~~IVERE RAM 3000 Deluxe™ (AT Memory Expansion Board) OWNER'S MANUAL AND REFERENCE GUIDE EV-159 (VERSION 2.
RAM 3000 Deluxe™ (AT Memory Expansion Board) OWNER'S MANUAL AND REFERENCE GUIDE EV-159 (VERSION 2.1) EVEREX SYSTEMS, "INC.
Notice Everex Systems, Inc. reserves the right to make improvements in the product described in this manual at any time and without notice. DISCLAIMER: While we do our best to avoid such a situation, Everex Systems will not be responsible for any loss of information resulting from the use of this product. This manual is copyrighted. All rights are reserved.
Everex, EVER for EXcellence, RAM 3000 Deluxe and EDISK are trademarks of Everex Systems, Inc. IBM PC, A T, PC-DOS and OS/2 are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp. Microsoft, MS-DOS and Xenix are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. CS8220 and CHIPSet are trademarks of Chips and Technologies, Inc. Intel and 80286 are trademarks of Intel Corporation. Lotus is a trademark of Lotus Development Corporation. AST and PCnet II are trademarks of AST Research, Inc.
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Table of Contents CHECKLIST .................................................................................................... 1 SECTION 1: HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL............................... 3 SECTION 2: INTRODUCTION.............................................................. 2.1 F ea tures ........................................................................................................................... 2.2 Physical Layout .....................m...........................................
5.2.3 EDISK.SYS ExamplesM..._........M ...............................M................... 5.3 ESPOOL.EXE Print Spooler ............................................................... 5.3.1 Installing ESPOOL.EXE...........................M ......m......................... 5.3.2 ESPOOL.EXE Parameters......................................................... 5.3.3 ESPOOL.EXE Examples............................................................. 51 53 53 54 56 SECTION 6: TROUBLESHOOTING.........._ .......•....
Checklist The RAM 3000 Deluxe carton should include the following items: RAM 3000 Deluxe AT memory expansion board in an anti-static bag RAM 3000 Deluxe utility software diskette with the following files: EVlS9.EXE configuration and diagnostics program EMMSYS EMS software device driver EDISKSYS RAM disk software device driver ESPOOL.
NOTE 1: Please save all the packaging materials that accompany the RAM 3000 Deluxe board; if you need to return the board to Everex Systems for any reason without proper packaging, the warranty may be affected. As with any major purchase, please keep the sales invoice. NOTE 2: Circuit boards are easily damaged by static electricity! You can pick up a static charge in dry weather or walking on carpeted floors.
Section 1.' How to Use This Manual Checklist contains a list of items that should be inside the RAM 3000 Deluxe carton. Please make sure all listed items are included. Section 2: Introduction describes the features of the RAM 3000 Deluxe, a detailed illustration, and an installation summary for experienced users. Section 3: Configuration contains a list of RAM 3000 Deluxe default switch and jumper settings in Section 3.1. This section also tells you how to change the default settings by using the EV159.
Appendix 1: Memory Basics explains how memory works on an AT (first-time users should read this appendix). Appendix 2: Dipswitch Setting Table provides tables on how to set the amount of contiguous memory defined on the RAM 3000 Deluxe (SW2 dipswitch), and the RAM 3000 Deluxe's memory starting address (SW3 dipswitch). Appendix 3: EMS Technical Reference contains information on how EMS mode works (this appendix is for users who wish to write EMS-compatible software).
Section 2.' Introduction 2.1 Features Congratulations on purchasing your new RAM 3000 Deluxe AT-compatible memory board. This memory board includes the following features: Up to 3 megabytes of RAM for base and/or extended memory upgrading. Up to 3 megabytes of RAM for memory addressed under the Lotus/Intel/Microsoft Expanded Memory Specification (Version 3.20). Allows simultaneous coexistence of base, extended, and expanded memory on the same board.
2.2 Physical Layout Below is a diagram of the RAM 3000 Deluxe with all the jumper and switch locations you need to know. See Section 3.1: Default Settings for an explanation of the dipswitches and jumpers. 5 4 3 ~ " 2 0 f SW2 SW3 , ........ ... .. .: ....... => r.l 1 , W1 1IIIjllllllllll.
2.3 Installation Summary 1. Make any adjustments to the switches and/or jumpers on the RAM 3000 Deluxe for your chosen board configuration (see Section 3.2: Configuring With Software or Section 3.3: Configuring Without Software). 2. Physically install the DRAM chips on the RAM 3000 Deluxe board (see Section 3.4: Installing The DRAM Chips), then install the board in the computer (see Section 4.1: Physical Installation). 3. Test your RAM 3000 Deluxe board with the EV159.
