Home

Epson EQUITY II+ User's Manual

1. System Board Check Memory Check Keyboard Check Monochrome Display Adapter and CRT Check Monochrome adapter check Attribute check Character set check Videocheck Synccheck Run all above checks Diagnostics Diagnostics Dot matrix Printer Check Color Graphics Adapter and CRT Check Color graphics adapter check Attribute check Character set check 40 column character set check 320x200 graphics mode check 640x200 graphics mode check Screen paging check Light pen check Color video check SVE 000 sagraua ae Run all above checks Floppy Disk Drives and Controller Check Sequential seek check Random seek check Write read check Speedcheck Disk change check Run all above checks Math Coprocessor Check 80287 Parallel Port Printer Interface Check Parallel Port on Video Adapter Check Serial Port RS 232C Check
2. 3 Using Disks and Disk Drives How Disks Work Choosing Diskette Drives for the Equity Il Drive and diskette incompatibilities Caring for your Disks and Disk Drives Protecting your Data Making backup copies Write protecting diskettes Using Two Diskette Drives Using a Single Diskette Drive gt Using a Hard Disk Drive User s Guide Installing Option Cards Removing the Cover Installing an Option Card Removing an Option Card Replacing the Cover Post installation Setup Troubleshooting The Computer Fails to Start Up The Video Display Does Not Appear The Computer Does Not Respond Floppy Disk Problems Hard Disk Problems Software Problems Printer Problems Option Card Problems Appendixes Jumper SGHINGS Changing a Jumper Setting Memory Card Jumpers
3. 00 oe 2 Lo da o ede 4 4 Optionslots 4 5 16 bit and amp bit option cards 4 6 Removing an option slot cover 4 7 Inserting an option card A 1 Location of cardS A 2 Jumper positions A 3 Removing memory card retaining screw A 4 Memory Gard jUMpers nara dra vena ao A 5 Main circuit board jumpers 5 A 6 Disconnecting drive drive cable from multi function card A 7 Removing multi function card retaining screw A 8 Multi function card jumpers User s Guide User s Guide Tables Monitor video card compatibility Specialkeys 5W inch drive diskette compatibility 3Y inch drive diskette compatibility 14 2 1 3 1 3 2 A 1 Memory card jumper settings A 2 Main circuit board jumper settings A 3 Multi function card jumper settings for parallel port A 4 Multi function card jumper settings for serial port viii Introduction Your Epson Equity Il personal computer is a versatile high performance system that offers you a wide variety of choices First you choose between two models of the Equity II main unit then select the monitor and peripherals you want to use with it to assemble the configura tio
4. V Video card Intro l 1 7 8 4 1 4 Video monitor See Monitor Voltage switch 1 6 User s Guide Diagnostics This section describes the diagnostics programs you use the first time you set up your system and any time you make changes to it Diagnostics Contents Introduction Intro 1 Starting the Diagnostics ina ewan a an dna Intro 2 The Power on Self Test Intro 2 The OPERATION MENU Intro 3 Diagnostics and MS DOS Commands Setting Up the System Using the Setup Program Changing the Amount of Memory Using a Different Type of Display Adding an 80287 Coprocessor Changing Disk Drives Setting the Real time Clock Formatting a Hard Disk Formatting and Checking Options Conditional Format Normal Unconditional Format Destructive Surface Analysis Non destructive Surface Analysis Formatting a Diskette Performing System Diagnostics Using the System Diagnostics Program Modifying the DEVICE LIST Selecting a 109 Resuming from an error
5. Main Circuit Board Jumpers Multi function Card Jumpers Equity Specifications CPU and Memory 0 4 01076 de one ae a nade Interfaces en Power Supply Mass Storage sije seti gine dih ea obeh diag et ales Keyboard Environmental Requirements Physical Characteristics CPU Only Power Requirements Options User s Guide vii Figures System arrangement eee ee LOL ee ee ee ee ee oe ee Front panel Backpanel sivi sin eee eee ine cere eho ee x eres Connecting the power cord Connecting the monitor Plugging the keyboard cable into the main unit Adjusting the keyboard legs Connecting the printer cable to the parallel port Connecting the printer 7 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5 1 6 1 7 1 8 1 9 1 10 Turning on the power 2 1 Inserting a diskette gt adeno iands 2 2 Standard keyboard vadi ori hko bobni ke dni 2 3 CPU speed switch sto asih k ea ne rade eko di Write protect note vo oe vez re eva nei 3 2 Write protect switch 4 Back and side panel screws 4 2 Sliding backthecover 4 3 Removing
6. After these items are checked you see a list of the devices available for testing This list includes only the devices that are installed in the system The list looks something like this The following devices have been installed DEVICE LIST 1 System board 2 Memory 3 Keyboard 5 Color graphics adapter and CRT 6 Floppy disk drives and controller 9 Parallel port printer interface 11 Serial port RS 232C port 14 Dot matrix printer 17 Hard disk drives and controller Is the DEVICE LIST correct Y N If the list correctly describes your system press Y and then Enter If a device is missing from this list or if you wish to change the list press N and Enter Note Once you confirm the DEVICE LIST you can only test those items If you decide later that you need to add another device you must return to the main menu and re select System diagnostics 4 2 Diagnostics Modifying the DEVICE LIST If an installed device is missing from the DEVICE LIST it is important that you add it to the list and test it carefully In response to this prompt Is the DEVICE LIST correct Y N press followed by Enter You see a new menu Modify DEVICE LIST 1 Add devices 2 Delete devices 0 Exit Enter selection number To add a device to the list press 1 and then Enter The program displays a list of other devices that are not currently included in the DEVICE LIST You see a menu si
7. If another failure is found you see one of these messages 303 Keyboard or system unit error 304 Keyboard or system unit error Display Card Check The computer checks the color or monochrome display card that is installed in the system An error number and message appear if any faults are found in the display adapter card Number 401 represents an error in the monochrome display card and 501 represents an error in the color display card The messages are 401 CRT error 501 CRT error Diagnostics C 3 Optional RAM Check If any additional memory expansion RAM is installed the computer then checks that RAM for any malfunction Floppy Disk Drive Seek Check The computer checks its floppy disk drives by searching the read write heads for any malfunction If any seek errors are found you see this message 601 Diskette error If this error occurs confirm that the system diskette is inserted into drive A If this number still appears after you insert the diskette the disk drive must be repaired Hard Disk Controller and Hard Disk Check The computer next checks the hard disk controller and drive unit If a malfunction is found in the hard disk controller card you see this error number and message 1782 Disk controller failure If an error is found in the hard disk drive unit one of these error mes sages displays 178x Disk x error 179x Disk x error where is 0 or 1 and represents the drive number of t
8. 4 8 User s Guide Chapter 5 Troubleshooting You should not encounter any serious difficulties as you set up and use your Equity 114 But if anything out of the ordinary happens refer to this chapter Usually such a situation requires nothing more than adjusting a cable connection repeating a software procedure or resetting the compute You can use the suggestions here to solve most problems you may encounter If the recommended solution does not work consult an Epson dealer about servicing the computer WARNING If you need to turn off the computer for any reason always wait at least five seconds before you turn it back on You can damage the Equity II if you turn it off and on rapidly The Computer Fails To Start Up If the computer does not start up when you turn on the power switch follow these steps to find a solution 1 Check to see if the power light on the front pane is on If it is not remove any diskettes and then turn off the power Wait five seconds then turn the power back on 2 If the power light still does not come on turn off the power switch Check to see that the power cable is securely connected to both the AC inlet on the back panel and the electrical outlet Then turn the power back on 3 If the computer still does not start up check the electrical outlet Plug a portable lamp into the outlet you are using for the computer and turn it on to see if the outlet supplies power The Video Displa
9. 115 230 VAC 140 W peak 5 VDC 12 VDC 5 VDC 12 VDC 50 60 Hz Three drives maximum configurable using three half height slots horizontal mounts 5 inch half height floppy disk drive double sided high density 1 2MB storage capacity 5 inch half height floppy disk drive double sided high density 1 2MB storage capacity 5 inch half height floppy disk drive double sided doubledensity 360KB storage capacity 3 inch half height floppy disk drive dou ble sided high density 1 44MB storage capacity 34 inch half height floppy disk drive double sided double density 720KB storage capacity User s Guide Interfaces continued Option slots Speaker Clock calendar RAM Power Supply Mass Storage Standard Optional Optional Optional Optional B 2 Optional 32 inch or 54 inch half height or full height internal hard disk drive Keyboard Detachable three positions 101 sculpted keys Layout 58 key QWERTY main keyboard 17 key numeric cursor pad 10 cursor keys 12 func tion keys user definable Function keys Three levels normal shift alternate user definable Environmental Requirements Temperature Operating range 41 to 90 F 5 to 35 C Storage range 4 to 140 F 20 to 60 C Humidity Operating range 20 to 80 non condensing Storage range 10 to 90 non condensing Physical Characteristics CPU Only Width inches mm 15 7 4
10. Alternate Serial Port Check Hard Disk Drives and Controller Check Seekcheck Write read check Head select check Error detection and correction check Read verify check Run all above checks Moving the Hard Disk p Be Appendixes A Error Codes and Messages B Types of Hard Disk Drives C Power on Diagnostics System Device Check Clock and CMOS RAM Check RAM Chek u i ea ae orke ke ek bed ad odeli Keyboard Controller and Keyboard Check Display Card Check Optional RAM Check Floppy Disk Drive Seek Check Hard Disk Controller and Hard Disk Check Tables A 1 Error codes and messages B 1 Drive types 4 Diagnostics Diagnostics vi Introduction This special section of your manual describes how to initialize your Epson system after it is assembled and how to test the condition of your computer and peripherals To set up and test your system you use a group of programs called diag nostics on the reference diskette Depending on the system you purchased these programs and some of the screen displays may vary The five main di
11. Choosing a Location Connecting the Power Cord Connecting the Keyboard Turning On the Computer Unpacking Your Computer 27 0901609 Arranging the Components ro Connecting a Video M onitor Connecting a Printer EQUITY II EPSON SPMJ 39 IA 1 sNOSdd EPSON EPSON AMERICA INC 2780 Lomita Boulevard
12. For example if an error occurs and the computer does not respond to your keyboard commands you can reset the computer and try the same operation again However resetting erases all data in the computer s temporary memory RAM so reset your computer only as a last resort In MSDOS you can hold down Ctrl and press 6 to stop a program s operation and return to the MS DOS command prompt If an error occurs try this method before you reset the computer WARNING Do not reset the computer to exit a program unless you have to Some application programs classify and store new data whenever you exit the program prop erly If you reset the computer while such a program is running you may lose data 2 4 User s Guide There are three ways to reset Because each is more powerful than the last try them in the order listed here If you are using MS DOS hold down Ctrl and Alt and press the Del key on the numeric keypad at the right of the keyboard The screen goes blank for a moment and then MS DOS reloads MS DOS must either be on the diskette or be autobootable from the hard disk If this does not correct the problem try the second method Press the RESET button on the front panel This method works even when the keyboard does not respond to your commands If this does not correct the problem try the third method Remove any diskettes from the floppy disk drives Turn off the monitor and any peripheral devices and the
13. regardless of the type of drive If you plan to test a 1 2MB drive use the MS DOS FORMAT command to format a high density diskette Also to test a 360KB drive always use a double density diskette that you formatted in a 360KB drive The Format diskette program destroys any data on the diskette When formatting your diskettes the program also initializes the directory and file allocation tables When you select option 3 from the OPERATION MENU you see this message and prompt Format Diskette Insert diskette for drive A and strike ENTER when ready Remove your diagnostics diskette then insert the diskette you want to for mat into drive A and press Enter You see this message Head x Cylinder xx You see the number of each cylinder as the program formats the diskette When the format is complete you see these messages Format complete 362496 bytes total disk space 362496 bytes available on disk Format another Y N You can format another diskette or return to the OPERATION MENU Diagnostics 3 1 If drive A is a 1 2MB drive and you format a double density diskette you see this warning message WARNING This disk is not suitable for testing a 360 KB drive Press Enter to return to the menu For a complete description of the FORMAT command refer to the MS DOS manual 3 2 Diagnostics Chapter 4 Performing System Diagnostics This chapter describes how to check the operation of the main unit and pe
14. 1 12 8 1 User s Guide MS DOS booting 1 15 operating system Intro 2 1 1 preparing hard disk 3 7 8 system diskette 1 1 1 15 Multi function ska location A l jumpers removing Multi tasking Intro 2 Multi user Intro 2 0 Operating system diskette loading 1 15 Optional disk drive slot 1 5 Option card access slots connector s ENE installing post H PT setup problems removing slot Intro l 1 5 6 4 3 7 slot cover 4 5 Option slot interface 8 2 Outlet AC auxiliary power P Parallel cable 1 11 controller card 1 6 H 1 4 3 A 1 interface 1 6 1 11 B 1 port printer 1 11 A 6 Partitioning hard disk 3 8 5 3 Index 4 Ww Write protecting diskettes 5 3 Index 5 Write protect notch Write protect switch Write protect tab Writing to disk 3 2 3 S SELECT program 3 8 Self test internal 1 15 Serial cable 1 12 controller card 1 4 3 4 1 4 6 interface 1 6 1 12 B 1 port 1 6 1 12 4 6 8 Single diskette drive using Single sided diskettes 3 2 Software problems Speaker interface 8 2 Special character set 1 13 Specifications B 1 Speed switch 1 5 2 3 5 3 Startup diskette Storing diskettes Switch power 1 4 1 14 System configuration diskette 1 1 1 15 3 5 prompt
15. 39 for 360KB diskettes and track 79 for 12MB diskettes Select option 1 from the menu to start this test The program displays the number of each track it finds For example with a 360KB floppy disk the first message you see is Current track is 39 The track number counts down from 39 or 79 to 0 The seek is performed by each head so you see the count twice If no errors occur the menu displays Random seek check This test is identical to the sequential seek check except that the seek operation is performed on each track in random order instead of sequential order Select option 2 from the menu to start this test Write read check This test checks the ability of the selected disk drive to read and write data from a diskette The test writes to and reads from each cylinder on the diskette starting at the center Note This test destroys all data on the diskette in the sdected drive Select option 3 from the menu to start this test 4 18 Diagnostics If you have only one floppy disk drive you see a prompt to remove the diagnostics diskette and insert a blank diskette before running the test You see these messages Use only a formatted blank diskette for this test Any data present may be erased If using drive A remove your Diagnostics Disk Enter Y to start this check Enter N to return to the menu Make sure the blank diskette you prepared is in drive A then press Y and Enter The program displays the
16. To secure the cover replace the screws on the back and side panels 5 Return the main unit to its original position and place the monitor on top if that is where you keep it Then reconnect the main unit to the monitor the keyboard and any other peripherals you have 6 Check to be sure the power switch on the main unit is off Then recon nect the power cable to the back of the main unit and to an electrical outlet User s Guide 4 7 Post installation Setup After you install an option card and replace the main unit s cover and reconnect the power cord and peripherals you may need to run the Setup program on the reference diskette to update the configuration information For example if you add a hard disk you need to tell the computer that it has the additional drive See the Diagnostics section of this manual for instruc tions You may also need to add some commands in the configuration file on your system disk See your MS DOS manual for instructions When you finish installing an option and reconfiguring the system you should test the option if possible Some options come with their own test programs and you can test others using the diagnostics programs on the reference diskette that came with the Equity II These include e Expansion memory e 80287 numeric coprocessor gt Serial and parallel ports e Monitors and display adapters e Disk drives See the Diagnostics section of this manual for instructions
17. before you connect any cables Turn up the latch that covers the disk slot until it is horizontal Carefully pull out the sheet If you have an optional drive with a push button press the disk drive button to release the protector sheet Save the protector sheet and reinsert it whenever you move the computer even if you just move it to another part of the room If you don t plan to use your computer for a week or more such as when you go on vacation reinsert the protector sheet to help prevent dust from entering the disk drive Choosing a Location before you set up your new system choose an appropriate place Whether you use your computer at home or in the office you need to find a comfortable convenient location where it can run properly Choose a location that provides the following e A large sturdy desk or table Make sure it can easily support the weight of your system including all its components e A flat hard surface Soft surfaces like beds and carpeted floors attract static electricity which erases data on your disks and can damage the computer s circuitry Soft surfaces also prevent proper ventilation e Good air circulation Air must be able to move freely under the system as well as behind it Leave several inches of space around the computer to allow ventilation e Moderate environmental conditions You need to protect your com puter from extremes in temperature humidity dust and smoke Avoid direct sunli
