From owner-freebsd-questions Sat Apr 27 14:23:44 1996 Return-Path: owner-questions Received: (from root@localhost) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.3/8.7.3) id OAA08573 for questions-outgoing; Sat, 27 Apr 1996 14:23:44 -0700 (PDT) Received: from lserver.infoworld.com (lserver.infoworld.com [192.216.48.4]) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.7.3/8.7.3) with SMTP id OAA08556 Sat, 27 Apr 1996 14:23:36 -0700 (PDT) Received: from ccgate.infoworld.com by lserver.infoworld.com with smtp (Smail3.1.29.1 #12) id m0uDHrM-000ws2C; Sat, 27 Apr 96 14:48 PDT Received: from cc:Mail by ccgate.infoworld.com id AA830640135; Sat, 27 Apr 96 14:05:51 PST Date: Sat, 27 Apr 96 14:05:51 PST From: "Brett Glass" Message-Id: <9603278306.AA830640135@ccgate.infoworld.com> To: "Rodney W. Grimes" , dwhite@resnet.uoregon.edu Cc: dshin@ponder.csci.unt.edu, freebsd-questions@freebsd.org, freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Boot floppy problem with Intel Atlantis motherboard (Mac Sender: owner-questions@freebsd.org X-Loop: FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk > No, it't the IBM design idiots 8514 vs COM4 scew over because all the > world is going to become PS/2 compliant. (PS/2 compliant means thall > shall decode 16 bits of I/O address for serial and video ports, > independent of weither this is ISA, MCA or on the motherboard.) > Actually, the "idiots" were the people at AST and Quadram who created serial ports called "COM3" and "COM4" with interrupts that overlapped COM1 and COM2 (the only ports that are actually standard) and port addresses that were designated as "reserved" by the designers. When IBM assigned standard port addresses for COM3, COM4, etc., they used a range of 16-bit ports that did not conflict with anything. But the cloners ignored this, causing problems that have lasted to this day.