> Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1999 01:38:43 -700 > From: Constant Brouerius van Nidek <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: XT clone? > Running a spare machine which I got from somebody makes fun. > I finally got it connected to a color cga monitor (until shortly she had to > work in monochrome). On the casing it is named DATACOM Personal Computer. > According to msd it is a IBM 8088 or 8086. The mother board says it is an > XL-6 Turbo Rev. 5, it has a ST 225 hard disk which has its own card (two > connection one small one wide one-Data Tech 5150X Fab DWG Rev B) > On the IO card without any identification (made in HongKong EX?)a battery is > found (3V cadmium) which use I can not even guess. This is the battery for the Real Time Clock chip which was almost always part of an I/O card rather than a motherboard item. Some PC/XT BIOSes required that you load a driver to use it, while some did so automatically. If the battery reads less than 2.2 v with a meter - or if you don't have a meter - try replacing it. Any type/size battery with 3v. or 3.2v output will do; it doesn't have to be the same type or composition. > Further two com ports > (named ASYN1 and ASYN2) LPT1, game port and a diode (what is that thing doing > there?). Two drives A: 5.25" 360K and B: 3,5" 1.44M are connected. > Four jumper blocks of different size complete the picture. There is no CMOS in a 8088 PC. Usually, DIP switches told it the type of hardware installed - but yours seems to use jumper blocks. You'll have to GUESS how these should be set up to recognize the HD, I/O and floppies. Don't worry - you won't hurt anything if you set them wrong; it just won't work properly. > 1) What I do not like though is that I have to boot the machine with a > floppy. Is there a method to start the machine from the hard disk? Play with different settings of the jumpers/DIP switches, one at a time, and reboot without a floppy disk installed. When you get the right one, it should work - if the HD has DOS installed. ( Even if it doesn't, you should see some sort of HD error indicating so, when you find the right switch.) > 2) Was there not some Mode command to suppress snow? Every PC I ever saw had a small Mono/Color switch separate from the others near the Keyboard connector on the motherboard. Moving it to "color" should improve a CGA display somewhat - but MODE CGA helps, too. Older programs used to "check snow" internally by using the slower BIOS routines, but I doubt more recent programs bother. A snowy display is much faster than one with it turned off. > 3) can I let the machine keeps its time? date? Fix the battery. Since the RTC chip I/O port was the same on any machine, you can use almost anyone's clock driver (if it requires one at all). > 4) the fixed disk and floppies are not handled by the bios. But where are > they handled then? Is there something that I could setup in the bios? DIP switches/jumpers again. There may be some on the drive controller card. - John T. -- Arachne V1.5a;alpha, NON-COMMERCIAL copy, http://home.arachne.cz/ To unsubscribe from SURVPC send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with unsubscribe SURVPC in the body of the message. Also, trim this footer from any quoted replies.
