RadiSys EPC-31 Application guide

EPC-31/32
Hardware Reference
RadiSys Corporation
15025 S.W. Koll Parkway
Beaverton OR 97006
[phone]
FAX: [phone]
EPC and RadiSys are registered trademarks of RadiSys Corporation. OS/2, IBM, and PC/AT are
trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. Microsoft Windows and MS-DOS are
registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Intel and Intel486 SL are trademarks of Intel Corporation.
April 1994
Copyright © 1994, 1995 by RadiSys Corporation
All rights reserved.
Hardware Warranty
RadiSys Corporation ("RadiSys") warrants the EPC system and component modules to the original
purchaser for two years from the product's shipping date. If an EPC product fails to operate in compliance
with its specification during this period, RadiSys will, at its option, repair or replace the product at no
charge. The customer is, however, responsible for shipping the product; RadiSys assumes no responsibility
for the product until it is received. This warranty does not cover repair of products that have been damaged
by abuse, accident, disaster, misuse, or incorrect installation.
RadiSys' limited warranty covers products only as delivered. User modification, such as the addition of
memory airays or other devices, may void the warranty, and if the product is damaged during installation of
the modifications, this warranty does not cover repair or replacement.
This warranty in no way warrants suitability of the product for any specific application.
JN NO EVENT WILL RADISYS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS,
LOST SAVINGS, OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF
THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PRODUCT EVEN IF RADISYS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF
THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY PARTY OTHER THAN
THE PURCHASER.
THE ABOVE WARRANTY IS IN LIEU OF ANY AND ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED
OR IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. Repair or
replacement as provided above shall be the Purchaser's sole and exclusive remedy and RadiSys' exclusive
liability for any breach of warranty.
NOTES
Table of Contents
1. Product Description 1
Specifications 2
2. Installation and Configuration 3
Installation 3
Power-On Screen Display 4
BIOS Setup Screen 5
Date and Time 6
Configuration Errors 7
Diskette Drive 7

Fixed Disk Drive
7
Cache
7
Quick Boot
7
Update BIOS
8
COM1/COM2
8
LPT1
8
Floppy
8
IDE
8
Fixed Disk Menu
8
User-Definable Drive Types
9
Theory of Operation
11
Processor and Coprocessor
12
Memory
13
Memory Expansion
13
ROM and ROM Shadowing
14
Battery
14
Speaker
15
Miscellaneous Connector
16
Resetting the EPC
17
Watchdog timer
18
Power and Cooling Requirements
19
Cooling
19
Fuse
19
SVGA Video Controller
20
Flat Panel Support
20
Flash Disk Subsystem
21
EPC-31/32 Utilities Diskette Contents
22
Onboard Flash Utility Installation
22
Formatting Program
22
XFORMAT Error Messages
26
Flash BIOS Updating
28
Peripheral Interfaces
31
ISA bus
32
Connectors
35
Overview
35
IDE Hard Disk Drive Controller
36
Floppy Disk Drive Controller
37
COM2/LPT1 Connector
38
Miscellaneous Connector
39
Flat Panel Display Connector
40
Power Connector
41
AT/ISA Bus Connector Pin-out
42
SVGA Connector
44
Serial & Parallel Ports
45
Keyboard
45
Troubleshooting & Error Messages
47
Troubleshooting
47
Common Error Messages
48
Upgrades
55
Memory
55
Support and Service
57
In North America
57
Technical Support
57
Bulletin Board
57
Repair Services
58
Warranty Repairs
58