18. computer is currently copying data to or from the hard disk If you interrupt this process you can lose data Never attempt to open the hard disk unit The disk itself is enclosed in an air tight container to protect it from dust If you are going to move your computer even to another part of the room run the diagnostics program on your reference diskette called Prepare Hard Disk for Moving to move the read write heads away from the recording area See the Diagnostics section of this manual for instructions User s Guide 3 4 Protecting your Data There are two ways to avoid losing data you store on disk you can make backup copies and you tan write protect your diskettes You need to format new diskettes before you can use them with an operating system Formatting erases all the data on a diskette and prepares it to receive new data so be sure to format only new blank diskettes or disk ettes that contain data you want to erase Refer to your MS DOS or other operating system manual for instructions on how to format diskettes Making backup copies It is a good idea to make copies of all your data and system diskettes Copy all diskettes that contain programs such as the master system diskettes that come with the Equity II and use only the copies Store your original system diskettes in a safe place away from your working diskettes Copy your data diskettes regularly preferably every day to keep them up to date and stor
19. computer remains locked up follow the steos in Chapter 2 under Resetting the Computer 1 Floppy Disk Problems If you have trouble with a diskette check the following questions Is the diskette damaged Copy the diskette and repeat the operation that caused the problem using the copy If you have trouble copying the entire diskette some of the sectors may be bad Try to copy single files with the COPY command If the operation works using the copy the original diskette is probably damaged Make another copy to use as a backup User s Guide 5 2 2 Haveyou inserted the right type of diskette The diskette type is nor mally shown on the manufacturer s label See Choosing Diskettes for the Equity II and Drive and diskette incompatibilities in Chapter 3 3 Is the diskette write protected There may be a write protect tab over the notch on the side of the diskette 54 inch or the write protect switch may be set on a 34 inch diskette Before you remove the tab or move the switch check the directory to see what files the diskette contains it may contain information you do not want to change or lose Your oper ating system manual describes how to display a directory Although you should normally write protect all program diskettes some programs store temporary files on the diskette These programs do not work if you write protect the diskette Hard Disk Problems If you have problems with your hard disk wh
20. displays may vary A typical OPERATION MENU looks like this OPERATION MENU 1 Setup 2 Format hard disk 3 Format diskette 4 System diagnostics 5 Prepare hard disk for moving O Exit to DOS for more utilities Enter selection number To sdect one of the diagnostics programs press a number from 1to 5 and press Enter Option 3 Format diskette is included on the OPERATION MENU for convenience only This option lets you format diskettes for use by the System diagnostics tests without exiting from the diagnostics programs To use the other utility programs on the reference diskette select 0 from the OPERATION MENU Then start the utility from the MS DOS prompt Option 0 exits the diagnostics programs in one of the following ways e If you have not run a diagnostics program you see this selection on the OPERATION MENU O Exit to DOS for more utilities In this case when you press 9 and Enter you see the MS DOS prompt Diagnostics Intro 3 e If you have run a diagnostics program you see this selection Exit and reset In this case when you press 0 and Enter the system is reset Before selecting this option remove the reference diskette from drive A and insert your startup diskette so the systen can boot normally To boot from your hard disk be sure to remove the diskette from drive A This manual describes each menu item in the order it appears on the OPERATION MENU Diagnostics and MS DOS
21. the computer can check individual pins of the port Contact your dealer if you need a loop back connector Note that a different connector is required to test the parallel port Diagnostics 4 21 When you select option 11 from the DEVICE LIST you see these prompts Attach loop back connector to serial port Enter Y to start this check when connector is attached or Enter N to return to the menu Insert the loop back connector Then press Y and Enter to start the check First the computer checks the serial port control lines to see that they are able to change from high to low and vice versa No messages display during this part of the test unless an error occurs The second test is an echo back check during which the port sends data to itself in a fixed data format at all the possible baud rates When this test begins you see these messages RS232C echo back check at various baud rates Current baud rate is 75 Current test data is 00 Each baud rate is tested in turn and the display informs you of the progress of the test If the port does not become ready correctly a timeout error occurs If any data received does not match the data sent a verify error occurs and the computer reports the transmitted and received data at the time of the error The final test is an echo back check during which the port sends data to itself at 9600 baud using various data formats At the start of the test you see these messages RS2
22. the coprocessor Table A 2 shows the functions for the jumpers on the main circuit board Table A 2 Main circuit board jumper settings Jumper number 3 4 5 Function 1 wait state for EPROM access 2 wait states for EPROM access 1 wait state for 16 bit option card 2 wait states for 16 bit option card 4 wait states for 16 bit option card A Set coprocessor clock at 8 MHz B Set coprocessor at 1 3 of CPU speed I gt no w gt wo gt WO A B Default setting To access the main circuit board jumpers you must remove the memory card from the computer as described above Do not try to access the jumpers while this card is still in the computer Figure A 5 shows the locations of jumpers 5 on the main circuit board Refer to Table A 2 above to set them as needed When you finish changing the jumpers carefully replace the memory card in its slot and secure it with the retaining screw User s Guide A 5 Figure A 5 Main circuit board jumpers Multi function Card Jumpers The jumpers on the multi function card control the parall port address and the serial port address You normally address the parallel and serial ports in the computer as the primary ports LPT1 and COM 1 However if you install an additional parallel or serial port and want it to be the primary port you need to change the jumpers on the multi function card so the built in port becomes se
23. the primary parallel printer port To perform the test you must insert a special loop back connector into the parallel port so that the computer can check individual pins of the port Contact your dealer if you need a loop back connector Note that a different connector is required to test the serial port When you select option 9 from the DEVICE LIST you see these prompts Attach loop back connector to parallel port Enter Y to start this check when connector is attached or Enter N to return to the menu Insert the loop back connector Then press Y and Enter to start the check The computer checks the port by writing and reading data and control information and reports errors for any pins that are faulty Note that if you connect a printer cable instead of a loop back connector you will get errors Parallel Port on Video Adapter Check Use this option to test the operation of an additional parallel port To perform the test you must insert the special loop back connector into the parallel port on the video adapter so that the computer can check individual pins of the port This test is similar to the Parallel Port Check For more details refer to the description of the Parallel Port Printer Interface Check Serial Port RS 232C Check Use this option to test the functions of the primary serial communi cations RS 232C port To perform the test you must insert a special loop back connector into the RS 232C port so that
24. to a 31 inch diskette move the switch up toward the center of the diskette so the hole is covered Write protected Write protect switch Figure 3 2 Write protect switch 3 6 User s Guide Using Two Diskette Drives Operating systems usually expect the computer to have at least two physical disk drives Normally MS DOS recognizes drives A and B for two diskette drives and C for the hard disk drive A typical way to use a two drive system is to load MS DOS from drive A run your application software from the same drive and use drive B to store your data files Note You can load MS DOS from an application software diskette if that diskette contains the operating system files including COMMAND COM Using a Single Diskette Drive If your system has only one diskette drive MS DO S treats the single drive as two logical drives This helps you perform operations that normally require two diskette drives For example if you give a command to copy from one drive to another MS DOS copies from the first diskette you place in the drive to the com puter s memory Then MS DOS prompts you to insert another diskette and copies from memory to the diskette you place in the drive When copying is complete you see a prompt to insert the original diskette Because you may swap diskettes this way often it is easy to forget which diskette is which One way to avoid accidentally losing data is to hold the diskette
25. your Equity II computer But before you turn it on read the following safety rules Safety rules Follow these rules to avoid accidentally damaging your computer or injuring yourself e Never turn the computer on or off with a protector sheet in the disk drive Do not attempt to dismantle any part of the computer Only remove the top cover to install and remove option cards If there is a hardware problem you cannot solve after reading Chapter 5 on troubleshooting or if you want to install an optional 80287 math coprocessor consult your Epson dealer e Always turn off the power disconnect the computer s power cord and wait a few minutes before you remove the computer s cover e Do not unplug cables from the computer when the power switch is on e Never turn off or reset your computer while a disk drive light is on This can destroy data stored on disk or make a whole disk unusable e Always wait at least five seconds after you switch the power off before you switch it on again Turning the power off and on rapidly can damage the computer s circuitry e Do not leave a beverage on top of or next to your system or any of its components Spilled liquid can damage the circuitry of your components User s Guide 1 13 Turning on the power switch Now you are ready to turn on your system It is a good idea to turn on the monitor and any peripheral devices before you turn on the main unit First make sure the power cord is
26. 00 Depth inches mm 16 3 414 Height inches mm 6 1 155 Weight pounds kg 19 8 9 Single floppy disk drive 25 08 11 4 Single floppy disk drive and one 40MB hard disk Power Requirements 115 230 VAC 20 50 60 Hz 5 amps 140 W output capacity peak User s Guide B 3 Supports Epson or IBM compatible mono chrome monitor 80 character x 25 line display 9 x 14 character block installs in option slot High persistence P 39 phosphor screen etched surface to reduce glare 22 MHz video bandwidth 35 W Supports Epson or IBM compatible RGB color or composite video monitor 40 character x 25 line display low resolution text 80 character x 25 line display high resolution text 640 x 200 high resolution graphics 320 x 200 four colors 160 x 200 eight colors installs in option slot High contrast screen 16 colors etched surface to reduce glare 18 MHz video bandwidth Supports Epson and IBM compatible mono chrome or color monitor monochrome text color graphics and Hercules mono chrome graphics switch selectable installs in option slot Supports Epson and IBM compatible mono chrome color or enhanced color monitor monochrome text 80 character x 25 line display Hercules text 80 character x 43 line display color graphics 640 x 200 pixels B W monochrome graphics 640 x 350 color graphics 640 x 350 16 colors installs in option slot Enhanced color monitor 80 charact
27. 04 COPROCESSOR ST FIELD ERROR 705 COPROCESSOR COMPARISON ERROR 706 COPROCESSOR ZERO DIVIDE MASK ERROR 707 COPROCESSOR ADDITION ERROR 708 COPROCESSOR SUBTRACTION ERROR 709 COPROCESSOR MULTIPLICATION ERROR 710 COPROCESSOR PRECISION ERROR Parallel port 901 ERROR PIN p Serial port RS 232C control signal ALWAYS LOW 1101 control signal ALWAYS HIGH 1102 TIMEOUT ERROR 1103 VERIFY ERROR Alternate serial port contro signal ALWAYS LOW 1201 control signal ALWAYS HIGH 1202 TIMEOUT ERROR 1203 VERIFY ERROR Dot matrix printer 1401 status Hard disk drives and controller 1701 SEEK ERROR 1702 WRITE ERROR 1703 READ ERROR 1704 HEAD ERROR 1705 ERROR DETECTION ERROR 1706 ERROR CORRECTION ERROR Alternate parallel port 01 ERROR PIN p A 2 Diagnostics Appendix 8 Types of Hard Disk Drives This appendix lists the numbers you need to identify a hard disk drive Refer to this table and the documentation supplied with your hard disk to find the correct number for the type of drive you are installing You use this drive type number when you run the Setup program after installing a hard disk drive Table 8 1 Drive Types Write Landing 1 precom zone pensation cylinder 1 306 4 305 10 2 615 4 615 20 3 615 6 615 30 4 940 8 940 62 5 940 6 940 46 6 615 4 615 20 7 462 8 511 30 8 733 5 733 30 9 900 15 901 112 10 820 3 820 20 11 855 5 855 35 12 855 7 855 50 13 3
28. 06 8 319 20 14 733 7 733 42 15 0 0 0 0 16 612 4 663 20 977 5 977 40 977 7 977 58 1024 7 1023 60 733 5 732 30 733 7 732 42 733 5 733 30 306 4 336 10 612 4 663 20 306 4 340 10 612 4 670 20 698 7 732 40 976 5 977 41 306 4 340 10 611 4 663 20 732 7 732 43 1023 5 1023 43 0 0 0 0 1024 8 1023 69 830 10 829 141 5 1023 43 8 618 40 0 0 0 Diagnostics B 1 Diagnostics B 2 Appendix 6 Power on Diagnostics The built in memory ROM of your computer contains a series of diag nostics programs These programs are run automatically by the system every time you turn on the power The diagnostics programs check the internal devices such as ROM RAM keyboard controller timer video controller floppy disk driver and hard disk controller When you turn on the power your system performs the tests described in this appendix If an error is found a specific error number and error message display If the error is serious the computer cancels further checking and halts system initialization The error message remains on the screen but the computer is inoperable If the error is not serious the computer displays an error message and waits for you to resume further checking You see this prompt Resume FI key Write down the error message and code number and then press F1 to resume Report the error message and code number to your dealer when requesting repairs When the self test finds a problem the sys
29. 32C echo back check with various data formats Current data format 5 data bits 1 stop bits parity NONE Current test data is 00 Once again if any data received does not match the data sent a verify error occurs and the computer reports the transmitted and received data at the time of the error 4 22 Diagnostics Alternate Serial Port Check Use this option to test the functions of an additional serial communica tions RS 232C port To perform the test you must insert a special loop back connector into the alternate serial port so that the computer can check individual pins of the port This test is identical to the check for the primary serial port For more details refer to the description of the Serial Port RS 232C Check Dot matrix Printer Check Use this option to check gt Theoperation of your printer in IBM compatibility mode e Thecompatibility of your printer with the extended character set your computer uses e The ability of your printer to produce bit image graphics and print images of the graphics screen When you seect option 14 from the DEVICE LIST you see this prompt Is dot matrix printer on line Y N Check that your printer is connected to the computer and that it is turned on loaded with paper and on line Press Y and then Enter to continue or press N and Enter to return to the menu When you continue the test the computer checks that the printer is responding correctly This test d
30. A list of the files stored on a disk or a part of a disk Disk The collective term for both hard disks and floppy disks diskettes C 2 User s Guide Disk drive The physical device that allows the computer to read from and write to a disk A floppy disk drive has a disk slot on the front panel of the main unit into which you insert diskettes A hard disk is permanently fixed inside the main unit hidden behind the front panel Diskette A flat piece of flexible plastic coated with magnetic material and used to store data permanently Also called floppy disk DOS The Disk Operating System that controls the computer s input and out put functions See Operating system D ouble density A type of diskette format that allows you to store twice as much data as the standard density format A doubledensity diskette for the Equity II has a storage capacity of 360KB or 720KB File A group of related pieces of information called records or entries stored together on disk Text files consist of words and sentences Program files consist of code and are used by computers to interpret and carry out instructions Floppy disk See Diskette Format To prepare a new disk or erase an old one so that it can receive informa tion Formatting a disk divides it into tracks and sectors and creates addressable locations on it Graphics Lines angles curves and other nonalphanumeric data GW BASIC Microsoft s extended version of the Beg
31. AE LA anid dates tel ee oe ie ee ee ee ee tr Lfygses fna After checking the character fonts respond to the prompt Is the display correct Y N If the characters match the illustration press Y and then Enter If you find a problen with the characters on the screen press N and Enter to display the error message 40 column character set check To check your 40 column character set press 4 and then Enter The character fonts that are included in the internal character generator display on your screen Compare the characters on your screen to this illustration 090 554 DOGO Ate TIS Hew PHS KS G123456789 lt lt gt GABCDEFGHI JKLMNO PQRSTUVUWXY 21 NI 06 3 jklmnopars tuvw xuzl 705336 BEST Ti HA 0 21 OU 4 a 556 tA i lt OZBB 14 ln a ln a OY E FI PANS m Efri dimi prs 06 7 2 29 4 Str After checking the character fonts respond to the prompt Is the display correct Y N If the characters match the illustration press Y and Enter If you find a problem with the characters on the screen press N and Enter to display the error message Diagnostics 4 13 320x200 graphics mode check To check your 320x200 graphics mode press 5 and then Enter The screen displays three colored squares light green brown and red against a cyan background These four colors are Color Set 0 If they are correct pre
