Epson Equity LT Product Support Bulletin
Contents
1. and Answers General 01 A Q2 Q3 Q4 Can I switch the CPU speed between 4 77 MHz and 10 MHz while the L is in operation 2 Yes the CPU and clock circuitry are fully synchronized How can I adjust the speaker volume You can t There is no provision either hardware or software for volume control What type of keyboard is the LT keyboard compatible with The LT keyboard is compatible with the old style PC XT 83 key keyboard The only difference is the addition of the SysReq key and a second Ctrl key Since the ROM BIOS is compatible with that of the new style XT support is provided for the SysReq key The LT keyboard has two Ctrl keys to the left and right of the space bar Both keys return the identical scan code 1Dh so it is not possible to distinguish between the left and right keys as can be done with the enhanced AT style 101 key keyboard What is the shock resistance of the floppy and hard disk drives Shock resistance of the FDD is as follows Operation 5G Non operation 50G Shock resistance of the HDD is as follows Operation Read 5G Write 3G Non operation 70G Equity LT Common Questions and Answers Page 1 of 9 95 Options 96 97 98 99 910 Can I move my LT around while it is turned on With a dual FDD LT it should be okay to move it around as long as both drive access LEDs are off Moving it in the middle of a dis2. like any kind of light bulb will gradually lose brightness Lifetime for the EL element is defined as the time it takes for the element to fall to half of the original brightness This works out to approximately 500 hours at maximum brightness You can extend this period by adjusting the brightness down keeping the EL only as bright as needed in order to see the screen clearly What is the backlight period This is another feature that extends the useful life of the EL element You can set an option with the SETUP command to have the EL turn off after a period of no keyboard activity You can set the time in half minute increments from 0 5 through 5 0 minutes You can also set No Time Limit to cause the EL to remain on constantly After the EL turns off you turn it back on by pressing a key The backlight period value is stored in system CMOS RAM What is the aspect ratio of the LCD display The aspect ratio for both LCDs is 1 1 4 The aspect ratio needed to obtain true circles is 1 2 4 Equity LT Common Questions and Answers Page 5 of 9 _ Q30 How are colors distinguished on the LCD display A Text mode In text mode the CGA can display 16 colors 8 normal 8 intensified In LCD mode 3 8 gradations are used for the 8 normal colors and the double width font is used for the intensified colors Note that in LCD modes 0 1 and 2 that the colors are not distinguished Intensity is represented by use of the double w
3. matched pairs See the matrix below Memory BankO Bank 1 Bank 2 Bank 3 1MB 4X256KB 2MB 4X256KB 4X256KB 4MB 4X256KB 4X256KB 4X256KB 4X256KB 4MB 4X1MB 8MB 4X1 MB 4X1 MB 10MB 4X1 MB 4X1 MB 4 256 4X256KB 16MB 4X1 MB 4X1 MB 4X1 4X1 MB Note Refer to PSB S 0095 for 18MB RAM Setup information Is there a driver supplied with the Equity 386 20 to allow the use of the extended memory as expanded memory Yes the Equity 386 20 system software includes the device driver EEMM386EXE This driver emulates LIM EMS 4 0 memory using the extended memory supplied by the additional SIMMs It will support only the onboard memory above 1 MB up to 15MB This is the maximum memory that can be installed on the CHET RM Heber It will not support memory installed on memory expansion oards Are there any expanded memory boards that are compatible with the Equity LT No the option slots on the LT require a special connector The hard drive controller and the LT cartridge modem are the only option cards currently available from Epson America What apange memory boards are compatible with the Apex by Epson The Above Board PC from Intel Corporation has been tested by Epson in the Apex Q17 Q18 Q19 Q20 PSB No S 0047C Page 6of6 Are there any general guidelines for determining the chip speed to install on the memory expansion boards Yes if the CPU speed is 8MHz or less use 150ns RAM chips If the CPU speed i
4. of popular laptop systems including t Equity LT Battery Watch provides the capability to Monitor battery life and optionally set an audible alarm Customize the installation Perform a deep discharge of the NiCad battery It s a small 10 20KB memory resident program For more information please contact Traveling Software Inc 19310 North Creek Parkway Bothell Wa 98011 206 483 8088 By following the above guidelines it is possible to achieve working times well in excess of two hours with a hard drive backlit Equity LT EPSON EPSON AMERICA INC SERVICE PSB NO 5 0053 SUBJ ECT EQUITY The usage purpose of the Many Support when trying t This occurs with the program after disk drive diagnostics Note To run the dia option program strange The EXEC diagnostic fai note t Please modified If the America s system files the diagnostic EPSON AMERICA of customers because because diagnostic the 4 diskette any way diagnostics Training then diagnostics programs PRODUCT SUPPORT PAGE 1 of 1 I TI TII LT DIAGNOSTIC EXEC failed MESSAGE this bulletin DIAGNOSTIC DISK is to clarify the correct Technical message test dealers have contacted getting a EXEC failed the system diagnostics and of run Epson s error 0 ME MORY many people are disk but rather booting from the MS DOS In the instructions
