I have a quick question and I think I know the answer already, but I just want to be sure.
So I have this 286-16 board with 1MB (DIP) RAM. I added 4 x 1MB sims but that won’t work.
The manual says (I think) when using the sim banks the dip banks have to be empty. Am I right?
Don’t want to pry out the ICs for nothing 😅
This is the board: https://th99.bl4ckb0x.de/m/U-Z/30680.htm
It certainly seems the sockets and slots are shared, you cannot have one with the other. The chipset only supports 4MB max so it makes sense the DIP sockets need to be empty.
T-04YBSC, a new YMF71x based sound card & Official VOGONS thread about it
Newly made 4MB 60ns 30pin SIMMs ~
mida sa loed ? nagunii aru ei saa 😜
Interesting, didn't know you cannot mix socketed and slotted RAM. Although I would prefer the socketed ones as they look way more cool, I can see 1MB being somewhat limiting.
Paar wrote on 2024-02-26, 08:34:Interesting, didn't know you cannot mix socketed and slotted RAM. Although I would prefer the socketed ones as they look way more cool, I can see 1MB being somewhat limiting.
It isn't always the case. Some 286 boards do allow you to mix. I've seen a few where odd combinations like 3mb or 5mb is possible by using DIP and SIMM/SIPP memory simultaneously.
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Paar wrote on 2024-02-26, 08:34:Interesting, didn't know you cannot mix socketed and slotted RAM. Although I would prefer the socketed ones as they look way more cool, I can see 1MB being somewhat limiting.
I second that.
I know, this story is getting old now, but I was long time 286 user in the 90s, when many had a 386 or 486.
However, my 286-12 was being reasonably upgraded, not unlike a 386SX PC was of same time.
Specs:
- ATI VGA Wonder with bus mouse port (on-board)
- IDE host adapter card
- 80 MB Conner AT-Bus HDD (40 MB usable due to BIOS limits)
- Genius serial mouse
- Cherry keyboard (no Win95 keys!)
- 4MB RAM 70ns (4x 1 MB SIMMs, one for each slot)
- Mustek Handy Scanner w/ ISA interface card
- 1,44 MB FD (FDC on-board)
- Pro Audio Spectrum 16 with SCSI
- SCSI CD-ROM drive (Sony)
- an underpowered PSU
- HP Laser Jet Plus
- 14" IBM PS/2 monitor
- 14k4 (?) Creatix data/fax modem
- DCF-77 receiver dongle
With such an expansion, the 286 was ready to do some lightweight multimedia.
Especially the CD-ROM drive was a must-have, in order to access the library of freeware, shareware and public domain..
The only thing the PC had missed was a cool 1,2MB 5,25" drive.
That's what my father had install in his mighty 386DX-40 at the time.
Because, the 1,2 MB drive was a modern relic of the day.
In the mid-90s, an 1,2 MB 5,25" drive was still being installed in new big tower PCs.
Bith Pentium systems and high-end 486 PCs.
The big HD drive was still important in daily use. It was classy and being seen as a professional medium.
In 1994/95, I remember, you could still get new shareware on such 5,25" disks.
PC driver diskettes were still being provided in both 3,5" and 5,25" form.
And if not, there was an order form included in the box, so you could get a 5,25" floppy.
"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel
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Alright, I removed the DIP RAM and the 4 x 1MB simms work flawlessly.
Also added an aztech sound galaxy nx pro for more fun 🤩
