ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º º º How Windows 3.x Works with Inboard 386/PC º º º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ WINDOWS 3.1 FOR THE INBOARD 386/PC Even though the Inboard has been discontinued, Intel will continue to provide technical support to Inboard 386/PC owners and will honor the five year warranty. However, we will not be releasing a version of Windows 3.1 for the Inboard 386/PC. Releasing special versions of Windows is something extra Intel has done for its customers. The decision to stop was not made lightly, and we have reconsidered it several times. Each time we did so, we came to the same conclusion: It would be best not to release a special version of Windows 3.1 for the Inboard 386/PC. There are several reasons for this decision: * The Inboard 386/PC has been on the market for many years. It was designed to give 8-bit machines (such as the IBM PC/XT) the benefits of a 386 CPU. For a long time, 386 specific software ran wonderfully on Inboard 386/PC equipped systems. While Windows 3.0 and 3.1 make use of 386 CPUs, they also rely on advanced hardware that the Inboard 386/PC cannot provide to the XT motherboard: two programmable interrupt controllers, a 16-bit DMA controller, CMOS memory, and a 16-bit bus. * Intel invested a lot of money, time, and effort to modify the Windows 3.0 Virtual Device Drivers (VDDs) to support the 8-bit architecture of an IBM XT. Windows 3.1 would require this investment be made again. It's possible that we would have to modify every subsequent release of Windows, and there is no guarantee that Windows' use of advanced hardware can continue to be supported on Inboard 386/PC equipped systems by modifying the Virtual Device Drivers. * Other software packages have modified VDDs too. Any software package that substituted its own modified VDD for one of Intel's modified VDDs would be incompatible with the Inboard 386/PC release of Windows 3.x. * Microsoft has stated publicly that they are moving away from supporting 8-bit system architecture in their software products (eg. Windows 3.1 has dropped the REAL MODE function that Windows 3.0 had). Microsoft could have designed their software to allow for 386 based machines with an 8-bit system architecture. They chose not to. Their position is understandable: they want to take advantage of the performance benefits offered by advanced hardware. There is a trade-off, however. With this software design trend, older system architectures become obsolete. With the decrease in prices for i386cpu motherboards, and the increase in software which use the advanced hardware on i386 CPU based systems, the Inboard 386/PC is no longer a viable solution. The Inboard 386/PC was marketed as a way to extend the life of a PC or XT system. It did that very well for many years. But, there are limits to what it can do, and Windows makes it clear that those limits have been reached. WINDOWS 3.0 FOR THE INBOARD 386/PC WHAT IT IS When Microsoft shipped the original Windows 3.0, it could only be run in the REAL (and rarely the STANDARD) mode on systems with an InBoard 386/PC. Intel responded to customer requests and hired a programmer to port Windows 3.0 into Windows 3.0 for the InBoard 386/PC. Windows 3.0 for the InBoard 386/PC will run in ENHANCED, STANDARD, or REAL modes right out of the box. This gives the customer the perfect environment for running Windows 3.0 compatible software. Windows 3.0 for the InBoard 386/PC has under gone extensive testing on IBM PCs and XTs, Compaq Portables and Portable Plus, Tandy 1200HDs, and Leading Edge Model Ds. Final testing showed any problems existing with Windows 3.0 for the InBoard 386/PC also exist with Windows 3.0 running on a true 386 machine. Technical support for this will be provided by Microsoft, Ph: (206) 454-2030. EMM386.SYS FROM WINDOWS Windows 3.0 for the InBoard 386/PC ships without Microsoft's EMM386.SYS. EMM386.SYS is used to supply Expanded Memory for DOS applications outside of the Windows environment. EMM386.SYS only provides a 64K page frame and does not support loading TSRs out of Conventional Memory. Expanded Memory is automatically provided by Windows for DOS applications running under the Windows environment. A third party Extended Memory Manager must be used to get Expanded Memory outside of the Windows environment or load TSRs out of Conventional Memory. At this time, the only Extended Memory Managers we know of that will work in conjunction with Windows 3.0 for the InBoard 386/PC are QEMM386 version 5.11 (or newer) by QuarterDeck, and 386^Max 5.12 (or newer) by Qualitas. QEMM 5.1X Only QEMM386.SYS ver 5.12 or higher will work with