5. thereby prolonging battery charge life The HDD and fan use considerably more power than the FDD Can I turn off the HDD power switch after I ve turned on the computer Of course You may turn the HDD power off either before or after turning the LT on Can I access the HDD after the HDD power switch has been turned off 1 If you turn the computer on as usual HDD power on and then power off the HDD you may access the HDD after turning the HDD power on and waiting for the drive to spin up 2 If you turn the HDD power off and then turn the LT on you will not be able to access the HDD at all even if you turn it on later Also you will get a 1701C after a lengthy boot up because the system s CMOS configuration RAM is expecting to find the HDD Equity LT Common Questions and Answers Page 4 of 9 024 025 What other HDDs can I use with the LT Can I use an external HDD Only the proper internal HDD from Epson can be used with the LT How many HDDs can be used with the LT Only one HDD is supported LCD Displays 026 02 028 Q29 Can I replace the EL electroluminescent element in the backlit LCD Yes you can The replacement procedure is explained in Appendix A of the Equity LT User s Guide However it can be a rather tricky operation and we strongly recommend that your dealer do the replacement What is the expected lifetime of the EL element The EL element
6. EPSON Product Support Bulletin Subject Proper Method for Running Benchmark and Diagnostics Programs Date 06 04 93 PSB No S 0158 Page s 1 of 1 Originator MWT This bulletin describes the proper method for running any benchmark or diagnostics programs This applies to any computer system In most cases the computer should be started using an MS DOS boot diskette that s clean in other words one with no CONFIG SYS or AUTOEXEC BAT files The appropriate executable can then be run either from diskette or hard drive There will be some exceptions to the above rule In attempting to benchmark or troubleshoot any add on that requires a device driver CD ROM local area network etc obviously the necessary device driver s must be loaded Also some programs will require a minimum number of FILES or BUFFERS to be defined in the CONFIG SYS file Such programs will usually display this requirement if they are run without the necessary CONFIG SYS file For the most consistent results use the absolute minimal boot configuration that s allowed by the hardware being tested Product Support Bulletin Subject Equity LT Battery Life and the AdaptaPAK Battery Pack Date 9 7 89 PSB No S 0096 Page 1 of 2 Originator BGB 36 The purpose of this bulletin is to provide the test results of the Product R amp D s AdaptaPAK Battery and usage instructions Like the Equity LT s internal battery refer to PSB S 0055 there ar
7. II The following boards have been tested by Epson in the Equity and II All Card w MMU Multifunction All Computers Inc Liberty PC Quadram Corporation Mini Magiccard EV 138 Everex Systems Inc AST SixPak Premium AST Research AST Rampage AST Research What memory expansion boards are compatible with the Equity Ill The following boards have been tested by Epson in the Equity III Grande Byte STB Systems Intel Above Board AT Intel Corporation Liberty AT Quadram Corporation AST Advantage AST Research AST Rampage AT AST Research AST Ramvantage AST Research What memory expansion boards are compatible with the Equity The following boards have been tested by Epson in the Equity 64 256KB Expansion Option IBM Above Board PC 1985 Intel Corporation Fastcard IV 1 6 Thesys What memory expansion boards are compatible with the Equity le The following boards have been tested by Epson in the Equity le 64 256KB Expansion Option IBM Quad Board Il Quadram Fastcard IV Thesys RAMpage AST Research Note The Intel Above Boards do not currently operate reliably with the Equity le Q10 Will Q11 PSB No S 0047C Page 4 of 6 What memory expansion boards are compatible with the Equity Il and Equity Ill 1 models The following boards have been tested by Epson in the Equity and Equity Ill 10 models Advantage Premium AST Research Rampage 286 AST Research Above Board 286