Section 3.' Configuration Please note the following helpful hints for configuring the dipswitches and jumpers on the RAM 3000 Deluxe. Helpful Hint 1: There are several different types of dipswitches installed on the RAM 3000 Deluxe. The following figure shows how to turn the dipswitch positions ON and OFF; note that Positions 1 to 4 are switched ON and Positions 5 to 8 are switched OFF.
Helpful Hint 2: There is a hole at the top of the black plastic jumper shunts to make the removal of the jumper from the connector pins easier. To remove or adjust the placement of the jumper shunts, bend a paper clip, insert the bent end into the hole and pull the jumper up. The paper clip can also be usee to insert the jumper onto the pins.
3.1 Default Settings The RAM 3000 Deluxe leaves the factory in this default configuration (see Table 1 on the following page for the jumper and dipswitch default settings): 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. There are no memory chips installed. It assumes one memory bank of RAM chips are installed. There is no memory space defined for base andlor extended memory upgrading. The starting memory address is (lOOOOOH*) or 1 MB. The 2 EMS 110 Ports are set at Y258 and Y268 (where Y can be 0, 4, 8, or C) port addresses.
TABLE 1 Jumper/Switch Settings of the RAM 3000 Deluxe SWITCH! JUMPER DEFAULT SETTING AND DEFINITION W1 This jumper block selects the speed of the 256K DRAM chips The default setting is installed on the RAM 3000 Deluxe. installation of 120 nanosecond or faster chips (no jumper installed). W2 This jumper block enables memory parity checking mode. default setting is parity mode enabled (jumper installed).
3.2 Configuring With Software NOTE: If you plan to test your RAM 3000 Deluxe to ensure you did the board configuration and RAM chip installation correctly, you should follow this subsection. 1. Insert the RAM 3000 Deluxe utility diskette in Drive "A" and type: A:EV159 2.
you must fill. 5. Press the [FS] key to save the current configuration. The EVI59.EXE program will suggest the configuration file name EVI59.001; press [Enter] to save this configuration file. You will need this saved file later when you test your RAM 3000 Deluxe board. 6. Press the [FlO] key to leave the program; proceed to Section 3.4: Installing The DRAM Chips to install the DRAM chips, then go to Section 4: Installation to install the board into your system.
A Note About Installing Two Or More RAM 3000 Deluxe Boards: If you install more than one RAM 3000 Deluxe board and will use the EV159.EXE program to configure several boards, please note the following considerations: 1. You must run the EV159.EXE program separately for each individual RAM 3000 Deluxe board installed in your system; when you finish the software configuration for each RAM 3000 Deluxe board, you must save a unique configuration file for each board in your system (EV159.
TABLE 2 RAM 3000 Deluxe Memory Starting Address (SW3 Positions 2-8) RAM 3000 Deluxe Memory Starting Address '-OK (OOOOOH) 128K (20000H) 256K (40000H) 384K (60000H) 512K (80000H)_ 640K (AOOOOH) • 1024K (100000H) 1152K (120000H) 1280K (140000H) 1408K (160000H) 1536K (180000H) 1664K (1AOOOOH) 1792K (1COOOOH) 1920K (1EOOOOH) 2048K (200000H) 2176K (220000H) 2304K (240000H) 2432K (260000H) 2560K (280000H) 2688K (2AOOOOH) 2816K (2COOOOH) 2944K (2EOOOOH) 3072K (300000H) ~.
~ ~JI') 3.3 Configuring Without Software 3.3.1 Memory Configuration Part One: Memory Starting Address o The starting address of the RAM 3000 Deluxe can begin at OK-512K (OOOOOH-80000H) in base memory range or 1024K15232K (lOOOOOH-EEOOOOH) in extended memory range by adjusting dipswitch SW3. This means you can set the RAM 3000 Deluxe so base and extended memory coexist on the same board, even if the system motherboard has 0 bytes of base memory installed.
Part Two: Amount Of Memory Banks Filled Positions 1-3 of dipswitch SW2 set the number of banks of RAM chips installed on the RAM 3000 Deluxe. Although there are no memory chips installed when the board leaves the factory, the default setting is for 1 bank of memory chips installed (SW2 positions 1-3 switched OFF). Use the following table to configure SW2 to correspond with the number of memory banks filled on the RAM 3000 Deluxe.
Part Three: RAM 3000 Deluxe Contiguous Memory Space SW2 positions 4-8 define the amount of contiguous memory space used on the RAM 3000 Deluxe for base andlor extended memory upgrading. If the RAM 3000 Deluxe is used for EMS mode only, do not define any contiguous memory space.
3.3.2 EMS Mode Configuration You can configure the RAM 3000 Deluxe for up to three megabytes of RAM memory under the Lotus/Intel/Microsoft (LIM) Expanded Memory Specification (Version 3.20). This EMS memory is a special type of memory that allows specially-written software to access program data far larger than the 640KB limit imposed by DOS. To configure the RAM 3000 Deluxe for EMS mode, you need to perform the following three-step process.
