CompuServe Messages

Don, Sometimes the only method is 'Change and try' and 'Don't fix it once it finally works!' My Amiga probably has a gap between the 7 Megs of 16-bit Autoconfig memory and the 5 Megs of 32-bit memory on the GVP G-Force 030 to accomodate the 386 BridgeBoard (BB). I accidently tried booting w/o pulling the jumper on the 32-bit memory, and, of course, it would not work. Now this is distinctly Amiga-only memory. The gap has the interface memory between the BB and the Amiga. You might call it 'memory I/O' between the Amiga and BB. Now the BB has its own memory. The interface memory appears in its memory map within upper memory which is between 640K and 1 Meg memory addresses. Upper memory typically has video memory, BIOS ROM's, a memory frame (if needed) for expanded memory management [Remember that expanded memory is really just banked or switched memory], and probably several other odds and ends. The 5 Megs on the BB is determined by the ZIP RAM chips physically on it. Mine just came with the 256K x 4 ZIP chips in the first 4 rows. This adds up to 1 Meg total (Trust me!). I put 1M x 4 ZIP chips in the last 4 rows which now gives me a total of 5 Meg for the BB. If I replace the 256K x 4 ZIP chips with 1M x 4 ZIP chips then the BB would have a total of 8 Megabytes of memory. From the total (whatever it is) 1 Meg is used for lower and upper memory. In other words, that is the first 1M of address space. The rest has memory addresses above 1 Meg and is called extended memory. (There is also high memory right at the beginning of extended memory.) BTW, an IBM PC and other ancient 8086 or 8088 machines can NEVER have extended memory because the 8086/88 CPU can't address that high! That is the reason why expanded memory or memory banks switched into a page frame within upper memory addresses came into being to get around the addressing limitations of earlier machines. Some programs still require this expanded memory. For those programs, software (LIM stuff) was used to make extended memory emulate expanded memory to give downward compatibility. Any additional memory for the BB would have to come from a memory card plugged into a slot. For example, I have a Rambank card with 2 Megs from DFI to use as expanded memory with the appropriate software drivers. Someone else's board might give me more extended memory. As for the mouse problem, your idea of using a separate mouse from the Elite Microcomputers Multi-function card is probably the best way to go since using a mouse is critical for you. For me I'm used to using WordStar w/o a mouse since I first used it on Apple CP/M which did not have a mouse. Also, the Amouse has been working for WordPerfect, Microsoft's PWB in FORTRAN 5.1, AM (Arcmaster from New-Ware), etc. Sincerely, (Mr.) Gayle Lee Fairless 'Perfessor Fearless' from the Rocket City! via AutoPilot 1.03a