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TECH-1234 12MHz 286™ SYSTEM ser’s Manual...
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The following does not apply to any country where such provisions are inconsistent with local law: We make no warranties with respect to this documentation either express or implied and provides it “as is”. This includes but is not limited to any implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
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Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Statement Radio Frequency Interference Statement This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.
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Reconfiguring To keep the computer from being damaged, NEVER recon- • figure the board while the power is ON. If you wish to reconfigure the computer at any time, ensure that • the power is turned OFF before changing any hardware set- tings, such as DIP switches or jumpers.
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Chapter 1 SYSTEM OVERVIEW Figure 1-1: Quick Start Figure 1-2: System Configuration ....Figure 1-3: System Unit Case Figure 1-4: Front Panel ....Figure 1-5: Keylock and Two Security-Lock Keys Figure 1-6: ON/OFF Switch in OFF Position .
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Chapter 2 SETTING UP YOUR SYSTEM Figure 2-1: Motherboard Layout ....2 Figure 2-2: The Location of 80286 CPU ....3 Figure 2-3: The Location of 80287 .
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Chapter 1 SYSTEM OVERVIEW Table 1-1: Power Cord Specifications ....15 Table 1-2: Floppy Disk Specifications ....18 Chapter 2 SETTlNG UP YOUR SYSTEM Table 2-1: Settings of Jumper JP1-JP6...
What’s Inside Here’s what you’ll find in this manual: Chapter 1 — “System Overview”, gets you acquainted with the basic concepts of your system. Chapter 2 — “Setting Up Your System”, shows you how to install or upgrade your system. Chapter 3 —...
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How to Use this Manual For the advanced user If you are an experienced PC user and do not want to upgrade your system now and you want to start using your personal computer as soon as possible, refer to the Quick Start section at the beginning of chapter one.
This chapter covers: the basics of your system the system’s features and specifications control panel features and connectors outside of the case how to maintain your computer. If you are an experienced user who wants to get to work as soon as possible, the Quick Start section at the beginning of this chapter provides you all the information you need to set up the hardware.
1-1 Introduction This manual will guide you through the setup of your computer and provide the information necessary to tailor the system to fit your needs. If you are a novice, you will be able to have your computer up and running with a minimum of fuss.
1-2 Quick Start If you are an experienced user anxious to start using your computer, observe the figure below to set up your personal computer. You will still want to use this manual later as a reference book. Note: Save all packing materials in case you need to ship your computer.
1-3 Features • Intel 80286-12 microprocessor with 80287 coprocessor op- tional • Use of CHIP’s PC/AT-compatible chip set • Switchable between 6MHz Normal mode and 12MHz Turbo mode by either a software switch or a hardware switch • Onboard battery backup for the CMOS configuration table and a real-time clock •...
1-5 Example of a System Configuration The basic system is pictured below. You may choose peripherals and upgrades for the system as your needs require. Even if your system is different from the one pictured, it should operate in the same basic manner.
1-6 System Unit The system unit may house a motherboard, disk drives, a power supply and other optional expansion cards. 2 Function Lights Figure 1-3: System Unit Case Chapter 1: System Overview...
1-7 Control Panel The control panel provides several useful functions which are ex- plained below. You are likely to use the front panel frequently, so let’s start there. Figure 1-4: Front Panel Reset Button The reset button allows you to restart the system without turning the power off.
Keylock The keylock enables or disables the keyboard. In the unlock mode the keyboard is activated. In the lock mode the keyboard is disabled to deny unauthorized users access to the computer. Figure 1-5: Keylock and Two Security-Lock Keys Chapter 1: System Overview...
System Power Switch The system power switch is located on the right side of the case toward the rear. Figure 1-6: ON/OFF Switch in OFF Position You should always be certain that the power is turned off before modifying the hardware configuration in any way. Chapter 1: System Overview...
1-8 Rear Panel The rear panel has all the connections that lead from the system unit to external peripherals and the power source. Turn off all power switches before connecting or disconnecting cables/wires! En- sure that cables/wires are attached to the peripheral device first and connect to the outlet of the system unit case later.
Keyboard Connector The keyboard supplied with your system may be plugged into sockets at the back of the case. Plug the keyboard cable into the socket as shown below. Keyboard Connector Figure 1-8: Connecting the Keyboard Cable Chapter 1: System Overview...