To determine how many EMS I/O ports you need to enable, you must know how much memory on the RAM 3000 Deluxe is available for EMS mode. Use the following formula: T- C=E T represents the amount of memory in kilobytes installed on the RAM 3000 Deluxe, C represents the contiguous memory space defined in kilobytes on the RAM 3000 Deluxe, and E represents the memory in kilobytes available for EMS mode on the RAM 3000 Deluxe.
Step Two: Selecting EMS I/0 Port Address Unlike base memory and extended memory spaces on the A T, expanded memory space is accessed by mapping each 16KB of EMS-specification memory into a specific memory address that is usable by the computer. By combining a large amount of these mapping schemes in a contiguous manner, we create a 64KB memory address space called a window, this is how a single 64KB window can access up to two megabytes of EMS-specification memory.
TABLE 6 EMS I/O Port Selections (Dipswitch SWI and SW2) I/O Port Address Y2X8 • Y208 Y218 •• Y258 ••• Y268 Y2A8 Y2B8 Y2E8 + ++ • ...•• 22 SWI and SW2 Positions 1 2 3 4+ 6 7 8 9++ ON ON ON ON OFF OFF OFF ON ON OFF OFF ON ON OFF ON ON ON OFF OFF OFF OFF ON OFF OFF ON ON OFF ON Positions 1-4 are for EMS I/O Port 1 (SW1). Positions 6-9 are for EMS I/O Ports 2 (SW1). EMS I/O port addresses are selectable and a number of 1/0 ports have been reserved for EMS with the basic setting being Y2X8.
NOTES: 1. The factory configuration for the RAM 3000 Deluxe uses 258 and 268 EMS 1/0 port addresses. If you install another expanded memory board into your system (eg. another RAM 3000 Deluxe), you must not set the EMS 1/0 port address on your second expanded memory board for 258 or 268 addresses. 2. If some or all of the EMS 1/0 ports need to be disabled, disable EMS 1/0 Port 2 FIRST, and EMS 1/0 Port 1 last. 3.
Step Three: EMS Mode Data Path Size Normally, the data transfer to and from expanded memory space is done with 8-bit wide data paths. However, you can set the RAM 3000 Deluxe using 16-bit data paths for faster data transfer to and from EMS-specification memory by switching ON Position 1 of dipswitch SW3.
3.3.3 Setting Chip Speed And Enabling Parity Checking The RAM 3000 Deluxe is factory-configured for the board to use 256K-bit DRAM chips with a speed of 120 nanoseconds or faster. If you want to install 150 nanosecond 256K-bit DRAM chips, install a jumper on jumper block W1 TABLE 7A Selecting DRAM Chip Speed (WI Jumper) DRAM Chip Speed 120 nanoseconds WI Setting •• • 150 nanoseconds Default Setting NOTE: Make sure all the DRAM chips installed on the RAM 3000 Deluxe are of the same speed rating.
Due to the large amount of DRAM chips on the RAM 3000 Deluxe and the need for parity checking to insure the integrity of the data, please leave the jumper shunt on the W2 jumper block installed.
3.3.4 Setting The AT Motherboard Your system's motherboard mayor may not have a switch/jumper which determines the maximum amount of memory that the motherboard will accept (in the IBM PC AT the jumper is marked J18). If your system is an AT compatible, please check your system's manual to see if any such switch/jumper exists; refer to your owner's manual for instructions on how to set the switch/jumper to correspond with the amount of memory on the motherboard.
256K AT 512K AT Figure 4: The IBM PC AT Motherboard 28
3.4 Installing The DRAM Chips The process of adding DRAM memory chips to your RAM 3000 Deluxe is called populating. This may have been done by your dealer, or you can do it yourself. The RAM 3000 Deluxe uses only 256K-bit DRAM chips wi th a speed of 120 nanoseconds or faster. When you buy the chips, make sure to remind the dealer of these specifications.
others at a later date. The only consequence will be less RAM available for base andlor extended memory upgrading. If you choose to upgrade base memory, you must fill Bank 0 if you have 128KB or more of base memory installed, and also fill Bank 1 if you have less than 128KB of base memory installed. Before you install RAM chips on the RAM 3000 Deluxe, please note the number of banks you chose to fill on the board; this is determined by using the EV159.EXE program (see Section 3.
Each 256K-bit DRAM chip has eight metal pins along each side. Each row of pins goes into a corresponding row of holes in the socket. The pins and holes must be perfectly aligned in order for the chip to work. If one pair of pins is hanging over into the socket next to it, the chip may look almost right but will not work properly. Each chip has a notch on one end for orientation purposes (see Figure 6).
Install the chip by first inserting the tips of the pins into the chip socket holes and then checking the alignment of the tips. If chip alignment is correct, press the chip into the socket; it should go in easily. If you need to press hard, the chip alignment is probably incorrect and you may have bent a pin. If this happens, carefully remove the chip, straighten the bent pin, and try the installation again as gently as possible.
