18 Mar
2001
18 Mar
'01
7:25 a.m.
On Sun, 18 Mar 2001, Tony Duell wrote:
I've had a quick look at the BIOS source listings
in the TechRef, and I
can't see any reason why the POST would be slower with 16K than with 64K.
The memory check tests the RAM in 16K blocks, no matter how the DIP
switches are set. The only difference I can see is that if you have <64K
memory (on the motherboard), it doesn't check the DIP switches to look
for memory in expansion slots. But this would speed up the POST for
smaller amounts of memory, and anyway, even an 8088 doesn't take 5s for a
single conditional test :-)
One of the differences between the PC (5150) and the XT is the presence on
the PC of a DIP switch for amount of memory (the XT goes by what it finds
in POST).
Would folk with PC (5150) mind:
set the switches for 16K RAM, and time the POST.
Then set the switches for 64K RAM and time it again.
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin(a)xenosoft.com