32. Access Memory The part of memory that a computer can both read and write to The programs you use are temporarily stored in RAM All data stored in RAM is erased when you turn off the power Read To copy data from one area to another For example when you open a text file stored on disk the computer reads the data from the disk and displays it on the screen Read write head The physical device inside a disk drive that reads and records data on the magnetic surface of a disk Reset To reload a computer s operating system so you can retry a task or begin using a different operating system Resetting clears RAM RGB Red Green Blue An RGB monitor displays in high resolution color ROM Read Only Memory A portion of memory that can only be read and cannot be used for temporary storage ROM retains its contents even when you turn off the powe RS 232C A widely used standard type of serial interface You can easily connect RS 232C compatible devices to the Equity IM Sector A contiguous section of a disk track that provides an address at which the computer can access data Self test The initial diagnostics procedures a system performs to check its hard ware Serial The type of interface that transmits data one bit at a time See Interface Parallel Software The programs that enable your computer to perform the tasks and func tions you indicate C 6 User s Guide System diskette A diskette that contains the operating
33. Commands Each choice on the OPERATION MENU corresponds to an MS DOS command OPERATION MENU Choice MS DOS Command Setup SETUP Format hard disk HDFMTALL Format diskette FORMAT System diagnostics DIAGSYS Prepare hard disk for moving HDSIT You can copy these MS DOS commands with the exception of GSYS to your hard disk or to a directory on another floppy disk You can then execute them as individual MSDOS commands To copy these commands use the COPY command described in your MS DOS manual You can also execute the commands directly from the reference diskette without loading diagnostics For example if you are logged onto driveC and you want to prepare your hard disk for moving follow these steps 1 Insert the reference diskette into drive A 2 In response to the C prompt type A HDSIT 3 Press Enter To use the diagnostics program DIAGSYS you must always boot the system with the reference diskette in drive A If you attempt to start this program in any other way the tests may produce unreliable results Intro 4 Diagnostics Chapter 1 Setting Up the System This chapter describes how to use the Setup program to make changes to the list of equipment maintained by the computer You can select Setup from the OPERATION MENU or you can execute the MS DOS SETUP command You must run Setup when you use your computer for the first time You also need to use Setup if you change your system configuration by installin
34. EQUITY II User s Guide rm m O a EPSON Equity II User s Guide 0 IMPORTANT NOTICE DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY Seiko Epson Corporation makes no representations or warranties either express or implied by or with respect to anything in this manual and shall not be liable for any implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose or for any indirect special or consequential damages Some states do not allow the exdusion of incidental or consequential damages so this exclusion may not apply to you COPYRIGHT NOTICE All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic mechanical photocopying recording or other wise without the prior written permission of Seiko Epson Corporation No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of information contained herein While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this publication Seiko Epson Corporation assumes no responsibility for errors or omis sions Nor is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein Further this publication and features described herein are subject to change without notice TRADEMARKS Epson is a registered trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation Equity is a trademark of Epson America Inc Centronics is a registered trademark of Centronics Da
35. Error code Message system board 101 80286 CPU ERROR 102 27256 ROM CHECKSUM ERROR 103 8254 TIMER COUNTER REGISTER ERROR 104 8254 TIMER COUNTER ERROR 105 8237 DMA eS ae REGISTER ERROR 106 8237 DMA REFRESH ERROR 612 DMA PAGE REGISTER ERROR 107 8042 TIMEOUT ERROR 108 8042 SELF a Io PRROR 108 8042 WRITE COMM RROR 109 8259 INTERRUPT CONTROLLER ERROR 110 146818 CMOS SHUTDOWN BYTE ERROR 111 146818 CMOS BATTERY ERROR 112 146818 CMOS CHECKSUM ERROR 113 80286 INSTRUCTION ERROR 114 80286 PROTECT MODE ERROR 1 115 80286 PROTECT MODE ERROR 2 Keyboard 301 8042 ERROR 301 KEYBOARDERROR 302 KEYBOARD IS NON STANDARD OR KEYBOARD IS DEFECTIVE 303 KEYBOARD LOCKING ERROR Monochrome display adapter and CRT V RAM 402 VIDEO SIGNAL ERROR 403 ATTRIBUTE ERROR 404 CHARACTER SET ERROR Color graphics adapter and CRT V RAM ROR 503 ATTRIBUTE ERROR 504 CHARACTER SET ERROR 505 40 COLUMN SiGe canal SET ERROR 506 ere GRAPHICS ERROR 507 640 xe 0 0 ENE ERI MODE ERROR 508 SCREEN PAGING ERROR 509 LIGHT PEN ERROR 510 COLOR VIDEO ERROR Diagnostics A 1 Table A I Error codes and messages continued Error code Message Floppy disk drives and controller 601 FLOPPY DISK CONTROLLER ERROR 602 SEQUENTIAL SEEK ERROR 603 RANDOM SEEK ERROR 604 WRITE ERROR 605 READ ERROR 606 DISK CHANGE CHECK REMOVE ERROR 607 DISK CHANGE CHECK INSERT ERROR Math coprocessor 80287 NOT INSTALLED 702 COPROCESSOR INITIALIZE ERROR 703 COPROCESSOR INVALID OPERATION MASK ERROR 7
36. Guide 3 3 Never touch a diskette s magnetic surface The oils on your fingertips can damage it Always hold a diskette by its protective jacket On a 32 inch diskette do not expose the diskette s surface by sliding the metal plate Store diskettes properly When they are not in use keep diskettes in their protective envelopes and store them in a diskette container Do not place anything on top of your diskettes and be sure they do not bend or sag They do not rotate properly in the drive if damaged Never wipe brush or try to clean diskettes in any way Be careful when you label diskettes Attach labels firmly but gently and only along the top of a diskette next to the manufacturer s label Do not place several labels on top of one another too many labels can prevent a diskette from spinning freely in a disk drive It is best to write on a label before you attach it to a diskette Use only soft tip pens not ballpoint pens or pencils to write on a label that is already on a diskette Do not remove a diskette or turn off the computer while the drive light is on This light indicates that the computer is copying data to or froma disk If you interrupt this process you can destroy data Remove all diskettes before you turn off the computer If you have a hard disk drive take these additional precautions Never turn off the power to the computer when the hard disk drive light is on This light indicates that the
37. KB 3 2 drive you see this prompt Remove the disk from drive d Release the disk drive lock and remove the disk You see Re insert the disk into drive d Re insert the diskette and secure the lock If no errors occur then the menu reappears An error occurs if the drive is malfunctioning or if you do not remove or replace the diskette within a certain time Run all above checks To run all the tests on the menu in sequence press 6 and then Enter When you choose this option all checks for the floppy disk drive s and controller are performed automatically in sequential order Although you do not start each test you must still supply the appropriate responses to progress from one test to the next Math Coprocessor Check 80287 Use this option to check the operation of the 80287 math coprocessor if you have one installed in your computer To check the math coprocessor select option 7 from the DEVICE LIST Before running any tests the computer checks the settings in CMOS RAM to ensure that a coprocessor is installed If the coprocessor is missing or if you have not changed the setting in CMOS RAM with the Setup option an error occurs and the test ends If the coprocessor is installed the program then runs a series of checks on the precision with which the coprocessor performs calculations and han dles exceptions 4 20 Diagnostics Parallel Port Printer Interface Check Use this option to test the operation of
38. Light cyan 5 Red 13 Light red 6 Magenta 14 Light magenta 7 Brown 15 Yellow 8 White 16 White high intensity To start this test press 9 and Enter Press any key to display each screen On the last screen you see this prompt Is the display correct Y N If all the colors are correct press Y and Enter to end the test If any color is incorrect first check the adjustment of your monitor and then make sure that both ends of the cable are plugged in firmly If a problem still exists press N and Enter to display the error message Sync check This test is provided for service purposes only If you accidentally select this option press any key to end the test 4 16 Diagnostics Run all above checks To run all the tests on the menu in sequence press 11 and Enter When you choose this option all checks for the color adapter and CRT are performed automatically in sequential order Although you do not start each test you must still supply the appropriate responses to progress from one test to the next Floppy Disk Drives and Controller Check Use this option to test the performance of the floppy disk drives installed in your computer This test includes several checks that allow you to identify particular problems related to your floppy disk drives Before running these tests format a floppy disk to use for the tests that write data on the disk in the drive To test a 1 2MB drive you can use a 12MB or a 360KB flo
39. RMAT MENU If there are any tracks with other errors scanning stops and you see this message Scanning cancelled Warning This drive has an unflagged error s or is unformatted Press ENTER to return to the menu Press Enter This may mean that the drive has never been formatted or that an error was not flagged If you see this message it is best to consult your dealer If you want to format the disk after receiving this error message do the following 1 If the drive is not formatted perform the Unconditional format Option 2 and enter any tracks you Know are bad in the Bad Track Table See Unconditional Format below 2 Run the Destructive surface analysis Option 3 to flag any remaining bad tracks See Destructive Surface Analysis which appears later in this chapter 3 Run the Conditional format again No errors should occur if one does contact your dealer 2 4 Diagnostics Unconditional Format Use this option to format your hard disk when you want to enter the list of bad tracks before formatting begins The main difference between unconditional and conditional formatting is the way in which bad tracks are identified With the unconditional format you must enter the list of bad tracks before formatting begins To start the Unconditional format routine press 2 and then Enter You are first given the option to change the interleave factor for format ting from the default value of three O
40. These tests are described in this chapter Formatting and Checking Options When you select option 2 Format hard disk from the OPERATION MENU you see a menu of formatting and checking options HARD DISK FORMAT MENU Conditional format Normal Unconditional format Destructive surface analysis Non destructive surface analysis Exit S BWNH Enter selection number Diagnostics 2 1 The first two options format a hard disk Normally you use option 1 Conditional format Normal This option automatically locates any tracks that are flagged by the manufacturer and marks them so that they are never used Option 2 Unconditional format locates any tracks that are flagged as bad and then allows you to edit the list of bad tracks The other two options test a hard disk for problems Use option 3 Destructive surface analysis to test the entire disk and update the bad track table Because this option writes data to the disk as wal as reads it it destroys all data on any track that produces an error To check for unflagged bad tracks without destroying data use option 4 Non destructive surface analysis Many hard disk drives are supplied with a list of bad tracks but without the bad tracks flagged on the disk Other hard disks are supplied with the bad tracks already flagged In all cases run Non destructive surface analysis before formatting the disk this routine finds all bad tracks that are not flagge
41. agnostics programs are Setup Use this program when you first set up the computer and each time you make changes to the system Format hard disk Use this program to check or format the entire hard disk after installation Format diskette Use this program to format a diskette for use by the System diagnostics tests This pro gram is provided for convenience only so that you can format a diskette without exit ing diagnostics System diagnostics Use these programs whenever you add or remove optional devices or if you suspect that the system is defective You also run these diagnostics after moving the system from one place to another and after replacing the internal battery Prepare hard disk Use this program before moving the com for moving puter to another location The reference diskette also contains these MS DOS commands EXE2BIN Converts an executable file to a binary file HDCACHE Enhances hard disk performance by storing copies of requested sectors in a cache buffer HDSIT Prepares the hard disk for moving LINK Combines several programs into one Diagnostics Intro 1 Displays the computer s ROM BIOS version 5 number SY STAT Displays the systen parameters These commands are easy to use The ROMBIOS command displays the ROM BIOS version number for your computer When you type ROMBIOS and press Enter you see a message similar to this ROM BIOS Version 2 00 The SYSTAT command displays the
42. ansion option cards to increase the amount of internal memory in your Equity II and you can add an 80287 math copro cessor which is not an option card but installs on the main circuit board You can also use most cards for the IBM Personal Computer PC XT and PC AT on the Equity II Check with your Epson dealer from time to time to find out which peripherals and option cards are available The Equity II comes with the MS DOS operating system and the GW BASIC programming language If you have used MS DOS before on another computer you will find that it works the same on the Equity II Be sure to refer to your Equity MS DOS manual however for descriptions of the special utility programs added by Epson You may have purchased other software you can use most software products designed for the IBM PC PC XT and PC AT on your Equity ll Refer to your software program documentation for information on using the software Additionally the Equity II supports multiple users and multiple task ing with the appropriate operating system Consult your Epson dealer for more information How to Use this Manual This user s guide explains how to set up and care for your Equity II It also describes how to start using your system and install optional devices You may not need to read everything in this book some sections may describe a particular option or accessory you do not have Follow the instructions in Chapter 1 to se
43. be sure to remove all diskettes before you turn off the computer Special Keys on the Equity Keyboard Certain keys on your keyboard serve special functions when your com puter is running application programs Figure 2 2 shows the standard Equity II keyboard and Table 2 1 describes the special keys FER eer MJ i Figure 2 2 Standard keyboard 2 2 User s Guide Table 2 1 Special keys Purpose Tab Moves the cursor to the right in normal mode and to the left in shift mode Caps Lock Changes the letter keys from lower to uppercase changes back to lowercase when pressed again 0 Shift Produces uppercase characters or symbols when used with the main character keys Produces lowercase characters when Caps Lock is on Works with other keys to perform special control functions such as editing operations in MS DOS and GW BASIC Works with other keys to enter alternate character codes Moves the cursor back one space deleting the character to the left Ends a line of keyboard input or executes a command Turns insert function on and off Deletes characters to the right Within application programs control cursor location Backspace 4 Enter insert Ins Delete Del Home End Page Up Pg Up Page Down Pg Dn Num Lock Changes the function of the numeric cursor keys from numeric to c
44. condary JPT2 and COM 2 Table A 3 shows the jumpers on the multi function card that con trol the parallel port Table A 3 Multi function card jumper settings for parallel port Jumper number 10 Enable built in port as primary B Enable built in port as secondary Enable compatibility with IBM monochrome display printer adapter Disable built in port Default setting A 6 User s Guide Table A 4 shows the jumpers on the multi function card that control the serial port Table A 4 Multi function card jumper settings for serial port 0 Function 9 5 A Enable built in port as primary A Enable built in port as secondary Disable built in port Default setting To access the multi function card jumpers you need to remove the card from the computer 1 Unplug the disk drive cable from the card as shown in Figure A 6 Pull it straight up and out then lay it to one side Figure A 6 Disconnecting disk drive cable from multi function card 2 Remove the retaining screw from the multi function card at the back panel of the computer as shown in Figure A 7 User s Guide A 7 Figure A 7 Removing multi function card retaining screw 3 Remove the card from the slot pull it straight up and set it on a soft surface with the components facing up Figure A 8 shows where the jumpers are located Change them as needed and then reverse the three steps above to reinstall it Figure A 8 M
45. current track number as each cylinder is tested For example with a 12MB floppy disk the first message you see is Current track is 79 Speedcheck This test checks the revolution speed of the specified disk drive Select option 4 from the menu to start this test You see a message similar to this The disk rotation speed should be more than 352 8 rpm and less than 367 2 rpm The computer spins the diskette for a few seconds then displays a message like this The disk rotation speed is now 360 5 rpm The diskette continues to spin and the message listing the rotation speed updates every few seconds To stop the test press any key the program returns to the menu If you try to perform a speed test without inserting a floppy disk or if a read error occurs you see this message and prompt Disk is defective or not installed properly Press ENTER to return to the menu Disk change check This check tests the ability of a drive to detect that a diskette has been inserted or removed Disk changes can only be detected by 12MB or 720KB 3 disk drives Diagnostics 4 19 Select option 5 from the menu to start this test First the program checks the selected drive type if the drive is a 360KB drive you see these messages Drive 6 is a 360KB drive DISK CHANGE is not allowed with this type of drive Press ENTER to return to the menu d represents the name of the drive you selected When you run the test for a 1 2MB or 720
