P.O.S.T. issue (was: Looking for Someone with IBM PC (fwd)

From: Fred Cisin <cisin_at_xenosoft.com>
Date: Sun Mar 18 15:25:13 2001

On Sun, 18 Mar 2001, Tony Duell wrote:
> I've had a quick look at the BIOS source listings in the TechRef, and I
> can't see any reason why the POST would be slower with 16K than with 64K.
> The memory check tests the RAM in 16K blocks, no matter how the DIP
> switches are set. The only difference I can see is that if you have <64K
> memory (on the motherboard), it doesn't check the DIP switches to look
> for memory in expansion slots. But this would speed up the POST for
> smaller amounts of memory, and anyway, even an 8088 doesn't take 5s for a
> single conditional test :-)

One of the differences between the PC (5150) and the XT is the presence on
the PC of a DIP switch for amount of memory (the XT goes by what it finds
in POST).

Would folk with PC (5150) mind:
set the switches for 16K RAM, and time the POST.
Then set the switches for 64K RAM and time it again.

--
Grumpy Ol' Fred        cisin_at_xenosoft.com
Received on Sun Mar 18 2001 - 15:25:13 GMT

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