What 286 chipsets support UMBs?

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I read in some forums that some 286 boards support UMBs and thus can load drivers and TSRs into the upper 384 KiB of conventional memory.



What chipsets support this and do I need special drivers?










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    I read in some forums that some 286 boards support UMBs and thus can load drivers and TSRs into the upper 384 KiB of conventional memory.



    What chipsets support this and do I need special drivers?










    share|improve this question























      up vote
      1
      down vote

      favorite









      up vote
      1
      down vote

      favorite











      I read in some forums that some 286 boards support UMBs and thus can load drivers and TSRs into the upper 384 KiB of conventional memory.



      What chipsets support this and do I need special drivers?










      share|improve this question













      I read in some forums that some 286 boards support UMBs and thus can load drivers and TSRs into the upper 384 KiB of conventional memory.



      What chipsets support this and do I need special drivers?







      ms-dos memory 80286






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      asked 7 hours ago









      Arne

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          2 Answers
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          There are quite a few 286 chipsets which can be programmed to provide shadow RAM in the upper memory area in such a way that it can be re-used as UMBs. The most comprehensive list I know of is the list given in the CHIPSET.DOC file in The Last Byte Memory Manager. This includes the Suntac ST62C202 and ST62C251, which can provide 128 KiB of shadow RAM (at most half of which can realistically be used as UMBs) alongside the 128 KiB used for EMS.



          To make use of that memory you will need a device driver of some kind, either a chipset-specific driver, or a memory manager which supports your chipset. You can find some chipset-specific drivers here, including EMS drivers for Suntac chipsets, and UMM drivers for the C & T NEAT chipsets which were perhaps the most popular UMM-capable 286 chipsets, or at least the best-known (but with a NEAT chipset you might as well use QRAM).






          share|improve this answer






















          • I will check last byte. If it indeed supports Suntac it might be an option for me.
            – Arne
            3 hours ago


















          up vote
          2
          down vote













          In order to support UMBs without needing to use processor-based address remapping (which is only available from the 80386 onwards and is used, for example, by EMM386.SYS), you need either a motherboard with integrated support for EMS memory, or an add-on board that provides it.



          There were a number of chipsets available that had this feature, e.g. the NEAT CS8221 chipset, as did the popular Suntac HT-286.



          A variety of EMS add-on boards are available, e.g. this one.



          Drivers were required to make use of this feature, and I believe would have been specific to the board in use.






          share|improve this answer




















          • Hm, your examples only provide EMS, rather than UMBs, right?
            – Arne
            6 hours ago










          • They're basically the same thing at a hardware level - EMS provides UMBs and an interface to switch different memory into them. The difference is at a driver level - the driver needs to set up the block and hand it over to DOS to control, rather than holding on to it.
            – Jules
            5 hours ago










          • Ah, I see. So in theory one could write a driver/hack the existing driver for my Suntac 286 board. It seems that the Suntac driver only provides EMS.
            – Arne
            5 hours ago










          • Yes, if the hardware is documented.
            – Jules
            5 hours ago










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          2 Answers
          2






          active

          oldest

          votes








          2 Answers
          2






          active

          oldest

          votes









          active

          oldest

          votes






          active

          oldest

          votes








          up vote
          2
          down vote



          accepted










          There are quite a few 286 chipsets which can be programmed to provide shadow RAM in the upper memory area in such a way that it can be re-used as UMBs. The most comprehensive list I know of is the list given in the CHIPSET.DOC file in The Last Byte Memory Manager. This includes the Suntac ST62C202 and ST62C251, which can provide 128 KiB of shadow RAM (at most half of which can realistically be used as UMBs) alongside the 128 KiB used for EMS.



          To make use of that memory you will need a device driver of some kind, either a chipset-specific driver, or a memory manager which supports your chipset. You can find some chipset-specific drivers here, including EMS drivers for Suntac chipsets, and UMM drivers for the C & T NEAT chipsets which were perhaps the most popular UMM-capable 286 chipsets, or at least the best-known (but with a NEAT chipset you might as well use QRAM).






          share|improve this answer






















          • I will check last byte. If it indeed supports Suntac it might be an option for me.
            – Arne
            3 hours ago















          up vote
          2
          down vote



          accepted










          There are quite a few 286 chipsets which can be programmed to provide shadow RAM in the upper memory area in such a way that it can be re-used as UMBs. The most comprehensive list I know of is the list given in the CHIPSET.DOC file in The Last Byte Memory Manager. This includes the Suntac ST62C202 and ST62C251, which can provide 128 KiB of shadow RAM (at most half of which can realistically be used as UMBs) alongside the 128 KiB used for EMS.