46. d If the analysis shows that all the tracks listed as bad are already flagged you can then use the Conditional format Normal option to format the disk If the analysis matches the list of bad tracks but they are not flagged run the Destructive surface analysis to flag the tracks before formatting the disk If the list provided by the drive manufacturer contains bad tracks that the analysis does not detect you can use the Unconditional format option to flag those tracks manually When you select an option from the HARD DISK FORMAT MENU the program determines the number of hard disk drives installed in your computer If you have more than one drive then each time you select a test you see this prompt Enter drive letter C D Press C or D and then press Enter If you have only one hard disk drive the option you select starts immediately Conditional Format Normal Use this option to format the hard disk All flagged tracks are marked so that they are never used To start the Conditional format press 1 and then Enter 2 2 Diagnostics The program starts to scan the disk to find all tracks flagged as bad starting from the innermost cylinder of the disk During the scan you see the number of the cylinder the program is currently checking For example if you have a hard disk the first messages you see are Format Hard Disk Scanning for flagged bad tracks Current cylinder is nnn When the scan is complete the prog
47. display matches the keys on your keyboard You see this menu KEYBOARD SELECT MENU 1 US ASCII 2 United Kingdom 3 French 4 German 5 Italian 6 Spanish 0 Exit Enter selection number Type the number of your keyboard layout then press Enter You can exit the keyboard test by pressing 0 and Enter Diagnostics 4 7 After you select a keyboard layout the program displays the layout on the screen When you press a key on the keyboard the corresponding char acter displays on the screen If the character on the screen and the key you press do not match there is a problem with your keyboard Test each key The status of the Num Lock Caps Lock and Scroll Lock indicators is shown on the upper right side of the keyboard layout On the optional keyboard the status of these lock keys is indicated by reversing the display of the character inside the key location You see these messages on the screen KEYBOARD CHECK Press Y followed by ENTER to exit Press N followed by ENTER if screen and keyboard do not match If all the keys function correctly and match the characters displayed press Y and then Enter If all the keys function but the characters displayed do not match the keys press Y and then Enter Then reselect the keyboard test from the DEVICE LIST and check that you selected the correct keyboard layout You can find diagrams of all the international keyboard layouts in the MS DOS manual If a
48. e interference levels which exceed the limits established by the FCC for this equipment User s Guide iii User s Guide Contents Introduction sesaciai tees eiesteess de ra nake zadka How to Use this Manual 1 Setting Up Your System aise pete die o edge tee ee cake baled at Removing the disk drive protector sheet Choosing a Location Arranging the Components The front panel The back panel gt Connecting the Power Cord Connecting a Video Monitor Connecting the Keyboard Connecting a Printer Parallel interface Serial interface The Equity character set Turning On the Computer Safety UES es oi dre ein se gaea a aad ee 3 Turning on the power switch Initial setup procedure Initial screen display 2 Using the Equity Ile Inserting and Removing Diskettes Special Keys on the Equity Keyboard Selecting Execution Speed Resetting the Computer Turning Off the Computer
49. e cable e A startup diskette that contains the MS DOS operating system version 3 3 and the commands used to identify your basic system configuration gt Two operating diskettes both of which provide the MS DOS commands used for daily operation Operating diskette 1 contains the individual commands Operating diskette 2 contains menus you can use to access many of the same commands This diskette also provides the MS DOS Help utility and the GW BASIC programming language e A reference diskette that contains a special group of programs called diagnostics You use these programs the first time you set up your system and any time you make changes to it This diskette also contains several MS DOS commands to provide system information or perform advanced MS DOS operations e An MS DOS manual and a GW BASIC manual In addition to these items you probably bought a compatible video monitor and video card You ll also find a registration card with the main unit Fill this card out now and mail it to Epson With your registration card on file Epson can send you update information User s Guide 1 1 Be sure to keep your packing materials They provide the best protection possible for your computer if you need to move or ship it later Removing the disk drive protector sheet A cardboard sheet occupies the diskette slot in the floppy disk drive This sheet is inserted at the factory to protect the read write heads Be sure to remove it
50. e main unit here Be sure the power switch is off when you plug the power cord into an outlet e Parallel port Lets you connect a peripheral with a parallel interface such as a printer or a plotter e Serial port Allows you to connect a peripheral with a serial interface such as a modem another computer or a printer e Option card access slots The Equity has six slots to hold up to six option cards Option cards allow your computer to control your peripherals or enhance your computer s performance One option card slot holds the parallel and serial interfaces as well as the floppy disk controller If your Equity Il has a hard disk a hard disk controller card occupies another option slot You also need to use one or more slots for the video card s you purchased for your monitor You can use the other slots to install additional options such as a memory expansion card 4 Connecting the Power Cord Insert the power cord into the AC power inlet on the left side of the back panel as shown in Figure 1 4 To avoid an electric shock be sure to plug this end into the main unit before plugging the other end into the wall socket For now do not plug the power cord into an electrical outlet 1 6 User s Guide Figure 1 4 Connecting the power cord Connecting a Video Monitor The procedure you use to connect your monitor to the main unit depends on the type of monitor you have Refer to your monitor manual for detailed inst
51. e switches on the video card to match your monitor User s Guide Plug the monitor s power cable first into the power inlet on the monitor and then into an electrical outlet Note If a monochrome monitor has the proper type of plug you can plug it into the auxiliary outlet on the back of the Equity II main unit Set the monitor switch on the front panel of the main unit for the type of monitor you are using See Figure 1 2 Slide the switch to the left for a monochrome monitor or to the right for a color monitor Connecting the Keyboard Follow these steps to connect the keyboard Open the cover on the lower left corner on the front panel of the main unit Press in to release the cover then gently pull down the cover Plug the other end of the cable into the keyboard socket as shown in Figure 1 6 Do not force the connector but be sure to insert it all the way Figure 1 6 Plugging the keyboard cable into the main unit 1 2 User s Guide 1 9 You can tilt the angle of the keyboard by adjusting the legs on the bot tom To adjust the legs turn the keyboard over and lift each leg upward until it locks into place as shown in Figure 1 7 You can adjust the legs to two different positions or leave them flat Figure 1 7 Adjusting the keyboard legs 1 10 User s Guide Connecting a Printer The Equity II has both parallel and serial interfaces You can eas
52. e the computer is turned off The MSDOS TIME and DATE commands as well as many software packages display the time and date held in the clock but they cannot make permanent changes to the time and date settings Use the Real time clock option if you need to change the time and date permanently For example you may need to change the clock to accommo date seasonal adjustments such as daylight saving time Your computer automatically adjusts for leap years Note that even though MS DOS and your applications programs may use a different format the real time clock uses a 24 hour time format to store the time To set the real time clock follow these steps 1 On the main menu press to move the cursor block to Real time clock and press Enter The time and date appear like this 19 45 55 5 19 91 1987 Date 2 To set the time move the cursor to Time and press Enter You see pev Enter the time in the exact form shown in the box using two digits for each part the program automatically inserts the colons When the time is correct press Enter If you enter an invalid time the computer beeps and the time does not change Diagnostics 1 7 To set the date move the cursor to Date and press Enter You see mm dd yyyy Enter the date in the exact form shown in the box using two digits for the month and the day the program automatically inserts the dashes When the date is correct press Enter If you enter an
53. e then away from your originals Your MS DOS manual describes how to make a backup copy of your MS DOS startup and operating diskettes To make backups of other MS DOS diskettes use the DISK COPY command or the DU Disk Utility program If you have a hard disk keep backup copies of all your program files on floppy disks and regularly copy important data files to floppy disks as well For more information on backing up a hard disk see Using a Hard Disk in this chapter and your MS DOS manual Write protecting diskettes You can write protect a diskette to prevent its data from being altered When a diskette is write protected you can copy data from it but you can not store new data on the diskette or delete any files it contains If you try to change data stored on a write protected diskette an error message displays To write protect a 54 inch diskette cover the small rectangular notch shown in Figure 3 1 with an adhesive write protect tab Write protect tabs usually come with new 5 4 inch diskettes when you buy them To write to a5 inch diskette remove the write protect tab User s Guide 3 5 Write protect O e notch Figure 3 1 Write protect notch On a 3 2 inch diskette the write protect device is a small switch on the lower right corner on the back shown in Figure 3 2 To write protect this diskette slide the switch down toward the edge of the diskette so there is a hole where the switch used to be To write
54. en you first start to use it check to see if it has been set up properly See Using a Hard Disk Drive in Chapter 3 and refer to your MS DOS manual If you cannot access data stored on your hard disk you may have acci dentally repartitioned or reformatted part or all of the hard disk If you have not done so and your hard disk does not function properly have an autho rized Epson service center check your hard disk Never open the air tight container that encloses the recording disk Software Problems If you have trouble with a software program check the following possi ble problems and solutions 1 Thesoftware program does not start Check that you are following the correct procedure for your operating system Be sure you insert the sys tem diskette in drive A the top drive 2 An application routine does not work Refer to the software manual and complete the routine according to the instructions If this does not work reset the computer as described in Chapter 2 under Resetting the Computer reload the program and try the routine again To operate properly some programs require the computer to run at 8 MHz Try changing the CPU speed with the switch on the front panel See Selecting Execution Speed in Chapter 2 User s Guide 5 3 Printer Problems Your printer manual describes methods to solve most printer problems If your printer does not work correctly right after you install it make sure the pr
55. er x 25 line display high resolution text 640 x 350 high resolution 640 x 200 resolution compat ibility 16 colors User s Guide Options Monochrome video card TTL green or amber monochrome monitor 12 inch diagonal Color graphics video card RGB color monitor 13 inch diagonal Multiple graphics video card Enhanced graphics video card Enhanced graphics monitor 13 inch diagonal B 4 Appendix 6 Glossary ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange A standardized coding system for representing characters such as numbers letters and graphic symbols An ASCII character occupies one byte of storage Files transmitted in ASCII code can be used by many different computers printers and programs Asynchronous A method of data transmission in which one machine sends data one character at a time to another without either machine preparing for the transmission Backup An extra copy of a program data file or disk kept in case your working copy is damaged or lost Bit A binary digit 0 or 1 The smallest unit of computer storage The value of a bit represents the presence 1 or absence 0 of an electric charge Boot To load a program or an operating system Byte A seguence or group of eight bits that represents one character Character Anything that can print in a single space on the page or the screen Includes numbers letters punctuation marks and graphic symbols CMOS Co
56. etects whether the printer is off line or whether an interface error exists If no errors occur the computer sends a repeating sequence of ASCII characters and bit image data to the printer until you press any key The pattern looks like this The text data includes all the characters commonly used by programs that require foreign languages or graphic characters If your printer prints different characters than you see in the illustration you may need to take Diagnostics 4 23 care with certain software The bit image data is sent to the printer using a command ESCK compatible with Epson and IBM printers If this pattern is printed correctly you can use the MS DOS GRAPHICS program to print out copies of graphics screens Note Even if the test runs only for a short time your printer may store many characters in its buffer To stop printing turn the printer off line Hard Disk Drives and Controller Check Use this option to test the performance of the hard disk drives installed in your computer If any errors occur have your dealer check and service the drive When you select option 17 from the DEVICE LIST you see this menu HARD DISK DRIVE S AND CONTROLLER CHECK MENU 1 Seek check Write read check Head select check Error detection and correction check Read verify check Run all above checks Exit Enter selection number S AWM kW bh When you select a check from this menu the program determ
57. f this manual for instructions Initial screen display After the computer completes its self test a message tells you how much RAM random access memory is available for example 640 KB 0K Then the following message displays Non System disk or diskerror Replace and strike any key when ready This tells you the computer can now load an operating system from a disk ette in the top drive The Equity needs a disk operating system DOS to function It comes with MS DOS version 3 3 If you want to use another operating system consult your dealer To load an operating system insert the system diskette you want to use see Inserting and Removing Diskettes in Chapter 2 Refer to your MS DOS or other operating system manual for details on how to use the system Note Use only a backup copy of the system diskette for daily use and keep the original in a safe place See your MS DOS manual to find out how to make a backup copy If your system has a hard disk you need to prepare it before you can run an operating system on it Refer to Using a Hard Disk Drive in Chapter 3 and to your MS DOS or other operating systen manual for instructions on how to prepare a hard disk for use If your hard disk has been properly prepared and set up to automatically boot MS DOS the message above does not appear Instead the operating system loads when you turn on the computer The date and time prompts display and then the system prom
58. for one drive in your left hand and the diskette for the other in your right You can also writeprotect your source diskette For more information on using one floppy disk drive with MS DOS see your MS DOS manual Using a Hard Disk Drive The optional hard disk for the Equity II has a capacity of 40 mega bytes about 40 million characters This is equivalent to approximately 110 double density floppy disks Using a hard disk reduces the number of floppy disks you need and eliminates much of the disk swapping you do when you use floppy disks You can do almost all of your work on the hard disk and copy your files to floppy disks as needed to make backups for example While the hard disk is very reliable it is essential to back up all your hard disk files on floppy disks in case you lose some data accidentally Use the MS DOS BACKUP program to back up your hard disk files User s Guide 3 7 Although it has a lot of storage space keep only files you use regularly on the hard disk to ensure you always have plenty of space available Store your other files on floppy disks Before you can use an Epson internal hard disk you must do the follow ing things to prepare it e Use the Setup program on your reference diskette to prepare your sys tem for using a hard disk and then use the Format Hard Disk program to format the hard disk e Partition the hard disk to run the MS DOS operating system using the MS DOS program FDISK e Forma
59. g checking options 2 1 Head select check 4 26 Moving 5 1 N a surface analysis 2 8 Read verify check 4 27 Seek check 4 25 Types B 1 Pis ERI Format 2 5 Write read check DISK FORMAT MENU 2 1 HDCACHE command Intro 1 HDFMTALL Intro 4 HDSIT Intro 4 Head select check Index 2 U Unconditional format 2 5 V VDISK SYS Video check Color graphics 4 16 Monochrome display 4 10 Video 4 9 4 15 Write read check 4 18 4 25 Index 3 P Paging screen check Parallel port check 4 21 Power on diagnostics self test Intro 2 C 4 Printer interface check 4 21 Printer dot matrix 4 23 Program setup Intro R RAM Checks 6 2 6 4 Video 4 9 4 5 Random seek check 4 18 Read verify 4 27 Real time clock setting 1 7 Resume from error Power on diagnostics System diagnostics RGB color monitor 1 4 ROMBIOS command Intro 2 5 Screen paging check 4 15 Seek check SELECT command 2 1 Self test Intro 2 C I 4 Serial port RS 232C check 4 21 Sequential seek check 4 18 Setting real time clock 1 7 SETUP command Intro 4 Setup program Intro 1 1 1 Starting diagnostics Intro 2 Speed check 4 19 Sync check 4 11 4 16 SYSTAT command Intro 2 System Board check 4 6 System device check System diagnostics Diagnostics steps to Setting Up the Equity II
60. g or removing optional devices or if your system has a real time clock and you want to alter the date or time Your computer stores the information you define with Setup in CMOS RAM which is backed up by a battery When you turn on the computer it searches CMOS RAM to obtain the correct installation information If there is a difference between the information in CMOS RAM and the actual configuration you see a prompt to run the Setup program Using the Setup Program To start the Setup program from the diagnostics OPERATION MENU press 1 and then press Enter To run the Setup program from the MS DOS prompt type SETUP and press Enter When you start Setup the main menu appears arm Memory Display Coprocessor Mass storage Real time clock Use 1 and 4 to move the cursor block through the options on this menu Once you highlight the option you want press Enter to select it Each option on the main menu except Exit displays an additional submenu of choices Diagnostics 1 1 You can exit a submenu in one of the following ways gt To exit the submenu without making any changes press 1 until the cursor block returns to the main menu or simply press ESC This cancels any changes you just made to the configuration e set your changes press to highlight SAVE SETTINGS and then press Enter When you exit Setup the computer writes the changes to CMOS RAM and reboots using the new settings When yo