Section 4: Installation When you finish configuring your RAM 3000 Deluxe, you can now install your board into your system. 4.1 Physical Installation 1. Turn OFF the power to the computer and disconnect all cables attached to the system unit. Make sure NO power goes to your system. 2. Remove the retaining screws that hold the cover on your system. Slide the cover forward. When it stops sliding, tilt the cover up and lift it away. Refer to the next figure.
3. Choose an open 16-bit expansion slot on the motherboard. A 16-bit expansion slot has two sets of gold-edge connector slots. 8·BIT SLOT 16·BIT SLOT Figure 8: The Expansion Slots 4. Take off the expansion slot cover from the back of the chosen 16-bit expansion slot by first removing the screw that holds the cover in place. Keep this screw, as you will use it to secure the RAM 3000 Deluxe into place.
5. Carefully insert the RAM 3000 Deluxe all the way into the expansion slot; remember to slide the board fully into the card guide on the front of the system chassis also. "" Figure 10: Inserting the RAM 3000 Deluxe 6. Reinstall the expansion slot cover screw to secure the RAM 3000 Del uxe board. 7. Reconnect the power cable and boot up your computer with DOS.
tive. Refer to Appendix 5: remedy this problem. 8. If System Boot Fails on how to Run the EV159.EXE program to check out the board's memory chips. (See Section 4.2: Testing the RAM 3000 Deluxe for details). NOTE: Skip step #8 if you did not configure the RAM 3000 Deluxe with the instructions in Section 3.2: Configuring With Software. 9.
4.2 Testing The RAM 3000 Deluxe The RAM 3000 Deluxe utility diskette includes a program that will test the chips on the RAM 3000 Deluxe board. This program will take several minutes to run and will ensure that the RAM 3000 Deluxe configuration was done properly and that all the RAM chips installed are functional. To Test The RAM 3000 Deluxe's Memory 1. Boot your system with DOS; insert the RAM 3000 Deluxe utility diskette into drive "A," and type: A:EV159 [Enter] WARNING: DO NOT run the EV159.
3. When the memory test points out the location of any bad chips (bad chips are shown blinking), check the chips at the locations represented on the screen to ensure the chips are installed correctly (did you bend or break the chip pins or improperly orient the chip?); if the chips are installed properly, you must replace the bad chips. 4. When you finish the testing procedures, press [FlO] to leave the EVI59.EXE program.
Section 5.' RAM 3000 Deluxe Software Several utility programs are included on your RAM 3000 Deluxe utility software diskette. These programs increase the productivity of your RAM 3000 Deluxe. EMM.SYS Software device driver to allow access to the expanded memory configured on the RAM 3000 Deluxe. EDISK.SYS Software device driver that sets aside part of your computer's base, extended or expanded memory for a RAM disk. ESPOOL.
5.1 EMM.8YS EMS Device Driver Expanded memory did not exist when your PC and its operating system (DOS) were invented. Because of this, DOS by itself cannot recognize and use any expanded memory space defined on your memory expansion board. In order to use expanded memory space, you need a special device driver program that must be run each time you boot up the system. You also need special software that can use expanded memory space.
1. If your system disk already has a CONFIGSYS file, use a text editor to add the line device == emm.sys to your CONFIGSYS file. 2. If a CONFIGSYS file is not on the system disk, type in the following lines to create one with the EMMSYS command line in it. DO NOT do this step if a CONFIGSYS file already exists on your system disk as it will overwrite your old CONFIG.SYS file. cd \ copy con: config.sys device = emm.sys [F6] 3.
5.1.2 EMM.syS Parameters Though the command line device = emm.sys is fine for most circumstances, you can also add parameters to your EMMSYS command line for special needs. The extra parameters are organized in the following format: device = [path]emm.sys [/c] [pppp] [port,page] The items inside H[ ]" designate an optional item. NOTE: Do not type the !I[ ]H characters themselves. [path] This parameter is for users that keep the EMMSYS file in a subdirectory other than the root directory.
[pppp] This parameter tells EMMSYS where to look for a valid page frame. The page frame is the first address of the EMS mapping window. [pppp] valid values are C400, CBOO, CCOO, nooo, ncoo and EOOO (Hex). For most users, C400 (default value if the [pppp] parameter is not specified) is fine and this parameter is not needed. [port,page] This parameter selects the port address of the portion of the memory board configured for expanded memory and the starting logical page of expanded memory.
frame address at C400 (Hex). If the page frame address is occupied, it will try to look for 64KB address space in ascending order up to EOOO (Hex). If this fails, the "No room on motherboard for page frame" message will appear, and the search will terminate. 3. device = \everex\emm.sys /e e800 268,30 This EMM.syS command line looks for the EMM.syS file in the \everex subdirectory, enables interrupt 67 (Hex) chaining, and defines expanded memory at segment address CSOO, port address 268, page 30.
