Common Questions
Appendix I
VXIpc-486 Model 500 Series
I-6
© National Instruments Corporation
I am trying to install an ISA bus board in one of the ISA bus slots and it is too tall for the
metal cover to fit on the VXIpc-486. What options do I have if I must use this board?
You could consider getting a VXIpc-486 without an internal floppy drive, so that you can use the
AT-height slot for any ISA bus board (<4.8 inches). If you choose this option, you can use an
external floppy drive instead of an internal floppy drive. To arrange to have your VXIpc-486
reconfigured with an AT-height slot, contact your National Instruments Inside Sales
Representative or Regional Sales Manager.
Which interrupt levels are free to be used by ISA bus boards?
Interrupt levels 5, 9, 10, and 15 are free to be used by ISA bus boards. See Appendix G,
VXIpc-486 Hardware Configuration for information on the available port I/O register space,
upper memory area, interrupts, and DMA channels.
Which area of upper memory (adapter space) is free for use by ISA bus boards or
expanded memory manager software programs?
The upper memory from D000h to DFFFh is free for use by ISA bus boards or expanded
memory manager software programs. The VXIpc-486 needs upper memory from C800h to
CFFFh and from E000h to EFFFh so that it can access the devices in VXI address space. See
Appendix G, VXIpc-486 Hardware Configuration for information on the available port I/O
register space, upper memory area, interrupts, and DMA channels.
How do I install the VXIpc-486 in a slot other than Slot 0?
The VXIpc-486 is factory configured as a Slot 0 device. If you want to install the VXIpc-486 in
a different slot of your mainframe, you must perform the following steps. Refer also to
Chapter 2, VXIpc-486 Configuration and Installation, for explanations and illustrations that
show both the configurations and the location of the jumpers.
1. Move the W26 jumper to the leftmost two pins. The new configuration causes the MODID
signal to be terminated with an 825
Ω
pull-down resistor.
2. Move the W25 jumper to the upper two pins. The new configuration disables the default
System Controller functions.
3. Move the jumpers from jumpers W35 and W36 to jumpers W32 and W33 in the jumper
block of pins. In the new configuration, the VXIpc-486 accepts the CLK10 signal from the
backplane.
4. Install the board in a slot other than Slot 0.