DFI MegaLITH Plus User manual

·014110826·

l
COPYRIGHT 1991, BY DFIINC.
All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be copied or reproduced in any form or
by any means without the prior written consent of OFI, Inc.
OFI, Inc. makes no warranties with respect to this documentation and
disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability, quality, or fitness
for any particular purpose. The information in this document is sub-
ject to change without notice. OFI, Inc. reserves the right to make
revisions to this publication and to make changes to any and/or al/
parts of its content, at any time, without obligation to notify any person
or entity of such changes. Further, OFI, Inc. assumes no responsibil-
ity for any errors that may appear in this document.
OFI is a registered trademark of OFI, Inc . MegaLITH PLUS is a trade-
mark of OFI, Inc. All other product names mentioned are trademarks
or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
r
FCC STATEMENT ON CLASS B
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits
for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of FCC rules. These
limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference when the equipment is operated in a residential installa-
tion. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency
energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction
manual may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a
particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interfer-
ence to radio or television reception, which can be determined by
turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to correct
the interference by one or more of the following measures:
Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
Increase the separation between the receiver and equipment.
Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from
that to which the receiver is connected.
Consult the dealer or an experienced radio TV technician for help.
NOTICE:
(1) The changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party
responsible for compliance could void the user's authority to oper-
ate the equipment.
(2) Shielded interface cables must be used in order to comply with
the emission limits.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ............................... ........................................... 1·1
HARDWARE .......................................................................... 1-1
SOFTWARE ........................................................................... 1-2
FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS ................................... 1-3
HARDWARE ................................................................... 1-3
SOFTWARE .................................................................... 1-4
TYPES OF MEMORY· AN OVERViEW .................................... 2·1
NAMING CONVENTIONS ..................................................... 2-1
CONVENTIONAL MEMORy ......................................... . 2-1
EXTENDED MEMORY ........... ......... ............... . ..... . ......... 2-4
EXPANDED MEMORY ............ . .......... . ......... . ................. 2-4
USING THE MegaLITH PLUS MEMORy ..................... 2-6
HARDWARE INSTALLATION .................................................... 3·1
BOARD CONFIGURATION SETIINGS ............................... 3-1
JUMPER SETIINGS ............ ................. .. ....................... 3-2
SW1 DEFAULT SETIING .............................................. 3-3
SW2 DEFAULT SETIING .............................................. 3-7
SW3 DEFAULT SETIING .............................................. 3-10
MEMORY INSTALLATION .. ........ .................. . ................... ... . 3-11
TYPES OF MODULES .............. ... ............................ . ..... 3-11
HOW TO INSTALL THE MODULES ............................. 3-11
WHERE TO INSTALL THE MODULES ........................ 3-12
BOARD INSTALLATION ...... ..... .. ... .. ...................... .............. 3-13
BACKING UP THE MegaLITH PLUS SOFTWARE
DISK ................................................................................. 3-13
INSTALLING THE MegaLITH PLUS ............................. 3-14
SOFTWARE INSTALLATION ..................................................... 4·1
DESCRIPTION ............. .. .... . ...... ....... ................ .. .............. ... ... 4-1
USING EXPANDED MEMORy ............................................. 4-3
MegaLlTH.SYS PARAMETERS SPECIFICATION ....... 4-3
EXAMPLES USING MegaLlTH.SYS ........................... .. 4-6
EMS ERROR MESSAGES ............................................. 4-7

