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comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.* Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Part 4/5

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Ralph Valentino

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Mar 22, 1998, 3:00:00 AM3/22/98

Archive-name: pc-hardware-faq/part4
Last-modified: 1997/11/10
Version: 1.25

S) 7.0 Diagnostics

Q) 7.1 What do the POST beeps mean?
This section contains information on the following:

IBM
AMI
Phoenix
DTK/ERSO XT BIOS
MR BIOS
Mylex 386 System BIOS
Quadtel AT Compatible BIOS

[From: Shaun Burnett (bur...@cat.com)]

POST (Power-On Self Test) beeps signal something is wrong with your
system. The meaning of these beeps is BIOS dependent. Below are the
audio codes for IBM, AMI, and Phoenix BIOS's.

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

AMI
Beep(s) Failure
1 short DRAM refresh
2 short Parity circuit
3 short Base 64K RAM
4 short System timer
5 short Processor
6 short Keyboard controller Gate A20 error
7 short Virtual mode exception error
8 short Display memory R/W test
9 short ROM BIOS checksum
1 long, 3 short Non-fatal--Conventional/extended memory
1 long, 8 short Non-fatal--Display/retrace test

PHOENIX
Beep Fatal Failures* Beep code Non-Fatal Failures* code
1-1-3 CMOS write/read (or real- 4-2-1 Timer tick interrupt test
time clock read/write) (or in progress)
1-1-4 ROM BIOS checksum 4-2-2 Shutdown test (or in progress)
1-2-1 Programmable interval timer 4-2-3 Gate A20 failure
1-2-2 DMA initialization 4-2-4 Unexpected interrupt in
protected mode
1-2-3 DMA page register write/read 4-3-1 RAM test in progress or
address failure > FFFFh
1-2-4 SRAM test and configuration 4-3-3 Interval timer Channel 2
(or test)
1-3-1 RAM refresh verification 4-3-4 Time-of-day clock (or test)
1-3-3 1st 64kb RAM chip or data 4-4-1 Serial port (or test)
line failure, multibit
1-3-4 First 64K RAM odd/even logic 4-4-2 Parallel port (or test)
1-4-1 Address line failure first 4-4-3 Math coprocessor (or test)
64K RAM
1-4-2 Parity failure first low 1-1-2 System-board select
64K RAM
2-1-1 Bit 0 first 64K RAM low 1-1-3 Extended CMOS RAM
2-1-2 Bit 1 first 64K RAM
2-1-3 Bit 2 first 64K RAM
2-1-4 Bit 3 first 64K RAM
2-2-1 Bit 4 first 64K RAM
2-2-2 Bit 5 first 64K RAM
2-2-3 Bit 6 first 64K RAM
2-2-4 Bit 7 first 64K RAM
2-3-1 Bit 8 first 64K RAM
2-3-2 Bit 9 first 64K RAM
2-3-3 Bit 10 first 64K RAM
2-3-4 Bit 11 first 64K RAM
2-4-1 Bit 12 first 64K RAM
2-4-2 Bit 13 first 64K RAM
2-4-3 Bit 14 first 64K RAM
2-4-4 Bit 15 first 64K RAM
3-1-1 Slave DMA register
3-1-2 Master DMA register
3-1-3 Master interrupt mask
register failure
3-1-4 Slave interrupt mask
register failure
3-2-4 Keyboard controller test
failure
3-3-4 Screen initialization
3-4-1 Screen retrace
3-4-2 Search for video ROM in
progress (not failure)
* Unless otherwise noted.

[From: Will Spencer (wi...@gnu.ai.mit.edu)]

DTK/ERSO XT BIOS

1 short - Begin POST and End POST
1 long, 1 short - Floppy Disk Drive or Controller
Failure
Continuous short - Parity Error in First 64K RAM
Continuous tone - First 64K RAM failure
1 long - Keyboard Failed or Locked, Interrupt
or other system board error
long short, long short, long short - Video Initialization Failure, or
Invalid Video Switch Setting

MR BIOS

:POST Code 1A Beep Codes
low high, low high low high high - Real Time Clock is Not Updating

:POST Code 03 Beep Codes
low high, low low low - ROM BIOS Checksum Test

:POST Code 04 Beep Codes
low high, high low low - Page Register Test (Ports 81-8F)

:POST Code 05 Beep Codes
low high, low high low - 8042 Keyboard Controller Selftest

:POST Code 07 Beep Codes
low high, high high low - Memory Refresh Circuit Test

:POST Code 08 Beep Codes
low high, low low high - Master (16bit) DMA Controller
Failure
low high, high low high - Slave (8 bit) DMA Controller
Failure

:Post Code 0A Beep Codes
low high, low low low low - Memory Bank 0 Pattern Test Failure
low high, high low low low - Memory Bank 0 Parity Circuitry
Failure
low high, low high low low - Memory Bank 0 Parity Error
low high, high high low low - Memory Bank 0 Data Bus Failure
low high, low low high low - Memory Bank 0 Address Bus Failure
low high, high low high low - Memory Bank 0 Block Access Read
Failure
low high, low high high low - Memory Bank 0 Block Access
Read/Write Failure

:POST Code 0B Beep Codes
low high, high high high low - Master 8259 (Port 21 ) Failure
low high, low low low high - Slave 8259 (Port A1) Failure

:POST Code 0C Beep Codes
low high, high low low high - Master 8259 (Port 20) Interrupt
Address Error
low high, low high low high - Slave 8259 (Port A0) Interrupt
Address Error
low high, high high low low - 8259 (Port 20/A0) Interrupt
Address Error
low high, low low high high - Master 8259 (Port 20) Stuck
Intercept Error
low high, high low high high - Slave 8259 (Port A0) Stuck
Intercept Error
low high, low high high high - System Timer 8254 CH0/IRQ0
Interrupt Failure

:POST Code 0D Beep Codes
low high, high high high high - 8254 Channel 0 Test and
Initialization

:POST Code 0E Beep Codes
low high, low low low low high - 8254 Channel-2 (Speaker) Failure
low high, high low low low high - 8254 OUT2 (Speaker Detect) Failure

:POST Code 0F Beep Codes
low high, low high low low high - CMOS RAM Read/Write Test Failure
low high, high high low low high - RTC Periodic Interrupt / IRQ8
Failure

:POST Code 10 Beep Codes
low high, low low high low high - Video Initialization and
(Cold-Boot) Signon Message

:POST Code 12 Beep Codes
low high, high low high low high - Keyboard Controller Failure

:POST Code 17 Beep Codes
low high, low low low high high - A20 Test Failure Due to 8042
Timeout
low high, high low low high high - A20 Gate Stuck in Disabled State

:POST Code 19 Beep Codes
low high, low high high low high - Memory Parity Error
low high, high high high low high - IO Channel Error

Mylex 386 System BIOS

long - Begin POST Beep Code
2 long - Video Card Bad or No Video Card
long, short, long - Keyboard Controller Error
long, 2 short, long - Keyboard Error
long, 3 short, long - Programmable Interrupt Controller
(8259-1) Error
long, 4 short, long - Programmable Interrupt Controller
(8259-1) Error
long, 5 short, long - DMA Page Register Error
long, 6 short, long - RAM Refresh Error
long, 7 short, long - RAM Data Test Error
long, 8 short, long - RAM Parity Error
long, 9 short, long - DMA Controller 1 Error
long, 10 short, long - CMOS RAM Failure
long, 11 short, long - DMA Controller 2 Error
long, 12 short, long - CMOS RAM Battery Failure
long, 13 short, long - CMOS Checksum Failed
long, 14 short, long - BIOS ROM Checksum Failed
several long beeps - Multiple failures

Quadtel AT Compatible BIOS

3 short - Any Failure

Q) 7.2 What do the POST codes mean?
This section contains information on the following:

IBM
Award Modular BIOS
Mylex 386 System BIOS
Quadtel AT Compatible BIOS
MR BIOS
Checkpoint Codes for AMI BIOS (pre-4/9/90)
AMI BIOS
AMI Color BIOS (after 2/1/91)
EuroBIOS

[From: zz9...@sdacs.ucsd.edu (Steve Rusk)]

All personal computer error codes for the Power On Self Test, General
Diagnostics, and Advanced Diagnostics consist of a device number followed by
two digits other than 00. (The device number plus 00 indicates successful
completion of the test.)

This list is a compilation from various sources, including USENET's
Info-IBMPC Digest, IBM Technical Reference Manuals, and IBM Hardware,
Maintenance and Service manuals.

01x Undetermined problem errors.
02x Power supply errors.
1xx System board errors.
101 System board error - Interrupt failure.
102 System board error - Timer failure.
103 System board error - Timer interrupt failure.
104 System board error - Protected mode failure.
105 System board error - Last 8042 command not accepted.
106 System board error - Converting logic test.
107 System board error - Hot NMI test.
108 System board error - Timer bus test.
109 Direct memory access test error.
121 Unexpected hardware interrupts occurred.
131 Cassette wrap test failed.
152
161 System Options Error-(Run SETUP) [Battery failure].
162 System options not set correctly-(Run SETUP).
163 Time and date not set-(Run SETUP).
164 Memory size error-(Run SETUP).
199 User-indicated configuration not correct.
2xx Memory (RAM) errors.
201 Memory test failed.
202 Memory address error.
203 Memory address error.
3xx Keyboard errors.
301 Keyboard did not respond to software reset correctly, or a stuck
key failure was detected. If a stuck key was detected, the
scan code for the key is displayed in hexadecimal. For
example, the error code 49 301 indicates that key 73, the
PgUp key, has failed (49 hex = 73 decimal).
302 User-indicated error from the keyboard test, or AT keylock
is locked.
303 Keyboard or system unit error.
304 Keyboard or system unit error; CMOS does not match system.
4xx Monochrome monitor errors.
401 Monochrome memory test, horizontal sync frequency test, or
video test failed.
408 User-indicated display attributes failure.
416 User-indicated character set failure.
424 User-indicated 80 X 25 mode failure.
432 Parallel port test failed (monochrome adapter).
5xx Color monitor errors.
501 Color memory test failed, horizontal sync frequency test, or
video test failed.
508 User-indicated display attribute failure.
516 User-indicated character set failure.
524 User-indicated 80 X 25 mode failure.
532 User-indicated 40 X 25 mode failure.
540 User-indicated 320 X 200 graphics mode failure.
548 User-indicated 640 X 200 graphics mode failure.
6xx Diskette drive errors.
601 Diskette power-on diagnostics test failed.
602 Diskette test failed; boot record is not valid.
606 Diskette verifysd function failed.
607 Write-protected diskette.
608 Bad command diskette status returned.
610 Diskette initialization failed.
611 Timeout - diskette status returned.
612 Bad NEC - diskette status returned.
613 Bad DMA - diskette status returned.
621 Bad seek - diskette status returned.
622 Bad CRC - diskette status returned.
623 Record not found - diskette status returned.
624 Bad address mark - diskette status returned.
625 Bad NEC seek - diskette status returned.
626 Diskette data compare error.
7xx 8087 or 80287 math coprocessor errors.
9xx Parallel printer adapter errors.
901 Parallel printer adapter test failed.
10xx Reserved for parallel printer adapter.
11xx Asynchronous communications adapter errors.
1101 Asynchronous communications adapter test failed.
12xx Alternate asynchronous communications adapter errors.
1201 Alternate asynchronous communications adapter test failed.
13xx Game control adapter errors.
1301 Game control adapter test failed.
1302 Joystick test failed.
14xx Printer errors.
1401 Printer test failed.
1404 Matrix printer failed.
15xx Synchronous data link control (SDLC) communications adapter errors.
1510 8255 port B failure.
1511 8255 port A failure.
1512 8255 port C failure.
1513 8253 timer 1 did not reach terminal count.
1514 8253 timer 1 stuck on.
1515 8253 timer 0 did not reach terminal count.
1516 8253 timer 0 stuck on.
1517 8253 timer 2 did not reach terminal count.
1518 8253 timer 2 stuck on.
1519 8273 port B error.
1520 8273 port A error.
1521 8273 command/read timeout.
1522 Interrupt level 4 failure.
1523 Ring Indicate stuck on.
1524 Receive clock stuck on.
1525 Transmit clock stuck on.
1526 Test indicate stuck on.
1527 Ring indicate not on.
1528 Receive clock not on.
1529 Transmit clock not on.
1530 Test indicate not on.
1531 Data set ready not on.
1532 Carrier detect not on.
1533 Clear to send not on.
1534 Data set ready stuck on.
1536 Clear to send stuck on.
1537 Level 3 interrupt failure.
1538 Receive interrupt results error.
1539 Wrap data miscompare.
1540 DMA channel 1 error.
1541 DMA channel 1 error.
1542 Error in 8273 error checking or status reporting.
1547 Stray interrupt level 4.
1548 Stray interrupt level 3.
1549 Interrupt presentation sequence timeout.
16xx Display emulation errors (327x, 5520, 525x).
17xx Fixed disk errors.
1701 Fixed disk POST error.
1702 Fixed disk adapter error.
1703 Fixed disk drive error.
1704 Fixed disk adapter or drive error.
1780 Fixed disk 0 failure.
1781 Fixed disk 1 failure.
1782 Fixed disk controller failure.
1790 Fixed disk 0 error.
1791 Fixed disk 1 error.
18xx I/O expansion unit errors.
1801 I/O expansion unit POST error.
1810 Enable/Disable failure.
1811 Extender card warp test failed (disabled).
1812 High order address lines failure (disabled).
1813 Wait state failure (disabled).
1814 Enable/Disable could not be set on.
1815 Wait state failure (disabled).
1816 Extender card warp test failed (enabled).
1817 High order address lines failure (enabled).
1818 Disable not functioning.
1819 Wait request switch not set correctly.
1820 Receiver card wrap test failure.
1821 Receiver high order address lines failure.
19xx 3270 PC attachment card errors.
20xx Binary synchronous communications (BSC) adapter errors.
2010 8255 port A failure.
2011 8255 port B failure.
2012 8255 port C failure.
2013 8253 timer 1 did not reach terminal count.
2014 8253 timer 1 stuck on.
2016 8253 timer 2 did not reach terminal count, or timer 2 stuck on.
2017 8251 Data set ready failed to come on.
2018 8251 Clear to send not sensed.
2019 8251 Data set ready stuck on.
2020 8251 Clear to send stuck on.
2021 8251 hardware reset failed.
2022 8251 software reset failed.
2023 8251 software "error reset" failed.
2024 8251 transmit ready did not come on.
2025 8251 receive ready did not come on.
2026 8251 could not force "overrun" error status.
2027 Interrupt failure - no timer interrupt.
2028 Interrupt failure - transmit, replace card or planar.
2029 Interrupt failure - transmit, replace card.
2030 Interrupt failure - receive, replace card or planar.
2031 Interrupt failure - receive, replace card.
2033 Ring indicate stuck on.
2034 Receive clock stuck on.
2035 Transmit clock stuck on.
2036 Test indicate stuck on.
2037 Ring indicate stuck on.
2038 Receive clock not on.
2039 Transmit clock not on.
2040 Test indicate not on.
2041 Data set ready not on.
2042 Carrier detect not on.
2043 Clear to send not on.
2044 Data set ready stuck on.
2045 Carrier detect stuck on.
2046 Clear to send stuck on.
2047 Unexpected transmit interrupt.
2048 Unexpected receive interrupt.
2049 Transmit data did not equal receive data.
2050 8251 detected overrun error.
2051 Lost data set ready during data wrap.
2052 Receive timeout during data wrap.
21xx Alternate binary synchronous communications adapter errors.
2110 8255 port A failure.
2111 8255 port B failure.
2112 8255 port C failure.
2113 8253 timer 1 did not reach terminal count.
2114 8253 timer 1 stuck on.
2115 8253 timer 2 did not reach terminal count, or timer 2 stuck on.
2116 8251 Data set ready failed to come on.
2117 8251 Clear to send not sensed.
2118 8251 Data set ready stuck on.
2119 8251 Clear to send stuck on.
2120 8251 hardware reset failed.
2121 8251 software reset failed.
2122 8251 software "error reset" failed.
2123 8251 transmit ready did not come on.
2124 8251 receive ready did not come on.
2125 8251 could not force "overrun" error status.
2126 Interrupt failure - no timer interrupt.
2128 Interrupt failure - transmit, replace card or planar.
2129 Interrupt failure - transmit, replace card.
2130 Interrupt failure - receive, replace card or planar.
2131 Interrupt failure - receive, replace card.
2133 Ring indicate stuck on.
2134 Receive clock stuck on.
2135 Transmit clock stuck on.
2136 Test indicate stuck on.
2137 Ring indicate stuck on.
2138 Receive clock not on.
2139 Transmit clock not on.
2140 Test indicate not on.
2141 Data set ready not on.
2142 Carrier detect not on.
2143 Clear to send not on.
2144 Data set ready stuck on.
2145 Carrier detect stuck on.
2146 Clear to send stuck on.
2147 Unexpected transmit interrupt.
2148 Unexpected receive interrupt.
2149 Transmit data did not equal receive data.
2150 8251 detected overrun error.
2151 Lost data set ready during data wrap.
2152 Receive timeout during data wrap.
22xx Cluster adapter errors.
24xx Enhanced graphics adapter errors.
29xx Color matrix printer errors.
2901
2902
2904
33xx Compact printer errors.