Non-Warranty Services 58
Arranging Service 59
Other Countries 60
Appendix A: Mechanical Dimensions 61
Appendix B: Chip Set and I/O Map 63
Memory Map 63
I/O Address Maps 64
Appendix C: AT Bus Connector Signals 75
AT Bus Expansion Connector Signals 75
Appendix D: Video Modes and Supported Panels 81
Index 14
Figures
Figure 1. POST Display 5
Figure 2. Main Setup Screen 6
Figure 3. Fixed Disk Menu Screen 9
Figure 4. Replacing the Battery 14
Figure 5. EPC-31/32 Mechanical Dimensions 61
Figure 6 . Mounting Hole Dimensions 62
Tables
Table 1. EPC-31/32 Environmental and Electrical Specifications 2
Table 2. Fixed Disk Conversion Values 10
Table 3. SIMM Organization 13
Table 4. EPC-31/32 Terminations 33
Table 5. IDE Hard Disk Drive Connector Pin-out 36
Table 6 . Floppy Disk Drive Pin-out 37
Table 7. COM2/LPT1 Pin-out 38
Table 8 . Miscellaneous Connector Pin-out 39
Table 9. Flat Panel Display Connector Pin-out 40
Table 10. Power Connector Pin-out 41
Table 11. AT/ISA Bus Connector Pin-out 42
Table 12. AT Bus Pin-out 43
Table 13. SVGA Connector Pin-out 44
Table 14. DB-9 Pin-out 45
Table 15. Keyboard Connector Pin-out 45
Table 16. Memory Map 63
Table 17. First ( 8 -bit) DMA Controller Map 64
Table 18. First Interrupt Controller Map 65
Table 19. Counter-Timer Functions Map 65
Table 20. Keyboard Port Map 65
Table 21. Time-of-Day Clock Map 66
Table 22. DMA Page Registers Map 67
Table 23. Miscellaneous Map 67
Table 24. Second Interrupt Controller Map 67
Table 25. Second (16-bit) DMA Controller Map 68
Table 26. VL82C486 Controller Map 68
Table 27. Coprocessor Interface Map 69
Table 28. VL82C486 Controller Map 69
Table 29. COM2 Serial I/O Port Map 70
Table 30. Parallel I/O (LPTl) Port Map 70
Table 31. Super VGA Controller Map 72
Table 32. COM1 Port Map 73
Table 3 3. Floppy Disk Drive Controller Map 73
Table 34. IDE Hard Disk Drive Controller Map 74
Table 35. Flash Disk Subsystem Map 74
Table 36. Watchdog Timer Map 74

1. Product Description
The EPC-31/32 are PC/AT compatible single board computers. The EPC-31 uses the 25 MHz Intel486 SX
processor, and the EPC-32 uses the 33 MHz Intel486 DX processor. Where practical, this manual refers to
the EPC-31/32 when discussing characteristics similar to both modules.
The EPC-31/32 has been designed to meet stringent safety and low EMI standards (UL-1950). All
mounting bracket ports have filter networks for reduced EMI and increased ESD protection
A
Many of the connectors on the EPC-31/32 provide power through different pins. Connecting the
wrong cable or reversing the cable can damage the EPC-31/32 and may damage the device being
connected. Use extreme caution when preparing to connect cables to this product. Refer to the
diagram in Appendix A for complete connector labeling.
The EPC-31/32 processor module contains the following:
A 25 MHz Intel486 SX or 33 MHz Intel486 DX processor
Options for 0 and 1 MBytes of on-board base memory
One 72-pin SIMM socket providing up to 16 MBytes of DRAM
Full ISA bus compatibility, including DMA and interrupt controllers
2 RS-232 COM ports — one 9-pin connector and one header connector
LPT1 parallel port available through a header connector
PC-compatible floppy drive controller accessed through a header connector
IDE hard drive interface for 2.5" drives, using a 44-pin header
PC/PS-2 keyboard interface via a 6-pin mini-DIN connector
Time-of-day clock with user-replaceable battery
Field-upgradable Award BIOS in flash memory
Watchdog timer
Optional:
Super VGA controller/flat panel display controller, with 512 Kbytes memory
1 or 2 MBytes on-board Flash memory configurable as a DOS bootable disk
Specifications
The following table lists the environmental and electrical specifications of the
EPC-31/32.
Environmental
Temperature
storage
Humidity
storage
0 - 60°C derated 2°C per 1000 ft (300 m) over 6600 ft (2000m)
operating
-40 to 85°C
operating 5 - 95% (non condensing)
5 - 95% (non condensing)
Altitude operating 0 - 10,000 ft (3000 m)
storage 0 - 40,000 ft (12,000 m)
Vibration operating 2.5 g acceleration over 5-300 Hz sine wave (P-P), 1 oct/min sine sweep
storage 5 g acceleration over 5-300 Hz sine wave (P-P), 1 oct/min sine sweep
Shock operating 30 g, 11 ms duration, half-sine shock pulse
storage 50 g, 11 ms duration, half-sine shock pulse
Electrical
Current typical +5V @ 1 0A 486SX 25MHz
+5V @ 1.1A 486DX 33MHz
+12V @ 50mA for writing to flash BIOS or on-board flash memory
Table 1. EPC-31/32 Environmental and Electrical Specifications.
* Upper temperature limit degrades 2 C per 1,000 ft. elevation. Maximum
elevation 10,000 ft.

Vibration and shock specifications assume the EPC-31/32 is mounted as a single board computer, and is not
installed in a standard ISA chassis.
The EPC-31/32 is capable of driving a four-slot ISA backplane.
See Appendix A for mechanical dimensions.