5.2 EDISK.8YS RAM Disk Device Driver The Everex utility EDISK.syS is a software device driver that allows you to set aside part of the computer's base, expanded or extended memory for a RAM disk. This RAM disk is recognizable by DOS in the same manner as a hard disk or floppy disk: you can create directories and subdirectory paths on it, and can transfer and save your files just like a standard disk.
The RAM disk consists of RAM only, which is volatile. Any attempt to reboot the system or loss of power to the computer will result in a loss of data from the RAM disk forever. You might forget this fact because a RAM disk resembles a real physical drive. B. The portion of memory defined for RAM disk use is unavailable for any other use. Before you can use the EDISK.syS program, you must identify the following memory types: BASE memory is memory addresses OK-640K (000009FFFFH).
EDISKSYS is an excellent way for AT owners who have extended memory available to take advantage of this memory space. Identify which types of memory exist in your system, and decide which one will be used for a RAM disk. EDISKSYS will allow you to define as many RAM disks as you want in one or more memory types. You are limited only by the system's memory capacity. Please note that each RAM disk defined can ONLY use one type of memory. You cannot define a single RAM disk to split over several memory types.
Follow these steps to create a RAM disk with EDISK.syS: 1. EDISK.syS is called up during the boot-up process from a special file called CONFIG.syS on your system disk. CONFIG.syS defines a series of hardware-related "chores" that you want to perform each time you boot up the system. 2. If you already have a CONFIG.syS file on the system disk, you can add the EDISK.syS command line by using a text editor or word processor. 3. If you do not have a CONFIGSYS file in your system, create the EDISK.
5.2.2 EDISK.8YS Parameters You can add special parameters to change the RAM disk's buffer size, sector size, maximum number of root directory entries and the type of memory where the RAM disk is located. The EDISK.8YS parameters use this format: device = [path]edisk.sys [bbb] [sss] [ddd] [/e:[n]] [Ix] [II] The values between the "[ ]" symbols are optional and can be omitted. NOTE: DO NOT type in the "[ ]" symbols themselves. [path] This parameter defines the location of the subdirectory where the EDISK.
If your RAM disk resides in base memory, you must leave at least 64KB of base memory free for DOS. EDISK.syS will check that you have 64KB of free base memory when it is loaded; if the specified buffer size leaves less than 64KB for base memory, it will reduce the buffer size. If this still leaves less than 64KB, EDISK.syS will not load. [sss] This parameter defines the sector size.
elude [:n], the values are 1 to 8. The [Ix] option informs EDISK.syS to load the RAM disk in expanded (EMS) memory. [II] This parameter allows you to install the RAM disk with no volume label, which gives you an extra 32 bytes for other memory uses. 5.2.3 EDISK.syS Examples device = edisk.sys This example gives you the default RAM disk: the buffer size is 128KB, the sector size is 512 bytes, and the maximum number of entries in the root directory is 64. device = \everex\edisk.
A Note About Expanded Memory RAM Disks: If you define your EDISKSYS RAM disk in expanded memory (using the "Ix" parameter), it is very important that you define the expanded memory software driver in your CONFIGSYS file before you define your EDISKSYS RAM disk. For expanded memory RAM disks, you create the following CONFIGSYS file (if you are using the EMM.syS software device driver on the RAM 3000 Deluxe software diskette): copy con: config.sys device = emm.sys device = edisk.
5.3 ESPOOL.EXE Print Spooler One of the most frustrating things about using a computer is the fact that whenever you send ~ata out to your printer, your system is often incapable of doing any other tasks during the printing process. This problem can be especially intolerable when printing long documents, since all that time wasted by the computer just to print a long document can definitely be put to better use. On the RAM 3000 Deluxe software diskette is a program called ESPOOL.
5.3.2 ESPOOL.EXE Parameters When you install ESPOOL.EXE by typing ESPOOL [Enter], the resulting print spooler will be 64KB in size, located in base memory, and direct the contents of the spooler to parallel port LPT 1. However, you can change these parameters if you want to change the size of the print spooler, locate it in another type of memory, or direct the contents of the spooler to another port besides LPT 1 parallel port. The ESPOOL.
[/p:n] represents which parallel port the contents of the print spooler will be directed to. N ormally, not including this parameter will direct the contents to parallel port LPT 1. If you include this parameter, [/p:1] means directing to LPT 1 parallel port, [/p:2] means directing to LPT 2 parallel port, and [/p:3] means directing to LPT 3 parallel port. Note that if you only have one parallel port in your system, we suggest using [/p:1], or omitting this parameter altogether.
are 1 and 2), and h (which enables the XON/XOFF handshaking protocol to prevent the sending of spooler contents to a serial printer if the serial printer is not ready to accept commands and spooler data). NOTE: If you have already set the parameters for the serial port with the DOS MODE.COl\t1 program, we suggest excluding the [b,p,d,s,h] parameters, as these ESPOOL.EXE parameters will change the original parameters defined by MODE.COM.