[From: Will Spencer (wi...@gnu.ai.mit.edu)]

Award Modular BIOS

01 - Processor Test 1: Processor Status Verification
02 - Determine Post Type
03 - Clear 8042 Keyboard Controller
04 - Reset 8042 Keyboard Controller
05 - Get Manufacturing Status
06 - Initialize Chips (DMA, 8259's)
07 - Processor Test 2: Read/Write/Verify Registers with
Data Pattern FF and 00
08 - Initialize CMOS Timer
09 - EPROM Checksum
0A - Initialize Video Controller Register 6845
0B - Test Timer (8254) Channel 0
0C - Test Timer (8254) Channel 1
0D - Test Timer (8254) Channel 2
0E - Test CMOS Shutdown Byte
0F - Text Extended CMOS
10 - Test DMA Channel 0
11 - Test DMA Channel 1
12 - Test DMA Page Registers
13 - Test Keyboard Controller
14 - Test Memory Refresh
15 - Test 1st 64K of System Memory
16 - Setup Interrupt Vector Table
17 - Setup Video I/O Operations
18 - Test Video Memory
19 - Test 8259 Mask Bits - Channel 1
1A - Test 8259 Mask Bits - Channel 2
1B - Test CMOS Battery Level
1C - Test CMOS Checksum
1D - Set Configuration from CMOS
1E - Size System Memory
1F - Test Found System Memory
20 - Test Stuck 8259 Interrupt Bits
21 - Test Suck NMI Bits (Parity I/O Check)
22 - Test 9259 Working
23 - Test Protected Mode
24 - Size Extended Memory
25 - Test Found Extended Memory
26 - Test Protected Mode Exceptions
27 - Setup Cache Control or Shadow RAM
28 - Setup 8242
29 - Reserved
2A - Initialize Keyboard
2B - Initialize Floppy Drive and Controller
2C - Detect and Initialize COM Ports
2D - Detect and Initialize LPT Ports
2E - Initialize Hard Drive and Controller
2F - Detect and Initialize Math Coprocessors
30 - Reserver
31 - Detect and Initialize Option ROMs
3B - Initialize Secondary Cache w/OPTi Chipset (486 only)
CA - Micronics Cache Initialization
CC - NMI Handler Shutdown
EE - Unexpected Processor Exceptiom
FF - INT 19 Boot Attempt

Mylex 386 System BIOS

01 - CPU Test
02 - DMA Page Register Test
03 - Keyboard Controller Test
04 - BIOS ROM Checksum
05 - Send Keyboard Command Test
06 - CMOS RAM Test
08 - RAM Refresh Test
09 - First 64K Memory Test
0A - DMA Controller Test
0B - Initialize DMA
0C - Interrupt Test
0D - Determine RAM Size
0E - Initialize Video of EGA/VGA Checksum
10 - Search for Monochrome Card
11 - Search for Color Card
12 - Word Splitter and Byte Shifter Test
13 - Keyboard Test
14 - RAM Test
15 - Timer Test
16 - Initialize Output Port of Keyboard Controller
17 - Keyboard Interrupt Test

Quadtel AT Compatible BIOS

02 - Flag Test
04 - Register Test
06 - System Hardware Initialization
08 - Initialize Chip Set Registers
0A - BIOS ROM Checksum
0C - DMA Page Register Test
0E - 8254 Timer Test
10 - 8254 Timer Initialization
12 - 8237 DMA Controller Test
14 - 8237 DMA Initialization
16 - Initialize 8259/Reset Coprocessor
18 - 8259 Interrupt Controller Test
1A - Memory Refresh Test
1C - Base 64KB Address Test
1E - Base 64KB Memory Test
20 - Base 64KB Test (Upper 16 bits)
22 - 8742 Keyboard Self Test
24 - MC146818 CMOS Test
26 - Start First Protected Mode Test
28 - Memory Sizing Test
2A - Autosize Memory Chips
2C - Chip Interleave Enable Test
2E - First Protected Mode Test Exit
30 - Unexpected Shutdown
32 - System Board Memory Size
34 - Relocate Shadow Ram if Configured
36 - Configure EMS System
38 - Configure Wait States
3A - ReTest 64K Base RAM
3C - CPU Speed Calculation
3E - Get Switches From 8042
40 - Configure CPU Speed
42 - Initialize Interrupt Vectors
44 - Verify Video Configuration
46 - Initialize Video System
48 - Test Unexpected Interrupts
4A - Start Second Protected Mode Test
4C - Verify LDT Instruction
4E - Verify TR Instruction
50 - Verify LSL Instruction
52 - Verify LAR Instruction
54 - Verify VERR Instruction
56 - Unexpected Exception
58 - Address Line 20 Test
5A - Keyboard Ready Test
5C - Determine AT or XT Keyboard
5E - Start Third Protected Mode Test
60 - Base Memory Test
62 - Base Memory Address Test
64 - Shadow Memory Test
66 - Extended Memory Test
68 - Extended Address Test
6A - Determine Memory Size
6C - Display Error Messages
6E - Copy BIOS to Shadow Memory
70 - 8254 Clock Test
72 - MC146818 Real Time Clock Test
74 - Keyboard Stuck Key Test
76 - Initialize Hardware Interrupt Vectors
78 - Math Coprocessor Test
7A - Determine COM Ports Available
7C - Determine LPT Ports Available
7E - Initialize BIOS Data Area
80 - Determine Floppy/Fixed Controller
82 - Floppy Disk Test
84 - Fixed Disk Test
86 - External ROM Scan
88 - System Key Lock Test
8A - Wait for F1 Key Pressed
8C - Final System Initialization
8E - Interrupt 19 Boot Loader
B0 - Unexpected Interrupt

MR BIOS

(The post codes for MR BIOS are located with the post beeps)

Checkpoint Codes for AMI BIOS
Release date 4/9/90 and after

Code Meaning

01 NMI disabled and 286 register test about to start.
02 286 register test passed.
03 ROM BIOS checksum (32K at F800:0) passed.
04 Keyboard controller test with and without mouse passed.
05 Chipset initialization over, DMA and Interrupt controller disabled.
06 Video disabled and system timer test begin.
07 CH-2 of 8254 initialization half way.
08 CH-2 of timer initialization over.
09 CH-1 of timer initialization over.
0A CH-0 of timer initialization over.
0B Refresh started.
0C System timer started.
0D Refresh link toggling passed.
10 Refresh on and about to start 64K base memory test.
11 Address line test passed.
12 64K base memory test passed.
15 Interrupt vectors initialized.
17 Monochrome mode set.
18 Color mode set.
19 About to look for optional video ROM at segment C000 and give control
to the optional video ROM if present.
1A Return from optional video ROM.
1B Shadow RAM enable/disable completed.
1C Display memory read/write test for main display type as set in the
CMOS setup program over.
1D Display memory read/write test for alternate display type complete
if main display memory read/write test returns error.
1E Global equipment byte set for proper display type.
1F Video mode set call for mono/color begins.
20 Video mode set completed.
21 ROM type 27256 verified.
23 Power on message displayed.
30 Virtual mode memory test about to begin.
31 Virtual mode memory test started.
32 Processor executing in virtual mode.
33 Memory address line test in progress.
34 Memory address line test in progress.
35 Memory below 1MB calculated.
36 Memory above 1MB calculated.
37 Memory test about to start.
38 Memory below 1MB initialized.
39 Memory above 1MB initialized.
3A Memory size display initiated. This will be updated when the BIOS
goes through the memory test.
3B About to start below 1MB memory test.
3C Memory test below 1MB completed and about to start above 1MB test.
3D Memory test above 1MB completed.
3E About to go to real mode.
3F Shutdown successful and processor in real mode.
40 CACHE memory on and about to disable A20 address line.
41 A20 address line disable successful.
42 486 internal cache turned on.
43 About to start DMA controller test.
50 DMA page register test complete.
51 DMA unit-1 base register test about to start.
52 DMA unit-1 base register test complete.
53 DMA unit-2 base register test complete.
54 About to check F/F latch for unit-1 and unit-2.
55 F/F latch for both units checked.
56 DMA unit 1 and 2 programming over and about to initialize 8259
interrupt controller.
57 8259 initialization over.
70 About to start keyboard test.
71 Keyboard controller BAT test over.
72 Keyboard interface test over, mouse interface test started.
73 Global data initialization for keyboard/mouse over.
74 Display 'SETUP' prompt and about to start floppy setup.
75 Floppy setup over.
76 Hard disk setup about to start.
77 Hard disk setup over.
79 About to initialize timer data area.
7A Timer data initialized and about to verify CMOS battery power.
7B CMOS battery verification over.
7D About to analyze POST results.
7E CMOS memory size updated.
7F Look for <DEL> key and get into CMOS setup if found.
80 About to give control to optional ROM in segment C800 to DE00.
81 Optional ROM control over.
82 Check for printer ports and put the addresses in global data area.
83 Check for RS232 ports and put the addresses in global data area.
84 Coprpcessor detection over.
85 About to display soft error messages.
86 About to give control to system ROM at segment E000.
00 System ROM control at E000 over now give control to Int 19h boot
loader.