22. Installation and Configuration
Before installing the EPC-31/32, unpack and inspect it for shipping damage.
do not remove the module from its anti-static bag unless you are in a static-free
environment, the
epc-31/32, like most other electronic devices, is susceptible to esd damage, esd damage is
not always immediately obvious, in that it can cause a partial breakdown in
semiconductor devices that might not immediately result in a failure.
4
ensure that the installation process as described herein is also performed in a static-
free environment.
Installation
The EPC-31/32 can be installed in an ISA bus passive backplane or mounted using screw holes. If ISA bus
connection is required when mounted using the screw holes, use the ISA bus header pins.
To mount the EPC-31/32 to a non-conductive surface using the four screw holes, be sure to select a location
where you have access to all available header pins and connectors. Mounting holes on the EPC-31/32 are
1/8" (0.125") in diameter, or 3.175 mm. The spacing of the mounting holes is 6.1" (154.9 mm) by 3.55"
(90.2 mm). Refer to Appendix A for a depiction of the EPC-31/32 mechanical dimensions.
It may be necessary to remove the PC mounting bracket from the EPC-31/32 before mounting flat on a
surface.
Cooling requirements are minimal. In most cases a cooling fan is not necessary. Refer to the environmental
specifications in Chapter 1 for temperature information.
Insertion of the EPC-31/32 into an ISA bus chassis or a passive backplane is straightforward. Remove a
blank panel from the chassis and insert the EPC-31/32 into the backplane card connector. Firmly press the
EPC-31/32 down to ensure that the module is properly seated in the backplane.
make sure system power is off. the epc-31/32 cannot be inserted into or removed from
a live system.
ih , , ,
when inserting the epc-31/32, avoid touching the circuit board, and make sure the
environment is static-free.
insert it with adequate continuous force rather than tapping or hammering on it.
Power-On Screen Display
During the setup and configuration of the EPC-31/32, a monitor and keyboard are required.
Whenever a hardware reset of the EPC occurs, the system performs a POST. If not set for "quick boot," the
POST displays information showing the status of the BIOS self-test. If everything proceeds normally, the
screen image displays approximately as shown below.
486 Modular BIOS V3.0Sabd.
Copyright (e) 1964-90 Award Software Inc.
Copyright 1993 RadiSys Corporation Flash BIOS V3.0S
TESTING INTERRUPT CONTROLLER #1 .OK
TESTING INTERRUPT CONTROLLER #2 .OK
TESTING CMOS BATTERY.OK
TESTING CMOS CHECKSUM.OK
SIZING SYSTEM MEMORY. 640K FOUND
TESTING SYSTEM MEMORY. 640K OK
CHECKING UNEXPECTED INTERRUPTS AND STUCK NMI .DK
TESTING PROTECTED MODE.OK
SIZING EXPANSION MEMORY. 3328R FOUND
TESTING MEMORY IN PROTECTED MODE . 4352K FOUND
TESTING ONBOARD SERIAL PORT #1.OK
TESTING ONBOARD SERIAL PORT #2.OK
TESTING ONBOARD PARALLEL PORT.OK
RadiSys EPC Setup Program
Figure 1. POST Display.
If errors occur during the power-on self-test, the BIOS displays the error on the appropriate line of the
screen display and attempts to continue. For instance, if a failure is discovered in COM1, the BIOS disables
COM1, displays the error on the line "TESTING ONBOARD SERIAL PORT #1." and then continues as
if the error did not occur. It is important to watch the POST display to verify that no errors occur.