Power Cord Connector The power supply has two receptacles: one supplies power to a monitor; the other connects to the main power source. Yet, if your monitor power plug does not fit the system unit’s monitor power outlet, you should plug it into a wall electrical outlet. Figure 1-9: System Power Cord Chapter 1: System Overview...
You will also need to connect your monitor to the system unit at a female display port in one of the expansion slots as shown on the previous page. To attach the monitor cable to the display port, plug the cable into the port and screw the cable connector down securely.
Power Voltage Setting The system unit can run on either 115V or 230V as indicated in Figure 1-11. The voltage setting switch is located above the monitor power outlet. Refer to Table 1-1 for power cord specifications. Figure 1-11: Voltage Switch When you are using the PC in American areas, switch the voltage selector switch to 115V and if you are in European countries, switch to 23OV.
1-9 Other Peripherals To connect other peripherals (printer, modem etc.), refer to your expan- sion card manuals or peripheral manuals to determine which ports are to be used. Your may consult your dealer for more about the expan- sion cards available for your system. Typical peripherals are shown as the figure below.
1-10 Disk Drives Your disk drive displays different kinds of composition by installing at most three 5.25” floppy/ hard and one 3.5” hard disk drives. You can decide the composition according to your need. More information about how to install disk drives may be found in Chapter 6. Figure1-13: Installing Floppy and Hard Disk Drives Chapter 1: System Overview...
Floppy Disks With a floppy disk drive you can format and use double-sided (or single-sided) double-density (or high-density) floppy disks. One double-sided doubledensity 5.25” floppy disk can store up to 360KB of data One double-sided high density 5.25” floppy disk can store up to 1.2MB of data.
Copy Protection A tab on the 3.5” diskette is used for protection of data. This is a mechanical method of protecting the disk from additions, deletions and alterations of existing data. The figure below shows a diskette with the write protect tab. To enable write protection, slide the tab toward the outermost position so that you can see through the write protect hole.
Hard Disks Your computer is very powerful and versatile. To make full use of all its capabilities, you had better use a hard disk. A hard disk can raise your efficiency because the hard disk keeps programs and data avail- able at your fingertips.
1-11 Keyboard Your keyboard has a set of function keys, cursor keys and a numeric keypad. The figure below shows a typical keyboard. Refer to Chapter 4 for a more detailed description of the keyboard. Figure 1-16: Keyboard Chapter 1: System Overview...
1-12 Maintaining Your Equipment Read and follow carefully all the instructions and warnings in this manual and on these products! Only use a damp cloth to clean your system unit and monitor case. Do not use detergents! Position your system unit, monitor and cables/wires away from direct sunlight, moisture, dust, oil, and thoroughfares.
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Setting Up Your System In this chapter you will learn about: how to assemble a knocked-down system how to upgrade your system Setting up a system is easy and takes only a short time. If your dealer has set up your system for you, you can skip this chapter. With the system set up you are now ready to load your application software and begin work.
2-1 Motherboard The motherboard of your computer contains an Intel@ 80286-12 microprocessor (or CPU), a 80287-8 math coprocessor socket, BIOS chips and expansion slots. These parts of your system that you can see and touch are called hardware. Below is an illustration of the board layout.
80286 CPU The chip called a central processor unit (CPU) handles software instructions. Your system uses an Intel 80286-12 CPU which is lo- cated at U34 on the mother board. It is an advanced, high-perfor- mance microprocessor with specially optimized capabilities for multiple-user and multi-tasking systems.
Math Coprocessor If you process numeric data, a math coprocessor will make your work more efficient . An optional 80287 math coprocessor can be installed in socket U35 to accelerate processing of calculation-intensive applications. Remember that you must make sure the dotted end of the chip is lined up with the notched end of the socket.
Chips or RAM Modules Insertion Remember that when inserting chips or Ram modules, you must make sure that the notched or the dotted end of the chip is lined up with the notched end of the socket. Gently push the chip into the socket, and be careful not to bend the pins.
Jumper A jumper is a kind of switch which uses a plastic cap with a metal interior to connect (short) two pins. If a jumper needs to be left open, you should save the cap for future use by covering only one pin of a jumper.