8. Intel Corporation Above Board 286 p s Intel Corporation Grande Byte E STB Systems Rio Grande STB Systems Elite 16 Profit Systems run at 8MHz not at 10MHt What memory expansion boards are compatible with the Equity Il and Equity Ill 12MHz models The following boards have been tested by Epson in the Equity II and Equity Ill 1 models Rampage 286 Plus AST Research Elite 16 Profit Systems Above Board Plus Intel Corporation NOTE Previously boards from Micron Technology were listed as compatible Q12 with the 12MHz models of the Equity Il and Equity Ill They have been removed from the list because Micron no longer produces ISA memory boards How do you expand the memory of the Equity 386 20 Memory expansion in the Equity 386 20 can be accomplished by adding SIMMs single in line memory modules to the CHET RM board Both 256K and 1Mb SIMMs are available from Epson America The 256K SIMMs are sold in 1Mb kits and the 1Mb SIMMs are sold in 2Mb kits Compatible third party 1Mb SIMMs are available from Matsushita Toshiba and CDC Enterprises You can also use third party memory expansion boards such as those listed above for the Equity II Ill Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 PSB No S 0047C Page 5of6 Are there any guidelines to installing the SIMMs in the Equity 386 20 Yes when SIMMs are installed to increase memory beyond 1Mb they must be installed so that banks of SIMMs are installed as
9. K in 8086 or 8088 based systems 16K pages of memory are allocated for an application s use and the EMM Expanded Memory Manager handles the job of mapping the pages in and out of the page frame as they are needed However in order to make use of expanded memory the software must be written to take advantage of the EMS Software such as Lotus 1 2 3 Microsoft Windows and Borland s SideKick Plus make use of expanded memory EMS is limited to 8Mb of expanded memory What is EEMS A superset of EMS AQA EEMS AST Quadram Ashton Tate Enhanced Expanded Memory Specification provides greater flexibility in the mapping of expanded memory However it also uses the technique of bank switching and has its own memory manager which accommodates such specially written software as Quarterdeck s DESQview EEMS is also limited to 8Mb of expanded memory Q3 Q4 Q5 PSB No S 0047C Page 2 of 6 Wee about the 155Mb RAM listed as the maximum for the Equity This larger amount of RAM is the maximum usable memory range for an 80286 microprocessor and generally refers to extended memory Extended memory starts at the 1Mb boundary and extends out to 16Mb As it requires a 24 bit address to access memory in this range extended memory is handled by the protected mode of the 80286 Examples of currently available software that can switch into protected mode to use extended memory are Framework Il AutoCAD the VDisk RAM disk
10. afe to leave it connected for more than 12 hours Also remember that NiCad batteries need to be fully discharged from time to time for maximum effective life So occasionally let the battery pack discharge to the point that the Low Battery LED comes on Equity LT Common Questions and Answers Page 6 of 9 033 034 035 036 Is the battery being charged if I m using the computer Yes the battery is being charged whenever you have the AC adapter connected It will take longer to charge if the LT is turned on however Can I use any other AC adapter NO Use only the Epson adapter that comes with the LT Can I use the adapter with 220 240 volts as well 110 120 The adapter label says 100 120 VAC for input Yes you can The label was printed that way for the U L and C S A regulatory agencies You will probably need an adapter plug for the different wall sockets overseas How long is the battery life How long can I use the LT after the Low Battery LED starts flashing The following table shows the battery life for each configuration The values are approximate Configuration Full Access No Access FDD model 6 00 t 1 00 Reflective LCD 7 00 FDD model ai LCD HDD model e LCD HDD model t Backlit LCD Full access COPY a b or COPY a e No access No activity including no keyboard input FC Full charge LB Low battery when Low Battery LED starts fl
11. and Xenix OS How does LIM EMS 4 0 the latest version differ from the earlier version LIM EMS 3 2 EMS 4 0 supports up to 32Mb of expanded memory where EMS 3 2 supported only 8Mb EMS 4 0 has been changed to make it easier for applications to share expanded memory In EMS 4 0 page mapping has been streamlined and new functions allow application programs to dynamically increase and decrease the amount of expanded memory allocated to them In previous versions of EMS the page frame was located in an unused 64K block of memory between 640K and 1Mb EMS 4 0 subject to limitations in the system hardware supports the page frame anywhere in the first 1Mb of memory Before EMS 4 0 the page frame held four pages Now you can define a page frame of up to eight pages in memory above 640K The size of the page frame is limited only by the amount of available memory There has also been a change to support the smaller than standard 16K memory pages used by some expanded memory boards Is EMS 4 0 compatible with my old expanded memory board The EMM 4 0 driver works with existing hardware You don t need to buy a new expanded memory board However until you use applications that have been written to take advantage of EMS 4 0 you probably won t notice much improvement in performance over your older version Q6 7 Q8 Q9 PSB No S 0047C Page 3 of 6 What memory expansion boards are compatible with the Equity and Equity