Checkpoint Codes for AMI BIOS
Release date prior to 4/9/90

Code Meaning
01 NMI disabled & 286 reg. test about to start
02 286 register test over
03 ROM checksum OK
04 8259 initialization OK
05 CMOS pending interrupt disabled
06 Video disabled & system timer counting OK
07 CH-2 of 8253 test OK
08 CH-2 delta count test OK
09 CH-1 delta count test OK
0A CH-0 delta count test OK
0B Parity status cleared
0C Refresh & system timer OK
0D Refresh link toggling OK
0E Refresh period ON/OFF 50% OK
10 Confirmed refresh ON & about to start 64K memory
11 Address line test OK
12 64K base memory test OK
13 Interrupt vectors initialized
14 8042 keyboard controller test OK
15 CMOS read/write test OK
16 CMOS checksum/battery check OK
17 Monochrome mode set OK
18 Color mode set OK
19 About to look for optional video ROM
1A Optional video ROM control OK
1B Display memory read/write test OK
1C Display memory read/write test for alternate display OK
1D Video retrace check OK
1E Global equipment byte set for video OK
1F Mode set call for Mono/Color OK
20 Video test OK
21 Video display OK
22 Power on message display OK
30 Virtual mode memory test about to begin
31 Virtual mode memory test started
32 Processor in virtual mode
33 Memory address line test in progress
34 Memory address line test in progress
35 Memory below 1MB calculated
36 Memory size computation OK
37 Memory test in progress
38 Memory initialization over below 1MB
39 Memory initialization over above 1MB
3A Display memory size
3B About to start below 1MB memory test
3C Memory test below 1MB OK
3D Memory test above 1MB OK
3E About to go to real mode (shutdown)
3F Shutdown successful and and entered in real mode
40 About to disable gate A-20 address line
41 Gate A-20 line disabled successfully
42 About to start DMA controller test
4E Address line test OK
4F Processor in real mode after shutdown
50 DMA page register test OK
51 DMA unit-1 base register test about to start
52 DMA unit-1 channel OK, about to begin CH-2
53 DMA CH-2 base register test OK
54 About to test f/f latch for unit-1
55 f/f latch test both unit OK
56 DMA unit 1 & 2 programmed OK
57 8259 initialization over
58 8259 mask register check OK
59 Master 8259 mask register OK, about to start slave
5A About to check timer and keyboard interrupt level
5B Timer interrupt OK
5C About to test keyboard interrupt
5D ERROR! timer/keyboard interrupt not in proper level
5E 8259 interrupt controller error
5F 8259 interrupt controller test OK
70 Start of keyboard test
71 Keyboard BAT test OK
72 Keyboard test OK
73 Keyboard global data initialization OK
74 Floppy setup about to start
75 Floppy setup OK
76 Hard disk setup about to start
77 Hard disk setup OK
79 About to initialize timer data area
7A Verify CMOS battery power
7B CMOS battery verification done
7D About to analyze diagnostic test results for memory
7E CMOS memory size update OK
7F About to check optional ROM C000:0
80 Keyboard sensed to enable setup
81 Optional ROM control OK
82 Printer global data initialization OK
83 RS-232 global data initialization OK
84 80287 check/test OK
85 About to display soft error message
86 About to give control to system ROM E000:0
87 System ROM E000:0 check over
00 Control given to Int-19, boot loader

AMI BIOS

01 - 286 Register Test Failed
02 - ROM BIOS Checksum (32KB at F800:0) Failed
03 - ROM BIOS Checksum (32KB at F800:0) Passed
04 - 8259 Interrupt Controller Initialization
05 - Chipset Initialization Over, DMA & Interrupt Controller Disabled
06 - Video Disabled and System Timer Test Begin
07 - CH-2 of 8254 Initialization Half Way
08 - 8254 CH-2 Timer Test to be Completed
09 - 8254 CH-1 Timer Test to be Completed
0A - 8254 CH-0 Timer Test to be Completed
0B - DRAM Refresh Failure
0C - System Timer Started
0D - Refresh Link Toggling Passed
0E - Refresh Period ON/OFF 50% OK
10 - Refresh ON and About to Start 64KB Base Memory Test
11 - Address Line Test Passed
12 - 64KB Base Memory Test Passed
13 - Interrupt Vectors Initialized
14 - 8042 Keyboard Controller Test Passed
15 - CMOS Read/Write Test Passed
16 - CNOS Checksum and Battery Check Passed
17 - Monochrome Mode Set
18 - Color Mode Set
19 - Give Control to the Optional Video ROM at Segment C0 if present
1A - Return from Optional Video ROM
1B - Display Memory Read/Write Test Passed
1C - Alternate Display Memory Read/Write Test Passed
1D - Video Retrace Check Passed
1E - Global Equipment Byte Set for Proper Display Type
1F - Video Mode Set Call for Mono/Color Begins
20 - Video Mode Set Completed
21 - ROM Type Verified, Video Display OK
22 - Power On Message Displayed
23 - Power On Message Displayed
30 - Virtual Mode Memory Test About to Begin
31 - Virtual Mode Memory Test Started
32 - Processor Executing in Virtual Mode
33 - Memory Address Line Test in Progress
34 - Memory Address Line Test in Progress
35 - Memory Below 1MB Calculated
36 - Memory Above 1MB Calculated, Memory Size Computation OK
37 - Memory Test About to Start
38 - Memory Below 1MB Initialized
39 - Memory Above 1MB Initialized
3A - Memory Size Display Initiated
3B - About to Start Below 1MB Memory Test
3C - Memory Test Below 1MB Completed
3D - Memory Test Above 1MB Completed
3E - About to go to Real Mode (Shutdown)
3F - Shutdown Successful and Processor in Real Mode
40 - Cache Memory ON and About to Disable A20 Address Line
41 - Gate A-20 Line Disabed Successfully
42 - 486 Internal Cache Turned ON
43 - About to Start DMA Controller Test
4E - Address Line Test Passed
4F - Processor in Real Mode After Shutdown
50 - DMA Page Register Test Complete
51 - DMA Unit-1 Base Register Test About to Start
52 - DMA Unit-1 Base Register Test Complete
53 - DMA Unit-2 Base Register Test Complete
54 - About to Check F/F Latch for Unit-1 and Unit-2
55 - F/F Latch for Both Units Checked
56 - DMA Unit-1 and 2 Programming Over
57 - 8259 Initialization Over
58 - 8259 Mask Register Check Passed
59 - Master 8259 Mask Register Passed
5A - About to Check Timer and Keyboard Interrupt Level
5B - Timer Interrupt Passed
5C - About to Test Keyboard Interrupt
5D - Error! Timer/Keyboard Interrupt Not in Proper Level
5E - 8259 Interrupt Controller Error
5F - 8259 Interrupt Controller Test Passed
70 - About to Start Keyboard Test
71 - Keyboard Controller BAT Test Over
72 - Keyboard Interface Test Over, Mouse Interface Test Started
73 - Global Data Initialization for Keyboard/Mouse Over
74 - Display "Setup" Prompt and About to Start Floppy Setup
75 - Floppy Setup Over
76 - Hard Disk Setup About to Start
77 - Hard Disk Setup Over
79 - About to Initialize Timer Data Area
7A - Time Data Area Initialized and About to Verify CMOS Battery Power
7B - CMOS Battery Verification Over
7D - About to Analyze POST Test Results
7E - CMOS Memory Size Updated
7F - Look for <DEL> Key and Get into CMOS Setup if Found
80 - About to Give Control to Optional ROM in Segment C800 to DE00 (Setup)
81 - Optional ROM Control Over
82 - Check for Printer Ports and put the Addresses in Global Data Area
83 - Check for RS232 Ports and Put the Addresses in Global Data Area
84 - Co-processor Detection Over
85 - About to Display Soft Error Messages
86 - About to Give Control to System ROM at Segment E000
87 - System ROM E000:0 Check Over

AMI Color BIOS after 2/1/91

00 - Going to Give Control to INT 19H Boot Loader
01 - Processor Register Test About to Start, and NMI to be Disabled
02 - Power On Delay Starting
03 - Any Initialization Before Keyboard BAT is in Progress
04 - Reading Keyboard SYS Bit, to Check Soft Reset/Power On
05 - Going to Enable ROM. i.e. Disable Shadow RAM/Cache if Any
06 - Calculating ROM BIOS Checksum
07 - Going to Issue the BAT Command to Keyboard Controller
08 - Going to Verify the BAT Command
09 - Keyboard Command Byte to be Written Next
0A - Going to Write Command Byte Data
0B - Going to Issue Pin-23,24 Blocking/Unblocking Command
0C - NOP Command of Keyboard Controller to be Issued Next
0D - CMOS Shutdown Register Test to be Done Next
0E - Going to Calculate CMOS Checksum, and Update DIAG Byte
0F - CMOS Initialization to begin (If "INIT CMOS IN EVERY BOOT IS SET")
10 - CMOS Status Register About to Init for Date and Time
11 - Going to Disable DMA and Interrupt Controllers
12 - About to Disable Video Display and Init Port-B
13 - Chipset Init/Auto Memory Detection About to begin
14 - 8254 Timer Test About to Start
15 - 8254 CH-2 Timer Test to be Completed
16 - 8254 CH-1 Timer Test to be Completed
17 - 8254 CH-0 Timer Test to be Completed
18 - About to Start Memory Refresh
19 - Memory Refresh Test to be Done Next
1A - Going to Check 15 Micro Second On/Off Time
1B - Base 64K Memory Test About to Start
20 - Address Line Test to be Done Next
21 - Going to do toggle Parity
22 - Going for Sequential Data R/W Test
23 - Any Setup Before Interrupt Vector Init About to Start
24 - Interrupt Vector Initialization About to begin
25 - Going to Read I/O Port of 8042 for Turbo Switch (if any)
26 - Going to Initialize Global Data for Turbo Switch
27 - Any Initialization After Interrupt Vector to be Done Next
28 - Going for Monochrome Mode Setting
29 - Going for Color Mode Setting
2A - About to go for toggle Parity Before Optional ROM Check
2B - About to do any Setup Required Before Optional Video ROM Check
2C - About to Look for Optional Video ROM and Give Control
2D - About to do any Processing after Video ROM Returns Control
2E - If EGA/VGA Not Found, Then do Display Memory R/W Test
2F - Display Memory R/W Test About to begin
30 - About to Look for the Retrace Checking
31 - About to do Alternate Display Memory R/W Test
32 - About to Look for the Alternate Display Retrace Checking
33 - Verification of Display Type with Switch Setting
and Actual Card to begin
34 - Display Mode to be Set Next
35 - BIOS ROM Data Area About to be Checked
36 - Going to Set Cursor for Power On Message
37 - Going to Display the Power On Message
38 - Going to Read New Cursor Position
39 - Going to Display the Reference String
3A - Going to Display the Hit <ESC> Message
3B - Virtual Mode Memory Test About to Start
40 - Going to Verify from Video Memory
41 - Going to Prepare the Descriptor Tables
42 - Going to Enter in Virtual Mode for Memory Test
43 - Going to Enable Interrupts for Diagnostics Mode
44 - Going to Initialize Data to Check Memory Remap at 0:0
45 - Check for Memory Remap at 0:0 and Find the total System Memory Size
46 - About to go For Writing Patterns to Test Memory
47 - Going to Write Patterns in Base 640K Memory
48 - Going to Find Out Amount of Memory Below 1M Memory
49 - Going to Find Out Amount of Memory Above 1M Memory
4A - Going for BIOS ROM Data Area Check
4B - Going to Check <ESC> and to Clear Memory Below 1M for Soft Reset
4C - Going to Clear Memory Above 1M
4D - Going to Save the Memory Size
4E - About to Display the First 64K Memory Test
4F - Going for Sequential and Random Memory Test
50 - Going to Adjust Memory Size for Relocation/Shadow
51 - Memory Test Above 1M to Follow
52 - Going to Prepare to go Back to Real Mode
53 - Going to Enter in Real Mode
54 - Going to Restore Registers Saved During Preparation for Shutdown
55 - Going to Disable Gate A20 Address Line
56 - BIOS ROM Data Area About to be Checked
57 - BIOS ROM Data Area Check to be Completed
58 - Going to Clear Hit <ESC> Message
59 - About to Start DMA and Interrupt Controller Test
60 - About to Verify from Display Memory
61 - About to go For DMA #1 Base Register Test
62 - About to go For DMA #2 Base Register Test
63 - About to go For BIOS ROM Data Area Check
64 - BIOS ROM Data Area Check to be Completed
65 - About to Program DMA Unit 1 and 2
66 - 8259 Interrpt Controller Initialization
67 - About to Start Keyboard Test
80 - About to Issue Keyboard Reset Command
81 - About to Issue Keyboard Controller Interface Test Command
82 - About to Write Command Byte and Init Circular Buffer
83 - About to Check for Lock Key
84 - About to Check for Memory Size Mismatch with CMOS
85 - About to Display Soft Error and Check for Password or Bypass Setup
86 - About to do Programming Before Setup
87 - Going to CMOS Setup Program
88 - About to do Programming After Setup
89 - Going to Display Power On Screen Message
8A - About to Display <WAIT...> Message, Mouse Check
and Initialization Next
8B - About to do Main and Video BIOS Shadow
8C - Setup Options Programming After CMOS Setup About to Start
8D - Going for Hard Disk, Floppy Reset
8E - About to go For Floppy Check
8F - Floppy Setup to Follow
90 - Test for Hard Disk Presence to be Done
91 - Hard Disk Setup to Follow
92 - About to go for BIOS ROM Data Area Check
93 - BIOS ROM Data Area Check to be Completed
94 - Going to Set Base and Extended Memory Size
95 - Going to Verify From Display Memory
96 - Going to do Any Init Before C800 Optional ROM Control
97 - Optional ROM Check and Control Will Be Done Next
98 - Give Control to Required Processing
After Optional ROM Returns Control
99 - Going to Setup Timer Data Area and Printer Base Address
9A - Going to Set the RS-232 Base Address
9B - Going to do Any Initialization Before Co-Processor Test
9C - Going to Initialize the Coprocessor Next
9D - Going to do Any Initialization After Co-Processor Test
9E - Going to Check Extd Keyboard, Keyboard ID and Num-Lock
9F - Keyboard ID Command to be Issued
A0 - Keyboard ID Flag to be Reset
A1 - Cache Memory Test to Follow
A2 - Going to Display Any Soft Errors
A3 - Going to Set the Keyboard Typematic Rate
A4 - Going to Program Memory Wait States
A5 - Screen to be Cleared Next
A6 - Going to Enable Parity and NMI
A7 - Do Initialization Required Before Giving Control
to Optional ROM at E000
A8 - E000 ROM to Get Control Next
A9 - Going to do Any Initialization Required
After E000 Optional ROM Control
AA - Going to Display the System Configuration