          To make use of that memory you will need a device driver of some kind, either a chipset-specific driver, or a memory manager which supports your chipset. You can find some chipset-specific drivers here, including EMS drivers for Suntac chipsets, and UMM drivers for the C & T NEAT chipsets which were perhaps the most popular UMM-capable 286 chipsets, or at least the best-known (but with a NEAT chipset you might as well use QRAM).






          share|improve this answer






















          • I will check last byte. If it indeed supports Suntac it might be an option for me.
            – Arne
            3 hours ago













          up vote
          2
          down vote



          accepted







          up vote
          2
          down vote



          accepted






          There are quite a few 286 chipsets which can be programmed to provide shadow RAM in the upper memory area in such a way that it can be re-used as UMBs. The most comprehensive list I know of is the list given in the CHIPSET.DOC file in The Last Byte Memory Manager. This includes the Suntac ST62C202 and ST62C251, which can provide 128 KiB of shadow RAM (at most half of which can realistically be used as UMBs) alongside the 128 KiB used for EMS.



          To make use of that memory you will need a device driver of some kind, either a chipset-specific driver, or a memory manager which supports your chipset. You can find some chipset-specific drivers here, including EMS drivers for Suntac chipsets, and UMM drivers for the C & T NEAT chipsets which were perhaps the most popular UMM-capable 286 chipsets, or at least the best-known (but with a NEAT chipset you might as well use QRAM).






          share|improve this answer














          There are quite a few 286 chipsets which can be programmed to provide shadow RAM in the upper memory area in such a way that it can be re-used as UMBs. The most comprehensive list I know of is the list given in the CHIPSET.DOC file in The Last Byte Memory Manager. This includes the Suntac ST62C202 and ST62C251, which can provide 128 KiB of shadow RAM (at most half of which can realistically be used as UMBs) alongside the 128 KiB used for EMS.



          To make use of that memory you will need a device driver of some kind, either a chipset-specific driver, or a memory manager which supports your chipset. You can find some chipset-specific drivers here, including EMS drivers for Suntac chipsets, and UMM drivers for the C & T NEAT chipsets which were perhaps the most popular UMM-capable 286 chipsets, or at least the best-known (but with a NEAT chipset you might as well use QRAM).







          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited 3 hours ago

























          answered 6 hours ago









          Stephen Kitt

          30.5k4125147




          30.5k4125147











          • I will check last byte. If it indeed supports Suntac it might be an option for me.
            – Arne
            3 hours ago

















          • I will check last byte. If it indeed supports Suntac it might be an option for me.
            – Arne
            3 hours ago
















          I will check last byte. If it indeed supports Suntac it might be an option for me.
          – Arne
          3 hours ago





          I will check last byte. If it indeed supports Suntac it might be an option for me.
          – Arne
          3 hours ago











          up vote
          2
          down vote













          In order to support UMBs without needing to use processor-based address remapping (which is only available from the 80386 onwards and is used, for example, by EMM386.SYS), you need either a motherboard with integrated support for EMS memory, or an add-on board that provides it.



          There were a number of chipsets available that had this feature, e.g. the NEAT CS8221 chipset, as did the popular Suntac HT-286.



          A variety of EMS add-on boards are available, e.g. this one.



          Drivers were required to make use of this feature, and I believe would have been specific to the board in use.






          share|improve this answer




















          • Hm, your examples only provide EMS, rather than UMBs, right?
            – Arne
            6 hours ago










          • They're basically the same thing at a hardware level - EMS provides UMBs and an interface to switch different memory into them. The difference is at a driver level - the driver needs to set up the block and hand it over to DOS to control, rather than holding on to it.
            – Jules
            5 hours ago










          • Ah, I see. So in theory one could write a driver/hack the existing driver for my Suntac 286 board. It seems that the Suntac driver only provides EMS.
            – Arne
            5 hours ago










          • Yes, if the hardware is documented.
            – Jules
            5 hours ago














          up vote
          2
          down vote













          In order to support UMBs without needing to use processor-based address remapping (which is only available from the 80386 onwards and is used, for example, by EMM386.SYS), you need either a motherboard with integrated support for EMS memory, or an add-on board that provides it.