Onboard System Memory Size Jumpers JP1 - JP6 are used to set the RAM size you want on the mainboard. The DIP and SIMM DRAM banks can contain from 512KB, 64OKB, 1MB, 1.5MB, 2MB, 3MB, 4MB to 5MB by means of setting them.
The following shows the configuration for total onboard system memory. Using one bank or two banks (banks 0 & 1) with either DIP or SIMM DRAM Using three or four banks of DIP (banks 0, 1) and SIMM (banks 2,3) DRAM Table 2-1: Settings of Jumper JP1- JP6 Before setting up RAM configuration in BIOS, you must refer to the following table to set the wait state and the page-interleave mode.
ROM BIOS Chips To install the ROM chips, refer to the illustration below for the location of the chip sockets on the mainboard. Be sure that the type of BIOS is DTK BIOS or any other of 64KB size. Figure 2-17: Installing ROM Chapter 2: Setting Up Your System...
2-2 Installation The time may come when you want to upgrade your system. To do so, you may need to remove the cover of the unit. This is easily ac- complished with the following tools: a small flat-blade screwdriver and a small Philips screwdriver.
2-3 Connecting to the Power Supply If your power supply has not been attached to your motherboard, you may need to attach the power supply cable to the connector J8, which is located at the lower right quadrant of the motherboard. There are some cables on the power supply.
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Operating Your System In this chapter you will learn: a few MS-DOS functions the basics of the system setup program The software that your system will use falls into two categories. First there is the operating system, the language that tells the system what to do.
3-1 An Introduction to DOS DOS stands for Disk Operating System. This is a set of commands used to control the operations of a computer and its peripheral com- ponents. DOS makes it easy for you to use applications and create and manage files on your computer.
3-2 DOS Operations Following is a brief explanation of a few DOS functions. If you want a detailed explanation of all the DOS commands, refer to your DOS user manual. Starting MS-DOS If you are using a hard disk with DOS already installed, the computer will “boot”...
Formatting Disk You must format a floppy disk before it can be used. Formatting high-density disk: To format a high-density disk, type the following at the drive prompt: After your disk has been formatted, you will see the following prompt: Press <N>...
Backing up your Diskettes and Files In order not to lose your files through disk damage or accidental deletion it is important to back up all your files and diskettes regularly. Backing up a diskette on a two-floppy disk drive system: At the A>...
Deleting your Diskettes and Files You may want to erase diskettes or unnecessary files to make room for other data. Erasing a diskette: To erase a whole directory of files, type the following at the drive prompt: All the files in the open directory are now erased. Deleting a file: To delete a single file, type the following at the drive prompt: Chapter 3: Operating Your System...
Finding Out What is on Your Disk If you want to find out what files are on a disk, you can list its directory by using the <DIR> command. If you want to display the directory of the disk in drive A, you would use the following command: DIR A: After you hit the enter key, all the file information will display on the screen.
3-3 Hard Disk Drive Format A hard disk must be formatted before it can be read from or written to. If your hard disk requires this, you should carry out the following steps. Step 1 — Preformat The preformat utility is supplied by the system BIOS. You can press <Esc>...
Step 3 — Format The DOS command “Format” verifies the media and moves the system file onto the hard disk drive. The command should be keyed in as: A> FORMAT C:/S If you have two partitions, you have to format D in DOS prompt. The command should be keyed in as: A>...
3-4 Helpful Hints The following may save you some time or help you as you use your computer. Make copies of your diskettes regularly. To make sure that a command works, you should: Refer to the DOS Reference for additional information if a command still doesn’t work.
3-5 System Setup Program A system setup program is included in your BIOS on the motherboard. The setup program is used to key in the configuration you want for your system. Specifically, you can set the date, time, base memory, expan- sion memory, number of floppy and hard disk drives and display configuration as well as get information on hard disk types.
Entering the Setup Program There are two ways to enter the setup program: by pressing <F1> or by pressing <Esc> . 1. Pressing <F1> to Enter the Setup Program You will need to press <F1>, to enter the setup program in the following situations: when your computer is turned on for the first time •...