USING VIRTUAL DISKS .......................... .... ........................... 4-8
DEFINITION . ..... ............. . ................ . ... . ............................. 4-8
HOW TO USE THE VIRTUAL DISK ............ .. .................. 4-9
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
VIRTUAL DISK ERROR MESSAGES ............................. 4-9
USING THE PRINT BUFFER ........ .. ....................................... 4-10
SPOOLER INSTALLATION .............................................. 4-10
PSPOOUPSPOOLA PARAMETER SPECIFICATIONS . 4-11
EXAMPLES USING PSPOOL .......................................... 4-13
. USING THE SPOOLER .. .................................... ......... ..... 4-14
PSPOOUPSPOOLA ERROR MESSAGES ..................... 4-14
FIGURE 2·1: 1 MEGABYTE MEMORY MAP ........................... 2-2
FIGURE 2·2: RESERVED MEMORY ON AN AT OR
386 SYSTEM ........................................................ 2-3
FIGURE 2·3: EMS 4.0 MEMORY MAP ....... ........ ...................... 2-5
FIGURE 3-1: MegaLITH PLUS BOARD LAYOUT ................... 3-2
FIGURE 3-2: SW1 DEFAULT SETTING ................................... 3-3
APPENDIX A: LINEAR MEMORY MODE ................................... A·1
FIGURE 3-3: SW2 DEFAULT SETTING ................................... 3-7
FIGURE 3-4: SW3 DEFAULT SETTING .... ............. .................. 3-10
APPENDIX B: MegaLITH PLUS MEMORY
IMPLEMENTATION .; ........................................... B·1
FIGURE 3-5: BANK LOCATIONS ON THE MegaLITH PLUS. 3-12
FIGURE 3-6: REMOVING THE SYSTEM COVER ................... 3-15
FIGURE 3-7: MegaLITH PLUS INSTALLATION ...................... 3-15
FIGURE B·1: MegaLITH PLUS MEMORY
IMPLEMENTATION ................................ ... .......... B-1
TABLE 2·1:
ADDRESS FOR THE 1 MB MEMORY MAP ....... 2-2
TABLE 3·1:
SUMMARY OF SW1 SETTING ................ .......... 3-3
TABLE 3·2:
SUMMARY OF SW2 SETTING .......................... 3-7
TABLE 3·3:
I/O PORT ADDRESS SETTINGS ....................... 3-10
TABLE 3-4:
TABLE OF TESTED CHIPS .............. ..... ............. 3-11
TABLE 3·5:
BANK SELECTION AND CHIP
REQUIREMENTS ................................................ 3-13

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INTRODUCTION
HARDWARE
The MegaLITH PLUS memory board is a high speed, cost-effective
8MB, 16-bit memory board for the 286 and 386 systems that accepts
AT-expansion cards. Compatible systems include IBM PCIAT and
Compaq Deskpro 386/25.
The MegaLITH PLUS offers flexible and easy memory configuration.
It supports up to 32MB of EMS 4.0 and extended memory . The eight
megabytes of memory per board can be configured to all EMS, all
conventionallextended, or a combination of the two. The board can
backfill OK systems to 640K, in 1 28K steps while also providing EMS
memory for programs that require it.
The MegaLITH PLUS's EMS memory is hardware EMS. EMS page
registers are built into the hardware, so EMS functions are performed
quickly.
Setting up the board is easy. Most switch settings are made using
DIP switches that are almost self-explanatory. If you need to set up
many boards, you will probably be able to set them up without even
using the manual , once you've learned the switch functions.
The MegaLITH PLUS is compatible with operating systems such as
Novell, OS/2 and XENIX. The MegaLITH PLUS's several linear
memory modes are well suited for these types of operating systems.
The MegaLITH PLUS is fast enough to work in virtually all systems
available today. Almost all 16,20 and 25MHz 286 and 386 systems
have bus speeds of only six to ten MHz. The MegaLITH PLUS board
can run in systems with bus speeds of 12M Hz.
INTRODUCTION 1-1