          There were a number of chipsets available that had this feature, e.g. the NEAT CS8221 chipset, as did the popular Suntac HT-286.



          A variety of EMS add-on boards are available, e.g. this one.



          Drivers were required to make use of this feature, and I believe would have been specific to the board in use.






          share|improve this answer




















          • Hm, your examples only provide EMS, rather than UMBs, right?
            – Arne
            6 hours ago










          • They're basically the same thing at a hardware level - EMS provides UMBs and an interface to switch different memory into them. The difference is at a driver level - the driver needs to set up the block and hand it over to DOS to control, rather than holding on to it.
            – Jules
            5 hours ago










          • Ah, I see. So in theory one could write a driver/hack the existing driver for my Suntac 286 board. It seems that the Suntac driver only provides EMS.
            – Arne
            5 hours ago










          • Yes, if the hardware is documented.
            – Jules
            5 hours ago












          up vote
          2
          down vote










          up vote
          2
          down vote









          In order to support UMBs without needing to use processor-based address remapping (which is only available from the 80386 onwards and is used, for example, by EMM386.SYS), you need either a motherboard with integrated support for EMS memory, or an add-on board that provides it.



          There were a number of chipsets available that had this feature, e.g. the NEAT CS8221 chipset, as did the popular Suntac HT-286.



          A variety of EMS add-on boards are available, e.g. this one.



          Drivers were required to make use of this feature, and I believe would have been specific to the board in use.






          share|improve this answer












          In order to support UMBs without needing to use processor-based address remapping (which is only available from the 80386 onwards and is used, for example, by EMM386.SYS), you need either a motherboard with integrated support for EMS memory, or an add-on board that provides it.



          There were a number of chipsets available that had this feature, e.g. the NEAT CS8221 chipset, as did the popular Suntac HT-286.



          A variety of EMS add-on boards are available, e.g. this one.



          Drivers were required to make use of this feature, and I believe would have been specific to the board in use.







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered 6 hours ago









          Jules

          7,68512139




          7,68512139











          • Hm, your examples only provide EMS, rather than UMBs, right?
            – Arne
            6 hours ago










          • They're basically the same thing at a hardware level - EMS provides UMBs and an interface to switch different memory into them. The difference is at a driver level - the driver needs to set up the block and hand it over to DOS to control, rather than holding on to it.
            – Jules
            5 hours ago










          • Ah, I see. So in theory one could write a driver/hack the existing driver for my Suntac 286 board. It seems that the Suntac driver only provides EMS.
            – Arne
            5 hours ago










          • Yes, if the hardware is documented.
            – Jules
            5 hours ago
















          • Hm, your examples only provide EMS, rather than UMBs, right?
            – Arne
            6 hours ago










          • They're basically the same thing at a hardware level - EMS provides UMBs and an interface to switch different memory into them. The difference is at a driver level - the driver needs to set up the block and hand it over to DOS to control, rather than holding on to it.
            – Jules
            5 hours ago










          • Ah, I see. So in theory one could write a driver/hack the existing driver for my Suntac 286 board. It seems that the Suntac driver only provides EMS.
            – Arne
            5 hours ago










          • Yes, if the hardware is documented.
            – Jules
            5 hours ago















          Hm, your examples only provide EMS, rather than UMBs, right?
          – Arne
          6 hours ago




          Hm, your examples only provide EMS, rather than UMBs, right?
          – Arne
          6 hours ago












          They're basically the same thing at a hardware level - EMS provides UMBs and an interface to switch different memory into them. The difference is at a driver level - the driver needs to set up the block and hand it over to DOS to control, rather than holding on to it.
          – Jules
          5 hours ago




          They're basically the same thing at a hardware level - EMS provides UMBs and an interface to switch different memory into them. The difference is at a driver level - the driver needs to set up the block and hand it over to DOS to control, rather than holding on to it.
          – Jules
          5 hours ago












          Ah, I see. So in theory one could write a driver/hack the existing driver for my Suntac 286 board. It seems that the Suntac driver only provides EMS.
          – Arne
          5 hours ago




          Ah, I see. So in theory one could write a driver/hack the existing driver for my Suntac 286 board. It seems that the Suntac driver only provides EMS.
          – Arne
          5 hours ago












          Yes, if the hardware is documented.
          – Jules
          5 hours ago




          Yes, if the hardware is documented.
          – Jules
          5 hours ago

















           

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