12. ashing SD System down Equity LT Common Questions and Answers Page 7 of 9 Maximum backlight brightness 2 Backlight turned off 3 HDD switch turned off What are the differences in the ROM BIOS between the Equity LT and the Equity I The differences are The Equity LT ROM BIOS turns off the EL element of the backlit LCD if a specified time has passed without keyboard input The backlight is restored by pressing any key The backlight period is stored in system CMOS RAM The Equity LT supports both LCD and RGB displays The frame frequency is different between the LCD display 88 Hz and the RGB display 60 Hz The BIOS changes frame frequency automatically depending on which display is enabled A quick boot function has been added to the LT BIOS Holding down the Alt key while powering on causes the BIOS boot code to bypass the RAM test What are the differences between the Equity LT Reference diskette and the Equity I Diagnostics diskette Software 037 1 2 3 038 The differences are 1 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 The title and date of the copyright ROMBIOS has been changed so that it doesn t display the machine name HELP has been changed accordingly The checksum test for the ROM BIOS has been deleted HDFMTALL EXE has been deleted HDSIT has been removed as the HDD moves the heads to the shipping zone after approx 5 seconds SETUP now also sets the backlig
13. e several usage variables that can have a significant effect on the working time In this test the Equity LT was configured with the 20MB hard disk drive and the EL electroluminescent backlit LCD and set at 10 Mhz This is the most popular configuration and also the one that consumes the most power The first test was with heavy access constantly using the hard disk and floppy disk The internal battery was previously discharged The laptop and AdaptaPAK battery were charged for 18 hours The battery charge lasted a total of 5 hours and 15 minutes before it ceased operation The second test was with minimum access and the hard drive turned off after powering on The internal battery was previously discharged The Equity LT and the AdaptaPAK battery were charged for 18 hours After turning on the unit a program that didn t require any keyboard input was executed The battery charge lasted a total of 8 hours and 15 minutes before it ceased operation NOTE The battery lives listed in this document are the results of our tests Your experience may vary as battery life is affected by configuration and usage We can also assume that if we were to follow the guidelines PSB S 0055 P3 to extend the battery charge time we would get even better results AdaptaPAK Battery 1 Ensure the battery is fully charged before using Full charge takes approximately 10 hours 2 The battery is a sealed lead acid type 3 The battery is contained
14. for following statement is not booting loading the system disk performing made the system diagnostic or hard system the System diagnostics boot gnostics diskette in drive A from the OPERATION menu If in any other way some tests results your system with Then select you start this may produce led will not if the loaded error is message properly occur hat the diskette results should be may occur diagnostic or similar diskette was obtained through Department and does not contain the system files should be copied disk before attempting to run the Epson the to SERVICE 23610 TELO AVENUE TORRANCE CALIF 90505 Subject Date Page Q1 A Q2 Product Support Bulletin Using Expanded Memory with Equity and Apex Computers 3 2 90 PSB No S 0047C 1 of 6 Originator KAS GA What is Expanded Memory Conventional memory managed by MS DOS is limited to 640K In response to the need for greater amounts of accessible memory the LIM EMS Lotus Intel Microsoft Expanded Memory Specification was introduced in 1984 EMS version 3 2 provides usable memory beyond the 640K limit through bank switching The expanded memory is divided into 16K portions called pages The computer accesses these pages through a page frame or window which is 64K of memory located between 768K and 896K in 80286 based systems and between 800K and 960