SOFTWARE
The MegaLITH PLUS comes with software device drivers to install
EMS memory conforming to EMS version 4.0. In addition, RAM disk
and print spooler software are provided that can use either conven-
tional, extended or EMS memory.
The MegaLITH PLUS supports all EMS 4.0 capabilities including multi-
tasking functions . In addition to storing data, the MegaLITH PLUS
board with the EMS 4.0 software provides the following additional fea-
tures:
• Memory-resident programs like SideKick Plus can be loaded into
EMS memory, saving crowded conventional memory for other ap-
plications .
•
Programs can store most of their program codes in EMS memory,
again conserving limited conventional memory.
With its hardware backfill capability, the MegaLITH PLUS EMS
driver can provide superior performance for software packages
such as Microsoft Windows 3.0 and Quarterdeck DESOview Rev.
2.31.
The MegaLITH PLUS EMS device driver software lets you choose
from five EMS page frame base addresses. This feature lets you
work around address conflicts when other boards are installed that
access the same memory address.
1-2 INTRODUCTION
FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS
HARDWARE
• 8192 (8MB) of conventional , extended and expanded memory
• Supports 32 register sets for multitasking capability
• Easy installation with clearly marked DIP switch settings
• Backfills OK systems to 640K, in 128K steps, of conventional
memory . Memory can be used as either expanded memory, ex-
tended memory, or both.
Works with DOS, NOVELL, OS/2, XENIX, DESQview, Microsoft
Windows 3.0, Concurrent DOS XM and other operating systems
• Maximum expanded memory:
- 8M (one board)
- 32M (four boards)
• Maximum linear memory:
- 8M (one board)
16M (two boards)
• DRAM chip type:
- 256K x8 or 256K x9 (70 - 120 ns) SIMM
1M x8 or 256K x9 (70 - 120 ns) SIMM
INTRODUCTION 1-3

SOFTWARE
• Support for EMS 4.0 driver
MegaLlTH.SYS
Virtual Disk (Vdisk) programs provided
CMMDISKSYS - conventional memory
EXMDISKSYS - extended memory
EMSDISKSYS - expanded memory
• Printer spooler program provided
PSPOOL.COM
PSPOOLA.COM
PSPLHELP.COM
Installation program provided
1-4 INTRODUCTION
TYPES OF MEMORY
OVERVIEW
-
AN
This chapter describes the different kinds of memory and suggests
the most appropriate way to set up your board.
NAMING CONVENTIONS
In this manual, memory between OK and 640K is referred to as con-
ventional memory. Memory above the 1024K address is referred to
as extended memory . When conventional and extended memory are
referenced as one unit, they are called linear memory. Memory con-
forming to the Lotus/Intel/Microsoft (LIM) Expanded Memory Specifica-
tion is referred to as EMS memory. Enhanced Expanded Memory
Specification (EEMS) is a superset of EMS memory.
CONVENTIONAL MEMORY
Conventional memory refers to DOS memory below 640K. Generally
programs must fit into conventional memory to run, although some
programs use extended or EMS memory to store data files.
The 640K conventional memory size was designed around the 8088
microprocessor. This microprocessor, used in the IBM PC and PCIXT, is
capable of addressing only 1024K of memory. Operating systems such
as MS-DOS and PC-DOS and other application programs were limited
to the first 640K with the remaining 384K address space reserved for
video RAM, ROM BIOS, and other system devices. Figure 2-1 gives
an illustration of the 1 MB memory map. Below it is a table of decimal
and hexadecimal addresses for the 1 MB memory map .
TYPES OF MEMORY- AN OVERVIEW 2-1