61. ges numbered 0 to 7 display sequentially After the eighth page appears you see the prompt Is the display correct Y N If all eight pages are correct press Y and Enter If any page is filled with an incorrect number press N and Enter to display the error message Light pen check To check the function of a light pen connected to the color graphics adapter card press 8 and then Enter This test checks that a light pen connected to the color graphics adapter is performing accurately When you select this check you see these prompts Enter Y to start light pen check Enter N to return to the menu Diagnostics 4 15 If you do not have a light pen attached press N and Enter To begin the test press Y and Enter You see this prompt PLACE LIGHT PEN ON CENTER OF WHITE BLOCK Touch the center of the white block on the screen with the light pen When the light pen is correctly positioned the block moves to another part of the screen for a second test After three successful tests the check ends An error occurs if gt Thelight pen is not connected properly gt Thelight pen is malfunctioning gt You do not touch the square within 12 seconds Color video check This test displays 16 different screens each a different color and a message indicating the color The screens show the following colors in the order specified below 1 Black 9 Gray 2 Blue 10 Light blue 3 Green 11 Light green 4 Cyan 12
62. ght or any other source of heat High humidity also hinders operation so select a cool dry area because you can t risk losing data stored on disk do not expose your computer to dust and smoke which can damage disks and disk drives 1 2 User s Guide e Appropriate power sources To prevent static charges connect all your equipment to 3 prong 120 volt grounded outlets You need one outlet for the main unit one for the monitor and additional outlets for a printer and any other peripherals The auxiliary power outlet on the rear panel of the Equity reduces the number of wall outlets you need e No electromagnetic interference Locate your system away from any electrical device that generates an electromagnetic field Even a tele phone can cause trouble especially if you keep diskettes right next to it Arranging the Components First decide how you want to arrange the different parts of your system Figure 1 1 shows a typical setup O KI P MEAN 5 V sno Figure 1 1 System arrangement User s Guide 1 3 If you have special computer furniture or want to customize your setup you Can arrange your system components to suit your own needs Before you connect the cables take a look at the front and back panels of the main unit The front panel Figure 1 2 identifies the various components on the front panel To view the keyboard socket and control switches gently press in eac
63. gure 4 7 Inserting an option card User s Guide 4 6 5 Once the connector pins are sitting in the connector slot push the card downward firmly but carefully to fully insert it If the card does not go in smoothly do not force it pull it all the way out and try again keep ing it straight 6 Secure the adapter plate on the end of the card to the back of the com puter with the retaining screw Removing an Option Card To remove an option card follow the same basic procedure you used to install it Remove the screw holding the adapter and pull the card straight up and out of the connector Then carefully wrap the card preferably with the original packing materials and place it inside its box for safe storage Cover the end of the empty option slot with the original metal cover and retaining screw If you modified anything in the post installation setup see below be sure to change it back Replacing the Cover After you install or remove an option card follow these steps to replace the main unit s cover With the front of the computer facing you position the cover on the computer 2 Pull the sides outward slightly and lower the cover over the computer Guide the curved edge on the bottom of the cover along the bottom of the computer 3 Slide the cover straight back until the front panel is flush with the disk ette drive Make sure the power switch fits properly through the opening on the front pand 4
64. h cover on the lower left side of the front panel This releases the cover and you can gently pull it down to view the switches Floppy disk drive Disk lock Floppy disk release latch Grive light EPSON 3 IMAN TOR SELECT CHU SPOMI RESET 76 B12 Optional disk drive slots Keyboard Hard disk cable socket drive light Power light Figure 1 2 Front panel e POWER switch Use this switch to turn the Equity on or off e Floppy disk drive The top drive is a floppy disk drive that uses high density 12MB diskettes e Disk lock release latch To lock a diskette in place turn this latch down until it is vertical To release a diskette turn it up until it is horizontal e Floppy disk drive light A red light indicates that the drive is being accessed To avoid losing data never remove a diskette or turn off the computer s power when this light is on 1 4 User s Guide Slots for optional disk drives You can add another floppy disk drive 1 44MB 1 2MB 720KB or 360KB and or hard disk drive in these slots All Equity II units come with at least one 1 2MB floppy disk drive Hard disk drive light A green light indicates that the drive is being accessed To avoid losing data do not turn off the computer s power when this light is on Power light When the light is on the power is on The light is orange if the CPU central processing unit speed is 8 MHz and green for 12 MHz RESET bu
65. he cover of the Equity II while it is plugged into an electrical outlet Before you open the cover turn off the power switches on the main unit and each peripheral let the computer stand for a few minutes and then unplug the power cable 1 If the monitor is on top of the computer lift it off and set it to one side Turn the main unit around so the back panel faces you 2 As shown in Figure 4 1 the top cover is secured by five screws on the back panel and four screws on the side panels two on each side Remove the screws and put them all safely to one side They are small so be careful when you take them out User s Guide 4 1 Back panel screws Figure 4 1 Back and side panel screws 3 Turn the main unit around so the front panel faces you Hold on to the two sides of the cover and carefully pull it straight toward you away from the back of the computer as shown in Figure 4 2 The cover fits tightly so if you have trouble moving it at first keep pulling it firmly Figure 4 2 Sliding back the cover 4 2 User s Guide 4 You can separate the sides of the cover from the bottom ledge of the computer by pulling them outward slightly as shown in Figure 4 3 Figure 4 3 Remodeling the cover 5 When the back edge of the cover is a few inches away from the back panel you can lift the cover off Set the cover aside Installing an Option Card Figure 4 4 shows the six option slots in the Equity II Slot 6 conta
66. he data on the highest physical cylinder may be destroyed by this check Enter Y to start this check Enter N to return to the menu Press Y and then Enter to continue with the test Diagnostics 4 27 4 28 Diagnostics Chapter 5 Moving the Hard Disk This chapter describes the procedure you use when you plan to move your computer Even if you are moving the computer only a short distance use option 5 Prepare hard disk for moving to prevent damage to the hard disk This program moves the read write heads of each installed hard disk drive away from the disk surfaces and locks them securely in position If the heads are not secure and the computer endures a shock or vibration the heads may bump the disk surfaces which could damage the drive At the very least you may lose a considerable amount of data To secure the heads select option 5 from the OPERATION MENU You see a screen of information reminding you that the heads will not be unlocked until you reset the computer or turn the power off and on again Next the program moves the heads and disables the keyboard You can now turn the computer off and move it to the new location You can also secure the heads on your hard disk by executing the MS DOS HDSIT command Diagnostics 5 1 Diagnostics Appendix A Error Codes and Messages This appendix lists all the error codes and messages that may appear during diagnostics checks Table A 1 Error a amp s and messages
67. he hard disk Drive 6 is number 0 and drive is number 1 4 Diagnostics Index This index references items in the Diagnostics section of your manual Color graph 40 14 Color graph 80 14 Color video check 4 16 Commands See MS DOS commands Conditional format normal hard disk 2 2 Coprocessor 80287 1 5 4 20 CPU chip 80286 D Destructive surface analysis hard disk 2 6 DEVICE LIST 4 2 6 DIAGSYS Intro 4 Diskette format 3 1 Disk change check 4 19 Disk drives 1 6 2 1 4 17 4 24 C 2 Display Card check 0 3 Changing type Monochrome 1 5 4 8 11 Color 4 11 17 Dot matrix printer check 4 23 Enhanced graphics video card 1 4 Error Codes A 1 Correction check hard disk 4 26 Detection check hard disk 4 26 Messages Resuming EXE2BIN command _ Intro l Expansion memory 1 2 Index 1 A Adapter Color graphics Monochrome display Alternate serial port check 4 23 Analysis hard disk Destructive surface 2 6 Non destructive surface Attribute check Monochrome adapter 4 9 Color graphics adapter 4 12 B Bad tracks hard disk 2 2 8 Board checks system 6 Change disk drives 1 6 Change memory amount 1 2 Character set checks Monochrome adapter Color graphics adapter 4 12 Clock check real time CMOS RAM 1 1 H 6 4 20 C 2 Color graphic
68. ics compatible l CPU Character set Equity 1 13 Thaae Clock calendar RAM interface 8 2 AH Da pep 3 45 3 Clockrate Ctrl CMOS Color graphics adapter card Intro 1 B 4 Color monitor Intro l 1 8 B 4 D Compatibility diskettes 3 2 3 5 3 Data diskette cop ing 3 5 Configuration 4 8 Data Connecting DB 9E keyboard DB 25S 1 NIN INN power cord 1 6 IN a programs Intro 1 1 printer 1 11 a p sljas monitor DISKCOPY User s Guide Index 1 E 80287 math coprocessor Intro 2 1 13 A Enhanced graphics card Intro 1 B 4 EPROM A 3 5 Expansion memory Intro 2 4 8 External devices Intro 1 F FDISK program 3 8 Floppy disk See Diskette ODD disk controller 1 6 4 1 AL JB 1 Floppy disk drive See Disk drive Floppy disk problems 5 2 Format floppy disk types 3 2 hard disk Function keys G Graphic characters printing 1 13 Graphics video card B 4 GW BASIC Intro 2 H Hard disk backing up 3 7 8 care of 3 4 controller card 1 6 H 1 B drive See Disk drive formatting partitioning 5 3 preparing for use 1 15 3 8 problems 5 3 using 3 7 8 Head read write 1 High density diskettes 3 2 8 1 User s Guide Disk drive caring for compatibility l 4 PH fi 7 hana ono EEN CEN EA E E inserting Tes optional 1 proble
69. ide facing up Figure A 4 shows the locations of the three jumpers Refer to Table A I above to set them as needed sa lji Figure A 4 Memory card jumpers When you finish setting the jumpers replace the memory card in the computer and secure it with the retaining screw Main Circuit Board Jumpers The jumpers on the main circuit board control the following functions e Number of wait states for EPROM If necessary you can change the number of wait states 1 or 2 used by the EPROM Selectable wait states are available only when your computer is running at 12M Hz Please consult your dealer for assistance e Number of wait states for 16 bit device access If necessary you can change the number of wait states 1 2 3 or 4 required by the 16 bit optional devices Selectable wait states are available only when your computer is running at 12MHz Please consult your dealer for assistance A 4 User s Guide e Math coprocessor clock speed If you or your dealer installs an 80287 math coprocessor you may need to set the jumpers for a different clock speed The jumpers determine the speed of the coprocessor As it is easy to damage a math coprocessor you should have your dealer install it for you In addition to checking the jumper settings you or the dealer should also use the diagnostics Setup program to change the settings in the CMOS RAM and use the System Diagnostics program to test
70. ily connect a printer or plotter that has either type of interface just follow the instructions below Epson offers a full range of printer products Consult your dealer for more information Parallel interface The Equity II parallel interface is Centronics compatible and uses a DB 25S connector M ost Epson printers have parallel interfaces To connect a printer to the main unit you need an IBM compatible printer cable If you are not sure which one you need consult your Epson dealer Once you havea printer cable follow these steps to connect your printer to the parallel interface on the main unit 1 Placethe printer next to your system 2 Before you connect the printer be sure the power switches on both the main unit and the monitor are off 3 Connect the appropriate end of the printer cable to the parallel port on the back panel of the main unit as shown in Figure 1 8 If the plug has retaining screws tighten them with a small screwdriver SEC al o ODOOO oo oo SA 4 Kej ok ai Figure 1 8 Connecting the printer cable to the parallel port User s Guide 1 11 4 Connect the other end of the cable to the printer as shown in Figure 1 9 To secure the cable tighten the squeeze locks at each side of the printer port and push them into the connectors on each side of the cable Figure 1 9 Connecting the printer 5 Plug the printer s power cable into an electrical outlet Serial i
71. ines the number of hard disk drives installed in your computer If you have more than one drive then each time you select a test you see this prompt Check which drive C D Press C or D and then Enter 4 24 Diagnostics Seek check This test checks the ability of the read write heads to locate any part of the hard disk This action by a read write head is called a seek During this test each head seeks each cylinder of the disk in sequence starting from the center Select option 1 from the menu to start this test The program displays the number of each cylinder it finds For example with a hard disk the first message you see is Current cylinder is nnn The cylinder number counts down to 0 The seek is performed by the read write heads simultaneously so you see the cylinder numbers only once If no errors occur the menu reappears Write read check This check tests the ability of the hard disk drive to read and write data The test writes to and reads from each sector of the innermost cylinder of the disk using each head Note This test destroys all data on the innermost cylinder of the selected hard disk drive This cylinder is reserved for diagnostics and is never used for storage by MS DOS Therefore data created by MS DOS is not destroyed Select option 2 from the menu to start this test You see these messages The data on the highest physical cylinder may be destroyed by this check Enter Y to s
72. inner s All purpose Symbolic Instruction Code A programming language designed to be easy to use and understand Hard disk The endosed unit used to store data permanently Unlike a floppy disk it is fixed in place It can process data more rapidly and store many more files than a floppy disk User s Guide C 3 Hardware Any physical component of a computer system such as a monitor printer keyboard or CPU High density A type of diskette format that allows you to store up to 1 2MB or 1 44MB of data Input output port See Port Interface A physical or software connection used to transmit data between equip ment or programs Kilobyte KB A unit used to measure storage space in a computer s memory or on a disk One kilobyte equals 1024 bytes LED Light Emitting Diode A substance that illuminates when electricity passes through it like the indicator lights on the front panel of the Equity II Main unit The Equity II computer Megabyte MB A unit used to measure storage space in a computer s memory or on a disk One megabyte equals 1 048 576 bytes Memory The area where your computer stores data Memory contents can be permanent and inalterable ROM or temporary RAM Microprocessor A small version of a CPU contained on one semiconductor chip Modem A device that allows a computer to transmit signals over telephone lines so it can send and receive data Modem stands for M Odulator DEMod u
73. ins the parallel and serial interface and floppy disk controller card Be sure to install the video card in slot 5 Slots 1 5 and 6 are designed for 8 bit option cards and the other three slots 2 through 4 are designed for 16 bit option cards Figure 4 5 shows both types of cards As you can see the 16 bit card has a second connector User s Guide 43 Figure 4 4 Option slots ie SIU A OID inl Ger 8 bit option card Figure 4 5 16 bit and amp bit option cards 44 User s Guide Except for the video card it does not matter which slot an option card occupies as long as the card fits in the slot For example you can place some 8bit cards in a 16 bit slot But if an 8 bit card has an additional skirt along the bottom which looks like an extra long connector it must go in an 8bit slot The video card must be installed in slot 5 See Figure 4 4 to see how the slots are numbered Also some other cards must be installed in a specific slot If you have such a card the instructions that come with it specify which slot you need to use Option cards fit in the slots only one way but be sure to examine the card first and follow the instructions closely 1 Decide which option slot you want to use If the card has an external connector such as a monitor card you need to remove the option slot cover at the back of that slot See Figure 4 6 Remove
74. inter has power and is properly connected to the computer The printer manual tells you how to connect your printer If you have printing problems check the printer manual for the printer s DIP switch settings The DIP switches on a printer help it communicate properly with the computer Be sure your software is set up for your printer Option Card Problems If you install an option card and get unexpected results check the following 1 Is the option card installed correctly 2 Did you follow the setup and operation procedures in the option card instructions 8 Did you set any necessary DIP switches or jumpers on the option card See your option card instructions 4 Did you change any necessary jumper settings in the main unit See Appendix A Jumper Settings 5 If you added an external device did you use the proper cable to connect the peripheral to the port or option card connector on the back panel 6 Did you perform any necessary post installation setup procedures for the operating systen Refer to the Diagnostics section in this manual your MS DOS manual or other software manual for instructions 5 4 User s Guide Appendix A Jumper Settings This appendix describes how to set the jumpers inside the Equity II if you install optional devices that require different jumper settings in the main unit It is best if your dealer installs the option and makes all the necessary adjustments when you buy it If