15. ht period The monochrome display secondary parallel port and math co processor tests have been removed Also the Modifying the DEVICE LIST selection has been removed The LIGHTON command has been added Equity LT Common Questions and Answers Page 8 of 9 Q39 940 941 942 What are the differences in GW BASIC 3 20 between the Equity LT and other desktop computers The version of GW BASIC provided with the LT is the same version supplied with the Equity series PCs However due to the fundamental differences between a desktop and a laptop PC certain GW BASIC commands and functions do not apply to the LT Specifically the LT doesn t support commands that control Hercules and EGA A joystick A light pen Networking More than one parallel port An enhanced 101 key keyboard What does the LIGHTON command do If you have set the backlight period the EL element turns off after the specified amount of time Pressing any key calls the LT s ROM BIOS keyboard routine which re activates the EL element However if a keyboard driver such as KEYBxx is loaded the BIOS keyboard routine is bypassed This can also occur with certain terminate and stay resident TSR programs LIGHTON will trap the keystroke and invoke the BIOS keyboard routine long enough to activate the EL element then return control to the driver or TSR Be sure and load LIGHTON after you load the driver or TSR the order is ve
16. idth font or a halftone Graphics mode CGA can display 4 colors at the same time in the 320 x 200 graphics mode There are two methods available with the LCD display Method 1 can display only 3 shades 4 simulated Method 2 can display 4 shades LCD modes 0 and 2 use Method 1 modes 1 and 3 use Method 2 and are thereby the better choice for displaying graphics 031 Why are there 4 LCD modes What are the differences between them A In LCD mode 3 8 gradations and the double width font are used instead of colors in text mode However it is difficult to read characters in a light shade or characters in which the foreground and background shades are similar To resolve this other LCD modes are provided Roughly speaking the differences in text mode 80 x 25 and 30 x 25 are as follows Mode 0 All non black characters use the white shade with the double width font being used for intensified characters Mode 1 All non black characters use the white shade with halftone being used for intensified characters Mode 2 All non black characters use the white shade with the double width font being used for intensified characters Mode 3 8 gradations are used for the 8 normal CGA colors The double width font is used for intensified characters Power Supply Q32 How long does it take to charge the battery pack A For full charge it takes 12 hours when the LT is turned off The battery pack cannot be overcharged so it is perfectly s
17. in a black nylon carrying case with shoulder strap 4 It plugs into a 120V AC outlet for charging For overseas usage an international 220V AC recharger is available PSB No S 0096 Page 2 of 2 5 Weight 7 lbs size 3 X 6 X 11 inches The product is manufactured and available from Product R amp D Corporation 1194 Pacific St Suite 201 San Luis Obispo CA 93401 Phone 805 546 9713 The AdaptaPak product includes the ExtraPAK battery and AdaptaCORD Both are required for use with the Equity LT Epson Accessories Inc is considering the possibility of offering the AdaptaPAK for resale PSB No 5 0062 Page 1 of 18 EISA SERIES DESKTOP VER PART DESC TYPE LOC REASON U26 EISA SERIES TOWER PART DESC TYPE REASON TOWERROM 1026 lc 1 00 HLO B1 27C64 5F 1 01 Fixes problems with the serial port and 1 01 Y164803001 HLO B2 27C64 5F Microsoft Word EQUITY LT286e 1 01 AMI 27256 U18 INITIAL RELEASE 1 01 AMI 27256 U19 EQUITY LT386SX 1 02 AMI 276256 U13 INITIAL RELEASE 1 02 AMI 276256 U14 NB3s PART DESC TYPE REASON 040990 KO 1 d NITAL RELEASE EPSON EPSON AMERICA INC SERVICE Propuct Support PSB NO 5 0055 SUB ECT EQUITY LT BATTERY LIFE The purpose this bulletin is to provide additional information regarding battery charge life with the Equity LT There are several variables that can have a significant effect on the work
18. ing time obtainable from a charge These include Configuration 1 0 activity Battery condition Processor speed Environment Configuration One of the more popular configurations of the Equity LT is the hard disk drive model with the EL electroluminescent backlit LCD Obviously this is also the configuration that will consume the most power and provide the shortest working time on a charge For example here are some comparisons between various configurations CONFI GURATI ON LOW BATTERY TOTAL LIFE 00 Hours 50 Hours 10 Hours 20 Hours 40 Hours 05 Hours 20 Hours 40 Hours Dual FDD Reflective LCD NA Dual FDD Reflective LCD FA Dual FDD Backlit LCD NA 20 Hours FDD Backlit LCD FA 55 Hours 6 00 Hours 1 5 0 Reflective LCD NA 4 00 Hours 0 3 0 20 Hours Reflective LCD FA 45 Hours Backlit LCD NA 45 Hours Backlit LCD FA 25 Hours ore PEO Ee No access No activity including no keyboard input Full access COPY A B or COPY C These times are a representative sampling Depending on configuration and usage your times may vary It s apparent that drive and backlight usage has a dramatic effect on working time EPSON AMERICA SERVICE 23610 TELO AVENUE TORRANCE CALIF 90505 NUMBER 0055 PAGE 2 of 4 c 1 0 Activity Heavy use of the parallel serial or RGB monitor ports can also reduce working time Functionally this is of less concern because device