If error messages are displayed during or after the POST display, see chapter 5, Troubleshooting & Error
Messages.
BIOS Setup Screen
The EPC-31/32 BIOS contains a setup function to display and alter the system configuration. This
configuration information is maintained in the EPC-31/32’s battery-backed CMOS RAM and is used by the
BIOS to initialize the EPC-31/32.
The setup function can be invoked any time after the POST completes and first clears the screen.
Simultaneously press the CTRL+ALT+ESC keys. This may be done during system operation in most, but
not all circumstances. Some programs that take control of the keyboard at a low level, such as Microsoft
Windows, cause this key sequence to be interpreted differently, or not at all. It should always work,
however, when the DOS operating system prompt is shown on the screen. The main setup screen displays
similar to the following:
RadiSys EPC-31 CMOS Setup, Flash System BIOS V3.05
486SX, 4 MBytes memory, 487SX not present
Date (mm/dd/yy)
Time (hh:mm:ss)
Configuration Errors
Diskette Drive A
Diskette Drive B
Fixed Disk Drive C
Fixed Disk Drive D
01/12/90
09:34:56
Halt on all errors
1.4M 3.5 inch
None
AT
None
Cache
Enabled
Quick Boot
Disabled
Update BIOS
Disabled
Coml:
Enabled
F2 = Fixed Disk Menu
Coiu2:
Enabled
F10 = Save CMOS
LPT1:
Enabled
ESC= Exit without saving
Floppy
Enabled
move between items
IDE
Enabled
select values
Figure 2. Main Setup Screen.
Use the up and down arrow keys to move the cursor from field to field. For most fields, once the cursor is
positioned at the field, pressing the left and right cursor (arrow) keys will scroll through the available
choices. Once the screen has been changed to appear as you desire, press the FI0 function key to save the
changes in battery-backed CMOS RAM. Then press the F5 function key to confirm the changes and reboot,
FI to confirm changes but not reboot or ESC to ignore any changes and exit. Each field is explained below.
Date and Time
These values are changed by moving to them and typing in the format shown.
Configuration Errors
This field provides several choices about the situations under which the BIOS should wait for user input if a
configuration error is found. The selections are:
1) Halt on all errors
2) Ignore all errors
3) Ignore keyboard errors (allows operation without a keyboard)
4) Ignore disk errors
5) Ignore keyboard and disk errors
Diskette Drive
This field gives you several choices about the type of floppy disk drives installed as the A and B drives.
Toggle the entry to match the type of diskette drive(s) attached. If no floppy drive is attached, select NONE
for each diskette drive field.
Fixed Disk Drive
This display-only field shows the type of disk selected from the fixed disk menu. Possible values are None,
AT and FLASH. To see the detailed characteristics of the device or to change the device, use the F2
function key to go to the fixed disk menu. See the section Fixed Disk Mem. This applies only to IDE disk
drives attached directly to the EPC-31/32 and onboard flash, and does not apply to any external drives
connected to other disk controllers.
Cache

Toggling this field enables or disables the cache. The default is to enable the cache.
Quick Boot
This field enables or disables the quick boot option. When quick boot is disabled, a hard boot causes the
system to display the results of the POST and runs the memory test. When quick boot is enabled, the system
runs the POST except the memory test and displays "Quick boot enabled: disable through Setup screen to
view."
Update BIOS
Toggling this field enables or disables the BIOS serial update feature. When disabled, the system boots
normally. When enabled, the system searches for 10 seconds on COM1 for clear-to-send (CTS)
synchronization from an external host. The external host must be currently running the NEWBIOS.EXE
program (refer to Flash BIOS updating in Chapter 3). If the system can synchronize with the host, the BIOS
on the EPC-31 is reflashed and updated. Note that the field must be disabled on the next pass through the
boot process. If the system cannot synchronize, after ten seconds the boot continues.
COM1/COM2
Toggling these fields enables or disables the built-in COM1 and COM2 ports.
LPT1
Toggling this field enables or disables the built-in LPT1 parallel port.
Floppy
Toggling this field enables or disables the built-in floppy controller. If using an external floppy controller,
disable the EPC-31/32 floppy controller.
IDE
Toggling this field enables or disables the built-in IDE hard drive interface. If using an external IDE
controller, disable the EPC-31/32 IDE controller.
Fixed Disk Menu
The Fixed Disk Menu is used to define the type of hard disk(s) installed in the system using the onboard IDE
disk controller or Flash. Enter the fixed disk menu screen by pressing the F2 function key from the main
setup screen. The Fixed Disk Menu screen is similar to the following:
RadiSys EPC-31 Fixed Disk Menu, Flash System BIOS V3.05
486SX, 4 MBytes memory, 487SX present
Fixed Disk Drive C: AT
Type 17 41 MBytes: 977 Cyls, 5 Heads, 17 Sectors
Landing Zone: 977 Precompensation: 300
Fixed Disk Drive D: None
F10 - Save and return
ESC - Return without saving
move between items
select values
Figure 3. Fixed Disk Menu Screen.
Use the up and down cursor keys () to move between items. Use the left and right cursor keys ( ) to scroll
through the available choices for each item.
Disk type AT denotes IDE-compatible drives. You can scroll through a set of numbered types; the physical
configuration is displayed for each. Scroll through the numeric drive types to find the one matching the
characteristics of the hard drive installed. Refer to the reference manual that accompanied the hard drive.
Choose disk type Onboard Flash if you are using the onboard flash memory. This flash memory can be
made the boot device by making onboard Flash the drive C: type. However, if Drive C: is onboard Flash,
Drive D: must be set to None. You cannot set the onboard Flash as the C: drive AND use an external disk
controller (IDE or SCSI) to provide a D: drive.
User-Definable Drive Types
If the correct AT disk type is not listed, the EPC-31/32 provides user-editable drive types 48 and 49. Select
either of these drive types. Use the TAB key ()or the left and right cursor keys ( ) to move to the next (or
previous) field. Note that the default settings for MBytes, Cylinders, Heads, and Sectors is 1. MBytes is a
display-only field calculated by the BIOS. Move the cursor to each field (Cyls, Heads, and Sectors) and
type the value for that field.
The BIOS allows use of the following maximum values:
Cylinders 1023 Heads 16 Sectors 63