Post Codes for EuroBIOS v4.71

03 DMA Page registers OK
04 DMA Page registers failed
05 Keyboard did reply
06 Keyboard did not reply
07 Keyboard self-test passed
08 Keyboard self-test failed
09 8042 was able to read links
0A 8042 was unable to read links
0B RATMON/DIAG link OK
0C Keyboard accepted 60h command
0D Keyboard did not accept 60h
0E Keyboard parameter accepted
0F Keyboard parameter not accepted
10 Able to read keyboard command byte
11 Unable to read keyboard command byte
12 Keyboard command byte came back OK
13 Keyboard command byte came back corrupt
14 RAM refresh clock ticking correctly
15 RAM refresh clock not ticking correctly
16 RAM bit test passed
17 RAM bit test failed
18 RAM parity OK
19 RAM parity error
1A CMOS RAM passed
1B CMOS RAM failed
1C CMOS RAM battery OK
1D CMOS RAM battery faulty
1E CMOS RAM checksum passed
1F CMOS RAM checksum failed
20 CMOS RAM battery fault bit set
21 DMA controllers passed
22 DMA controller 1 failed
23 DMA controller 2 failed
24 Protected mode entered safely
25 RAM test completed
26 ROM checksum correct
27 ROM checksum incorrect
28 Protected mode exit successful
29 Keyboard power-up reply received
2A Keyboard power-up reply not received
2B Keyboard disable command accepted
2C Keyboard disable command not accepted
2D No video display
2E Reported errors
2F About to halt
30 Protected mode entered safely
31 RAM test complete
32 PIC 1 (master) passed
33 PIC 1 (master) failed
34 PIC 2 (slave) passed
35 PIC 2 (slave) failed
36 Chipset initialised OK
37 Chipset initilize failed
38 Shadowed BIOS OK
39 Shadowed BIOS failed
3A Shadowed video BIOS OK
3B Shadowed video BIOS failed

Q) 7.3 *I think my cache is bad. What's a good diagnostic?

S) 8.0 Misc

Q) 8.1 What is the pin out for ...?
[From: ra...@alum.wpi.edu (Ralph Valentino)]

This is a list of the pinouts to the more common PC hardware
interfaces. It is by no means complete. While I have taken care not
to make any mistakes, I urge you to take caution when using these
tables. Also, please keep in mind that these are only tables, they
are not a guide to hardware hacking and do not attempt to explain
drive capabilities, signal timings, handling care, or other interface
issues. As always, make sure you know what you're doing before you
start hooking wires to your PC.

This section contains pinouts for:

---I/O ports---
Game Port DB15-Female
Serial Port DB9-Male DB25-Male
Serial Port loopback
Null Modem
Parallel Port DB25-Female
Parallel Port Centronics-36
Parallel Port loopback DB25-Male
Bidirectional ("Laplink") Parallel Cable DB-25 male to DB-25 male
10Base-T RJ-45 Male
10Base-T Crossover
MIDI 5pin DIN

---Controller/Host Adapter---
Floppy Disk Controller IDC-34 Male
IDE Hard Disk Interface IDC-40 Male
ESDI Hard Disk Interface IDC-34 Male, IDC-20 Male
RLL/MFM Hard Disk Interface IDC-34 Male, IDC-20 Male
SCSI Connector Pinouts (Single Ended) IDC-50 Male
SCSI Connector Pinouts (Differential) IDC-50 Male
Macintosh SCSI Connector Pinouts (Single Ended) DB-25S Female

---Video---
VGA DB15-S Female DB9 Female
CGA DB9 Female
EGA DB9 Female
VESA Standard Feature Connector

---Bus interfaces---
ISA Bus Connector
EISA Bus Connector
VESA Local Bus (VLB) Connector
PCI Cards Universal/3.3V/5V and 32/64 bit

---Misc---
Power Connector Male
Speaker Connector
Turbo Indicator Connector
AT LED Power and Key Lock
AT Backup Battery
Motherboard Power Connectors (8 pin, 9 pin)
AT Keyboard Connector 5pin-DIN
XT Keyboard Connector 5pin-DIN
PS2 Keyboard/Mouse Connector 6pin-MDIN
PS2 to AT Keyboard adapter
30 pin Fast Page Mode SIMM 256kx8 256kx9 1Mx8 1Mx9 4Mx8 4Mx9
72 pin Fast Page Mode SIMM 256k/512k/1M/2M/4M/8M x 32/36 bit

5pin DIN Male DB15-S Male 6pin MDIN Male
--+-- ---------------------- ---
/ ^ \ \ 1 2 3 4 5 / ] 2 1 [
| 1 3 | \ 6 7 8 9 10 / | 4 3 |
\ 425 / \ 11 12 13 14 15 / \6 5/
----- ---------------- -^-

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 RJ-45 (8 conductor phone) Male
__________
/ \ ------------------
| 4 3 2 1 | | 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 |
------------ -------____-------

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

EISA/ISA/VLB
-----------------------------------------------
| (component side) |
| |
| VLB __ ISA-16bit __ ISA-8bit __|
||||||||| ||||||||||| ||||||||||||||||||| A1(front)/B1(back)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | <-EISA
C1/D1 E1(front)/F1(back)
G1/H1

PCI Cards Universal/3.3V/5V and 32/64 bit.

PCI Universal Card 32/64 bit
----------------------------------------------------------------
| PCI Component Side (side B) |
| |
| |
| optional |
| ____ mandatory 32-bit pins 64-bit pins _____|
|___| |||||||--|||||||||||||||||--|||||||--||||||||||||||
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
b01 b11 b14 b49 b52 b62 b63 b94

PCI 5V Card 32/64 bit
| optional |
| ____ mandatory 32-bit pins 64-bit pins _____|
|___| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||--|||||||--||||||||||||||

PCI 3.3V Card 32/64 bit
| optional |
| ____ mandatory 32-bit pins 64-bit pins _____|
|___| |||||||--||||||||||||||||||||||||||--||||||||||||||

Power Connector Male Speaker Connector Turbo Indicator Connector
pin assignment pin assignment pin assignment
1 +12V 1 -Speaker 1 +5V
2 +12V return 2 [key] 2 -High Speed
3 +5V return 3 GND 3 +5V
4 +5V 4 +Speaker +5V

AT LED Power and Key Lock AT Backup Battery
pin assignment pin assignment
1 LED power 1 Batt+
2 GND 2 [key]
3 GND 3 GND
4 Key Switch 4 GND
5 GND

Motherboard Power Connectors
pin P8 assignment pin P9 assignment
1 Power Good 1 GND
2 +5v (or N.C.) 2 GND
3 +12v 3 -5v
4 -12v 4 +5v
5 GND 5 +5v
6 GND 6 +5v

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 Sink
5 Current Sink 5 Current Src

Floppy Disk Controller IDC-34 Male
pin assignment pin assignment
1 GND 2 Density Select
3 GND 4 (reserved)
5 GND 6 (reserved)
7 GND 8 Index
9 GND 10 Motor Enable A
11 GND 12 Drive Sel B
13 GND 14 Drive Sel A
15 GND 16 Motor Enable B
17 GND 18 Direction
19 GND 20 Step
21 GND 22 Write Data
23 GND 24 Floppy Write Enable
25 GND 26 Track 0
27 GND 28 Write Protect
29 GND 30 Read Data
31 GND 32 Head Select
33 GND 34 Disk Change

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

10Base-T RJ-45 Male
pin assignment twisted pair color
1 TxData+ 2 White/Orange
2 TxData- 2 Orange
3 RxData+ 3 White/Green
4 - 1 Blue
5 - 1 White/Blue
6 RxData- 3 Green
7 - 4 White/Brown
8 - 4 Brown

10Base-T Crossover
Connector 1 to Connector 2
TxData+ RxData+
TxData- RxData-
RxData+ TxData+
RxData- TxData-

AT Keyboard Connector 5pin-DIN XT Keyboard Connector 5pin-DIN
pin assignment pin assignment
1 CLK/CTS (open-collector) 1 CLK/CTS (open-collector)
2 RxD/TxD/RTS (open-collector) 2 Keyboard Data
3 N/C 3 Reset
4 GND 4 GND
5 +5V 5 +5V

PS2 Keyboard/Mouse Connector 6pin-MDIN PS2 6pin-MDIN to AT 5pin-DIN Keyboard
pin assignment pin-PS2(F) pin-AT(M)
1 Data 1 2
2 N/C 2 N/C
3 GND 3 4
4 Vcc 4 5
5 CLK 5 1
6 N/C 6 N/C

IDE Hard Disk Interface IDC-40 Male
pin assignment pin assignment
1 -Reset 2 GND
3 Data 7 4 Data 8
5 Data 6 6 Data 9
7 Data 5 8 Data 10
9 Data 4 10 Data 11
11 Data 3 12 Data 12
13 Data 2 14 Data 13
15 Data 1 16 Data 14
17 Data 0 18 Data 15
19 GND 20 Key
21 (reserved) 22 GND
23 -IOW 24 GND
25 -IOR 26 GND
27 IO Chrdy 28 Ale
29 (reserved) 30 GND
31 IRQ14 32 -IOCS16
33 Addr 1 34 (reserved)
35 Addr 0 36 Addr 2
37 -CS0 (1F0-1F7) 38 -CS1 (3f6-3f7)
39 -Active 40 GND

ESDI Hard Disk Interface IDC-34 Male, IDC-20 Male
ESDI IDC-34
pin assignment pin assignment
1 GND 2 Head Sel 3
3 GND 4 Head Sel 2
5 GND 6 Write Gate
7 GND 8 Config/Stat Data
9 GND 10 Transfer Ack
11 GND 12 Attn
13 GND 14 Head Sel 0
15 GND 16 Sect/Add MK Found
17 GND 18 Head Sel 1
19 GND 20 Index
21 GND 22 Ready
23 GND 24 Trans Req
25 GND 26 Drive Sel 1
27 GND 28 Drive Sel 2
29 GND 30 Drive Sel 3
31 GND 32 Read Gate
33 GND 34 Command Data

ESDI IDC-20
pin assignment pin assignment
1 Drive Selected 2 Sect/Add MK Found
3 Seek Complete 4 Addr Mark Enable
5 (reserved) 6 GND
7 Write Clk+ 8 Write Clk-
9 Cartridge Chng 10 Read Ref Clk+
11 Read Ref Clk- 12 GND
13 NRZ Write Data+ 14 NRZ Write Data-
15 GND 16 GND
17 NRZ Read Data+ 18 NRZ Read Data-
19 GND 20 GND

RLL/MFM Hard Disk Interface IDC-34 Male, IDC-20 Male
RLL/MFM IDC-34
pin assignment pin assignment
1 GND 2 Head Sel 8
3 GND 4 Head Sel 4
5 GND 6 Write Gate
7 GND 8 Seek Complete
9 GND 10 Track 0
11 GND 12 Write Fault
13 GND 14 Head Sel 1
15 GND 16 (reserved)
17 GND 18 Head Sel 2
19 GND 20 Index
21 GND 22 Ready
23 GND 24 Step
25 GND 26 Drive Sel 1
27 GND 28 Drive Sel 2
29 GND 30 Drive Sel 3
31 GND 32 Drive Sel 4
33 GND 34 Direction In

RLL/MFM IDC-20
pin assignment pin assignment
1 Drive Selected 2 GND
3 (reserved) 4 GND
5 (reserved) 6 GND
7 (reserved) 8 GND
9 (reserved) 10 (reserved)
11 GND 12 GND
13 Write Data+ 14 Write Data-
15 GND 16 GND
17 Read Data+ 18 NRZ Read Data-
19 GND 20 GND