19. ively high amount of power which would adversely affect battery life Equity LT Common Questions and Answers Page 2 of 9 911 912 913 914 015 916 What kind of mouse can I use Just about any mouse can be used with the LT provided it uses the RS 232C serial interface like the Microsoft Serial PS 2 Mouse Can the amount of RAM memory be increased No Epson does not provide any memory expansion capabilities Can I use a light pen No Even though the necessary I O registers are present there is no connector for the light pen What kind of external FDD can use with the LT The external FDD interface was designed to be compatible with the Toshiba laptops such as the T1100 so any external 5 25 FDD that works with a Toshiba will work with the LT One such drive is the model NTHLPFL from the Nth Group in Canoga Park California Their phone number is 818 883 5506 How many FDDs are supported by the LT As with most laptops the ROM BIOS will support two FDDs Even if you have an external drive connected you still can only access drives A and B When an external FDD is connected to the LT which drive letter should be assigned to the external drive DIP switch 2 on the back of the LT determines whether the external drive will be A or B Typically you would assign it as A if you were using copy protected software that requires a key disk or running certain game programs
20. k access is definitely not recommended With the hard disk model the HDD motor is normally on even if there is no drive access Simply turn the HDD power switch on the back of the LT off When you re finished moving turn the HDD power back on How do I use a color CRT with my LT Set DIP switch 4 at the top of the keyboard to the OFF position and connect the monitor to the connector labeled CRT on the back of the LT The switch setting can be changed while the computer is turned on However some applications may not operate correctly If this happens turn the LT off wait at least 5 seconds then turn the power back on This will assure correct operation Can I use an EGA monitor with my LT Certainly It will work just like connecting an EGA monitor to a CGA card in a desktop PC that is you won t get the high resolution graphics and the denser character cell in text mode Are the option slots compatible with the IBM PC XT The shape and size of the option slot connectors are different so existing option cards cannot be used However the signal data and power supply lines are the same as the PC XT Can third party option cards be installed in the LT Since the form factor of the connectors is unique to the LT at present only the modem and hard disk controller made by Epson can be used Can an 8087 be used No no socket is provided for a numeric co processor One of the main reasons is that an 8087 consumes a relat
21. o save your work turn the HDD power switch back on wait for the HDD to spin up and then save Another alternative is to boot the LT from floppy with the HDD power off The power on self test will take longer and a 1701 C error will display This is normal n this situation and should be ignored Then you can access your application from the FDD Set the backlight period to 0 5 minutes This is accomplished from the SETUP program If you pause to think about what you re doing the backlight will turn off after 30 seconds This drops power consumption by as much as 580 Also set the brightness and contrast controls as low as is comfortable The difference between 1 2 brightness and full brightness can be as much as 445mA Run at 4 77 MHz The difference in power consumption between 4 77 MHz and 10 MHz is 70 80mA Completely discharge the battery From time to time let the battery drain all the way down When the LOW BATTERY LED starts flashing Save your work in progress if any and then leave the LT powered up Eventually the power supplied by the battery will drop below the threshold level and the system will power down Then give it a full 12 hour recharge This will help to minimize the memory effect NUMBER 0055 PAGE 4of 4 5 Traveling Software has recently introduced a battery monitoring and maintenance software package called ly he Battery Watch This package has been written specifical for a number
