148Unexpected receive interrupt
2149Transmit Data did not equal receive data
21508251 detected overrun error
2151Lost data set ready during data wrap
2152Receive time-out during data wrap
22xxCluster adapter errors
24xxEnhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) errors
24xxPS/2 System board Video Graphics Array (VGA) errors
2401PS/2 Video Cable error (tbarnum@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu)
26xxXT/370 errors
27xxAT/370 errors
28xx3278/79 emulation adapter errors
29xxColor/graphics printer errors
30xxPrimary PC Network adapter error
3001Processor test failure
3002ROM checksum test failure
3003Unit ID PROM test failure
3004RAM test failure
3005Host Interface Controller test failure
3006+/- 12v test failure
3007Digital loopback test failure
3008Host detected Host Interface Controller failure
3009Sync failure and no Go bit
3010Host Interface Controller test OK and no Go bit
3011Go bit and no Command 41
3012Card not present
3013Digital failure; fall through
3015Analog failure
3041Hot carrier; not this card
3042Hot carrier; this card!
31xxSecondary PC Network adapter errors
3101Processor test failure
3102ROM check test failure
3103Unit ID PROM test failure
3104RAM test failure
3105Host Interface Controller test failure
3106+/- 12v test failure
3107Digital loopback test failure
3108Host detected Host Interface Controller failure
3109Sync failure and no Go bit
3110Host Interface Controller test OK and no Go bit
3111Go bit and no Command 41
3112Card not present
3113Digital failure; fall through
3115Analog failure
3141Hot carrier; not this card
3142Hot carrier; this card!
33xxCompact printer errors
36xxGeneral Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB) adapter errors
38xxData acquisition adapter errors
39xxProfessional graphics controller errors
71xxVoice communications adapter errors
73xx3.5" external diskette drive errors
7306Disk changeline function failure; track 0 bad
7307Disk is write protected; drive error
7308Bad command; drive error
7310Disk initialization failure; track 0 bad
7311Time-out; drive error
7312Bad Controller chip
7313Bad Direct Memory Access; drive error
7314Bad Direct Memory Access; boundary overrun
7315Bad index timing; drive error
7316Drive speed error
7321Bad seek; drive error
7322Bad Cyclic Redundancy Check; drive error
7323Record not found; drive error
7324Bad address mark; drive error
7325Bad Controller chip; seek error
74xxIBM PS/2 Display adapter (VGA card) errors
85xxIBM Expanded Memory Adapter (XMA) errors
86xxPS/2 Pointing device errors
8601PS/2 Pointing device error
8602PS/2 Pointing device error
8603PS/2 Pointing device error or System board failure
89xxMusic feature card errors
9670SCSI adapter error
100xxPS/2 Multiprotocol adapter errors
10002PS/2 Multiprotocol adapter or serial device error
10006PS/2 Multiprotocol adapter or serial device error
10007PS/2 Multiprotocol adapter or communications cable error
10008PS/2 Multiprotocol adapter or serial device error
10009PS/2 Multiprotocol adapter or serial device error
10012PS/2 Multiprotocol adapter or system board error.
10018 
10019 
10042 
10056 
104xxPS/2 ESDI Fixed disk errors
10480PS/2 ESDI Fixed disk 0 failure
10481PS/2 ESDI Fixed disk 1 failure
10482PS/2 ESDI Fixed disk controller failure
10483PS/2 ESDI Fixed disk controller failure
10490PS/2 ESDI Fixed disk 0 error
10491PS/2 ESDI Fixed disk 1 error
21060SCSI device error, Device not recognized
I99920IML 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 <ian@wilsoni.demon.co.uk>]
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 = mono, OPEN = 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) 

======================================================================

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 connector to the system-board is a ribbon cable that is not compatible to 
the "standard" 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 = Red
     | O  O  O  O |   Front       +5V = Yellow
     --------------                 G = 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 luck   
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 getting 
and what your programs require to avoid any suprises and disapointments.      

Note that not all sound cards are suitable for game play.  Some are designed  
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 that   
Sound Blaster compatibility is not always 100% in cards not made by Creative  
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-out;
              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 images
              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 audio
              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 audio 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 Research.
 
 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 Synthesizer 
           Interfaces/connectors: MIDI; Joystick; Line-in; Line-out;
                                  Microphone; 4 watt stereo amplifier output
 
 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
 

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

Mirrored from Compu$erve

END OF PS/2 FAQ