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

ISA Bus Connector EISA Bus Connector
----------------- ------------------
Back Side Component Side Back Side Component Side
pin assignment |pin assignment |pin assignment |pin assignment
B1 GND |A1 CHCHK# |F1 GND |E1 CMD#
B2 Reset DRV |A2 SD7 |F2 +5V |E2 START#
B3 +5V |A3 SD6 |F3 +5V |E3 EXRDY
B4 IRQ9 |A4 SD5 |F4 --- |E4 EX32#
B5 -5V |A5 SD4 |F5 --- |E5 GND
B6 DRQ2 |A6 SD3 |F6 ACCESS KEY |E6 ACCESS KEY
B7 -12V |A7 SD2 |F7 --- |E7 EX16#
B8 NOWS# |A8 SD1 |F8 --- |E8 SLBURST#
B9 +12V |A9 SD0 |F9 +12V |E9 MSBURST#
B10 GND |A10 CHRDY |F10 M/IO# |E10 W/R#
B11 SMWTC# |A11 AEN |F11 LOCK# |E11 GND
B12 SMRDC# |A12 SA19 |F12 (reserved) |E12 (reserved)
B13 IOWC# |A13 SA18 |F13 GND |E13 (reserved)
B14 IORC# |A14 SA17 |F14 (reserved) |E14 (reserved)
B15 DACK3# |A15 SA16 |F15 BE3# |E15 GND
B16 DRQ3 |A16 SA15 |F16 ACCESS KEY |E16 ACCESS KEY
B17 DACK1# |A17 SA14 |F17 BE2# |E17 BE1#
B18 DRQ1 |A18 SA13 |F18 BE0# |E18 LA31#
B19 REFRESH# |A19 SA12 |F19 GND |E19 GND
B20 BCLK |A20 SA11 |F20 +5V |E20 LA30#
B21 IRQ7 |A21 SA10 |F21 LA29# |E21 LA28#
B22 IRQ6 |A22 SA9 |F22 GND |E22 LA27#
B23 IRQ5 |A23 SA8 |F23 LA26# |E23 LA25#
B24 IRQ4 |A24 SA7 |F24 LA24# |E24 GND
B25 IRQ3 |A25 SA6 |F25 ACCESS KEY |E25 ACCESS KEY
B26 DACK2# |A26 SA5 |F26 LA16 |E26 LA15
B27 T/C |A27 SA4 |F27 LA14 |E27 LA13
B28 BALE |A28 SA3 |F28 +5V |E28 LA12
B29 +5V |A29 SA2 |F29 +5V |E29 LA11
B30 OSC |A30 SA1 |F30 GND |E30 GND
B31 GND |A31 SA0 |F31 LA10 |E31 LA9

|H1 LA8 |G1 LA7
D1 M16# |C1 SBHE# |H2 LA6 |G2 GND
D2 IO16# |C2 LA23 |H3 LA5 |G3 LA4
D3 IRQ10 |C3 LA22 |H4 +5V |G4 LA3
D4 IRQ11 |C4 LA21 |H5 LA2 |G5 GND
D5 IRQ12 |C5 LA20 |H6 ACCESS KEY |G6 ACCESS KEY
D6 IRQ15 |C6 LA19 |H7 D16 |G7 D17
D7 IRQ14 |C7 LA18 |H8 D18 |G8 D19
D8 DACK0# |C8 LA17 |H9 GND |G9 D20
D9 DRQ0 |C9 MRDC# |H10 D21 |G10 D22
D10 DACK5# |C10 MWTC# |H11 D23 |G11 GND
D11 DRQ5 |C11 SD8 |H12 D24 |G12 D25
D12 DACK6# |C12 SD9 |H13 GND |G13 D26
D13 DRQ6 |C13 SD10 |H14 D27 |G14 D28
D14 DACK7# |C14 SD11 |H15 ACCESS KEY |G15 ACCESS KEY
D15 DRQ7 |C15 SD12 |H16 D29 |G16 GND
D16 +5V |C16 SD13 |H17 +5V |G17 D30
D17 MASTER16# |C17 SD14 |H18 +5V |G18 D31
D18 GND |C18 SD15 |H19 MAKx |G19 MREQx

VESA Standard Feature Connector
pin assignment pin assignment
1 PB 2 PG
3 PR 4 PI
5 SB 6 SG
7 SR 8 SI
9 Dot Clock 10 Blank
11 HSync 12 VSync
13 GND 14 GND
15 GND 16 GND
17 Ext Video Sel 18 Ext Sync Sel
19 Ext DotClock Sel20 N/C
21 GND 22 GND
23 GND 24 GND
25 N/C 26 N/C

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

Serial Port loopback:
Connected Pins
RX & TX
RTS & CTS
DCD & DTR & DSR & RI

Bidirectional (Laplink/Interlnk) Parallel Cable DB-25 male to DB-25 male
Connector 1 to Connector 2
2 15
3 13
4 12
5 10
6 11
10 5
11 6
12 4
13 3
15 2
16 16
17 17
25 25

Parallel Port loopback DB25 Male
Connected Pins
2 & 15
3 & 13
4 & 12
5 & 10
6 & 11

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

SCSI Connector Pinouts (Single Ended) IDC-50 Male
pin assignment|pin assignment|pin assignment|pin assignment
01 GND |02 -DB0 |27 GND |28 GND
03 GND |04 -DB1 |29 GND |30 GND
05 GND |06 -DB2 |31 GND |32 -ATN
07 GND |08 -DB3 |33 GND |34 GND
09 GND |10 -DB4 |35 GND |36 -BSY
11 GND |12 -DB5 |37 GND |38 -ACK
13 GND |14 -DB6 |39 GND |40 -RST
15 GND |16 -DB7 |41 GND |42 -MSG
17 GND |18 -DBP |43 GND |44 -SEL
19 GND |20 GND |45 GND |46 -C/D
21 GND |22 GND |47 GND |48 -REQ
23 GND |24 GND |49 GND |50 -I/O
25 (open) |26 TERMPWR

SCSI Connector Pinouts (Differential) IDC-50 Male
pin assignment|pin assignment|pin assignment|pin assignment
01 (open) |02 GND |27 GND |28 GND
03 +DB0 |04 -DB0 |29 +ATN |30 -ATN
05 +DB1 |06 -DB1 |31 GND |32 GND
07 +DB2 |08 -DB2 |33 +BSY |34 -BSY
09 +DB3 |10 -DB3 |35 +ACK |36 -ACK
11 +DB4 |12 -DB4 |37 +RST |38 -RST
13 +DB5 |14 -DB5 |39 +MSG |40 -MSG
15 +DB6 |16 -DB6 |41 +SEL |42 -SEL
17 +DB7 |18 -DB7 |43 +C/D |44 -C/D
19 +DBP |20 -DBP |45 +REQ |46 -REQ
21 DIFFSENS |22 GND |47 +I/O |48 -I/O
23 GND |24 GND |49 GND |50 GND
25 TERMPWR |26 TERMPWR

Macintosh SCSI Connector Pinouts (Single Ended) DB-25S Female
pin assignment|pin assignment|pin assignment|pin assignment
01 -REQ |08 -DB0 |14 GND |20 -DBP
02 -MSG |09 GND |15 -C/D |21 -DB1
03 -I/O |10 -DB3 |16 GND |22 -DB2
04 -RST |11 -DB5 |17 -ATN |23 -DB4
05 -ACK |12 -DB6 |18 GND |24 GND
06 -BSY |13 -DB7 |19 -SEL |25 NC (TERMPWR)
07 GND

PCI Cards Universal/3.3V/5V and 32/64 bit
pin assignment |pin assignment |pin assignment |pin assignment
B1 -12V |A1 TRST# |B48 AD[10] |A48 Ground
B2 TCK |A2 +12V |B49 Ground |A49 AD[09]
B3 Ground |A3 TMS |B50 (KEYWAY2) |A50 (KEYWAY2)
B4 TDO |A4 TDI |B51 (KEYWAY2) |A51 (KEYWAY2)
B5 +5V |A5 +5V |B52 AD[08] |A52 C/BE[0]#
B6 +5V |A6 INTA# |B53 AD[07] |A53 +3.3V
B7 INTB# |A7 INTC# |B54 +3.3V |A54 AD[06]
B8 INTD# |A8 +5V |B55 AD[05] |A55 AD[04]
B9 PRSNT1# |A9 reserved |B56 AD[03] |A56 Ground
B10 reserved |A10 +Vi/o |B57 Ground |A57 AD[02]
B11 PRSNT2# |A11 reserved |B58 AD[01] |A58 AD[00]
B12 (KEYWAY1) |A12 (KEYWAY1) |B59 Vi/o |A59 +Vi/o
B13 (KEYWAY1) |A13 (KEYWAY1) |B60 ACK64# |A60 REQ64#
B14 reserved |A14 reserved |B61 +5V |A61 +5V
B15 Ground |A15 RST# |B62 +5V |A62 +5V
B16 CLK |A16 Vi/o |B63 reserved |A63 Ground
B17 Ground |A17 VNT# |B64 Ground |A64 C/BE[7]#
B18 REQ# |A18 Ground |B65 C/BE[6]# |A65 C/BE[5]#
B19 +Vi/o |A19 reserved |B66 C/BE[4]# |A66 +Vi/o
B20 AD[31] |A20 AD[30] |B67 Ground |A67 PAR64
B21 AD[29] |A21 +3.3V |B68 AD[63] |A68 AD[62]
B22 Ground |A22 AD[28] |B69 AD[61] |A69 Ground
B23 AD[27] |A23 AD[26] |B70 +Vi/o |A70 AD[60]
B24 AD[25] |A24 Ground |B71 AD[59] |A71 AD[58]
B25 +3.3V |A25 AD[24] |B72 AD[57] |A72 Ground
B26 C/BE[3]# |A26 IDSEL |B73 Ground |A73 AD[56]
B27 AD[23] |A27 +3.3V |B74 AD[55] |A74 AD[54]
B28 Ground |A28 AD[22] |B75 AD[53] |A75 +Vi/o
B29 AD[21] |A29 AD[20] |B76 Ground |A76 AD[52]
B30 AD[19] |A30 Ground |B77 AD[51] |A77 AD[50]
B31 +3.3V |A31 AD[18] |B78 AD[49] |A78 Ground
B32 AD[17] |A32 AD[16] |B79 +Vi/o |A79 AD[48]
B33 C/BE[2]# |A33 +3.3V |B80 AD[47] |A80 AD[46]
B34 Ground |A34 FRAME# |B81 AD{45] |A81 Ground
B35 IRDY# |A35 Ground |B82 Ground |A82 AD[44]
B36 +3.3V |A36 TRDY# |B83 AD[43] |A83 AD[42]
B37 DEVSEL# |A37 Ground |B84 AD[41] |A84 +Vi/o
B38 Ground |A38 STOP# |B85 Ground |A85 AD[40]
B39 LOCK# |A39 +3.3V |B86 AD[39] |A86 AD[38]
B40 PERR# |A40 SDONE |B87 AD[37] |A87 Ground
B41 +3.3V |A41 SBO# |B88 +Vi/o |A88 AD[36]
B42 SERR# |A42 Ground |B89 AD[35] |A89 AD[34]
B43 +3.3V |A43 PAR |B90 AD[33] |A90 Ground
B44 C/BE[1]# |A44 AD[15] |B91 Ground |A91 AD[32]
B45 AD[14] |A45 +3.3V |B92 reserved |A92 reserved
B46 Ground |A46 AD[13] |B93 reserved |A93 Ground
B47 AD[12] |A47 AD11] |B94 Ground |A94 reserved

Notes:
Pins 63-94 exist on 64 bit PCI implementation only
KEYWAY1 exists on Universal and 3.3V boards, they are Ground on 5V boards
KEYWAY2 exists on Universal and 5V boards, they are Ground on 3.3V boards
+Vi/o is 3.3V on 3.3V boards, 5V on 5V boards, and define signal rails
on the Universal board.

Q) 8.2 *Where are benchmark programs located. What do they mean?

Q) 8.3 What is Plug and Play?

[From: le...@microsoft.com (Lee Fisher)]

Plug and Play is the name of a technology that lets PC hardware and attached
devices work together automatically, reducing end-user complexity. Plug and
Play technology is implemented in hardware, in operating systems, and in
supporting software such as drivers and in the systemboard's BIOS. Microsoft
will support Plug and Play starting with Windows "Chicago" and Windows NT
"Cairo". Today there is a solution for MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows 3.x using
software from Intel which works with the Plug and Play hardware. There are a
variety of Plug and Play technologies, today including BIOS, ISA cards, SCSI,
IDE CD-ROM, PCMCIA, drivers.

Many specifications are available via anonymous ftp at
ftp.microsoft.com:/drg/Plug-and-Play.

Email the Play...@Microsoft.COM alias to get on a list for announcements
regarding new specifications, informations on workshops, etc.

The Compuserve Plug and Play forum (GO PLUGPLAY) is available for technical
support issues regarding hardware and driver design issues.

For more related information, on ftp.microsoft.com, see
/drg/Plug-and-Play/readme and /drg/Developer-Info/devinfo.zip.

Microsoft is starting a "Plug and Play Hardware Catalog" to showcase Plug and
Play hardware, entries are being accepted for the initial issue. Send hardware
and company information to:
Plug and Play Catalog
c/o Microsoft Corporation
Hardware Vendor Relations Group, building 6
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98053-6399 USA

Q) 8.4 What is an OEM product?
[From: sc...@bme.ri.ccf.org (Michael Scott)]

OEM versions of may computer products including keyboards, CDROM drives,
video and sound cards, modems, monitors, popular software packages and
more are available, either as parts of a computer system purchase, or as
individual items. If you are considering a purchase of any OEM hardware
or software, it's important that you understand what you are buying.

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. OEM's exist in most
major industries; Chrysler sells cars made by Mitsubishi, and all of
Sear's Kenmore products are made by OEM companies. The main difference
in the computer industry is that OEM products are usually less expensive
than the retail versions supplied by the manufacturer. However, there
are different types of OEM products.

Some manufacturers have two versions of their products; one retail version
which ships in fancy packaging, and an OEM version which is sold in bulk
(usually to system manufacturers). OEM products are not intended for
individual sale, and so don't include a glossy box, and often don't include
a manual or driver disks (if req'd).

Sometimes, the OEM versions are functionally identical to the original
retail version, but not always. Often, a large system manufacturer will
specify particular features in an OEM product which are not the same as
the retail version. For example, Matrox supplies OEM video cards to
a large manufacturer (i.e. Compaq's QVision 2000+ video card). Because of
the large numbers purchased, Compaq gets a good price, and also
specifies things like: amount of video RAM, upgradability, RAMDAC speed,
etc. Part of the deal is usually that Compaq will take over responsibility
for the hardware warranty.

Hypothetically, say that Matrox makes 10000 extra units in anticipation of
Compaq's next order, with a few small BIOS tweaks for compatibility with
Compaq's machines. Compaq decides they only need 8000 units this quarter,
so Matrox sells the extra 2000 units as OEM. Once those units go out of
the factory, they're no longer Matrox's responsiblity, and probably don't
even have Matrox stamped on them anywhere.

