  ͻ
                                                                           
                  ISA Bus: Operating System Compatibility                  
                                                                           
  ͼ

OPERATING SYSTEMS

  DOS, XENIX, and OS/2 (versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, & 2.0 tested here) will
  run on the Above Board ISA, Plus, Plus 8, 286, PS/286, AT, PS/AT and the
  Matched Memory Classic. Only DOS will run on the Above Board PC and PS/PC
  due to the inability of the 8088 and 8086 CPU to use extended memory.

  Above Boards and the Matched Memory Classic all work well with DOS 5.0,
  appearing to have no compatibility problems.  However, there are some
  issues to be considered which are covered in FaxBACK Document 1156.

DOS 4.0 NOTES
DOS 4.0

  IBM has released a patch for PC-DOS 4.01 that fixes the problems with its
  use of EMS memory for FASTOPEN, BUFFERS, etc.  This fix consists of
  allowing the use of either an XD (dynamic) or XS(static) parameter where
  it originally only used an X parameter.

  The static parameter assumes the ability to lock down pages outside the
  standard page frame, a capability that no Intel EMS product supports at
  this time.  The XS parameter will generally only work with XMA2EMS drivers
  supplied by IBM.  The XD parameter causes DOS to use memory in the more
  standard fashion of sharing page addresses, and is compatible with all
  Intel EMS products.

  The default for the "patched" version if the customer only uses /X and
  does not specify the D or the S, is dynamic mode which will function with
  Intel products.

  Microsoft DOS 4.01 DOES use EMS memory correctly.

  NOTE:  No version of DOS allows you to run DOS disk BUFFERS in EMS
         memory if some application (such as CCAM or a network driver)
         is going to be doing buffered disk read/writes directly into
         EMS memory.

HOW TO TELL IF PC-DOS 4.01 IS PATCHED

  The file dates on the corrected version of IBMBIO.COM and IBMDOS.COM will
  be 4-06-89 or later.  If the customer's DOS has not been patched, the /X
  parameters will not work with Intel EMS products.  They can request this
  IBM Customer Service Diskette, #UR25066.

IBM PC-LAN & BUFFERS/X

  IBM states that PC-LAN can NOT use EMS memory while buffers are in EMS
  memory unless the buffers were set up with the /XS parameter.  No Intel
  EMS product supports the /XS parameter at this time.

  Solution: Do not use /X parameter with BUFFERS on systems running PC-LAN.

IBM DOS ON NON-IBM COMPUTERS

  Lots of Customer Reports that IBM's versions of DOS were designed
  specifically for IBM computers. In Non-IBM computers all kinds of
  intermittent problems or port problems might arise.

  Most typically serial or parallel port problems arise, where things don't
  print as they should, or don't print at all.  With IBM PC-DOS 5.0 the EDIT
  and QBASIC utilities probably won't work in a NON-IBM system, since they
  are expecting to use specific information found in IBM ROMs, and it won't
  be found in non-IBM systems.

OS/2 NOTES
88300 ON BOOT

  88300 is a message seen on every boot of OS/2.  Will be seen with or
  without an Above Board or Matched Memory Classic in the system.

OS/2 AND CHKMEM

  Right after you select "Compatibility Box" under OS/2, a memory display
  tells you there is X amount of extended memory available.  CHKMEM in the
  compatibility box will report 0 extended available.

  CHKMEM displays logical (not physical) memory available; OS/2 takes all
  extended memory so CHKMEM reports logically there's none left.

OS/2 BOOTS WITH ONLY DOS COMPATIBILITY BOX

  This can be caused by a lack of available extended memory in a system.
  OS/2 v1.2 requires at least 1.5 megabytes of extended beyond the 640k of
  conventional.

OS/2 BOOTS WITHOUT DOS COMPATIBILITY BOX

  This is most likely caused by the statement PROTECTONLY=YES in the
  CONFIG.SYS file. Edit this file to PROTECTONLY=NO and reboot the system.



End of file                 Intel FaxBack # 1050          December 2,1992