2. Pressing <ESC> to Enter the Setup Program’ If you want to set up special functions provided by BIOS or reconfigure your system, you will need to enter the setup program. After starting your computer, press the <Esc> key quickly before the RAM test finishes.
Running the Setup Program The menu of the setup program highlights the selected command. You can use the up < › > and down < œ > arrows to select the desired item. Pressing the enter key < 8 screen. If the option on the screen does not match your configuration, you have two ways to make modifications.
1. Setting Up System Configuration If you choose item 1 from the screen on the previous page to configure your system, the following will appear: ROM SETUP PROGRAM VERSION 2.0 (C) COPYRIGHT DATATECH ENTERPRISES CO., LTD 1990. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. SET UP SYSTEM CONFIGURATION 1.
2. Preformatting Hard Disk If you want to preformat your herd disks, reenter the setup program by pressing <Esc>, end select item 2 on the initial screen. The program will then proceed es below: ROM SETUP PROGRAM VERSION 2.0 (C) COPYRIGHT DATATECH ENTERPRISES CO., LTD 1990. 1.
3. Setting Up Built-in Utilities Three system utilities, a calculator, a hard disk park, and a timer, are in your system BIOS. These utilities are enabled by the setup pro- gram. Note that these utilities can be used in the 80-column text display mode only.
4. Setting Up Password Selecting item 4 in the initial setup menu will lead you to set up a system password. A password can deny unauthorized users access to the computer. You can key in a password with a maximum of seven alphanumeric units.
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In this chapter you will learn: the basics of your keyboard and its functions how to adjust your keyboard angles A computer keyboard sends messages from you to the computer. It has: • QWERTY keys • Function keys • Cursor control keys •...
4-1 Keyboard Layout Currently several of keyboard styles are available for PC/AT/XT com- patible computers. The most popular are the PC keyboard, the PC/AT keyboard, and the enhanced keyboard. Figure 4-1 below illustrates the basic layout of a typical enhanced keyboard. Keyboard Function Keys Special Keys...
4-2 Getting Acquainted with Your Keyboard Before you begin using your computer, you should become familiar with some keyboard functions. Your keyboard is divided into six sections. Refer to the previous page for the layout. The following gives an explanation of these keys. Function Keys These are located on the left or at the top of the keyboard.
K e y s Turns on and off the numeric mode on the numeric keypad Used for division operations. Used for multiplication operations. Used for subtraction operations. Activating Num Lock makes 7 operative. Home returns cursor to the beginning of the line it is on. Activating Num Lock makes 8 operative.
Mode Indicator Lights In addition to the character, number and control keys, every keyboard has three lights that indicate the typing mode. These lights and their iunctions are explained as follows: Figure 4-4: Indicator tights Caps Lock When this light is on, characters are in uppercase mode. Num Lock When this light is off, the cursor-control function of the numeric keypad is disabled and the numeric mode is activated.
Special Keys Below are some special keys on your keyboard. Figure 4-5: Special Keys Check out the above key functions in the table below and in Table 4-1. Table 4-2: Functions of Special Keys Chapter: 4: Keyboard Function Keys Pressing this key together with the shift key will print all data on the screen.
QWERTY Keys These are the same keys which are used on a typewriter. Figure 46: QWERTY Keys Keys Performs a tab function similar to that of a typewriter. Changes lowercase letters to capitals. Moves cursor back one space and erases characters. Pressing this key activates uppercase letters;...
Cursor Keys These keys move the cursor in the indicated direction. Figure 4-7: Cursor Keys Key Combinations The keys shown below have special functions when pressed simul- taneously. Table 4-4: Special Functions Chapter: 4: Keyboard Keys Both keys used together stop a program while it's running.
4-3 Keyboard Tilt Adjustment Under the rear of the keyboard are two small legs that can be pulled out or pushed in to change the keyboard angles to suit you. Figure 4-8: Adjustment of Keyboard Angles Chapter 4: Keyboard...
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In this chapter you will learn about: the basics of how to solve software/hardware problems when to get technical help for your computer Your computer has been designed to last for years of optimum perfor- mance. But if some problems do occur, more likely than not you will be able to solve them by referring to this chapter.
5-1 Command Problems Often what appears to be a big problem is in fact just a matter of a small oversight. Before taking your computer to the shop for major surgery, check the following items. Chapter 5: Troubleshooting Make sure that all devices (computer and peripherals) have power and are turned on.
