VOGONS


First post, by noshutdown

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we had emm386 and similar tools to emulate ems, to handle games and softwares designed to run with it, and therefore there was very little requirement for a physical board ever since the 386 era. but for a 8088 machine, such a board would be the only way to utilize more than 640kb of ram, and it also has to be in 8bit isa bus.
now, can someone show me some pictures of physical ems boards, and tell me about how to identify them from lots of 8bit isa cards with unrecognized feature and model? and are there any modern replica designs?

Reply 1 of 5, by weedeewee

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FYI

ISA XMS/EMS Memory Extension / Expansion cards: Now Running without Driver / Documentation :-)

edit: meh, just did a quick rundown of the thread and all the cards are 16 bit isa, so no use on an XT.
on a newer note there is this https://texelec.com/product/lo-tech-ems-2-mb/ and you can also use PicoMEM if memory serves.

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Reply 4 of 5, by Grem Five

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maxtherabbit wrote on 2026-02-06, 15:45:
Grem Five wrote on 2026-02-06, 09:26:

AST SixPack Premium - manual is over on minuszerodegrees https://www.minuszerodegrees.net/manuals.htm#AST

took me literal years of searching ebay to get one of these

nice card though

I happened on mine a few years ago for about $40, the pic I added is from one on ebay right now for $77 and one just listed for $70 plus another sealed in box for $300.