FAQ: Installing PC/Xe and MC/Xe Boards
Installing PC/Xe and MC/Xe Boards
This section provides instructions for installing and configuring PC/Xe boards
in ISA computers. These include IBM AT and compatible computers, and 80386/
80486/Pentium based computers that employ the ISA (Industry Standard Arch-
itecture) bus.
Skip ahead for instructions for installing the MC/Xe board.
Before you plug in the board. . .
Write down the serial number of the board in the space provided. You will need
it if you have to contact DigiBoard regarding the board. There is one jumper,
J1, on the PC/2e board. Make sure it hasn't been changed from the factory-set
position (the top and middle pins connected). There are no jumpers on the PC/4e
and PC/8e boards. We recommend that you initially set all four DIP switches to
the ON position (towards the circuit board). If necessary, you can change them
later without removing the board.
Figure 2 PC/2e Board Layout
---------------------------------------------------
| x J1 Dip Switch x |
| x Jumper DS1 x |
| |
| DB9 <-- Line 2 Connector
| Serial Number |
|___________________________ ___ DB9 <-- Line 1 Connector
|________| |___________|
Figure 3 PC/4e and PC/8e Board Layout
---------------------------------------------------
| Dip Switch x |
| DS1 x |
|
| DB78 <-- Connector
| Serial Number
|___________________________ ___ __|
|________| |___________|
PC/Xe boards contain static-sensitive components. Always touch a grounded
surface to discharge static electricity before handling the circuit board.
Software Installation
The actual procedures for installing the device driver software for the PC/Xe
board are covered in a separate manual, included with the software diskette.
There are, however, a couple of points that should be made here to make the
software installation go more smoothly.
I/O Port Address
When configuring the device driver software, one of the first things you will be
asked for is the I/O address of the PC/Xe board. The PC/Xe board has four 8-bit
I/O registers which the computer uses to configure the board (for example, this
is how the computer sets the starting address and size of the board's dual
ported memory window). If you are installing multiple PC/Xe boards, each board
must have its own I/O addresses.
DIP Switch Settings for I/O Port Addresses
OFF: Switch flipped away from board ON: Switch flipped toward board
DS1 Switch: 1 2 3 4 DS1 Switch: 1 2 3 4 DS1 Switch: 1 2 3 4
I/O Port off: - - - - I/O Port off: - - x - I/O Port off: - x - -
320h-323h on: x x x x 300h-303h on: x x - x 220h-223h on: x - x x
DS1 Switch: 1 2 3 4 Pick non-conflicting I/O port address, best choices
I/O Port off: - x x - are 320h or 300h. Use 100h as last choice this is
200h-203h on: x - - x reserved or used by a number of devices.
DS1 Switch: 1 2 3 4 DS1 Switch: 1 2 3 4 DS1 Switch: 1 2 3 4
I/O Port off: x x - - I/O Port off: x - x - I/O Port off: x - - -
100h-103h on: - - x x 110h-113h on: - x - x 120h-123h on: - x x x
The fourth switch should always be in the ON position (towards the board).
Memory Window Size and Starting Address
The memory window size and starting address are programmed into the board by
the device driver. No switches or jumpers are required to change these
parameters. The PC/Xe board requires at least 8K bytes of unused memory
address space in your computer. This is typically allocated from the area
between 0C0000h and 0EFFFFh in your computer's memory map (it can, however,
be mapped into any free region in the first sixteen megabytes of address
space, depending on your operating system).
When deciding on a memory start address, keep in mind that the PC/Xe board
may have to coexist with a number of other devices which also require memory
address space. You may have to try a number of different starting addresses
before you find a free area. The starting addresses for 8K windows between
0C0000h and 0EFFFFh are listed in Table 1. NOTE_If you are installing two or
more PC/Xe boards, they may all share the same starting address. As an
additional aid, the device driver diskette that comes with the PC/Xe board
has a program, DIGIMMAP.EXE, in the /DIAGS directory, which can help you
find an open memory address range. If you don't know what areas in this
region are free, you'll have to use trial and error to find an available 8K
window. A good sequence to try is 0D0000h first, then 0D8000h, 0D4000h,
0C8000h and 0CC000h. If these don't work, try some of the addresses in the
0E0000h column (if your computer has Extended BIOS functions, this area may
not be available). If your system has monochrome graphics (e.g. Hercules),
you may be able to use addresses in the 0A0000h-0AFFFFh range. If your system
has 512K of base memory (memory below 1 megabyte), instead of the usual 640K,
you may be able to use addresses between 080000h and 09FFFFh.
