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5170--No Video or POST.

OK, is there any specific one I should use for this AT or SixPak Plus? And most importantly, will most applications be able to use the added memory that the EMS driver provides, such as Windows 1.0, Wordstar, MS Lan Client, drivers.
 
Well, I don't really know. My knowledge only goes as far as the fact that a driver is needed. I have never used a SixPak plus. As a matter of fact, I have not yet even used EMS on an older PC. That is on my to do list, though. I'm not sure if the SixPak plus was designed for EMS, even.
 
DOS lives on!! said:
The two new memory chips came in today. I replaced the bad chip with a good one, but the computer still only counts 256kb of RAM, even though both banks are populated. I did set the jumper on J18 to indicate that 512kb is installed on the computer. What's causing it to ignore Bank 1?
Click to expand...
On my early 5170 (piggybacked RAM), which has both banks fitted, if I erroneously set the CMOS SETUP to 256KB of base RAM, then on startup I see the 5170 count up to 512KB (and then I get a '164-Memory Size Error' error). It's counting up to 512KB. So we can rule out an incorrect RAM setting in CMOS SETUP.

Please confirm that J18 is set per the following photo. Just to make sure.

5170_J18_512MB.jpg
 
DOS lives on!! said:
One more thing. The AST SixPak Plus (short) manual says that if the computer has an existing 512KB of onboard RAM, then the highest amount of RAM the SixPak can have is 128KB, thus totaling 640KB. Does this mean that the SixPak will ignore all but 128KB of the RAM it has? It is fully populated and I'm trying to get the computer to use it's RAM combined with the SixPak's RAM.
Click to expand...
The SixPakPlus (both versions) is an 8-bit card. There will there be a performance hit by using an 8-bit RAM card in a 16-bit machine.
Also, the SixPakPlus is not described by AST as being compatible with the AT. There may be issues, some subtle.
You really need to find a 16-bit RAM card.
 
If you've confirmed per above (post #44) that J18 is set correctly, then some experimentation of mine reveals another possible cause for your 5170's symptoms.

On my 5170, in which all 512KB is good, if I configure the CMOS SETUP for 256KB base RAM, I see a '164-Memory Size Error' message. In this scenario, the logic in the BIOS/POST appears to be, "Well, I'm told that there is 256KB RAM, but RAM past 256KB is testing good. That should not be the case. There is a problem."

However, if I then remove a chip from bank 1, I see what you see - a count up to 256KB with no errors whatsoever. The logic in the BIOS/POST appears to be, "Well, I'm told that there is 256KB RAM and when I try a memory test on addresses past 256KB, they fail. Therefore I'm seeing what I expect to see. All is good."

So, if you have configured the CMOS SETUP for 256KB base RAM, then there is one of the causes of the symptom. The CMOS SETUP needs to be reconfigured for 512KB base RAM. Once you've done that, you will probably see a 201 memory error showing you which bit (or bits) in bank 1 have failed.
 
modem7 said:
The SixPakPlus (both versions) is an 8-bit card. There will there be a performance hit by using an 8-bit RAM card in a 16-bit machine.
Also, the SixPakPlus is not described by AST as being compatible with the AT. There may be issues, some subtle.
You really need to find a 16-bit RAM card.
Click to expand...
I've got a NIB NOS Intel Above Board Plus with manual and software still shrinkwrapped. And, the board is fully populated with 2 mb.

P3020102.jpg P3020103-L.jpg
 
Once I get the diagnostic disk for this AT, I'll change the base memory setting to 512KB. Although I thought it would automatically recognize it with the jumper change, but I guess it allows the SETUP program to find the added memory.
modem7 said:
Also, the SixPakPlus is not described by AST as being compatible with the AT. There may be issues, some subtle.
You really need to find a 16-bit RAM card.
Click to expand...
This disappoints me. I'm sure the previous owners read the manual too.
Stone said:
I've got a NIB NOS Intel Above Board Plus with manual and software still shrinkwrapped. And, the board is fully populated with 2 mb.
Click to expand...
That would be a good fit for my AT. How much would you like for it?
 
I set the base memory in the BIOS to 512KB, and guess what, the error returns. It's a 040002 8100 201-Memory Error, followed by a: 164-Memory Size Error. Probably because the faulty chip isn't reporting itself. Time to run the system checkout.
 
That's what I've been doing for a while now, and I found the other shot chip. It was chip 8 in Bank 1. Now the error message no longer appears and it counts 640KB of RAM!
 
Well the error came back again. Somehow in the last time I booted it, it counted 640KB of RAM, but this boot it only counted 512KB. So I went back into the BIOS setup and changed it to 512KB. The error went away on the next boot.

Also today, I installed Windows 1.01 on it. It runs great. I enjoyed playing Reversi, or Isrever.
 
Where do you get Win1.x? All I have ever found is $100+ Ebay auctions. I want to play Isrever too!:D
 
I've wanted to try it for a really long time now. It won't read a mouse in VMs, so I have been looking for a reasonably priced original copy for about a year now. I posted a thread on it too.
 
DOS lives on!! said:
Well the error came back again. Somehow in the last time I booted it, it counted 640KB of RAM, but this boot it only counted 512KB. So I went back into the BIOS setup and changed it to 512KB. The error went away on the next boot.
Click to expand...
It sounds like you had a failure of RAM in the 512K to 640K region (supplied by your SixPakPlus I presume), and the 5170 warned you of the error.
 
Thankyou, but I have no way to write that to floppies until I get my 5160 on the net with Arachne.
 
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