\util\espool Ib:256 Ix Ip:2 This looks for the ESPOOL.EXE program In the \util subdirectory, then enables a 256KB print spooler in expanded memory, and directs its contents to parallel port LPT 2. \everex\espool Ib:1024 Ie 1s:2,1200,e,7,1,h This looks for the ESPOOL.EXE program in the \everex subdirectory, then enables a 1024KB print spooler in extended memory, with its contents directed to serial port COM 2. This ESPOOL.
Section 6: Troubleshooting If you have trouble using the RAM 3000 Deluxe, this section contains answers to commonly asked user questions. In addition, this section tells how to get assistance if this manual does not solve your problem. 6.1 Common Questions And Answers Q. Why is it that I cannot access extended memory defined on the RAM 3000 Deluxe? A. In order to access the extended memory on the RAM 3000 Deluxe, you must have at least 512KB of base memory installed in your system.
2 Q. The chips on Bank 0 and Bank 1 (which are used for base memory upgrading) are either improperly installed or defective. See Appendix 5: If System Boot Fails on how to remedy this problem. I have difficulty in accessing the expanded memory on the RAM 3000 Deluxe. What should I do? A. Please make sure you followed the instructions in Section 3.3.2: EMS Mode Configuration in order to configure the board properly for EMS mode and the instructions Section 5.1: EMM.
6.2 How To Get Assistance If Section 6.1: Common Questions And Answers does not assist you in solving the problem that occurred when using the RAM 3000 Deluxe, we suggest using the following steps: 1. Repeat the procedure that produced the problem, and see if it happens again. If this is a software procedure (e.g. using the EV159.EXE program to configure and test the RAM 3000 Deluxe), press the [Fl] key to see the help screen for suggestions. 2.
5. In order to simplify the troubleshooting of your RAM 3000 Deluxe, the Technical Support Department suggests you give the following details when you place your call: The Owner's Manual you are currently reading (include the version number). The name of the operating system you are using and its version number. The contents of your AUTOEXEC.BA T file. The contents of your CONFIG.SYS file. The brand name and model of the computer you are using.
8. 62 Finally, try to be near your system when you call, so you can follow the suggestions from Technical Support while on the phone in order to solve your problem.
Appendix 1: Memory Basics: AI.I Description Of Memory The RAM 3000 Deluxe is designed to provide up to three megabytes of extended memory for AT-compatible machines. In addition, up to three megabytes of memory on the RAM 3000 Deluxe can be addressed as expanded memory under the Lotus/Intel/Microsoft EMS specification (Version 320). This board can also be used to upgrade base memory to the 640K (9FFFFH) base memory limit imposed by DOS.
This type of memory allows program data to be as large as eight megabytes in size when several boards that meet this memory specification are installed in the computer. (See Appendix 3: EMS Technical Reference for details). Note that the memory addresses of 640K to 1024K (AOOOOHFFFFFH) cannot be addressed by the user. This area is reserved for programs used by the system in order for the computer to function. (It is also used as the 110 port address area for expanded memory.
Al.2 AT Memory Line Figure 11 shows how memory is allocated on the AT and highlights the locations of base, extended and system reserved memory.
EMS expanded memory space is not linear, but addressed through 110 port-controlled memory addresses called pages. This means that on the EMS board, data is divided into 16KB pages, and then mapped into a 64KB address space of the CPU memory called a window. By varying the page number register, anyone of the 16KB pages in a 2048KB expanded memory space can be mapped into this window. Figure 12 shows how this mapping is done. . .
Appendix 2.' Dipswitch Setting Table A2.1 Dipswitch SW2 TABLES SW2 Functions POSITION FUNcrION 1-3 Selects number of 512KB memory banks filled (see Section 3.3.1: Memory Configuration (Part Two) on setting these positions). 4-5 Selects contiguous memory space in 1 MB increments. 6-8 Selects contiguous memory space in 128KB increments.
TABLE 10 Position 6-8 of SW3 Memory Represented (128KB Increments) 6 OKB I28KB 256KB 384KB 5I2KB 640KB 768KB 896KB OFF OFF OFF OFF ON ON ON ON Position 7 OFF OFF ON ON OFF OFF ON ON 8 OFF ON OFF ON OFF ON OFF ON Configuration Examples If you want 896KB of contiguous memory: You choose the 1t896KBIt option from Table 10; switch SW3 positions 6-8 ON.