Table 1 Memory Start Addresses for PC/Xe Boards
0C0000h 0D0000h 0E0000h
0C2000h 0D2000h 0E2000h
0C4000h 0D4000h 0E4000h
0C6000h 0D6000h 0E6000h
0C8000h 0D8000h 0E8000h
0CA000h 0DA000h 0EA000h
0CC000h 0DC000h 0EC000h
0CE000h 0DE000h 0EE000h
Table 2 Memory Addresses Typically Used by Other Devices
Device Addresses
VGA A0000-C7FFF
Shadow RAM Possibly anywhere. Check system BIOS setup.
SCSI Controller DC000-DA000. Check controller documentation.
Network Interface Check network interface controller documentation.
Interrupt Request Line (IRQ)
Depending upon the operating system or environment, it may be necessary to
assign an IRQ (Interrupt Request) line to the board. The PC/Xe board can be set
to use IRQs 3, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12 or 15, or IRQs can be disabled (some DigiBoard
device drivers, such as the OS/2 driver, do not use IRQs). The IRQ selection is
programmed into the board by the device driver. No switches or jumpers are
required to change the IRQ selection.
When run with an IRQ enabled (such as with Windows), the IRQ chosen for the
board must be unique_that is, no other board or device can have the same IRQ
assigned to it.
The most common sources of contention for IRQs are:
IRQ3: Used by standard serial ports COM2 and COM4, if present.
IRQ5: Used by secondary parallel printer port, if present.
IRQ7: Used by primary parallel printer port, if present.
Many different expansion boards use IRQs. Check the documentation for the
boards installed in your computer to see which, if any, IRQs they may be using.
Installing MC/Xe Boards
This section provides instructions for installing and configuring MC/Xe boards
in Micro Channel computers. The Micro Channel version is for use with IBM
PS/2 and compatible computers which use Micro Channel bus architecture.
Before you plug in the board. . .
Write down the serial number of the board in the space provided. You will need
it if you have to contact DigiBoard regarding the board.
Make sure you have the following items at hand:
* Working copy of your IBM Reference Diskette (don't use the original_it
should be write-protected and stored in a safe place)
* ADF (Adapter Description Files) diskette (supplied with the board)
Figure 5 MC/2e Board Layout
__
| \---------------------------------------------------
| | |
| | |
| | DB9 <-- Line 2 Connector
| | x |
| | x <-- Serial Number DB9 <-- Line 1 Connector
|__|___________________________ ___ __|
|________| |___________| | <-- Fork
Figure 6 MC/4e and MC/8e Board Layout
__
| \---------------------------------------------------
| | |
| | |
| |
| | DB-78 <-- Connector
| | Serial Number --> xx
|__|___________________________ ___ __|
|________| |___________| | <-- Fork
MC/Xe boards contain static-sensitive components. Always touch a grounded
surface to discharge static electricity before handling the circuit board.
Configuring the Board
After the MC/Xe board has been physically installed in your machine, you need
to configure the board for operation in your system. This is done by running
the configuration program on the IBM Reference Diskette. Follow these steps:
1. Insert your working copy of the IBM Reference Diskette into your boot
drive (Drive A) and turn on the computer's power. Expect an error mes-
sage_the MC/Xe board won't be found in the configuration file at this
point.
2. Select "Copy an Option Diskette" from the main menu. Follow the
instructions given on your computer screen for copying ADF files onto your
Reference Diskette. The name of the ADF file for MC/Xe boards is
@6FE7.ADF.
3. Select "Set Configuration" from the main menu. Then select "Change
Configuration" from the Set Configuration menu. The screen will now
display the configuration of the system. Use the and keys to scroll through the configuration until you see the entry for
the slot into which you have plugged the MC/Xe board. There are three
parameters which can be set: Memory Start Address, I/O Port Address and
Interrupt Vector.
To change a parameter, use the arrow keys to highlight the item you wish to
change, then press the and function keys to cycle through the
available settings for that parameter.
When you have set all three parameters to the desired values, press
to save the changes, then press to exit.
The following options are available:
Memory Start Address (64K):
0C0000h, 0D0000h, F80000h, FA0000h or FC0000h.
Memory Start Address (8K):
0C0000h, 0C2000h, 0C4000h, 0C6000h, 0C8000h, 0CA000h, 0CC000h,
0CE000h, 0D0000h, 0D2000h, 0D4000h, 0D6000h, 0D8000h, 0DA000h,
0DC000h, 0DE000h, F80000h, FA0000h or FC0000h.