75. invalid date the computer beeps and the date does not change When both the time and date are correct press to return to the main menu to change other settings Diagnostics 3 Chapter 2 Formatting a Hard Disk This chapter describes how you use diagnostics to check or format a hard disk drive after installation You can also use the MS DOS command HDFMTALL Formatting a hard disk destroys all data on the hard disk in all partitions so use this program with extreme care When you install a hard disk drive run the Setup program to identify the hard disk Then select the Format hard disk program option 2 on the OPERATION MENU This program offers several formatting options In most cases you would use option 1 Conditional format N ormal After formatting you need to partition and format the hard disk for your operating system s You can divide your hard disk into as many as four partitions If you are using only MS DOS you need only one partition Refer to your MS DOS manual for details on using FDISK to create a parti tion and using SELECT to format it for this operating system You may need to reformat a hard disk if you have a serious problem with the drive However before completely reformatting the disk use the N on destructive surface analysis test to decide if formatting is necessary If errors occur during this test backup your disk and run the Conditional format option followed by Destructive surface analysis
76. iple times 0 Exit Enter selection number You can specify that the test be performed one time only or any number of times in the range from 1 to 9999 Running a test multiple times is for 4 4 Diagnostics reliability testing of essential functions only in most cases running a test only once is sufficient To perform the test once press 1 and Enter The program then displays a submenu of more detailed tests for the device you are checking To perform the test multiple times press 2 and Enter You see this prompt Terminate checking if an error detected Y N Press Y and Enter to terminate checking if the device produces an error or press N and Enter to repeat the tests regardless of an error You see this prompt How many times 1 9999 Type the number of times you wish to repeat the test then press Enter The tests for the device now start Resuming from an error If an error occurs during a test the test stops at that point and an error code and error message display If you want to record the problem you can print out the message on your printer You see this prompt Do you want a printout of the error message s Y N To continue without printing the error message press N and Enter Before you request a printout be sure your printer is turned on and on line and the paper is installed correctly Then press Y and Enter If the printer is not ready the following message and prompt display P
77. ircuits If necessary the user should consult the dealer or an experienced radio television tech nician for additional suggestions The user may find the following booklet prepared by the Federal Communications Commission helpful Television Interference Handbook This booklet is available from the U S Government Printing Office Washington DC 20402 Stock No 004 000 00450 7 Note Ifthe interference stops it was probably caused by the computer or its periph eral devices To further isolate the problem Disconnect the peripheral devices and their input output cables one at a time If the interference stops it is caused by either the peripheral device or its I O cable These devices usually require shielded I O cables For Epson peripheral devices you can obtain the proper shielded cable from your dealer For non Epson peripheral devices contact the manufacturer or dealer for assistance WARNING This equipment has been certified to comply with the limits for a Class B computing device pursuant to Subpart J of Part 15 of FCC Rules Only peripherals computer input output devices terminals printers etc certi fied to comply with the Class B limits may be attached to this computer Operation with non certified peripherals is likely to result in interference to radio and TV reception The connection of a non shielded equipment interface cable to this equip ment will invalidate the FCC Certification of this device and may caus
78. is display to adjust the size of the display on the screen The vertical and horizontal adjustments are located on your monitor 4 10 Diagnostics Sync check This test is provided for service purposes only If you accidentally select this option press any key to end the test Run all above checks To run all the tests on the menu in sequence press 6 and Enter When you choose this option all checks for the monochrome adapter and CRT are performed automatically in sequential order Although you do not start each test you must still supply the appropriate responses to progress from one test to the next Press any key to return to the menu Color Graphics Adapter and CRT Check Use this option to check the operation of a color graphics adapter and display This test includes several checks that allow you to identify particular problems related to the color display To run this check the monitor switch must be set for a color monitor You can select the individual checks from this menu COLOR GRAPHICS ADAPTER AND CRT CHECK MENU 1 Color graphics adapter check 2 Attribute check 3 Character set check 4 40 column character set check 5 320x200 graphics mode check 6 640X200 graphics mode check 7 Screen paging check 8 Light pen check 9 Color video check 10 Sync check 11 Run all above checks 0 Exit Enter selection number Diagnostics 4 11 If an error occurs during any of these tests
79. l hole in the diskette jacket This hole allows the read write head to access the diskette when you store retrieve and deete data Unlike a floppy disk a hard disk is rigid and fixed in place It is sealed in a protective environment free of dust and dirt so you cannot see it A hard disk stores data the same way as a floppy disk only it works faster and has a much larger storage capacity Because data is stored magnetically you can retrieve it record over it and erase it just as you play record and erase music on cassette tapes User s Guide 3 1 Choosing Diskette Drives for the Equity II Your computer has one or more of the following types of drives e 360KB drive Uses 54 inch double sided doubledensity 360KB disk etes You can also use single sided 160KB or 180KB diskettes These diskettes contain 40 tracks per side 8 or 9 sectors per track and hold up to 360KB of information With 8 sectors per track a diskette holds 320KB KB stands for kilobyte each kilobyte equals 1024 bytes e 12MB drive Uses 5 inch doublesided high density 1 2MB disk ettes These diskettes contain 80 tracks per side 15 sectors per track and hold up to 1 2MB of information MB stands for megabyte each mega byte equals 1 048 576 bytes e 720KB driveUses 3W inch doublesided doubledensity 720KB disk ettes These diskettes contain 80 tracks per side 9 sectors per track and hold up to 720KB of information e 14MB drive Use
80. lator M onitor The piece of hardware that contains the screen and displays informa tion 4 User s Guide Monochrome monitor A monitor that displays in only one color such as green or amber as opposed to a color monitor that can display in several colors Mouse A device used as an alternative to a keyboard to control a pointer on the screen and operate a program MS DOS An operating system from M icrosoft See DOS Operating system Operating system A collection of programs that allow a computer to control its operations The operating system determines how programs run on the computer and supervises all input and output for example MS DOS Option card A card you install inside the Equity II main unit to provide additional capabilities such as more memory a hard disk drive or a mouse Parallel The type of interface that transmits data in groups of bits See Interface Serial Partition To divide a hard disk drive into separate sections for use by different operating systems Peripheral A device such as a printer or a modem connected to a computer that depends on the computer for its operation Port A physical input output socket on a computer where you can connect a peripheral Program A disk file that contains coded instructions and tells a computer what to do and how to do it PROM Programmable Read Only Memory A PROM is a ROM that can be altered User s Guide 5 RAM Random
81. mber xxxx counts down to zero When the analysis is complete the program displays a complete report on the status of the disk including a table of unflagged tracks that produced write read errors For a hard disk with one flagged bad track a display like this appears Analysis finished Count of tracks flagged bad n Count of tracks with write read errors n Count of good tracks nnn No write read error was detected No data was destroyed Press ENTER to return to the menu If the program finds one bad track that is not flagged the summary would show one track with a write read error The report is then followed by a table like this Write Read Error Tracks Cylinder Head Cylinder Head Cylinder Head Cylinder Head 237 2 Confirm to register the tracks in the Write Read Error Track Table as bad tracks Do you want to register the error tracks as bad tracks Y N Diagnostics 2 7 To flag the error tracks as bad press Y and Enter You then see a list of the tracks as they are flagged You see these messages Flagging bad tracks Cylinder is 237 head is 2 Press ENTER to return to the menu Press Enter to return to the HARD DISK FORMAT MENU Non destructive Surface Analysis The Non destructive surface analysis is slightly simpler than the Destructive surface analysis described in the previous section This option does not destroy any data and can safely be used to check the condition of your hard disk d
82. milar to this Additional DEVICE LIST 4 Monochrome display adapter and CRT 7 Math coprocessor 80287 12 Alternate serial port 21 Alternate parallel port 81 Parallel port on video adapter 0 Exit Enter the number of the item to add Diagnostics 4 3 Type the number of the item you wish to add and press Enter You can add as many devices as necessary When the DEVICE LIST is complete press 0 followed by Enter Note Even if you have both monochrome and color monitor video cards installed you can only test the monitor that is currently selected You select the monitor either with the monitor switch on the front panel or a DIP switch inside the main unit To remove a device from the list press 2 and Enter The screen displays the current DEVICE LIST and the prompt Enter the number of the item to delete Type the number of the item you wish to delete and press Enter You can delete as many devices as necessary When the DEVICE LIST is correct press 0 and then Enter The screen displays the modified DEVICE LIST for a final check If the list is correct press Y and Enter You are now ready to select a test Selecting a test From the DEVICE LIST select the device you wish to test Type the number of the device then press Enter Before the test begins you are asked how many times to perform the test You see this menu Number of times to test device 1 Run test one time 2 Run test mult
83. mplementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor A method for making silicon chips Code A system of symbols for representing data or instructions Also any soft ware program or part of a program User s Guide 6 Command An instruction you enter on the keyboard to direct your computer to perform a specific function Configuration The particular setup of a group of components For example a typical system configuration consists of a CPU with two floppy disk drives con nected to a monochrome monitor and a printer Control code A command generated when you hold down Ctrl and press another key on the keyboard that instructs your computer to perform a specific function CPU Central Processing Unit The piece of hardware that interprets instruc tions performs the tasks you indicate keeps track of stored data and controls all input and output operations Cursor The highlighted marker that shows your position on the screen and moves as you enter and 0666 data Data Information stored or processed by a computer Data diskette A formatted diskette used to store files Diagnostics The tests and procedures the computer performs to check its internal drcuitry and set up its configuration DIP switches Small switches on a piece of hardware such as a CPU a printer or an option card DIP switch settings control various functions and provide a system with information about itself DIP stands for Dual In Line Package Directory
84. ms o 3 single diskette 3 7 Diskette backing pemn care and handling 3 3 choosing compatibility 3 2 3 5 3 copying 3 5 double density format high density 3 2 5 3 incompatibilities 3 2 3 inserting labelling problems 5 2 3 removing single sided storing system 1 14 15 3 5 types 3 2 write protecting writing to 3 2 3 Disk lock release button latch Disk operating system DOS See also MS DOS Double density diskettes Double sided diskettes 3 2 3 Drive See Disk drive Drive diskette compatibility 3 2 3 DRIVER SYS na cy DU 3 2 3 Index 2 Memory expansion card Intro 2 4 8 B 1 L Labeling diskettes Latch disk drive 1 4 12 1 Loading an operating system 1 15 M Magnetic surface disks 4 Main circuit board location jumpers Main memory Main unit cover removing cover replacing front panel 1 3 4 power switch 1 4 1 14 back panel 1 5 6 Mass storage 8 2 bi oy DA Intro 2 1 13 JJA 5 1 Memory Intro 2 See also RAM Memory card A 1 4 Memory card jumpers MODE command 1 12 Modem 1 6 Monitor brightness 1 14 5 2 cable 1 7 8 color Intro l 1 8 B 4 connecting 1 7 9 contrast 1 14 5 2 controller card 1 7 8 controls 1 14 monochrome Intro l 1 8 B 4 MONITOR SELECT switch 1 4 5 1 9 Monochrome monitor Intro l 1 7 9 B 4 video card In
85. n that does the most for you The Equity II main unit is available in these models e One 12MB megabyte high density floppy disk drive e Onel 2MB floppy disk drive and one 40MB internal hard disk drive Both models include 640KB kilobytes of memory You can install additional drives in your Equity II to increase its storage capacity another floppy disk drive 360KB 720KB 1 2MB or 1 44MB or one hard disk The Equity II comes with both a serial interface and a parallel inter face These interfaces let you connect an Epson printer or plotter or almost any peripheral device you choose You can further expand the capabilities of your Equity II adding optional cards to which you connect external devices The Equity II has six option slots in which you can install option cards One slot holds the paral lel and serial interfaces You choose the type of monitor you want to use with your Equity II A monitor requires a video card Here are some monitors and video cards you can use with the Equity II e Monochrome monitor green or amber and monochrome video card e RGB red green blue color monitor and either a CGA color graphics adapter card or an EGA enhanced graphics adapter card e RGB enhanced color monitor and a CGA or EGA card Composite monitor either color or monochrome and a CGA card Monochrome monitor and an EGA card EGA monitor and an EGA card User s Guide Intro 1 You can add memory exp
86. n turn off the Equity l4 using the power switch on the front panel of the main unit Wait five seconds and then switch the power back on 1 Turning O ff the Computer Before you turn off your computer save your data exit the program you are using and then remove all diskettes from the disk drives Turn off your monitor and peripherals first then turn off the main unit using the switch on the front panel User s Guide 2 5 User s Guide Chapter 3 Using Disks and Disk Drives The disk drives in your computer allow you to store data on disk and retrieve and use stored data when you like All Equity II systems have at least one floppy disk drive you may also havea hard disk drive and or a second floppy disk drivein your system This chapter explains how disks work and tds you how to e Choose floppy disks e Care for your disks and disk drives e Protect your data e Usea single floppy disk drive e Usea hard disk drive How Disks Work The floppy disks diskettes you insert in your system s floppy disk drives are round pieces of flexible plastic coated with magnetic material and enclosed in protective jackets Like a record a diskette has circular tracks on both sides The computer stores the data you enter as magnetic patterns on these circular tracks A small read write head in the disk drive interprets the magnetic pat terns When a diskette is in a drive the read write head is right over the large ova
87. nly do this if the documentation with your hard disk recommends a different value You see this prompt Do you want default interleave of 3 Y N To accept the default press Y and Enter To change the value press N and Enter You see this prompt Enter interleave factor 1 16 Type the recommended value and press Enter The next screen allows you to edit the table of bad tracks The empty bad track table looks like this Bad Track Table Cylinder Head Cylinder Head Cylinder Head Cylinder Head Cylinder Head Move highlighted area to desired track with cursor keys A Add track C Change track D Delete track F Finish editing Enter command letter Diagnostics 2 5 Some of the messages change if the table is full or empty However the way that you add a bad track or make a correction is the same To add a bad track follow these steps 1 Press A You see this prompt Enter cylinder number 1 xxxx 2 Type the number of the cylinder containing the missing bad track and press Enter You see this prompt Enter head number 0 yy 3 Type the head number for the bad track and press Enter The maxi mum valid cylinder and head numbers xxxx and yy vary according to the capacity of the hard disk To canca this operation press Enter without entering a value You see this message Table unchanged If you enter an invalid cylinder or head number a reminder of the range of values appears and the
88. nterface If you have a printer or another peripheral such as a modem with a serial interface connect it to the serial RS 232C port at the back of the main unit The Equity Il uses a DB 9P connector so be sure you have an AT compatible cable or an adapting cable that converts the 9pin output to the standard 25 pin output To connect a serial device follow the same steps above for connecting a parallel device You need to ensure the serial port is set up so it functions properly If you are using the port for a serial printer you must also redirect printer output to the serial instead of the parallel port Use the MS DOS SETMODE program or the MODE command to make these changes See your MS DOS man ual for instructions 1 12 User s Guide The Equity character set The Equity II uses a special character set that assigns graphics and international characters to some of the ASCII codes In most cases if you try to print these characters on a standard printer you get italic characters instead Some Epson printers support the IBM character set the character set the Equity II uses as a standard feature and others can be adapted In addition some application programs can print the special graphic characters on a standard printer when you use a special printer driver program Ask your Epson dealer for more information 8 Turning On the Computer After you set up your system you re ready to turn on the power and start using