A2.2 Dipswitch SW3 TABLE 11 SW3 Functions POSITION FUNCTION 1 Selects between 8 bit (OFF) and 16 bit (ON) EMS transfer mode. 2-5 Selects RAM 3000 Deluxe starting address in 1 M increments. 6-8 Selects RAM 3000 Deluxe starting address in 128K increments. The actual starting address for the RAM 3000 Deluxe is the amount represented by positions 2-5 added to positions 6-8.
TABLE 13 Positions 2-5 of SW3 RAM 3000 Deluxe Starting Address (1 M Increments) 2 Position 3 4 5 o M (OOOOOOH) 1 M (100000H) 2 M (200000H) 3 M (300000H) 4 M (400000H) 5 M (500000H) 6 M (600000H) 7 M (700000H) 8 M (800000H) 9 M (900000H) 10 M (AOOOOOH) 11 M (BOOOOOH) 12 M (COOOOOH) 13 M (DOOOOOH) 14 M (EOOOOOH) 15 M (FOOOOOH) OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF OFF ON ON ON ON ON ON ON ON OFF OFF OFF OFF ON ON ON ON OFF OFF OFF OFF ON ON ON ON OFF ON OFF ON OFF ON OFF ON OFF ON OFF ON OFF ON OFF ON OFF OFF O
If you have a CS8220-based A T motherboard with 512KB base and 512KB extended memory installed: You choose the "640K" option from Table 12; switch SW3 positions 6 and 8 ON. This will upgrade base memory from 512-640K (BOOOOH-9FFFFH) and upgrade extended memory from 1536K (180000H). If you have 7680KB of extended memory already installed in your system: You choose the "512K" option from Table 12 and the '7 Mil option from Table 13; switch SW3 positions 3-6 ON.
Appendix 3.' EMS Technz'cal Reference Applications programmers writing software for the EMS mode on the RAM 3000 Deluxe should refer to the Lotus/Intel/Microsoft (LIM) specification, Version 3.20, released September 1985. Use of this document will facilitate portability to all EMS-compatible expanded memory cards. A3.
A3.2 Page Frame Addressing And Register Output "Paging" is a method of memory mapping that allows a computer to utilize more memory than it can physically address. Paging works because EMS memory divides the physical memory on an EMS board into pages consisting of 16KB each. These pages are subsequently mapped into an address space of the CPU; this address is known as a window.
. - - - - .
A3.3 EMS I/O Port Address Selections EMS uses 110 ports to set up mapping information. These 1/0 ports are selectable and a number of 110 ports have been reserved for EMS memory. These ports are: Mapping Registers Page Frame Registers 02X8: 42X8: 82X8: C2X8: 02X9 42X9 82X9 page page page page 1 2 3 4 where the variable X is selectable in a range from 0 to E.
A3.4 Mapping Registers Every page of EMS memory is 16KB in size. By setting the mapping registers to values from 0 to 127, one of the 16KB pages in a two-megabyte EMS memory board can be mapped into the page frame window. With bit 0 to bit 6 accounting for the 0 to 127 range, the last bit (MSB) in the mapping register can be used as an enable/disable flag for that particular page. Each mapping register can handle up to 2 megabytes of EMS memory (16KB x 128 = 2M).
For those who wish to write their own software to use expanded memory, all 15 values (0 to E) can be used as the X variable as long as the resulting port addresses do not conflict with other I/O devices. The contents of the mapping registers can be read by doing an 110 read from the same address location they were written to.
A3.5 Page Frame Registers The page frame registers are used to store the mapping values which determine the starting address for the page frame in the physical memory space of your computer. These registers are write only. Choose one of the eight possible starting addresses by writing different values to the page frame registers. Only bit 7 (MSB) is used to set up these registers.
Generally, all EMS boards should have the same values in their page frame registers so that they all use the same 64K window in the physical memory space of a computer. However, if you wish to write your own software, use the page register that best suits your specific applications. The Everex EMM.
Appendix 4.' Regarding the AST PCnet II If you enable the RAM 3000 Deluxe for EMS mode and also install the AST PC net II network adapter board, a software conflict will occur involving the use of the interrupt vector 67 (Hex~ The EMM.SYS expanded memory device driver uses this interrupt vector; however, some hardware and software applications (notably the penet II board) will use this interrupt vector also.
Appendix 5: If System Boot Fails If you have set the RAM 3000 Deluxe to upgrade base memory and have installed the board, some AT compatibles may not start up during the bootup process. This is due to the possibility that the chips used for upgrading base memory may be improperly installed or are defective.
Appendix 6.. For Extended Memory Users If you plan to use the RAM 3000 Deluxe in conjunction with an extended-memory only operating system (for example OS/2 and Xenix), please note that you cannot use the EVlS9.EXE configuration and diagnostics program on the RAM 3000 Deluxe software diskette when running these operating systems. In these cases, we suggest doing the following: 1. Bootup your system with a PC-DOS or MS-DOS Version 3.x system diskette in drive A.