The hard disk you are using may have parameters larger than the allowable maximum. If the number of
cylinders for your drive is greater than the maximum allowable number, you may have to use 1023 cylinders
which will limit the usable size of the drive. However, most IDE drives support universal translation mode.
If the drive you are using supports this mode and the actual parameters are greater than the allowable
maximum, divide the actual number of cylinders by 2 and multiply the actual number of heads by 2. That
is, each sector is addressed as an absolute sequential sector number. Since the drive converts the sector data
to an absolute number, these "false" cylinder and head numbers will still allow the full capacity of the drive
to be used. The following example shows how this is done.
Actual parameters Conversion factor Numbers to Use
Cylinders 1350 divide by 2 675
Heads 5 multiply by 2 10
Sectors 32 (none) 32
Total Sectors 216,000 216,000
Table 2. Fixed Disk Conversion Values.
After the fixed disk(s) have been configured, press F10 to save the data or ESC to ignore the changes. In
either case you return to the main setup screen. Follow the instructions on the screen to save and exit or
ignore changes and exit.

3. Theory of Operation
This chapter contains information about the following:
EPC-31/32 processor and coprocessor
EPC-31/32 memory map and memory expansion
ROM shadowing
Battery
Speaker
Miscellaneous connector
Resetting the EPC-31/32
Watchdog timer
Power and cooling requirements
Fuse
SVGA video controller
Flat panel support
Hash disk sub system
Utilities software diskette
COM and Parallel ports
AT/ISA bus
Processor and Coprocessor
Hie EPC-31 uses the 25 MHz Intel466 SX CPU, which does not contain an integrated math coprocessor.
Hie EPC-32 uses the Intel486 DX CPU, which runs at 33 MHz and contains an integrated math
coprocessor. Note that this is not a socketed part, and therefore is not field-upgradable.
The board design uses the VLSI technology VL82C486 AT chip set to interface the 80486 to the AT-bus.
The VL82C486 and its companion chip, the VL82C114, contain the following standard PC peripheral
functions: two 82C37A DMA controllers, two 82C59A interrupt controllers, an 82C54 timer/counter, a
74LS612 memory mapper, 486 to AT bus data, address, and control strobe buffers, a real time clock with
128 bytes of battery backed SRAM, a PC compatible keyboard controller, a DRAM controller, and several
miscellaneous functions.
Besides the standard AT peripheral registers, the VL82C486 contains 28 control registers that allow
program control of DRAM access timing, memory mapping, and several other functions. These registers
can only be accessed indirectly by writing an indirect register address to OxEC, and following this write with
an I/O access to OxED to perform the actual read/write of the register desired.
Most of these functions are only set once by the BIOS at reset time. The BIOS or application software may
disable access to these registers by performing an I/O write to 0xF9. Re-enabling access to the registers is
accomplished by performing a dummy I/O write to OxFB.
Memory
Hie EPC-31/32 can have an on-boaid base memory configuration of 0 or 1 Mbyte. When present, the base
memory is soldered on the motherboard. This base memory can be expanded using a 4,8 or 16 MByte
SIMM module.
Additional RAM is supported via the ISA-bus (up to a maximum of 16 MBytes total).
After power on reset, the BIOS will find and size memory present in the system. The DRAM timing (in
CPU clocks) in a 25MHz EPC-31 system is set to enable the 80486 bus to achieve 4-2-2-2 timing on burst
reads that "hit" a previously activated page. The 33 MHz EPC-32 system is set to enable the 80486 bus to
achieve 4-3-3-3 timing.
The DRAM controller is set to map 80486 addresses in the region from 0x000A0000 to OxOOOEFFFF to the
AT-bus (with the exception of OxOOOCOOOO - 0x000C7FFF, the video BIOS, which will be shadowed into
main DRAM). Memory references to these addresses will not be cacheable by the 80486SX. Memory
accesses beyond the installed DRAM are automatically sent to the AT bus. Accesses above 128MB wrap
back around to address 0.
Memory Expansion
A single 72-pin SIMM socket is provided for memory expansion. SIMM memory occupies bank 2. A