89. ny key is incorrect press N and Enter Make a copy of the error code and message or print them out and contact your dealer or Epson for customer service Monochrome Display Adapter and CRT Check Use this option to verify the operation of a monochrome adapter and display This test includes several checks that allow you to identify particular problems related to the monochrome display To run this check the monitor switch must be set for a monochrome monitor 4 8 Diagnostics You can select the individual checks from this menu MONOCHROME ADAPTER AND CRT CHECK MENU 1 Monochrome adapter check 2 Attribute check 3 Character set check 4 Video check 5 Sync check 6 Run all above checks 0 Exit Enter selection number If an error occurs during any of these tests record the error code and message or print them out Then contact your dealer or Epson for customer service Monochrome adapter check To check the monochrome adapter press 1 and then Enter The computer checks the video RAM display memory on the display adapter by writing certain data to memory then reading it back and compar ing it to the written data The computer also tests the video enable signal of the display controller chip Attribute check To check the display attributes of the adapter card press 2 and then Enter A series of messages appear showing examples of all the possible display attributes normal intensity high intensi
90. oard overlaps the computer s main memory you must disable that part of memory either on the option board or on the built in memory board To reduce the amount of main memory you must use the Main option of this program and also change a jumper on the built in memory board You can find instructions for changing the jumper settings in your User s Guide To change the amount of memory follow these steps 1 On the main menu press 1 to move the cursor block to Memory and press Enter This menu appears on the screen 640 KB Main O KB Expansion SAVE SETTINGS 2 Press 1 and 1 to move the cursor block to the setting you want to change Main or Expansion 3 When thecursor block is on the Main option this message appears at the bottom of the screen 1 return to main menu select option Enter change main memory size Press Enter to change between the possible amounts of main memory You can set the amount of main memory to 256KB 512KB or 640KB 4 When the cursor block is on the Expansion option this message appears at the bottom of the screen tL select option or change expansion memory size Press to increase or press to decrease the amount of expansion memory You can set the amount of expansion memory in increments of 64KB within the range from 0 to 15 360KB 5 When your memory settings are correct move the cursor block to SAVE SETTINGS You see this prompt 1 select option Enter set mem
91. ory size Press Enter to set the new memory size and return to the main menu Diagnostics 1 3 Using a Different Type of Display Use the Display option if you change the monitor or video card you are using with your computer The Display setting in CMOS RAM controls the amount of memory used for storing the image on your monitor screen Note Make sure that the monitor switch on the front panel or the DIP switch inside the main unit is set correctly for the type of monitor you are using See your User s Guide for instructions To change the display type follow these steps 1 On the main menu press to move the cursor block to Display and press Enter Another menu appears to show the current setting If you have an 80 column color monitor installed you see 2 To change the monitor type press Enter This menu displays listing the various options Color graph 80 col Color graph 40 col Monochrome 80 col Choose the monitor type according to the combination of monitor and video card that you are using e If you have a monochrome monitor choose Monochrome 80 regardless of the type of video card to which you connect it e f you have an RGB color monitor use Color graph 80 e If you have an enhanced color monitor and an enhanced graphics video card select Special options If you are using a compatibility mode provided by the video card you may need to set a DIP switch on the video card which will ove
92. plugged into the power inleton the back panel of the main unit Then plug the power cable into a 3 prong 120 volt grounded electrical outlet Turn on the monitor so you can see the messages that appear as your computer starts up If you havea printer or other peripheral device turn it on next You can turn on your computer with or without a system diskette in the top disk drive For now leave the drive empty To turn on the computer press in the power switch on the front pane of the main unit as shown in Figure 1 10 The power indicator on the front panel lights up and the cooling fan inside the main unit starts After a few seconds the computer begins to perform an internal self test Figure 1 10 Turning on the power If you cannot see the screen display clearly use the controls on your monitor to adjust the brightness and contrast until characters on the screen are clear and bright If the display is not stable check your monitor s hori zontal and vertical hold controls Initial setup procedure If this is the first time your Equity II has been used you need to use the diagnostics programs on the reference diskette to perform an initial setup This is a simple procedure that you must do at least once You may need to 1 14 User s Guide do it again if you change your system configuration by adding a disk drive for example or to change the system date or time See the Diagnostics sec tion at the back o
93. ppy disk However to test the full capacity of the drive use only a 1 2MB disk In a 360KB drive you can only use a 360KB floppy disk Note The Format diskette option on the OPERATION MENU always formats diskettes in 360K B format regardless of the type of drive Therefore to test a 12MB drive use the MS DOS FORMAT command to format a high density diskette Also to test a 360KB drive always use a doubledensity diskette that you formatted in a 360K B drive You can select the individual tests from this menu FLOPPY DISK DRIVE S AND CONTROLLER CHECK MENU 1 Sequential seek check 2 Random seek check 3 Write read check 4 Speed check 5 Disk change check 6 Run all above checks 0 Exit Enter selection number Diagnostics 4 17 Before any checks are performed the program determines the number of floppy disk drives installed in your computer If you have more than one drive you see this prompt each time you select a test Check which drive A B Press A or B and then Enter If any errors occur record the error code and message and contact your dealer Always have the floppy disk drive serviced by your dealer Sequential seek check This test checks the ability of the read write heads to locate any part of the diskette This action by a read write head is called a seek During this test each head seeks sequentially from the innermost track to the outermost track The innermost track is track
94. program asks you to enter the value again When you complete a valid entry it appears in the table and you can select another command If you make a mistake move the cursor block to the incorrect track and press C to alter the track data Or you can press D to renove the track from the table Change the track data just like you add a track Once you complete editing check the entries in the table once more When you are sure the table is correct press F The program displays a warning about the consequences of proceeding with formatting and the renaining steps are exactly the same as for a normal conditional format Destructive Surface Analysis Use this option to accurately locate any bad tracks on a hard disk and to flag any bad tracks that are not flagged 2 6 Diagnostics WARNING If any errors occur during this check all data on the track that produces the error is destroyed For this reason if you think that an unflagged bad track is causing trouble first run option 4 Non destructive surface analysis to check the disk surface This test operates by a complex process of writing reading and verifying information on every track of the hard disk except for tracks that are already flagged as bad tracks To start the test press 3 and then Enter You see these messages Analyze Hard Disk Read Save Write Read Restore Read check for all tracks Current cylinder is xxxx As each track is checked the cylinder nu
95. pt 6 lt This indicates the hard disk has been assigned as drive C User s Guide 1 15 1 16 User s Guide Chapter 2 Using the Equity ll This chapter covers some basic procedures for using your Equity II computer and keyboard Inserting and Removing Diskettes To insert a diskette into the 1 2M B floppy disk drive hold it with the label face up and the write protect notch to the left so that the read write slot is away from you Then slide it into the disk drive as shown in Figure 2 1 When the diskette is all the way in turn the latch down until it locks into the vertical position This keeps the diskette in place and enables the read write heads in the disk drive to access the diskette Figure 2 1 Inserting a diskette User s Guide 2 1 To remove the diskette turn the latch up until it is horizontal and the diskette pops out Carefully pull out the diskette place it in its protective envelope and store it properly such as in a special diskette container If you have an optional floppy disk drive with a disk drive button insert the diskette the same way as for a 1 2MB drive with the label facing up When it is all the way in press the disk drive button to lock it in place To remove the diskette press the button to release it and pull it out of the drive WARNING Never remove a diskette or turn off the computer while the drive indicator light is on You could lose data Also
96. ram displays information about the condition of the disk For a hard disk with no bad tracks the display looks like this Scanning finished Count of tracks flagged bad n Count of tracks with other errors n Count of good tracks z nnnn The program then displays a warning about the conseguences of pro ceeding with formatting WARNING ALL DATA WILL BE DESTROYED IN ALL PARTITIONS OF HARD DISK NOT JUST IN MS DOS PARTITION Do you want to start formatting Y N If there are no tracks with other errors and you are absolutely sure that you want to format the hard disk press Y and Enter The program then asks you once more if you want to continue You see this message and prompt DOUBLE CHECK THAT YOU HAVE BACKUP DISKETTE COPIES OF ALL YOUR FILES Do you want to exit and check your file copies Y N When you are certain no valuable data will be destroyed press N and Enter If you cancel formatting at either stage you see these messages Format cancelled Press ENTER to return to the menu Diagnostics 2 3 If you continue with formatting you see Format started Current cylinder is xxxx When formatting is complete any bad tracks are flagged and you see a series of messages like these Format finished Flagging bad tracks Cylinder is xxxx head is yy Format completed Press ENTER to return to the menu Flagged tracks are identified by xxxx and yy At this point press Enter to return to the HARD DISK FO
97. record the error code and message or print them out Then contact your dealer or Epson for customer service Color graphics adapter check To check the color graphics adapter press 1 and then Enter The computer checks the video RAM display memory on the display adapter by writing test data to memory and then reading it back and com paring it to the written data The computer also tests the video enable signal of the display controller chip Attribute check To check the display attributes of the color graphics adapter card press 2 and Enter Several messages appear showing examples of all the possible display attributes and colors Check the information on your screen and respond to the prompt Is the display correct Y N Press Y and then Enter if the display is correct If the colors are not correct adjust the controls on your display monitor If they are still incorrect press N and Enter Contact your dealer to verify any monitor problems Character set check To check your 80 column character set press 3 and Enter The charac ter fonts that are included in the internal character generator display on your screen Compare your screen display to the following illustration 4 12 Diagnostics USTA 9 950 4 800 00 88 4 4 4 C 7012345678955 lt gt 7CABCDEFGHIJKLMNO PQORSTUYWXYZINIA_ abodefghi jklunoparstuvu xuzliJ aGu taaacBetiTiHkarafocoduy du cEVAf diouaktt r 4UMiCIE
98. rinter is not installed correctly Install correctly and enter Y or Enter N to cancel printing Correct the problem and press Y and Enter to continue printing or press N and Enter to canca printing After printing the error message the program displays this prompt Printout is finished Press ENTER to return to the menu Diagnostics 4 5 The program continues after an error in one of the following ways e It returns to the DEVICE LIST or e f you are running multiple tests and are not terminating on an error the program repeats the test that caused the error The remainder of this chapter describes the tests you can run on the system s internal devices and on the optional devices installed on your com puter The program displays the title of each check on the screen For a complete list of the error codes and messages these tests may dis play refer to Appendix A System Board Check Use this option to check the operation of each major component on the system board including e The 80286 CPU chip gt The system ROM e The real time clock CMOS RAM and battery gt The main integrated circuits The checks made on the 80286 CPU chip are extremely comprehensive and ensure that the CPU instruction set including protected mode operation is functioning correctly If an error occurs make a copy or a printout of the error code and message and contact your dealer or Epson for customer service Attempting to correct s
99. ripheral devices of your system You check these devices using System diagnostics option 4 on the OPERATION MENU Always run diagnostics after adding or removing optional devices or if you are unsure whether a device is performing correctly You should also run these tests after moving your computer from one place to another and after you replace the internal battery Note To run System diagnostics boot your system with the reference disk ette in drive A Then select option 4 from the OPERATION MENU If you start this program in any other way some tests may produce strange results You can test these devices the program identifies each one with a spe 76 reference number 1 System 2 Memory 3 Keyboard 4 Monochrome display adapter and CRT 5 Color graphics adapter and CRT 6 Floppy disk drives and controller 7 Math coprocessor 80287 9 Parallel port printer interface 11 Serial port RS 232C port 12 Alternate serial port 14 Dot matrix printer 17 Hard disk drives and controller 21 Alternate parallel port 81 Parallel port on video adapter Appendix A lists the error messages that may occur when testing these devices D iagnostics 4 1 Using the System Diagnostics Program When you start the Systen diagnostics the computer checks e The setting of the monitor switch for monochrome or color gt Thepositions of the internal jumpers gt The peripheral devices that are connected to the system
100. rives However this test will not flag any bad tracks that are detected To start the test press 4 and then Enter You see these messages Analyze Hard Disk Read Verify check for all tracks Current cylinder is xxxx As each track is checked the current cylinder is displayed The cylinder number counts down to zero as the disk is checked When the analysis is complete the program displays a summary of the status of the disk This summary lists these counts e Flagged bad tracks e Tracks with read verify errors e Good tracks If no errors occur you see this message No read verify error was detected If errors are found the program displays a table of the tracks that gave errors similar to the one displayed by the destructive analysis After the status reports you see this message Press ENTER to return to the menu Check the information displayed then press Enter 2 8 Diagnostics Chapter 3 Formatting a Diskette This chapter briefly describes how you format a diskette Normally you format a diskette using the MS DOS FORMAT command However if you are running diagnostics and decide to test your floppy drives which requires a formatted diskette you can select option 3 Format diskette from the OPERATION MENU This option is included with the diagnostics for con venience only it lets you format a double density diskette without exiting diagnostics Note This program always formats diskettes in 360KB format
101. rrect diskette type is in each drive You can also copy files between a hard disk and any type of diskette You cannot usethe DISKCOPY command to copy from one drive to another if the two drives are not the same type If you have two drives of different types and want to copy from one diskette to another of the same type you need to use MS DOS to change your system s drive configuration You do this by inserting the MSDOS command DRIVER SYS in a configuration file See your MSDOS manual for instructions You can copy files between a hard disk and any type of diskette See your MS DOS or other software manual for instructions on how to copy files Caring for your Disks and Disk Drives To avoid damaging floppy and hard disks you need to care for them properly Take these precautions to avoid losing data e Keep disks away from dust and dirt Small particles of dust or dirt scratch the magnetic surface and can destroy data Dust can also ruin the read write heads in a disk drive e Keep disks away from magnetic fields Remember that disks store data magnetically There are many sources of magnetism in your home or office such as electrical appliances telephones and loudspeakers e Keep disks in a moderate environment They work best at room temperature and in normal humidity Never leave diskettes sitting in the sun or in extreme cold or heat The temperature in a car in the middle of summer or winter can cause severe damage User s
102. rride the display setting in CMOS RAM 1 4 Diagnostics e If you have a composite color monitor such as a color television with a video input try selecting Color graph 80 If resolution is poor run Setup again and select Color graph 40 e If you have any other combination of monitor and video card consult the documentation supplied with your video card 3 Press or 1 to move to the appropriate option and press Enter 4 Now save your settings and return to the main menu Adding an 80287 Coprocessor Use the Coprocessor option when you add an Intel 80287 numeric coprocessor to your system You can run software on your computer that makes use of the 80287 coprocessor The 80287 works together with the 80286 which is the main processor to process mathematical computations very quickly When you install an 80287 use this option to notify the computer so it will use the coprocessor If you remove the 80287 use this option to delete the coprocessor from the equipment list this prevents software from trying to use the 80287 commands Follow these steps 1 On the main menu press to move the cursor to Coprocessor and press Enter You see this menu 80287 not installed ee SAVE SETTINGS 2 Press Enter to display the correct setting The display changes from 80287 not installed to 80287 installed each time you press Enter 3 Display the correct setting save it and return to the main menu to change other setting
