Microsoft KB Archive/85444

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Windows and the Intel Inboard 386/AT

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Q85444

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Windows versions 2.03, 2.1, 2.11, 3.0, 3.0a, 3.1, 3.11

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SUMMARY
The Intel InBoard 386/AT is compatible with Microsoft Windows operating system versions 3.0 and 3.1. The InBoard 386/AT is designed to replace a computer's 80286 processor.

MORE INFORMATION
The following are common problems encountered when running Microsoft Windows versions 3.0 and 3.1 on a system equipped with an Intel InBoard 386/AT:

 The ILIM386.SYS expanded-memory emulator, provided with the Intel InBoard 386 AT product, is incompatible with Windows 3.1. You should remove all references to this emulator from your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files before installing Windows 3.1.  The Intel InBoard 386/AT, placed in an IBM PC/AT is on the Windows 3.1 Compatibility List as the following entry: "IBM PC/AT/Inboard 386 AT"

The IBM PC/AT is based on the 80286 processor.

Restarting your System
The Intel Inboard 386 is designed to be used in AT-type machines instead of the native 286 chip. Intel supplies a program, SPEED.SYS, which should allow you to restart your system by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL when the Inboard 386/AT is installed.

This program will not work with programs such as Windows, which hook the keyboard interrupt, trapping some key sequences, but letting others pass through.

Expanded Memory
Intel's ICACHE.SYS and ILIM386.SYS files can cause problems with Windows. Use SMARTDrive as a disk cache with Windows (instead of ICACHE.SYS). Use EMM386.EXE to provide expanded memory for applications running in real mode of Windows 3.0 (instead of ILIM386.SYS).

If you us the AST EEMS Memory Board on your computer with the Intel InBoard 386/AT, you may have problems using expanded memory. The AST EEMS boards cannot be used to backfill memory down to 256K bytes with the InBoard 386/AT. If you try to backfill, the Inboard 386's cache will cache the EEMS paged memory, and problems will occur. Instead, set the AST board for extended memory.

Speed-Change Keys
The InBoard 386/AT central processing unit (CPU) speed-change keys will not work while you are running Windows. This is because Windows traps all commands from the keyboard. The easiest way to change CPU speeds is to create a PIF file and run the ISPEEDAT.COM file from the PIF.

Tecmar AT150E Tape Backup
You cannot use the Tecmar AT150E tape backup with Windows on a system using an Intel InBoard 386/AT. The Tecmar QT150E is incompatible with the InBoard 386.

EGA Video Display
Using Windows with Intel's INBOARD 386 and an EGA video card and monitor can corrupt part of the screen display (usually the lower half). If this happens, add the EGASIZE=256 command to the INBRDAT.SYS line in the CONFIG.SYS file.

General Information
The Intel InBoard 386/AT will provide up to three times faster performance than the 80286. It is compatible with the IBM PC/AT, IBM 3270 AT, COMPAQ DESKPRO 286(8MHz), COMPAQ PORTABLE 286, COMPAQ PORTABLE II, Tandy 3000HL, and Tandy 3000HD. It is expandable to 1 MB or RAM with 256K chips and up to 3MB with piggyback options. It supports the optional Intel 387 DX-16 math coprocessor.

The Intel InBoard 386 PC/XT is NOT the same as the 386/AT chip. It is designed for computers with an 8088 processor. You can only reliably run Microsoft Windows operating system version 3.0 in real mode on a system with an Intel InBoard 386 PC/XT.

The Intel InBoard 386 is manufactured by Intel. We make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability.