DECmate III

From: Roger Ivie <IVIE_at_cc.usu.edu>
Date: Mon Jul 6 11:29:32 1998

> Well, today I got around to testing MS-DOS disk images from the PDP-8
> archive on the DECMAte III. It read the disk, said "Starting MS-DOS...",
> but then said, "XPU Board Error". It then entered a configuration menu
> for the DECMate (cursor, baud, etc.). What is an XPU board?

The XPU board is an add-in board which contains an 8088. The 8088 is used
to run MS-DOS. Without the XPU board, you can't run MS-DOS.

The APU board is an add-in board which contains a Z80. It's used for
running CP/M. I'm a bit lucky in that I have an APU board for all of my
DECmates (although OS/8 is a fine operating system, CP/M is home sweet home).

Roger Ivie
ivie_at_cc.usu.edu
Received on Mon Jul 06 1998 - 11:29:32 BST