1024K The
ar ea reserved (or tbe
I Reserved I
t-- ROM BIOS and hardware devica
Memory devices (d;,ploy adopter
ards,
nerwort board .. Ind bird diet
640K
"'nlroIlera ).
Add-On Memory
The area where programs
are execuled.
.Motherboard
Memory
OK
Conventional Memory
FIGURE 2·1. 1 MEGABYTE MEMORY MAP
DECIMAL
HEX
MEMORY USE
1024K
100000h
Reserved address space
960K
FOOOOh
640K - 1024K
896K
EOOOOh
for video memory,
832K
DOOOOh
ROM BIOS, and some
768K
COOOOh
system devices
704K
BOOOOh
640K
AOOOOh
Conventiona l
576K
90000h
memory address space
512K
80000h
OK - 640K
448K
70000h
for DOS and
384K
60000h
application programs
320K
50000h
256K
40000h
192K
30000h
128K
20000h
64K
10000h
OK
OOOOOh
TABLE 2·1. ADDRESS FOR THE 1MB MEMORY MAP
2-2 TYPES OF MEMORY - AN OVERVIEW
Reserved memory in Figure 2-1 is divided into the following areas:
•
•
•
ROM BIOS area - the part of DOS that is built into every PC and
manages the hardware basics, such as reading the keyboard ,
driving the printer , and displaying information on the screen.
Screen Buffer on Video Display RAM - the area that stores the
information that appears on the video display monitor.
Hardware-specific ROMs - the area for the enhanced graphics
adapter (EGA) display and hard disk controller.
Refer to Figure 2-2 for an illustration on how reserved memory is nor-
mally configured .
10000H
FOOOH
EOOOH
D400H
C400H
BSOOH
BOOOH
AOOOH
_--.-- ---,- _1024K
ROM
BIOS
_-+----+-_ 960K
Extra
ROM
LIM
Data Area
896K
848K
--+--=.,---+-- 784K
--,g~,-- 736K
--+--=:..:...=---+-- 704K
EGA!
VGA
_-'-- -- -'--_ 640K
III -UNUSED
FIGURE 2·2. RESERVED MEMORY ON AN AT OR 386 SYSTEM
TYPES OF MEMORY -AN OVERVIEW 2-3

EXTENDED MEMORY
The 286 and 386 CPU can address more than 1 MB of memory , but
the DOS operating system still places a 640K cap on the size of con-
ventional memory. Extended memory, also referred to as protected
mode memory, is mapped to a 1024K (1.0M) or higher address.
Under the DOS operating system , extended memory is pr i m~rily . us~
for RAM disks, print spoolers, and EMS 4.0. No DOS appll~tIOn IS
able to execute in extended memory, and few DOS applications are
able to make any use of extended memory . Linear-memory operating
systems, e.g ., XENIX, Novell and OS/2 , can use extended memory
more effectively than DOS.
EXPANDED MEMORY
EMS (Expanded Memory Specification) memory, also known as LIM
(LotusllntellMicrosoft) memory and expanded memory was developed
by the LIM namesake companies to give programs additional room to
load their data files . Programs written for EMS 4.0 can store both
data and program codes into EMS memory . Program code stored in
EMS 4.0 memory can run from within EMS memory.
EMS memory is addressed by a method called page swapping : As
shown in Figure 2-1, part of the 640K-1024K address range IS r e-
served for system devices. The MegaLlT~ PLUS 's MegaLlT~.SYS
device driver program sets up a 64K contiguous page frame In the
768K-896K (COOOO-DFFFF in hex) memory. Four of t~es~ pages can
be mapped into the 64K page frame. When the application program
needs to access data stored in EMS memory, it finds which page the
data is located, then ' moves the needed page into the base frame.
The previous page is swapped out of the page frame and moved back
into the EMS board.
2-4 TYPES OF MEMORY - AN OVERVIEW
Since the size of the mapping area is not limited to 64K, any area
between 16K to 1 MB can be mapped. Th is mapping area can be set
and changed by the program where several non-adjacent "mapping"
areas are possible .
Figure 2-3 shows how a 16K page of expanded memory can be
mapped into the conventional memory space of the PC. An EMS
physical page can be pos i tioned logically in any empty memory space
between 256K and 1024K.
C<>nw<>11onaJ
Momo<y
102 4K BIOS
8AOK VlOEO
elASMomo<y
U~ te 32MB dlvk!.a'
L:n1o It!K io; >eaJ pa g .. .
Any Ioglc.a/ ~ . un
o.",.O~ I O" "'Y
phy.leal page.
AGURE 2-3. EMS 4.0 MEMORY MAP
In summary, these expanded memory capab i lities make it possible to
run not just one, but multiple programs concurrently in expanded
memory. The process of multitasking (letting several programs run
simultaneously by giving each a "slice" of time in turn) is now possible
because context-switch i ng (the process of allocating these time slices)
can be done at processor speeds.
'tYPES OF MEMORY -AN OVERVIEW 2-5