I'm just using Matrox and Compaq for illustrative purposes here, but
component manufacturers commonly provide OEM versions of their products
for systems manufacturers. i.e. ATI, Tseng and Cirrus Logic provide
chipsets for integration onto motherboards.

Sometimes, the difference between a retail version and the equivalent OEM
is negligible, i.e. the packaging. However, more commonly the OEM version
has been made with less expensive components, includes no software or
hardware 'freebies' or extras, includes no hardware warranty, etc.

So, be careful when buying OEM that you are getting what you _think_ you
are getting. You may be saving $20-30 and get a slower RAMDAC or a unit
that isn't upgradable. On the other hand, you may be one of the
thousands of people who have good success with their OEM products and
saved some money at the same time.

Often, the OEM (original manufacturer) will not provide any tech support
or warranty service for OEM units.

Q) 8.5 What size should I set my DOS partitions to be?
[From: Mike Long <mike...@analog.com>]
[Some corrections by: Osmo Ronkanen <ronk...@cc.helsinki.fi>]

This depends on what cluster size you want. A smaller cluster size is
better, because a small file takes up a whole cluster if there is even
one byte in it; the leftover space is called "slack." If you have N
files on your drive, and your cluster size is S bytes, then you can
expect to lose N*S/2 bytes to slack space on the average.

The table below shows the maximum partition size to get clusters of a
given size. You cannot format a hard drive under DOS with a cluster
size less than 2K.

+-------------------+-----------+-------+
| Cluster size | Partition | FAT | Notes
| | size | type |
+-------------------+-----------+-------+
| 4K (4096 bytes) | 16 MB | FAT12 |
| 2K (2048 bytes) | 32 MB | FAT16 | (DOS versions < 4.0)
| 2K (2048 bytes) | 128 MB | FAT16 | (DOS versions >= 4.0)
| 4K (4096 bytes) | 256 MB | FAT16 |
| 8K (8192 bytes) | 512 MB | FAT16 |
| 16K (16384 bytes) | 1 GB | FAT16 |
| 32K (32768 bytes) | 2 GB | FAT16 |
| 64K (65536 bytes) | 4 GB | FAT16 |
+-------------------+-----------+-------+

Another consideration is backup. If you backup to tape, you should
have disk partitions smaller than the capacity of a single tape for
ease in backup.

[From: Osmo Ronkanen <ronk...@cc.helsinki.fi>]

The 32 MB limit actually didn't have anything to do with the
cluster size or FAT it was because the number of sectors in
the partition was stored in boot record as a 16 bit number.

Q) 8.6 How do I get DOS to letter my devices the way I want?

The first floppy drive will always be A:, the second floppy drive will
always be B:. If there is no second floppy, B: will also point to A:.

DOS will assign drive letters C: and up in the following order:

Primary DOS partition on each BIOS supported drive
(Master, Slave, EIDE ch2 Master, EIDE ch2 Slave)
All logical drives in the Extended DOS partition on each BIOS supported drive
(Master, Slave, EIDE ch2 Master, EIDE ch2 Slave)
Device drivers in CONFIG.SYS, in order, unless over ridden
Device drivers in AUTOEXEC.BAT, in order, unless over ridden

This table can be used to add drives without reordering drive letters.
For instance, if you have a Master drive with a Primary and Extended
DOS partition and you add a second (Slave) drive with a Primary DOS
partition, all of your extended partitions will be re-lettered. If,
however, you only place an extended partition on the new drive, all
partitions on the Master will be assigned letters first.

Some device drivers, such as MSCDEX, have command line switches to
specify an unused drive letter rather than the next open one. It is
usually a good idea to set these to a higher drive letter right off
rather than having to reinstall all of your software after adding
another drive.

Q) 8.7 Why won't my system boot from the hard drive?

If you can boot from a floppy and see the files on your hard drive,
then chances are there's something wrong with your MBR (Master Boot
Record) / partition table. The first thing you should try is: "FDISK
/MBR". This will fix the master boot record without effecting the
contents of your disk. If this doesn't work, the next thing to try is
verifying that you have your Primary DOS Partition set active. To do
this, enter "FDISK" and chose "Set active partition" (usually the
second option) then pick "Primary DOS Partition". Then exit and
reboot. This too will not effect the contents of your disk.

The next thing to try is replacing the files required for DOS to boot;
they may have been corrupted or deleted. To do this, run "SYS C:".
This may or may not be possible as DOS versions before 5.0 required
these files be located at a certain place on your hard drive and that
spot may no longer be available. Either way, this will not otherwise
effect the contents of your disk.

If neither of these things work, then the next thing to try is
reformatting your hard drive (FORMAT C: /SYS). Note that this will
erase all of the files on your hard drive, so back up anything you
want to save first!!! If all three of these suggestions fail, then
chances are you have a more serious problem.

Q) 8.8 How do I clean my computer?

Clean the outside with a damp (not wet) cloth with a mild dish washing
detergent after unplugging the system. Let it dry completely before
plugging your system in. Do not clean the inside - computer
components are not susceptible to common house hold dust. Unless you
have special equipment, you will more likely cause more harm than help
to your computer if you try.

Q) 8.9 *What OS's are available for the PC? Which are free?

[this section being worked on]

Q) 8.10 *How can I transfer files between my PC and a Unix system?

[this section being worked on]

Q) 8.11 What tape backup software is available?

[From: her...@techunix.technion.ac.il (Herbst OMR)]

JUMBO TAPE
----------
Small. Not many features but does the job. Seems to work only with
Colorado drives. Latest version is 4.03 and can be found by Archie
jumbo403.zip.

>From "Stan Faullin":

Useful DOS program. Has very basic Backup (total, modified,
selected), Restore, Compare, Erase and Format functions. Some
versions come with a Windows scheduler, but it will NOT run in the
background in a DOS window. The compression scheme used in some
previous versions is NOT compatible with their latest release, so you
may not be able to read backups made with version 3.x with version
4.x. Separate versions of this software are available for their
internal model or the parallel port model.

Windows:

The Lite version supports both parallel port versions and internal
versions. The only Windows backup program for a parallel port device,
but only supports the Colorado Trakker unit. Can run in the
background. Can be found by Archie, cbwlite.exe.

>From "gr...@oclflt.den.mmc.com (gregb)":

CMS Trakker 250 is supplied with a "generic" software package:
it performs backup, restore, selective backup & restore, compression,
compare. It works with DOS and Windows 3.1.
For an additional $49.95 ($39?) you can purchase their fancier version.

Central-Point backup
--------------------
Large with many, many features and confusing directory
selections. Works with most drives.

Conner Basic 1.0
----------------
>From "Moshe Braner bra...@emba.uvm.edu":
useless -- only backs up entire drive.

Conner Basic 1.1
----------------
>From:

If you got the low-power backup software bundled in -- Conner Backup
Basics -- and it is V1.0, you are entitled to a free upgrade from Conner.
The new version has an only slightly better addendum to the manual, but
the software now is about as flexible as most users would want -- partial
backup and restore by directory or file, etc. It has worked well for us,
and I recommend that you ask for your copy.

>From: dmi...@im.lcs.mit.edu (Dick and Jill Miller)

I emphasize that v1.1 of Conner Backup Basics fixes many of the prior
problems, although its prompts, on-line help and printed documentation
still deserve improvement.

Conner Exec
-----------
>From "Moshe Braner bra...@emba.uvm.edu":

Very large (2.5 megs for DOS version, windows version even larger).
Did not work with my parallel-port Conner 250meg QIC-80 drive.

QICstream==Conner "Simply Safe Software Backup Basics version 3.0P"
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Small and works fine. Works with parallel port Conner drive.

Symantec Norton Backup
----------------------
This is included with Norton Desktop for Windows, which is a much
better deal than purchasing Norton Backup for Windows alone.

Symantec Norton Backup for Windows
----------------------------------

GNU-Tar
-------

Q) 8.12 Why doesn't my new device work as fast as it should?

The performance of individual components in your system are highly
dependent the rest of your system. For instance, the transfer rate of
drives, usually measured in megabytes per second, can depend on the
drive controller, bus type and OS. Video card speed, sometime
measured in Winmarks, highly depends on the speed of your main CPU as
well as the OS. When ever you see a statement on the speed of the
device, be sure to check the small print to determine what type of
system and under what conditions the speed was measured. Don't be
fooled by benchmark numbers. Another important corollary of this is
*never* post benchmarks - they offer little to no information for
comparison with other systems. Benchmarks are only useful for
comparison purposes when run in a controlled environment, and even
then to a limited degree.

Q) 8.13 My drive lists a MTBF of 300,000 hours. Will it really last 34 years?

[From: swwa...@fl51mail.space.honeywell.com (Steve Walters)]

Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) is a statistical calculation
indicating the mean time between randomly occurring hardware failures.
Two parameters are necessary to fully describe how long a piece of
hardware will last. The first parameter is MTBF which is a measure of
frequency in which random hardware failures will occur. The second
parameter is mean operating life which defines how long the hardware
will last before an anticipated wearout phenomena will occur. These
two parameters combined together give the true projection of the
'real' life of the drive. As an example of how these parameters
interrelate, assume your drive has an MTBF of 300,000 hours and an
operating life of 5 years. The drive will operate uninterrupted until
failure (such as a file server, for example). This is telling you
that your drive should be very reliable until wearout occurs since the
MTBF greatly exceeds the mean life. However, after 5 years (on the
average), expect it to fail due to wearout. In this example, the
actual chances of the drive lasting 3 years is 92%, 4 years is 88%, 5
years is 56% and 6 years is 35%.

Q) 8.14 How do I find pin 1 on my chip/card/cable/connector?

Pin 1 is always marked in one way or another to avoid confusion due to
symmetry (after which known numbering schemes can be used). The most
important thing to note is that the orientation of the letters or
numbers printed on the chip have absolutely nothing to do with the
actual orientation of the pins. Never assume that all chips should be
readable from the same angle!

The most obvious marking for pin 1 is a small number '1'. The first
thing you should do is look very carefully for it. Ribbon cables are
often marked with a blue or red stripe on pin 1. Some chips are
marked with a dot, notch or small angled cut in the material just
above pin 1. Rectangular chips are usually marked with a notch on one
of ends; the first pin counter clockwise from this notch is pin 1. If
you can't find a marking on the socket or connector, then try looking
at the pads (the holes in the board the socket or connector is
soldered into). For through-hole devices, pin 1 has a square pad, the
rest should be round.

Q) 8.15 I've run out of power connectors, what can I do?

Assuming your power suply is actually strong enough to power all of
your devices, you can pick up a Y-adapter at your local Radio Shack.

Q) 8.16 What does FCC approval cover and what needs to be approved?
[From: sch...@mirage.nsc.com (Steve Scharf)]

FCC Part 15 EMI Certification
and
UL/CSA/TUV Safety Certification

FCC Part 15 Certification of Computer Equipment
-----------------------------------------------
The basic thing to understand is that SYSTEMS are certified, Not individual
circuit boards (though in most cases add-on cards ARE certified), not
motherboards, not cases, and not power supplies.

Class A & B
-----------
Class A is for systems that will be used only in a commercial environment.
Class A is more lax than Class B.

Class B is stricter, and is for systems that will be used in a home.

A manufacturer cannot simply declare that a system is not intended for home
use and test to the more lax Class A limits (believe me, they tried this). A
high end file server with a RAID array of drives and multiple network
connections would qualify for Class A. A simple Pentium 100 desktop or Power
PC would not.

FCC Certified Peripherals and Add-On Cards
------------------------------------------
Most add-on cards and peripherals (disk drives, floppy drives, CD-ROM
drives, tape drives, etc.) have their own FCC certification. This is so they
can be sold separately. They would technically not need to be certified
separately if the system in which they are installed is certified as a unit.

Once a SYSTEM has passed FCC certification, a manufacturer may swap or add
FCC certified cards and peripherals and retain compliance even though the
system may technically exceed the limit with the different peripherals. I
believe the FCC still has the right to demand that the system be in actual
compliance with the emissions limits.

Motherboards
------------
The FCC has twice considered requiring motherboards be FCC certified and has
twice rejected the idea. Of course there is great appeal to system
manufacturers of this concept. Once a system is certified, the manufacturer
could swap everything except the case and power supply and not have to re-
test.

The problem with this concept is that there could be no guarantee that the
case that the motherboard was ultimately installed in, would be as good as
the one that it was originally certified in. It would be easy to manufacture
a very EMI tight case at great expense, inside which nearly any motherboard
could pass. I don't believe ANY 386 or greater class of motherboard could
pass outside of a case.

The Independent Testing Labs were very vocal against the certification of
motherboards since it would have seriously affected their business.

Power Supplies and Cases
------------------------
Power supplies and cases are NOT FCC certified.

Keyboards and Mice
------------------
These are not required to be certified seperately if they are sold as part
of a system, but in most cases they are certified separately so they can be
sold separately.

Monitors, Printers, Externally Powered Peripherals
--------------------------------------------------
Each has their own certification. It actually has gotten very difficult to
manufacture monitors that can meet Class B. This is why so many monitors
have the plastic enclosed ferrite bead on the interface cable.

Swapping Motherboards, Power Supplies, and Cases.
-------------------------------------------------
You may not swap motherboards, power supplies, or cases, without re-
certification.

Bare Bones Systems
------------------
Some motherboard manufacturers sell 'bare bones' systems. This is
the motherboard, power supply, and case, that has been FCC certified with
some add-on cards and peripherals. The reseller can add any certified add-on
cards and peripherals and retain compliance. For each new motherboard they
recertify the bare bones system.