Windows 3.0 for the InBoard 386/PC.QEMM386.SYS ver 5.11 will work fine in the REAL or ENHANCED mode, but not the STANDARD mode. A customer with QEMM386.SYS ver 5.11 can download the upgrade from QOS's BBS (213)396-3904 the file name is WIN300.PAT or WIN300.ZIP. The customer will need to have his QEMM386 serial number to log onto the BBS. *Special Note* To get QEMM386.SYS 5.1X to work, the DEVICE = QEMM386.SYS line had to be heavily modified. The video range had to be excluded with X=A000-, the High Density Floppy Controller ROM should be cached with ROM=, the RAM switch must be used to provide LOADHI support, the U8 (unusual keyboard controller) switch must be used because QEMM386.SYS expects a AT keyboard, and IA (ignore A20) switch must be used because there is no hardware on the motherboard to support A20 switching. The whole line looks like this: Device=QEMM386.SYS X=A000-C7FF ROM=C800-CBFF RAM U8 IA FEATURES: Replaces HIMEM.SYS Allows Windows 3.0 for the InBoard 386/PC to come up in REAL, STANDARD, or ENHANCED mode. Supports loading TSRs out of Conventional Memory (LOADHI). Provides Expanded Memory for DOS applications running outside of the Windows ENHANCED mode, running under Windows in the STANDARD mode, or running under Windows in the REAL mode. QEMM 6.0 QEMM 6.0 has been tested with the InBoard(TM) 386/PC and Windows 3.0 for the InBoard(TM) 386/PC. There are no compatibility issues, they are compatible. The standard installation procedure works flawlessly. Before running OPTIMIZE and using the STEALTH capability of QEMM 6.0, the user must add the command line DEVICE=HOOKROM.SYS as the first line of the CONFIG.SYS (see the README file from QuarterDeck for more information). 386^MAX 386^MAX ver 5.10 and 5.12 have been tested with the InBoard(TM) 386/PC and Windows 3.0 for the InBoard 386/PC and they are semi-compatible. The standard installation procedure for 386^MAX worked flawlessly, as did MAXIMIZE., LOADHI.SYS and LOADHI.COM. Windows came up fine in both REAL and ENHANCED modes, but failed to come up at all in the STANDARD mode. FEATURES: Replaces HIMEM.SYS Allows Windows 3.0 for the InBoard 386/PC to come up in REAL, or ENHANCED mode BUT NOT STANDARD MODE. Supports loading TSRs out of Conventional Memory (LOADHI). Provides Expanded Memory for DOS applications running outside of the Windows ENHANCED mode, or under Windows in the REAL mode. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 1. MEMORY: A system with an InBoard 386/PC and no piggy will run Windows for the InBoard 386/PC in REAL mode. Windows for the InBoard 386/PC follows Microsoft specifications and requires 384K Extended memory for the STANDARD mode and as much Extended memory as possible for the ENHANCED mode. To get the maximum performance, a piggy with at least 1Mb should be added. 2 or 4Mb is better. 2. VGA: is almost a must. The screens look better and it is easier on the eyes. CGA has the most hard-to-read display. A name brand video card is also highly recommended. Clone video cards can cause problems. 3. MOUSE: A Mouse is almost a requirement. Moving through Windows without a Mouse is inconvenient at best, maddening at worst. 4. HARD DISK: Hard Disk capacity is critical. Windows 3.0 applications are Hard Disk pigs. Windows 3.0 for the InBoard 386/PC can run just fine on a 10Mb drive, but more memory is very desirable. 5. HIGH DENSITY DRIVE: A High Density Drive is going to become very important. Nearly all Windows 3.0 applications ship on 1.2M floppies. Some High Density Floppy Controllers have a BIOS on them that conflicts with the InBoard 386/PC. NOTE: Try to integrate the Hard Drive and Floppy Drive Controllers. This will save a slot and cut down on the number of vendors supplying control equipment. Check under High Density Controllers in an XT. WINDOWS 3.0 (STORE BOUGHT VERSION) Windows 3.0 (the version that was available in stores) is NOT compatible with the Inboard 386/PC. This version of Windows assumes the system board of the computer has at least 16bit hardware support. In 8088-based systems that support is not possible. To get around this issue, Intel sponsered the development of "Windows 3.0 for the InBoard 386/PC". This version translated the 16bit system board calls into the 8bit calls 8088-based systems can handle. "Windows 3.0 for the InBoard 386/PC" is currently on available WHILE SUPPLIES LAST from the Intel Order Department. The cost for this version of Windows 3.0 is $79 and is available only in the United States and Canada. Ordering information is available from the FaxBACK document 9012. ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ End of file Intel FaxBack # 2558 July 17,1992