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Are you using a startup disk? Is your disk formatted? Is the system configuration correct? Are all the external and internal connectors are con- nected well? Make sure that you are running software compatible with your display port, because some software programs can only run on the MGA display mode.
5-2 System Error Messages Basically there are three levels of system error messages that you might see displayed on your computer. These are related to the software you use. The following are the ones most commonly en- countered. Software error messages are a result of: Software lockup;...
Examples of System Error Messages System crash The cursor cannot be moved and does not respond to the keyboard. This could indicate a software crash. Mark where you are in your document. Reboot your system and reload your software. Scroll the cursor to where you last saved your data.
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Keyboard Error User Check — Indicates the disconnection of the keyboard from the sys- tem or a keyboard device failure. Parity Error but Segment not Found, Press any Key to Continue — Indicates that the NMI circuit has detected a RAM parity error.
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This chapter provides: technical information jumper settings in your system information on moving your computer This manual is not a technical reference manual; however-this chapter provides some technical information about your system. If you need more information, you can go to a technical library or bookstore to find technical reference books.
6-1 Installing Disk Drives Up to three 5.25” floppy/hard disk drives and one 3.5” hard disk drive may be installed in the system unit. Installation of a hard disk drive is essentially similar to that for a floppy disk drive. You may sometimes want to add to or exchange your floppy or hard disk drives.
Step 1: Fastening Disk Drives 5.25” Floppy/Hard Disk Drives: To install a 5.25” floppy or hard disk drive, follow the procedures below. Screw the metal guides to the disk drive as shown below. • Figure 6-1: Screwing a 5.25" Disk Drive Slide the back end of the disk drive first into the disk drive •...
3.5” Hard Disk Drive: Your 3.5” disk drive must be a hard one, because it is a hidden style. It cannot be slidden into the disk drive bay directly from the front panel as a 5.25” disk drive. It must always be installed inside the system unit case.
Step 2: Connecting Cables After fastening the disk drive, you will connect it with one power cable and with its controller cable(s). Refer to the following instructions and Figures 6-5, 6-6, and 6-7. Floppy Disk Drives: Connect the power cable: •...
Hard Disk Drives: Connecting cables with a hard disk drive is essentially the same as that for a floppy disk drive. But in addition to the power cable and the controller cable, the hard disk drive has one more cable called a data cable.
6-2 Entering 12MHz Turbo Mode The main advantage of your mainboard over ordinary PC/AT main- boards is its dual clock system. This innovation makes it possible for your computer to operate at either of two clock speeds: 6MHz or 12MHz. Entering 12MHz Turbo Mode Your system supports both a software and hardware switch to toggle between 6MHz and 12MHz (Turbo) modes.
6-3 Software Your system supports shadow RAM and Expanded Memory System (EMS) to increase the system memory capability. Note that If you have more than one megabyte memory, you may enable or disable the 384K memory as shadow HAM. The 384K is always allocated at the same address for shadow RAM, even if you disable the shadow HAM.
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Insert the EMS driver diskette into drive A and enter a: • this command: • Enter INSTALL You will see the following screen. This program installs the NEAT EMS driver on your hard disk. (Press Esc key to quit: any other key to continue installation) The next screen will be as below if you continue setup.
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DTK NEAT EMS hardware configuration setup. Select the option you want for each item FRAME START ADDRESS:4 Fl:accept,Esc, Indicate two parameters for EMS-page register I/O base address and frame start address. • You will get a warning if you give an incorrect response. For example, if you give D000H as your frame start segment, and shadow RAM in the same area, the following message will appear.
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If the installation is complete, the following will appear: • The installation is complete. Remove the diskette and press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart the system. Reboot your system. The screen will look like this: • ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DTK NEAT Expanded Memory Manager Ver. 1.10 1990 (C) Copyright Datatech Enterprise Co.,Ltd All Rights Reserved # 11060790...
6-4 Quick Reference for Jumper Settings Using one bank or two banks (banks (0 & 1) with either DIP or SIMM DRAMs as onboard memory Using three or four SIMM (banks 2,3) Table 6-1: JP1 - JP6 — Banks Selection Table 6-2: JP7 —...
