StrongARM Risc PC Documentation
Acorn documents for the StrongARM RISC PC and the StrongARM upgrade for the Risc PC 600 and 700. Acorn's hardware reference for the Risc PC is on Acorn Risc PC Technical Reference Manual.
StrongARM card and RISC OS 3.7 upgrade instructions
[edit | edit source]Acorn StrongARM card and RISC OS 3.7 Upgrade Instructions, part number 1403,222, issue 1, August 1996, 20 pages with OCR text.
| Section | Pages |
|---|---|
| Pack contents; overview of the ten steps; tools (a ROM extractor); important information | 1–2 |
| Static electricity; making software backups | 3 |
| Software installation with !Installer from the floppy discs; installation troubleshooting; cancelling and restarting | 4–7 |
| Hardware installation: disassembly, fitting the ROMs (1203,191-xx in ROM 1, 1203,192-xx in ROM 2), fitting the StrongARM card in PROC I/F slot 0, reassembly | 7–9 |
| Restarting with factory-default CMOS (Delete held at power-on) | 9 |
| Reconfiguring the system, network (Internet, AUN), printing, ARMovie and !BootIDECD; restoring software | 10–19 |
It has no circuit, parts list or specification for the processor card, and no fault-finding beyond the software installer's messages.
Download: Acorn StrongARM Card and RISC OS 3.7 Upgrade Instructions.pdf
ART leaflet and folder
[edit | edit source]- File:ART StrongARM Upgrade for Risc PC leaflet (SA03).pdf: Acorn Risc Technologies leaflet SA03, two pages, 1996. The upgrade card with a 200 MHz SA-110 for 30 MHz and 33 MHz ARM610 and 40 MHz ARM710 Risc PCs, the StrongARM-aware ROM set, benchmark timings and a technical overview of the card.
- File:Acorn StrongARM Risc PC brochure (ART).pdf: ART's six-page folder The StrongARM Risc PC, with its Dhrystone table (356k for the StrongARM Risc PC, 55k for the Risc PC 700) and product description.
These are sales documents and contain no service information.
Application notes
[edit | edit source]- File:Acorn Application Note 297 StrongARM PC Card Compatibility.pdf: Application Note 297, Hardware Modification and Testing Procedures to enhance StrongARM / PC Card compatibility, issue 1.00, 14 January 1997, 6 pages, marked confidential when issued. It covers three fault cases (StrongARM unstable under RISC OS; PC card unstable only with the StrongARM; PC card unstable with any processor), stripping the machine down, the RISC OS 3.70 ROM patches, soak testing, the switch block on the StrongARM card, the R25/R35 timing modification, and four component changes on Gemini 2 PC cards. It has no circuit or parts list for either card.
- File:Acorn Application Note 295 Introduction to StrongARM.pdf: Application Note 295, Introduction to StrongARM and Programming Guidelines, issue 2.01, 5 September 1996, 14 pages. It describes the SA-110's split caches and the software problems they cause, the processor card's byte-lane fix for older podules, and the SWIs and service calls added in RISC OS 3.7. It is written for programmers and has no service procedures.
Pages that cite these documents
[edit | edit source]- StrongARM RISC PC: fitting the card and ROMs, ROM part numbers, CMOS reset, upgrade compatibility, performance figures
- StrongARM RISC PC Maintenance Guide: card handling, switch block, ROM patches, CMOS reset
- StrongARM RISC PC Troubleshooting Guide: Acorn's StrongARM and PC card fault procedure (AN297), byte-lane behaviour (AN295)
- StrongARM RISC PC Capacitor Guide: removal order and soak test after recapping