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                                 Compliments of

                 The  P e r S t o r   S u p p o r t    B o a r d

                               FidoNet  1:102/523
                               AlterNet 7:401/523




               8 BIT CONTROLLER HARDWARE PROBLEMS

The  following are details and possible remedies for the hardware 
incompatibilities we have encountered: 

1.  The port address of the PS180 is at 320 Hex.   In 286 and 386 
    computers  during  boot time with the C_MOS set to  "no  hard 
    disk drives installed",  the system will step up through  the 
    memory  map until it finds a device (BIOS ROM) that will take 
    over.  The Perstor BIOS, addressed at C800:0, will finish the 
    boot sequence. 

2.  WD  1002  Fox Floppy controllers do not work with the  PS180.  
    Use  a different stand alone floppy controller or replace  it 
    with  the WD 1003 dual floppy/hard disk card.   We  recommend 
    using  a stand alone floppy disk controller such as the Kouwe 
    Model KW530.   It supports 360K,  720K, and 1.2MB floppies in     
    286 computers only.

3.  The  Everex  tape backup board must be set to DMA 1  if  used 
    with the Teac tape backup machine.

4.  The  IBM BIOS used on clone system boards will display the F1 
    message.   You  must exchange this BIOS with one designed for 
    your specific motherboard.  We suggest using a Phoenix BIOS.

5.  With  a  Copy  II  PC option board  installed  in  an  XT  or 
    compatible  system,  the  interrupt  level  must  be  changed 
    because  a  conflict exists with the interrupt of  the  PS180 
    controller.

6.  The IBM XT BIOS dated November 2,  1982  will display the  F1 
    error  message.   You  must exchange this BIOS with  a  newer 
    version of the IBM XT BIOS.

7.  Syquest 12MB SQ312R removable cartridge drives must have  the 
    following modifications made:   the W3,  W8, and W9 positions 
    must be open for proper operation with the PS180.

8.  If  you  are installing two Seagate hard  disks,  leave  both 
    terminating  resistors intact.  This will allow  the  Seagate 
    drives to perform more efficiently.

9.  Micro  Science HH1120 RLL drives dated August 1988 and  later 
    with  a 100+ nanosecond pulse width require a modification to 
    the  Perstor controller with artwork revisions below 3.0  for 
    proper operation. Call your dealer for details. 

10. Some  system board BIOSes (such as the DTK) that support 3.5" 
    floppy  drives will be incompatible with  the  PS180.   These 
    problems  are currently being addressed.  The DTK BIOS with 3 
    1/2" floppy support is compatible with the AT9-1.03 BIOS, but 
    the clock will reset the minutes to 00 during the boot phase.  
    The AT9-1.07 BIOS will correct the clock problem,  but 3.5" 
    floppy drives will not be supported.