NOTE: F80000h, FA0000h and FC0000h are above the 1 megabyte boundary
(in the sixteenth megabyte).
I/O Port Address: 108h, 118h, 128h, 218h, 228h, 308h or 328h.
Interrupt Vectors:
IRQ 3, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12, 15 or None (IRQ disabled).
See the following section, Software Installation, for an explanation of these
parameters.
4. Remove the Reference Diskette from the drive and reboot your machine.
This time you should get no error message.
Software Installation
The actual procedures for installing the device driver software for the MC/Xe
board are covered in a separate manual, included with the software diskette.
There are, however, a couple of points that should be made here to make the
software installation go more smoothly.
I/O Port Address
The MC/Xe board has four 8-bit I/O registers which the computer uses to
communicate with the board. The four registers occupy consecutive I/O
addresses, the first of which is defined by the I/O Port Address parameter
in the POS (Programmable Option Select) registers of your Micro Channel
machine. The I/O Port Address selection is made by the configuration program
on the IBM Reference Diskette.
If you are installing multiple MC/Xe boards, each board must have its own I/O
address. The MC/Xe board can be set to seven different I/O addresses (108h,
118h, 128h, 218h, 228h, 308h or 328h), so it should be easy to find an address
that isn't already in use. You can narrow the field of choices by looking at
the configurations of other devices in your computer (boot your machine with
the IBM Reference Diskette and select "Set Configuration", then "View Config-
uration") to see what I/O port addresses they use.
Memory Window Size and Starting Address
The MC/Xe board requires at least 8K bytes of unused memory address space in
your computer. This is normally allocated from the area between 0C0000h and
0DFFFFh in your computer's memory map. It is also possible to map the MC/Xe
board's memory into the sixteenth megabyte of your computer's memory map
(this is, however, generally not supported by device driver software due to
potential conflicts with system memory and memory cache controllers).
The memory window size can be either 64K bytes or 8K bytes_this is determined
by the Memory Start Address selection when you use the configuration program
on the IBM Reference Diskette. There is no difference in performance between
an 8K window and a 64K window, and on DOS based systems where the board must
be mapped into the first megabyte, it is much easier to allocate 8K bytes of
address space than 64K (there are only two 64K blocks between 0C0000h and
0DFFFFh, while there are sixteen 8K blocks in the same address range).
When deciding on a memory start address, keep in mind that the MC/Xe board
may have to coexist with a number of other devices (such as video adapters,
ESDI hard disk controllers, network interfaces, SCSI interfaces, etc.) which
also require memory address space. You may have to try a number of different
starting addresses before you find a free area. The supported starting
If you are installing the MC/Xe board in a DOS based system with an expanded
memory manager (e.g. EMM386, QEMM, etc.), be sure to exclude the memory
address range used by the MC/Xe board. This is usually done with a command
line option in the DEVICE= line for your memory manager in CONFIG.SYS. Consult
the documentation for your expanded memory manager for instructions.
Table 3 Memory Start Addresses for MC/Xe Boards
0C0000h 0D0000h F80000h
0C2000h 0D2000h FA0000h
0C4000h 0D4000h FC0000h
0C6000h 0D6000h
0C8000h 0D8000h
0CA000h 0DA000h
0CC000h 0DC000h
0CE000h 0DE000h
Interrupt Vector (IRQ)
Depending upon the operating system or environment, it may be necessary to
assign an IRQ (Interrupt Request) line to the board. The MC/Xe board can be
set to use IRQs 3, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12 or 15, or interrupts can be disabled
(some DigiBoard device drivers, such as the OS/2 driver, do not use IRQs).
The IRQ selection is made by the configuration program on the IBM Reference
Diskette. When run with an IRQ enabled (such as with Windows), the IRQ chosen
for the board must be unique_that is, no other board or device can have the
same IRQ assigned to it.
The most common sources of contention for IRQs are:
IRQ3: Used by standard serial ports COM2 and COM4, if present.
IRQ5: Used by secondary parallel printer port, if present.
IRQ7: Used by primary parallel printer port, if present.
You can narrow the field of choices by looking at the configurations of other
devices in your computer (boot your machine with the IBM Reference Diskette
and select "Set Configuration", then "View Configuration") to see what, if any,
IRQs they use.
Revised 09/02/98: BT
