24 Nov
2009
24 Nov
'09
7:08 a.m.
This would surely be possible, but might require a device with some external software...
we use them all the time at my work... jtag debugger... just the presentation would be
different (and less powerful).
________________________________
From: Sridhar Ayengar <ploopster at gmail.com>
To: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Tue, November 24, 2009 9:03:05 AM
Subject: Re: Switches & Blinky Light Front Panel for PC?
Rick Bensene wrote:
OK, so this might break the ten year rule, but I'm
curious.
Has anyone ever built a switches and lights front panel for a PC?
I'm talking a real front panel (not some USB-attached, software-driven
thing) that can control an X86 PC...one that has address, data, and
state lights, address/data switches, and control switches (Exam/Exam
Next, Deposit, Load Address, Run/Stop, Single Step, etc.)?
Is such a beast even possible? Might be somewhat difficult with
multi-core CPUs, but maybe a Pentium 3 or earlier?
While such a thing would probably be of limited use for anything really
practical, it would be interesting (to me at least) in some twisted way.
Can modern processors be single-stepped?
Peace... Sridhar