22. ry important Can I run OS 2 on my LT No OS 2 requires a minimum of an 80286 CPU and 1 5 MB of RAM The LT uses an NEC V30 CPU which is 8086 compatible and provides a maximum of 640 KB of RAM If an application requires you to select a monitor type in the installation procedure which choice should I make for the LT The LCD display of the LT emulates the CGA Color Graphics Adapter standard You should choose that option Also some applications let you select no color or single color for the CGA implementation this may make the display easier to read Finally some applications such as Sidekick Plus have an option like Black and White for Portables If so you should select this option Equity LT Common Questions and Answers Page 9 9
23. s 10 12MHz use 120ns RAM chips Is there anything that should be kept in mind during the installation procedure for the memory expansion boards Yes when installing the memory boards in the Equity Il and Equity Ill 12MHz models remember that the bus speed is 12MHz For example the Intel Above Board 288 and Above Board Plus allow you to set up the bus speed and chip speed in their installation programs What is meant by backfilling memory when using software such as DESQview Backfilling is a function of many expanded memory boards which allows a portion of the board s memory to be used as conventional memory In this way you could turn a 256K system into one with 840K memory or more In certain situations you may want to disable some of the computer s conventional memory and the use the memory on the expansion board i e DESQview Which Epson computers have memory settings that allow backfilling memory The Equity Equity Equity Il and Equity allow backfill The Equity comes with 256K standard and the Apex comes with 512K thus allowing backfill The Equity has DIP switch settings allowing system memory to be disabled to 256K or 512K The Equity Il and Equity have jumpers on the system memory boards to allow memory to be disabled to 256K and 512K EPSON EPSON AMERICA INC SERVICE DEPARTMENT PRODUCT SUPPORT BULLETIN DATE 02 25 88 PSB 0036 SUBJECT Equity LT Common Questions
24. s that interface via these ports with the exception of battery powered printers and modems will require AC power allowing access to the LT s AC adapter Battery Condition All NiCad batteries exhibit a phenomenon known as memory Essentially if the battery is recharged a number of times without being fully discharged it remembers the shorter times between charges This is why you will see photographers discharge their electronic flash units before putting them away Processor Speed The Equity LT employs the NEC V30 CPU which is a low power CMOS 8086 compatible processor However the 10 MHz speed setting will cause it to draw somewhat more power In fact on a dual FDD LT with the reflective LCD the difference between 4 77 and 10 MHz can be as much as 48 minutes total life Environment Extremes in temperature and humidity can effect not only battery charge life but LCD performance as well The standard rule of thumb applies here If it s comfortable for you your computer should function optimally NUMBER 0055 PAGE 3 of 4 How to get the most out of the Equity LT is possible to extend the working battery charge time of Equity LT by following a few simple guidelines Turn the hard disk drive power OFF For most applications constant access to the hard disk drive is not required Once the application is loaded into RAM wait for the drive access LED to go out and turn the HDD power switch off When you re ready t
25. that require booting from drive A Otherwise its a matter of personal preference Is it possible to use a 360 KB and a 1 2 MB FDD No The LT supports a 250 KB per second transfer rate so the 360 KB drive works fine The 1 2 MB FDD uses a higher transfer rate and is therefor not compatible Equity LT Common Questions and Answers Page 3 of 9 Hard Disk Drive 918 A 919 920 021 022 023 Can I install the HDD option kit myself The installation procedure is very complex and should only be performed by authorized servicers Does the HDD automatically park the heads in the shipping zone when the LT is turned off No head parking is a little different on the LT Approximately 5 seconds after the last HDD access the heads are driven to the shipping zone and the drive access LED goes out Whenever the LED is out you may safely shut down Never power off when the LED is on Is it possible to perform a low level physical format on the HDD All LT HDDs are physically formatted at the factory before shipment with any bad cylinders being properly mapped out Users do not need to do a physical format themselves For this reason the HDFMTALL program is not included on the LT Reference Diskette Why is there a separate power switch for the HDD This feature conserves the charge of the built in battery pack When working without the AC adapter you may want to turn off the HDD when you re not using it
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