6-5 Moving Your Computer and Peripherals Your personal computer and its peripheral components are highly sensitive machines that can be damaged easily through bad shipping and handling. We recommend that you take the following steps before moving the equipment to another location. Short Move An example of this is moving from one location to another in the same building.
6-6 Technical Information Microprocessor The 80286 is a high-performance microprocessor with a 16-bit external data path, up to 16 megabytes of directly addressable physical memory and up to 64 terabytes of virtual memory space. The operating speed of the 80286 chip is 6MHz in Normal mode and 12MHz in Turbo mode.
Real Address Mode In this mode physical memory is a contiguous array of up to 1 MB. The selector portion of the pointer is interpreted as the upper 16 bits of a 20-bit address. The remaining four bits are set to zero. This mode of operation is compatible with the 8088 and the 8086.
Table 6-7: Channel 2 The 8254-2 timer/counter is treated by system programs as an arran- gement of four programmable external I/O ports. Three are treated as counters; the fourth is a control register for mode programming. System Interrupts Sixteen levels of system interrupts are provided by the 80286 NMI and two 8259A interrupt controller chips.
ROM Subsystem The ROM subsystem has a 32K by 16-bit arrangement consisting of two 32K by 8-bit ROM/EPROM modules. The odd and even address codes reside in separate modules. The top of the first megabyte and the bottom of the last megabyte address space is assigned to ROM (hex 0F0000 and hex FF0000).
Direct Memory Access Eight DMA channels are supported by the system. Two Intel 8237-5 DMA controller chips (four channels in each chip) are used to provide eight DMA channels. The DMA channels are assigned as follows. CTR 1 C H 0 Spare CH 1 SDLC...
The addresses for the page register are as below. Table 6-10: I/O Hex Address Address generation for the DMA channels is as below. Table 6-11: DMA Channel 3 Through 0 Note: To generate the addressing signal “byte high enable” (BHE), invert address line A0.
l/O Channel Slots The I/O channel suppotts: Refresh of system memory from channel or microprocessors • Selection of data accesses (either 8- or 16-bit) • Interrupts • 24-bit memory addresses (16MB) • I/O wait-state generation • I/O address space hex 100 to hex 3FF •...
Figure 6-13: 36-Pin Expansion Bus I/O Channels Math Coprocessor Control The math coprocessor functions as an I/O device through I/O port addresses hex 0F8, 0FA and 0FC. The microprocessor sends OP codes and operands to I/O ports. The microprocessor also receives and stores results through the same I/O ports.
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Some of the terms you will come across frequently in this manual are defined here. add-on card - This card connects through expansion slots to the motherboard. Also known as an adapter, an expansion card or an interface card, this is used to increase the capabilities of your computer.
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BIOS boot byte clock (processing) speed computer cursor Chapter 7: Glossary - This stands for Basic Input Output System. BIOS con- trols the real-time clock and disk drives as well as the computer’s peripheral equipment. - This is a binary data digit, either 1 or 0. 1 or 0 represents a single unit of data.
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data - Any kind of information. However, this word is generally used to describe computer-related information. debug - A method for correcting computer errors. default - This is an existing setting in a computer. - This is an acronym for Dual In-line Package, which is a method for packaging integrated circuits.
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driver expansion slot file filename fixed or hard disk format hardware Chapter 7: Glossary - A program that lets a peripheral device and a computer function harmoniously; a hard disk driver controls exchan- ges between a hard disk and a computer. - This is a slots in which adapters and/or cards can be housed.
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interface - A means for electronic machines to communicate. Inter- face also means to communicate with a computer and its peripheral components. kilobyte (KB) - A single data unit that is composed of 1024 bytes. math coprocessor - A math coprocessor lets you do arithmetic and calcula- tions more efficient.
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operating system output partition peripheral port printed circuit board program prompt Chapter 7: Glossary - Nanoseconds. This is a unit of time measurement for processing speed. - This is software that controls the execution of programs. - Any information or bits of data that are channeled from one electronic device to another.
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- Read Only Memory. This is data that is stored on an IC in the computer. RS-232 - RS232 is a standardized communications interface be- tween data communication equipment and your com- puter. setup - This section guides you through the preparations you’ll need to make before operating your computer.