The bare bones system concept has not been very successful in the chop shop
type stores. This is because the bare bones systems cannot use the lowest
quality and cheapest case and power supply, and thus costs several dollars
more than what a chop shop normally uses. The bare bones systems are also
sometimes UL and CSA certified which necessitates better quality (and thus
more costly) power supplies and cases.

How Add-On Card Makers Certify Their Cards.
-------------------------------------------
What all add-on card makers do, is to certify their cards in a 'golden'
system; a system with an excellent low noise (often low speed) motherboard
and a high quality well shielded case and power supply. It isn't their
problem to certify cards in a crappy and noisy system. The original IBM AT
running at 6 Mhz is a popular system for certifying add-on cards, though of
course this doesn't work anymore with PCI or VL bus cards.

How System Vendors Certify Their Systems.
-----------------------------------------
What most system makers do is to certify their systems with the lowest noise
add-on cards and peripherals they can find. Then they can swap in any FCC
certified add-on cards and peripherals.

Thus the system you buy may legally be FCC certified even though it is over
the emission limits. I think the FCC has built in leeway into the
requirements to allow for this. I think that the FCC still has the right to
insist that such a system meet the actual limits, but I doubt if they ever
do anything about it.

How All The Small Stores Comply with FCC Part 15
------------------------------------------------
Most small chop shop stores simply do not certify their systems. They are
violating federal law and they usually get away with it since the FCC has
very limited resources to enforce their rules.

The problem is actually solving itself as buyers become more educated. The
systems assembled by the small stores are usually lower quality, often
higher priced, and lack the warranty support of the systems sold by the top
and middle tier vendors.

What About Build-It-Yourself
----------------------------
There is no certification requirement for do-it-yourself systems. However if
their is a complaint lodged against you and the FCC investigates and finds
you to be the cause of excessive emissions, then they can take action
against you.

UL/ETL/CSA/TUV Safety Certification
-------------------------------
UL-Underwriters Laboratories
CSA-Canadian Standards Association
TUV-German Safety Agency.
ETL-Electronic Testing Laboratories

These are product safety agencies. Most top tier systems are UL (or
ETL)/CSA/TUV approved. Each agency now is supposed to inspect to the same
international standards, but some policies are different in each agency.

The approval process is pretty simple despite all the requirements, but it
can be costly so the cost needs to be amortized over a lot of systems.

This is a partial list of the requirements:

No high voltages can be accessible to the user, so the power switch may have
no exposed contacts (this is a problem on some cheap cases). This is why the
original PCs had a power supply with an integral switch on the side, and why
the PS/2 had a front switch that was mechanically linked to the switch on
the power supply by a long steel rod

The power supply must be UL/CSA/TUV approved (low quality power supplies
cannot pass this approval so this is a good indication of at least minimal
quality of a power supply).

All peripherals powered by the system must have fuses in the power lines.
This means PS/2 mice and all keyboards. They don't want a short in the
keyboard or mouse setting the cable on fire (this is ridiculous, since the
power supply would shut down if the +5volts was shorted to ground, but it is
still a requirement).

The lithium battery must be double protected against being charged by the
system. Two diodes are typically used for this.

All circuit board materials must meet flame ratings.

Proper labeling of power connections, fuses, and switches is required.

There are limitations on the colors of switches and lamps, i.e. no red LEDs
(which indicate danger).

All peripherals must be approved separately.

A 'finger' test to be sure that fingers cannot touch moving parts like fans
is performed.

The agency will test the system FULLY LOADED with peripherals and load
boards to simulate maximum power supply load. Afterwards, depending on the
agency, you can swap approved peripherals. UL requires that you submit a
list of which approved peripherals you will swap and investigates every one
to be sure that current limits are not exceeded. CSA and TUV do not require
this. UL is a royal pain, since there are so many different peripherals, and
so many new ones are being introduced.

All plastics must be approved. The agency will attempt to set the unit on
fire.

Towers are subject to a 'tip test,' which necessitates the use of bases on
the case. Tower PC's are especially poorly designed for the tip test since
all the heaviest components are at the top.

You must perform certain test procedures on each system to check shock
hazards. This is called Hi-Pot testing. The test machines must be calibrated
periodically.

You must affix proper labels, and there are very strict requirements on the
materials, the ink, the logos, etc.

The agency will inspect your factory and then conduct periodic and/or random
inspections to ensure that you are complying with all the rules.

Do You need these Safety Approvals?
-----------------------------------
In the United States there is no federal requirement that electrical
equipment be approved. Some counties and cities DO have this requirement.
Most recognize UL, ETL, or CSA, and some may recognize others as well.

Some bare bones systems have UL/CSA approval, but since UL must approve a
system's peripherals as they change, it is uncommon. Some manufacturers are
getting just CSA since it is valid in most places in the U.S. that require
certification.

Companies that export systems to Canada and Europe must have the appropriate
approvals.

As you would expect, very very few, if any, chop shops can get these safety
approvals. In reality, the systems they build would be pretty close to
passing, providing they use the proper power supplies and switches, since
nearly all motherboards and peripherals meet the proper requirements.

The safety approvals do usually ensure a modicum of quality, since no fly-
by-night factory could hope to meet the safety standards. Still there are
instances of really poor equipment passing all the appropriate safety
approvals.

As an aside, in Germany many types of products are subject to TUV testing,
not just electronics. TUV designs appropriate tests for the product
category. The bicycle/ski rack on the roof of my car is a TUV approved Thule
rack, which has mounting systems far superior to their non-approved
competitor. You can be fairly sure that it won't fly off the car at high
speeds.

VDE Emissions Testing
---------------------
Germany has different emissions requirements (which are accepted by
most European countries). VDE emissions approval is difficult to
obtain becaues there are only a couple of labs in the United States
that VDE has allowed to certify systems. Thus, few PC's that are not
intended for sale in Europe will have VDE approval.

S) 9.0 References

Q) 9.1 What other FAQ's are out there?
The following is a partial list of official FAQs which may be useful
for more information on PC related items. All of these FAQs are
archived on news.answers, though the frequency in posting and
availability are subject to the maintainers' whims.

If you are retrieving these by anonymous ftp, those items listed with
Archive-name's can be found under the news.answers directory under the
archive name. The others can be found in their respective hierarchy's
directory under the Subject line's name. For more information on how
to retrieve these items and how to find other FAQs, refer to the
article "Introduction to the *.answers groups" periodically posted to
news.announce.newusers.

Note: all *.answers groups have been removed from the Newsgroups lines

------ Hardware Related FAQs ------

Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips,comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.systems,
comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.misc,comp.sys.intel
Subject: Personal Computer CHIPLIST 7.0 part * of *
From: offe...@einstein.et.tudelft.nl (Aad Offerman)
Summary: This list contains the various CPU's and NPX's and their features,
used in the IBM PC, IBM PC/XT, IBM PC/AT, IBM PS/2 and compatbles,
and the differences between them.
Archive-name: pc-hardware-faq/chiplist
--
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage,comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.misc
Subject: Enhanced IDE/Fast-ATA/ATA-2 FAQ [* of *]
From: pie...@sci.kun.nl (Maintainer)
Summary: This FAQ addresses issues surrounding Enhanced IDE, ATA-2,
ATAPI and Enhanced BIOSes. It includes practical questions,
background information and lists of net resources.
Archive-name: pc-hardware-faq/enhanced-IDE
--
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.video
Subject: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.video FAQ, Part * / *
Subject: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.video Chipsets List
From: sc...@bme.ri.ccf.org (Michael Scott)
Summary: This is a monthly posting containing a list of Frequently
Asked Questions (and their answers) pertaining to video
hardware for IBM PC clones. It should be read by anyone who
wishes to post to the comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.video
newsgroup.
Archive-name: pc-hardware-faq/video/part1
--
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems,comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.comm
Subject: MS-Windows COM and Ns16550A UART FAQ
From: r...@fc.hp.com (Bob Niland)
Summary: Improving Windows 3.x COM performance and reliability.
Archive-name: windows-com-faq
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.programmer,comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: The Serial Port, rel. *, part * / *
From: ch...@stud.uni-sb.de (Christian Blum)
--
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc,comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,
comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy,comp.os.os2.advocacy,
comp.sys.intel,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.powerpc
Subject: Mac & IBM Info-Version *
From: bgr...@scf.nmsu.edu (Bruce Grubb)
--
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard,comp.music,rec.music.synth,
comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: FAQ: Gravis Ultrasound ("GUS") FAQ v*
From: Matthew E. Bernold <MEB...@psuvm.psu.edu>
Summary: A list of Frequently Asked Questions (and answers) concerning
the Gravis Ultrasound (GUS) sound card for IBM PC's.
Archive-name: PCsoundcards/gravis-ultrasound/faq
--
Newsgroups: alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000
Subject: alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000 FAQ Part 1 of 3
From: tbr...@uic.edu (Timothy S. Brannan)
Summary: alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000 FAQ
Archive-name: pc-hardware-faq/gateway2000/part1
--
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard.advocacy,
comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard.games,comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard.misc,
comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard.music,comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard.tech,
comp.os.os2.multimedia
Subject: Aria Soundcard FAQ v*
From: dtau...@wi.leidenuniv.nl (Daniel R. Tauritz)
Summary: This posting discusses hardware related issues concerning soundcards
based on the Aria chipset from Sierra Semiconductor Corporation.
Archive-name: PCsoundcards/aria/faq
--
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard.misc
Subject: Tropez ISA sound board FAQ
From: tow...@umich.edu (Tow Wang Hui)
Summary: FAQ file on Tropez sound board by Turtle Beach Systems, for owners
and prospective purchasers.
Archive-name: PCsoundcards/Tropez-faq
Comp-sys-ibm-pc-soundcard-misc-archive-name: Tropez-faq
--
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard,comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,
comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
Subject: PRO AUDIO SPECTRUM SOUND CARD FAQ v*
From: thom...@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
--
Newsgroups: comp.graphics,comp.lang.pascal,comp.os.msdos.programmer,
rec.games.programmer
Subject: SuperVGA/VESA programmer's notes.
From: my...@giaec.cc.monash.edu.au
Summary: This posting contains programming notes and references for
those interested in programming in SuperVGA modes.
Archive-name: pc-hardware-faq/supervga-programming
--
Newsgroups: comp.graphics.api.opengl,alt.3d,
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.graphics,comp.cad.pro-engineer,
comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.video,comp.graphics.animation,
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.misc
Subject: PC 3D Graphics Accelerators FAQ (Part * of *)
From: b...@cs.columbia.edu (Blair MacIntyre)
Summary: The FAQ is about 3D Graphics Accelerators for PC-compatible
computers.
Archive-name: pc-hardware-faq/3dgraphics-cards/
--
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.big-lan,comp.dcom.lans.misc
Subject: BIG-LAN/bit.listserv.big-lan FAQ
From: jmw...@mailbox.syr.edu (John Wobus)
Archive-name: LANs/big-lan-faq
--
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.cabling
Subject: Data Communications Cabling FAQ
From: pm...@fox.nstn.ca (Peter Macaulay)
Summary: This article is a collection of information sources,
standards, implementation methods and definitions for
data communications cabling.
Archive-name: LANs/cabling-faq
--
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps,comp.sys.mac.misc,comp.sys.mac.system,
comp.sys.mac.wanted,comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Introductory Macintosh frequently asked questions (FAQ)
From: erh...@tesla.njit.edu (Elliotte Rusty Harold)
Summary: This document answers a number of the most frequently asked
questions on Usenet about Macintosh computers. To avoid wasting
bandwidth and as a matter of politeness please familiarize yourself
with this document BEFORE posting.
Archive-name: macintosh/general-faq
--
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware,comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Macintosh PowerPC FAQ
From: mac_p...@postbox.acs.ohio-state.edu
Summary: This posting contains a list of questions and (often speculative)
answers about PowerPC and its relation to the Macintosh.
Archive-name: macintosh/PowerPC-FAQ
--
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Subject: Macintosh system software frequently asked questions (FAQ)
From: elh...@shock.njit.edu (Elliotte Rusty Harold)
Summary: This document answers a number of the most frequently asked
questions about Macintoshes on Usenet. To avoid wasting bandwidth
and as a matter of politeness please familiarize yourself with this
document BEFORE posting.
Archive-name: macintosh/system-faq
--
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc,comp.sys.mac.printing
Subject: Miscellaneous Macintosh frequently asked questions (FAQ)
From: elh...@shock.njit.edu (Elliotte Rusty Harold)
Summary: This document answers a number of the most frequently asked
questions about Macintoshes on Usenet. To avoid wasting bandwidth
and as a matter of politeness please familiarize yourself with this
document BEFORE posting.
Archive-name: macintosh/misc-faq
--
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware.misc,comp.sys.mac.hardware.storage,
comp.sys.mac.hardware.video
Subject: Macintosh hardware frequently asked questions (FAQ)
From: elh...@shock.njit.edu (Elliotte Rusty Harold)
Summary: This document answers several of the most frequently asked
questions about Macintosh hardware on Usenet. To avoid
wasting bandwidth and as a matter of politeness please
familiarize yourself with this document BEFORE posting.
Archive-name: macintosh/hardware-faq
--
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.comm
Subject: comp.sys.mac.comm Frequently Asked Questions [* / *]
From: dav...@Princeton.EDU (David L. Oppenheimer)
Summary: This is the comp.sys.mac.comm Frequently Asked Questions list; its
intent is to provide information specific to Macintosh computer
communications, including modems, networks, and the like. You are
encouraged to read this FAQ before posting to the newsgroup.
Archive-name: macintosh/comm-faq/part1
--
Newsgroups: comp.unix.sys5.r4,comp.unix.pc-clone.32bit,comp.sys.intel,
comp.os.linux.announce
Subject: PC-Clone UNIX Hardware Buyer's Guide
From: e...@snark.thyrsus.com (Eric S. Raymond)
Summary: Tips on how and where to buy hardware for your UNIX.
Archive-name: pc-unix/hardware