PRT-00034-99 Addendum Expanded Memory Manager (EMM.SYS) Driver to Support EMS Version 4.0 Everex Systems is shipping a new software device driver that recognizes your computer's expanded memory space, and conforms to the new Lotus/Intel/Microsoft (LIM) Expanded Memory Specification 4.0, dated October 20, 1987. The material in this addendum replaces the information in the product manual that refers to the software driver EMM.SYS supporting EMS version 3.20. The new EMM.
DEVICE = EMM.SYS If you have any other Everex memory board model numbers, you must use the [port,page] parameter in the EMM.SYS command line as follows: DEVICE = EMM.SYS [PORT,PAGE] For the [POR T,P AG E] parameter, type in the port address of the EMS memory, beginning at a specific logical page (indicate the port and page in hexadecimal values). For example, you would type in a command line like the following: DEVICE = EMM.
Installing the EMM.SYS Program Expanded memory in your computer can only be accessed when it is managed by the expanded memory manager program EMM.SYS. This program is provided on the Everex Systems utility diskette. Most systems have a CONFIG.SYS file of "chores" for the computer to perform automatically every time it boots up. You need to add the line device = emm.sys to the CONFIG.SYS file. 1. Insert the Everex Systems utility diskette into floppy disk drive A and type: cd\ copy a:emm.sys c:\ 2.
3. Once the CONFIG.SYS file is loaded, add the following line: For Everex memory boards with model numbers EV165, EV-165A, and EV-173: device = emm.sys [enter] For Everex memory boards with any other model numbers: device = emm.sys 258,00 [enter] Where 258 and 00 are the port address, and logical starting page of the EMS memory. 4. 4 Save the CONFIG.SYS file and reboot the system. The EMM.SYS program will report the status of the expanded memory in your computer.
Using the DOS COpy CON Command to Create or Modify the CONFIG.SYS File We recommend using your editor or word processing program to create or modify the CONFIG.SYS file. However, if you do not have an editor or word processing program, you can use the DOS COpy CON command to add the EMM.SYS device driver. 1. Make sure you are in the root directory of your system disk. At the DOS prompt type: cd\ type config.sys [enter] [enter] If the message "File not found" appears, go on to step 2.
3. Type in one of the following EMM.SYS command lines depending upon which Everex memory board you have: For Everex memory boards with model numbers EV165, EV-165A, and EV-173 type: device = emm.sys [enter] For Everex memory boards with any other model numbers type: device = emm.sys 258,00 [enter] Where 258 and 00 are the port address, and logical starting page of the EMS memory. 4. If you wrote down the contents of a previous config.sys file, type the previous contents back in now.
"Expanded displayed. Memory Manager Installed" will be EMM.SYS Command Line Arguments Although the command line "device=emm.sys" with its default values is fine for most users, the EMM.SYS expanded memory manager lets you specify certain parameters in the CONFIG.SYS command line. The format of the command line is as follows: device = [\path]emm.sys [lc] [pppp] [port,page]* [lv(:nnn)] [ld] [lh(:nnn)] The [ ] characters are for your reference only; do NOT type in the [ ] characters.
Where: \path defines the location of the directory where the EMM.SYS program is stored for those who prefer not to have the program in their root directory. If you would like EMM.SYS in your root directory, omit the \path option altogether. Ie informs EMM.SYS to chain interrupt vector 67 Hex. If you have another device that uses interrupt vector 67 Hex, such as AST's PC-NET II adapter, include the Ie option in your command line.
search will continue up to, and including, address EOOO. If the search fails to find an unused 64 kbyte area, a message is printed and the search terminated. Valid page frame addresses are C400, C800, CCOO, and DOOO. The default value is C400. NOTE: Four additional page frame addresses are available and these are D400, D800, DCOO, and EOOO. However, these four addresses do not work in AT computers whose BIOS and BASIC ROMs occupy address segments below FOOO. port,page communicates to EMM.
use logical pages 00-07; these pages are used for the memory upgrade. The next available logical page would be 08. /V:nnn informs EMM.SYS to use the Extended Memory found on the IBM PS/2 2 Megabyte Expansion board and other compatible cards as Expanded Memory. nnn is the number of 16 kbyte pages to use for this purpose, with the pages ranging from 1 to 896. /D tells EMM.SYS not to check the default page frame. As a result, the page frame will not be checked for a possible RAM or ROM.
Examples of Optional Command Lines: 1. DEVICE = EMM.SYS CCOO [ENTER] This command line locates the page frame address at CCOO. If the page frame address you specify is occupied (for example, by a ROM or RAM), EMM.SYS will scan from the next valid address for an alternate unused 64K area. The search will continue up to (and including) address EOOO. If the search does not find a valid 64K area, the message "No room on motherboard for page frame" will appear, and the search will terminate. 2. DEVICE=EMM.
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