Preface

This Technical Reference Manual is intended primarily to assist writers of software for the Amstrad PC1640, although in conjunction with the PC1640 Service Manual it will be of interest to designers of add-on hardware.

It is assumed that the reader has a working knowledge of the Industry Standard architecture comprising of an 8086 (or 8088) with DMA, PIT, RTC and Interrupt Controller support chips; plus Extended Graphics Adapter (or Color Graphics Adapter) with Floppy Disk, Serial and Parallel Adapters.

The information contained herein is largely unique to this document, with the exception of parts of the appendices which expand on the information contained in the PC1640 User Instructions and the Microsoft MSDOS Reference Manual.

Whilst the PC1640 implements a superset of the Industry Standard, this manual makes no attempt to identify those areas of the PC1640 specification which exceed the Industry Standard. Users should, therefore, exercise caution when writing software for a range of manufacturers' PCs and only use the "Lowest Common Denominator" facilities if simple portability is required.

© Copyright 1987 AMSTRAD Plc.

Neither the whole nor any part of the information contained herein, nor the product described in this manual may be adapted or reproduced in any form except with the prior approval of AMSTRAD Plc.

All information of a technical nature and particulars of the product are given by Amstrad in good faith. However, it is acknowledged that there may be errors or omissions in this manual.

All correspondence should be addressed to:

All maintenance and service on the product must be carried out by Amstrad authorised dealers. Amstrad cannot accept any liability whatsoever for any loss or damage caused by service or maintenance by unauthorised personnel. This manual is intended to assist the reader in the use of the product, and therefore Amstrad shall not be liable for any damage or loss whatsoever arising from the use of any information or particulars in, or any error or omission in, this manual or any incorrect use of the product.

Written by Bill Weidenauer, AMSTRAD plc.

Published by Amstrad.

First Published 1987.

MS-DOS(R) is a registered trademark of Microsoft(R) Corporation

AMSTRAD PC1640 is a registered trademark of AMSTRAD plc.

AMSTRAD is a registered trademark of AMSTRAD plc.

Unauthorised use of the trademark or the word AMSTRAD is strictly forbidden.