------ OS Related FAQs ------

Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions,comp.unix.shell
Subject: Unix - Frequently Asked Questions (Contents) [Frequent posting]
From: tmat...@empress.com (Ted M A Timar)
Archive-name: unix-faq/faq/contents
--
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions,comp.unix.shell
Subject: Unix - Frequently Asked Questions (* / *) Digest [Frequent posting]
From: tmat...@empress.com (Ted M A Timar)
Archive-name: unix-faq/faq
--
Newsgroups: comp.unix.sys5.r4,comp.unix.pc-clone.32bit,comp.unix.bsd,
comp.os.linux.announce
Subject: PC-clone UNIX Software Buyer's Guide
From: e...@snark.thyrsus.com (Eric S. Raymond)
Summary: A buyer's guide to UNIX versions for PC-clone hardware
Archive-name: pc-unix/software
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce
Subject: LILO FAQ, version *
From: alme...@nessie.cs.id.ethz.ch (Werner Almesberger)
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce
Subject: Linux FTP and BBS List #* (LONG)
From: Zane H. Healy <hea...@holonet.net>
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce,comp.os.linux
Subject: [comp.os.linux.announce] Guidelines for posting
From: m...@sunSITE.unc.edu (Matt Welsh)
Archive-name: linux/announce/guide
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce,comp.os.linux.admin
Subject: Linux * HOWTO
From: (Vince Skahan)
Comment: The following article are currently being posted (archive
names, in parentheses, are in the "linux/howto" archive
directory): Electronic Mail (mail); News (news); UUCP (uucp).
Archive-name: linux/howto/mail
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce,comp.os.linux.help,comp.os.linux.admin
Subject: Linux NET-2 HOWTO
From: ter...@extro.ucc.su.oz.au (Terry Dawson)
Summary: HOWTO on configuration of TCP/IP networking and SLIP under Linux.
Archive-name: linux/howto/networking
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce,comp.os.linux.help,comp.os.linux.admin
Subject: Linux HOWTO Index
From: m...@sunsite.unc.edu (Matt Welsh)
Summary: Index of HOWTO documents about Linux.
Archive-name: linux/howto/index
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce,comp.os.linux.admin
Subject: Linux Ethernet HOWTO
From: Paul Gortmaker <pa...@cain.mmtc.rmit.oz.au>
Archive-name: linux/howto/ethernet
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce,comp.os.linux.admin
Subject: Linux Printing HOWTO
From: gta...@cs.tufts.edu
Summary: HOWTO on printing under Linux
Archive-name: linux/howto/printing
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce,comp.os.linux.help
Subject: Linux Frequently Asked Questions with Answers
From: ijac...@nyx.cs.du.edu (Ian Jackson)
Summary: Please read the whole FAQ before posting to comp.os.linux.help.
Archive-name: linux/faq
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce,comp.os.linux.help
Subject: Linux INFO-SHEET
From: Michael K. Johnson <john...@sunsite.unc.edu>
Summary: Generic introduction to the Linux operating system
Archive-name: linux/info-sheet
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce,comp.os.linux.help
Subject: Linux META-FAQ
From: Michael K. Johnson <john...@sunsite.unc.edu>
Summary: A listing of Linux sources of information
Archive-name: linux/meta-faq
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce,comp.os.linux.help,
comp.os.linux.development,comp.os.linux.admin,comp.os.linux.misc
Subject: Welcome to the comp.os.linux.* hierarchy!
From: m...@sunsite.unc.edu (Matt Welsh)
Archive-name: linux/announce/intro
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.mach
Subject: comp.os.mach Frequently Asked Questions
From: fg...@owlnet.rice.edu (Frederick Earl Gray)
Summary: Answers to questions frequently asked on the USENET newsgroup
comp.os.mach
Archive-name: mach-faq
--
Newsgroups: comp.unix.solaris,comp.sys.sun.admin
Subject: Solaris 2 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) *
From: Caspe...@Holland.Sun.COM (Casper H.S. Dik)
Summary: This posting contains a list of Frequently Asked Questions (and
answers) about Sun Microsystem's Solaris 2.x system in general.
See also the FAQs archived as Solaris2/Porting and Solaris2/x86.
Archive-name: Solaris2/FAQ
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: Changes to MINIX Information Sheet
From: ove...@plains.nodak.edu (Glen Overby)
Summary: Commonly Asked Questions -- With answers!
Archive-name: minix-faq
--
Newsgroups: comp.unix.msdos
Subject: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for comp.unix.msdos
From: fnx!vpix...@uunet.UU.NET (VP/IX FAQ maintainance)
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.programmer
Subject: comp.os.msdos.programmer FAQ
From: Jeffrey Carlyle <car...@tocnet.com>
Summary: Frequently Asked Questions by DOS programmers with tested
answers. Please read this before posting.
Archive-name: msdos-programmer-faq/faq
Comp-os-msdos-programmer-archive-name: dos-faq
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.misc
Subject: OS/2 Users Frequently Asked Questions List Edition *
From: kl...@athena.mit.edu (Kent H Lundberg)
Summary: This posting contains a list of common questions (and answers)
about the IBM OS/2 Warp operating system. It should be read by
everyone interested in OS/2 Warp, from the newly curious to the
long-time power user.
Archive-name: os2-faq/user/part*
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.programmer.misc
Subject: FAQ: OS/2 Programming FAQ v*
From: and...@traci.almroth.pp.se (Andreas Almroth)

------ Windowing System Related FAQs ------

--
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: comp.windows.x Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) * / *
From: d...@visual.com (David B. Lewis)
Summary: useful information about the X Window System
Archive-name: x-faq/part*
--
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x.i386unix,comp.unix.pc-clone.32bit,
comp.unix.bsd,comp.windows.x
Subject: X on Intel-based Unix Frequently Asked Questions [FAQ]
From: st...@ecf.toronto.edu (Steve Kotsopoulos)
Summary: X options for Intel-based Unix (SYSV/386, 386BSD, Linux, Mach)
Archive-name: Intel-Unix-X-faq
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.ms-windows.apps,comp.os.ms-windows.misc,
comp.os.ms-windows.setup,comp.os.ms-windows.nt.misc,
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.setup,bit.listserv.win3-l
Subject: Windows FAQ: How to get it
From: to...@metrics.com (Tom Haapanen)
Archive-name: ms-windows/windows.how-to-find-faqs
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.misc,
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.tools,
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.win32,bit.listserv.win3-l
Subject: Windows Programmer FAQ: How to get it
From: to...@metrics.com (Tom Haapanen)
Archive-name: ms-windows/programmer.how-to-find-faqs
--
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.desqview
Subject: DESQview/QEMM Frequently Asked Questions: READ BEFORE POSTING
From: a...@world.std.com (Andrew Langmead)
Summary: FAQ list for the MS-DOS multitasker DESQview and memory manager QEMM
Archive-name: desqview-faq

------ Miscellaneous FAQs ------

Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.misc,comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.misc,
comp.os.ms-windows.misc,comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc,alt.cd-rom,
alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000,alt.sys.pc-clone.zeos,
alt.sys.pc-clone.dell,comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d,
comp.binaries.ibm.pc.wanted
Subject: PC-Clone Hardware Newsgroup Pointer
From: gro...@alpha.acast.nova.edu (John M. Grohol)
Summary: Newsgroup subject pointer for PC-clone hardware
Archive-Name: finding-groups/pc-hardware
--
Newsgroups: comp.sources.wanted,alt.sources.wanted
Subject: How to find sources
From: ke...@sterling.com (Kent Landfield)
Archive-name: finding-sources
--
Newsgroups: comp.std.internat,comp.std.misc,comp.protocols.iso
Subject: Standards FAQ
From: unr...@cd4680fs.rrze.uni-erlangen.de (Markus Kuhn)
Summary: Answers to questions such as what are ISO standards, where can I
get standards, what are ISO/ITU/ANSI/etc., what standards are
there relevant to computing, ...? This is a periodic posting in
comp.protocols.iso, comp.std.misc and comp.std.internat.
Archive-name: standards-faq
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Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.announce,rec.games.misc
Subject: PC GAMES FAQ <- Guide To The Gaming World (Part * of *)
From: mmw...@mv.us.adobe.com (Michael Wang)
Summary: This FAQ has answers to common questions and other useful
information that all new readers of the comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.*
newsgroups should read before posting.
Archive-name: PC-games-faq/part1
--
Newsgroups: comp.virus
Subject: VIRUS-L/comp.virus Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
From: n.fitz...@cantva.canterbury.ac.nz (Nick FitzGerald)
Summary: This posting contains a list of Frequently Asked Questions,
and their answers, about computer viruses. It should be read
by anyone who wishes to post to VIRUS-L/comp.virus.
Archive-name: computer-virus-faq
--
Newsgroups: misc.forsale.computers.workstation,
misc.forsale.computers.other.misc,misc.forsale.computers.other.systems,
misc.forsale.computers.other.software,misc.forsale.computers.modems,
misc.forsale.computers.net-hardware,misc.forsale.computers.memory,
misc.forsale.computers.monitors,misc.forsale.computers.printers,
misc.forsale.computers.storage,misc.forsale.computers.other
Subject: Misc.FS+Biz.Mktplc ADVERTISING FAQ--INFO FOR NEW USERS
From: da...@metrics.com
Summary: This article describes appropriate ways of posting
forsale and wanted ads on misc.forsale.* and biz.marketplace.*.
As most posters to misc.forsale are on Usenet for the first
time, it provides information useful to all readers--new and
old alike.
Archive-name: misc-forsale-faq/posting-ads
--
Newsgroups: misc.forsale.computers.workstation,
misc.forsale.computers.other.misc,misc.forsale.computers.other.systems,
misc.forsale.computers.other.software,misc.forsale.computers.modems,
misc.forsale.computers.net-hardware,misc.forsale.computers.memory,
misc.forsale.computers.monitors,misc.forsale.computers.printers,
misc.forsale.computers.storage,misc.forsale.computers.other
Subject: Misc.FS+Biz.Mktplc TRANSACTIONS FAQ--INFO FOR NEW USERS
From: da...@metrics.com (Dan King)
Summary: This article describes transactions over Usenet in detail.
It presents the options available, recommended methods, and
issues to protect buyers and sellers who conduct business by
e-mail and parcel service--domestically and internationally.
Archive-name: misc-forsale-faq/buying-selling
--
Newsgroups: comp.archives.msdos.announce,comp.archives.msdos.d
Subject: comp.archives.msdos.{announce,d} FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
From: t...@chyde.uwasa.fi (Timo Salmi)
Archive-name: msdos-archives/faq
--
Newsgroups: comp.archives.msdos.d,comp.binaries.ibm.pc.wanted,
comp.os.msdos.apps,comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
Subject: Useful MSDOS Programs at SIMTEL20 and Garbo (Part * of *)
From: s...@wimsey.bc.ca (Samuel Ko)
Summary: A list of recommended msdos programs available from major ftp sites
Archive-name: msdos-archives/part*
--
Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc
Subject: v*inf*: charter, CBIP newsgroups charter (part * / *)
From: cb...@cs.uml.edu (CBIP Moderator)
Archive-name: admin/charter
--
Newsgroups: comp.lang.postscript
Subject: PostScript monthly FAQ v* *-*-* [* of *]
From: Allen Braunsdorf <postscr...@cc.purdue.edu>
Summary: Useful facts about the PostScript graphics programming language
Archive-name: postscript/faq/part*
--
Newsgroups: comp.periphs.scsi
Subject: comp.periphs.scsi FAQ
From: ga...@wiis.wang.com (Gary Field)
Summary: This posting contains a list of Frequently Asked
Questions (and their answers) about SCSI. It
should be read by anyone who wishes to post to the
comp.periphs.scsi newsgroup.
Archive-name: scsi-faq
--
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip.ibmpc,comp.protocols.tcp-ip,
alt.winsock,comp.os.ms-windows.networking.tcp-ip
Subject: comp.protocols.tcp-ip.ibmpc Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
From: inte...@zilker.net (Bernard Aboba)
Summary: Frequently Asked Questions (and answers) about TCP/IP on
PC-compatible computers.
Archive-name: ibmpc-tcp-ip
--
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.ppp
Subject: comp.protocols.ppp part* of * of frequently wanted information
From: igna...@cs.uni-bonn.de (Ignatios Souvatzis)
Summary: This document contains information about the Internet Point-to-Point
Protocol, including a bibliography, a list of public domain and
commercial software and hardware implementations, a section on
configuration hints and a list of frequently asked questions and
answers on them.
It should be read by anybody interested in connecting to Internet
via serial lines, and by anybody wanting to post to
comp.protocols.ppp (before he/she does it!)
Archive-name: ppp-faq/part1
--
Newsgroups: alt.cd-rom,comp.multimedia
Subject: alt.cd-rom FAQ
From: r...@cdrom.com
Summary: Frequently asked questions about CD-ROMs
Archive-name: cdrom-faq

===============
Ralph Valentino (ra...@worcester.com) (ra...@alum.wpi.edu)
Senior Design Engineer, Instrinsix Corp.

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