103. ructions or follow the general guidelines below Note Your dealer may have installed a video card in your main unit to control your monitor If not you need to install it before you can connect your monitor See Chapter 4 for instructions on how to remove the main unit s cover and install an option card 1 Place your monitor on top of or near the Equity Il main unit It is easiest to connect the monitor cable if the backs of the monitor and main unit face you 2 If necessary connect the monitor cable to the monitor Some monitors come with permanently attached cables 3 Connect the appropriate end of the monitor cable to your monochrome or color graphics card connector at the back of the main unit as shown in Figure 1 5 If the plug has retaining screws tighten then with a screw driver User s Guide 1 7 Figure 1 5 Connecting the monitor The monitor type must match the video card in the main unit If you have a color card you can use one of two connectors a nine pin female D connector for RGB monitors or an RCA connector for composite video monitors Consult Table l I to make sure your card and monitor match Table 1 1 Monitor video card compatibility Monitor Video card si Monochrome ee or output enhanced graphics TTL compatible Color or enhanced Color graphics or 9 pin RGB output color enhanced graphics Composite color Color graphics RCA type jack or monochrome Note Be sure to set th
104. s Adapter and CRT checks Attribute check 4 12 Character set check 40 column 80 column Color video check 4 16 Graphics mode check 320 x 200 4 14 640 x 200 4 14 Light pen check Screen paging check 4 15 Sync check 4 16 Diagnostics 1 Interface printer K Keyboard check 4 7 C 3 L Light pen check 4 15 LINK command Intro 1 M Mass storage 1 6 Math coprocessor 80287 check 420 Messages Memory 1 3 4 6 Changing amount 1 2 Check 4 6 Expansion 1 3 Mode graphics 4 14 Monitor See Display Monochrome display Adapter and CRT checks 48 Attribute check Character set check Display changing Video check 4 10 Sync check 4 11 Moving hard disk 5 1 MS DOS commands Intro 1 nope 1 1 2 1 3 1 4 17 4 24 51 Non destructive_surface analysis hard disk 2 8 Diagnostics F FDISK 4 26 Flagged tracks Floppy disk Controller check 4 17 Disk change check 4 19 Random seek check 4 18 Sequential seek check Speed check 4 19 Write read check 4 18 Format Diskette 3 1 Hard 0156 2 1 FORMAT command Intro 4 G Graphics mode check 1 5 4 14 H Hard disk Changing 1 6 Conditional format normal Controller checks 4 24 C 4 Destructive surface analysis Drives 4 24 EI C 4 Error detection and correction check 4 26 Formattin
105. s Diagnostics 1 5 Changing Disk Drives Use the Mass storage option if you install an additional floppy or hard disk drive or if you remove an existing drive and replace it with another type Follow these steps On the main menu press 4 to move the cursor to Mass storage and press Enter You see a menu like this Drive B 1 2MB Drive C Type 2 Drive D none x SAVE SETTINGS Press to move the cursor to the drive you want to change To change a floppy disk drive position the cursor block to Drive A or Drive B and press Enter You see this menu 360 KB drive 729 KB drive 3 5 1 2 MB drive 1 44 MB drive 3 5 Press to move the cursor block to the appropriate drive type and press Enter to make your sdection To return to the menu of drives without changing the drive type press or Esc To change a hard disk drive consult the list of drive types in Appendix B to find the correct number for the type of drive you have installed Then position the cursor block to Drive C or Drive D Now press to increase or to decrease the number shown for the drive you have changed When the disk drive data is correct save the settings and return to the main menu to change other settings Diagnostics 1 Setting the Real time Clock If your system has a real time clock it automatically keeps track of the time and date This kind of clock is backed up by a battery so it keeps running even whil
106. s 3 W inch doublesided high density 1 44MB disk ettes These diskettes contain 80 tracks per side 18 sectors per track and hold up to 1 44MB of information If your computer has more than one of these drive types you need to be aware of certain incompatibilities between the drives and the diskettes they use These incompatibilities also apply to the same type of diskette drives on other compatible computers Drive and diskette incompatibilities Because of the difference in size you cannot use 34 inch diskettes in a 5 inch drive or vice versa Additionally there are certain limitations on using diskettes that are the same size as the drive but have different capad ties Tables 3 1 and 3 2 summarize the possibilities and limitations Table 3 1 5 14 inch drive diskette compatibility Drive type Diskette types it can read from and write to 360KB 160KB 180KB 320KB or 360KB 1 2MB 160KB 180KB 320KB or 360KB and 1 2MB WARNING If you write to a 360KB or 160KB 180KB or 320K B diskette while it is in a 1 2MB drive you may not be able to read it or write to it in a 360KB drive later 3 2 User s Guide Table 3 2 3 drive diskette compatibility Drive type Diskette types it can read from and write to 720KB 720KB 1 44MB 720KB 1 44MB If you have any combination of the above drives 360KB 1 2MB 720KB and 1 44M B you can copy files from one drive to another using the COPY command as long as the co
107. s to lift it off the board and gently move it to the other position Be careful not to lose the jumper or leave it out of the computer Memory Card Jumpers The jumpers on the memory card control the following functions e Amount of RAM main memory If you install a memory card that needs to use part of the main memory you may need to change the jumper settings to disable some of the main memory on the memory card Be sure to check your memory card instructions to see if this is necessary A 2 User s Guide e EPROM size You can change the EPROM size jumper if you install a different size of EPROM In all cases make sure you need to alter the jumper settings for the option you are installing before you change anything Table A I shows the functions for the jumpers on the memory card Table A 1 Memory card jumper settings Jumper number Function 2 A 640KB AL ZA o 512KB disable upper 128KB B 256KB disable upper 384KB A Select EPROM size 27128 Select EPROM size 27256 Default setting To access the memory card jumpers you need to remove the card from the main unit first 1 Remove the retaining screw from the bracket on the memory card as shown in Figure A 3 Figure A 3 Removing memory card retaining screw User s Guide 3 2 Lift the card gently out of the computer taking care not to catch it on any cables inside the computer Set it on a soft surface such as a towd with the component s
108. ss Y and then Enter The same pattern displays again this time the squares are cyan white and magenta and the background is red These colors are called Color Set 1 If these are also correct press Y and then Enter to end the test If any colors display incorrectly first check the adjustment of your moni tor and make sure that both ends of the cable are plugged in firmly If a problem still exists press N and Enter to display the error message 640x200 graphics mode check To check your 640x200 graphics mode press 6 and followed by Enter The screen displays three patterned squares against a black background as shown below If the patterns on your screen are clear and distinct press Y and then Enter If any pattern is not clear first check the adjustment of your monitor and then make sure that both ends of the cable are plugged in firmly If a problem still exists press N and Enter to display the error message 4 14 Diagnostics Screen paging check To check the screen paging of your monitor press 7 and Enter The video RAM on the color graphics adapter is divided into eight independent display pages This test checks the eight pages by first filling all eight with a number corresponding to the page and then displaying each page in turn You see this pattern for screen 0 BDDDDODOOOOOODOD0ODO 1s Dos Dos Das 1s Cos pos OOOOODOBABA 5 Once you examine this screen press any key to display the next page The eight pa
109. system Tracks Addressable concentric circles on a diskette resembling the grooves on a record which help to divide the diskette into separate accessible areas There are 40 tracks on each side of a doublesided double density disk ete and 80 tracks on each side of a double sided quad density or a double sided high density diskette Write To store data on a disk Write protect To prevent a diskette from being overwritten by placing a write protect tab over the notch on the side of the diskette 5 4 inch or setting the write protect switch 34 inch When a diskette is write protected you cannot erase change or record over its contents User s Guide C 7 User s Guide C 8 Index A Connector AC inlet 1 6 5 1 monitor 1 7 9 AC outlet 1 6 option card 4 3 7 Adjusting keyboard legs 1 10 printer 1 11 13 Application program 2 4 5 4 RCA 1 8 ASCII codes 1 13 slot 4 3 7 Asynchronous Contrast control monitor 1 14 2 Auxiliary power outlet 3 6 1 9 ade B BACKUP program Backup copies 1 15 B 5 3 7 Booting MS DOS 1 15 hard Pap CAE a See also Resetting mii 1 6 1 11 4 1 Brightness control monitor 1 14 2 Ac serial T 1 6 1 12 4 1 4 3 1 Coprocessor math 1 13 4 8 A 5 Cable c opying 4 disks MS DOS programs 3 7 8 power operating system connector Cord power 1 6 5 1 printer 1 1 1 Centron
110. system information you supply when you run the Setup program After you run Setup you can type SYSTAT and press Enter to display the system parameters See your MS DOS manual for information regarding the use of EXE2BIN HDCACHE HDSIT and LINK Starting the Diagnostics To start the diagnostics programs follow these steps 1 Turn off the computer and wait for a few seconds 2 Place the reference diskette in drive A and close the door of the disk drive 3 Turn on the computer When you turn the power on the computer performs a sef test and then automatically starts the diagnostics program The Power on Self Test Whenever you turn on or reset the computer the system performs a built in diagnostics program called the power on self test This test checks the RAM random access memory keyboard system board and peripherals before the computer begins normal operation If the self test finds a discrepancy between the equipment installed on the computer and the equipment list maintained by the computer the systen asks you to run the Setup program on the reference diskette to change the equipment list For a complete description of the power on sef test and any error mes sages it may produce refer to Appendix C Intro 2 Diagnostics The OPERATION MENU After the power on self test completes successfully the diagnostics pro grams start Depending on the exact system you purchased these programs and certain screen
111. t the MS DOS partition with the MS DOS program SELECT e Copy the MS DOS utility programs to the hard disk using SELECT For instructions on running the diagnostics program see the Diagnos tics section of this manual For instructions on how to use the MS DOS programs refer to your MS DOS manual Note If you plan to use an operating systen other than MS DOS you need to use that operating system to partition the hard disk and copy the system files to it 3 8 User s Guide Chapter 4 Installing Option Cards Option cards are accessories that you can install in your Equity l4 to provide extra capabilities For example you can add another disk drive or an auto dial modem The Equity Il has six option card slots so it can hold up to six cards The parallel and serial interface and floppy disk controller card occupies one slot If your Equity Il has a hard disk a hard disk controller card occupies another slot The video card that controls your monitor occupies the fifth slot You can buy option cards from Epson as well as other vendors M ulti function cards which allow you to add features without using multiple option card slots are also available Consult your dealer for more informa tion This chapter describes how to remove and replace the main unit s cover and install and remove an option card Removing the Cover To install an option card you need to remove the cover from your Equity WARNING Never open t
112. t up and turn on your system Chapter 2 describes some general operational procedures Chapter 3 explains how disks and disk drives work and shows how to use them Chap ter 4 describes how to install and remove option cards If you encounter a problem refer to Chapter 5 for troubleshooting guidelines Appendix A describes how to change jumper settings inside the main unit when you install certain optional devices A ppendix B presents the Equity II hardware specifications and Appendix C is a glossary of com puter terms used in this manual Refer to the glossary whenever you come across an unfamiliar word Intro 2 User s Guide The last section of this manual describes the diagnostics programs for your Equity Il You run these diagnostics programs the first time you set up your system and any time you change the configuration of your Equity II User s Guide Intro 3 Chapter 1 Setting Up Your System Setting up your Epson Equity II personal computer is easy Just follow the steps in this chapter You ll find a quick guide to these steps on the inside back cover 1 Unpacking As you remove your system components from their cartons be sure to inspect each piece If anything is missing or looks damaged consult your Epson dealer Once you have unpacked your Equity II computer components and documentation you should have this manual and the following items gt The main unit and power cord gt The keyboard with detachabl
113. ta Computer Corp Hercules graphic card is a trademark of Hercules Computer Technology IBM is a registered trademark and AT and XT are trademarks of International Business M achines Corp Microsoft MS DOS and GW BASIC are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp Copyright 1988 by Seiko Epson Corporation Nagano Japan User s Guide FCC COMPLIANCE STATEMENT FOR AMERICAN USERS This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and if not installed and used properly that is in strict accordance with the manufacturer s instructions may cause interference to radio and television reception It has been type tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B computing device in accordance with the specifications in Subpart J of Part 15 of FCC rules which are designed to provide reasonable protection against such interference in a residential installation However there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation If this equipment does cause interference to radio or television reception which can be deter mined by turning the equipment off and on the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures e Reorient the receiving antenna e Relocate the computer with respect to the receiver e Move the computer away from the receiver e Plug the computer into a different outlet so that the computer and receiver are on different branch c
114. tart this check Enter N to return to the menu Press Y and then Enter to continue with the test You do not see a cylinder count during the test If no errors occur the program returns to the menu If an error occurs make a note of the code and message Then use the Non destructive surface analysis option 4 on the HARD DISK FORMAT MENU to check the condition of the hard disk Diagnostics 4 25 If this analysis shows no other problems with the disk follow these steps 1 Back up all thefiles on your hard disk 2 Reformat the disk using option 2 Format hard disk on the OPERATION MENU 3 Recreate the MS DOS partition with FDISK and format it with SELECT See your MS DOS manual 4 Restore your files Head select check This test checks whether each head of the hard disk drive can be selected correctly If both heads are checked without an error the program returns to the menu Select option 3 from the menu to start this test Error detection and correction check This test checks the ability of the hard disk drive to detect a read write error and to correct the data accordingly Note This test destroys some data on the innermost cylinder of the selected hard disk drive This cylinder is reserved for diagnostics and is never used for storage by MS DOS Therefore data created by MS DOS is not destroyed Select option 4 from the menu to start this test You see these messages The data on the highest ph
115. tem checks all the hardware This check may take about one minute during this time you see only the power light on the computer After checking the hardware the diagnostics continue System Device Check The computer first checks its internal devices such as the ROM If a malfunction is found the computer displays an error message In some cases it may halt with no further information If this happens contact your dealer as soon as possible If a fault in the main board is found a number from 101 to 108 and an error message display This message is in the following format 10x System board error Diagnostics C 1 where is a number from 1 to 8 that represents the specific LSI circuit in which the error is found Your service dealer needs this information to find and correct the problem If an I O or checksum error occurs you see this message xxxx0 ROM error where xxxx is the number of the segment of the bad I O ROM Clock and CMOS RAM Check When the system device check is completed successfully the computer checks the timer and CMOS RAM If the information contained in the RAM does not match the actual system installation you see one of these messages 161 System options not set Run SETUP in DIAGNOSTICS 162 System options not set Run SETUP in DIAGNOSTICS The information stored in the CMOS RAM must be corrected Run the Setup program provided on the diagnostics diskette to correct the installa tion informa
116. the retaining screw from the top of the metal option slot cover and keep it to secure the option card to the computer Lift out the slot cover and keep it in a safe place in case you remove the option card later Figure 4 6 Removing an option slot cover User s Guide 4 5 Unpack the option card and adjust any switches or jumper connections on it if necessary For example a memory expansion card usually contains DIP switches that you need to set See the option card instructions Note If the option card you are installing requires you to change any of the jumper connections on the Equity main circuit board memory card or multi function card see Appendix A Jumper Settings When you handle the card be careful not to touch any of the contacts on the circuit board especially the gold edged connections If you need to set it down before you install it place it on top of its original packing material with the component side facing down Keep the card s packing materials in case you remove the card later Grip the card firmly by the top corners and position it at the top of the slot Make sure the contact pins point down and the components face the inside of the main unit Insert the card in the slot as shown in Figure 4 7 When the card is almost all the way in make sure the tab at the bottom of the metal adapter plate on the end of the card goes into the corresponding notch at the back of the computer Fi
117. tion If the system dock has not been set this message displays 163 Timer amp Date not set Run SETUP in DIAGNOSTICS If the memory allocation has not been set you see this message 164 Memory size error Run SETUP in DIAGNOSTICS RAM Check The computer now begins to check the RAM installed in both the main board and option cards During this check this message displays xxxxxx KB OK where xxxxxx indicates the amount of memory in which no malfunction is found This value increases continuously by 64KB up to the amount of RAM installed on the main board If the computer detects an error in the C 2 Diagnostics first 64K B area an error message displays and the computer halts with no further information If there are faulty RAM chips in your system you see one of these messages 202 Memory address error 203 Memory address error If an I O or parity error occurs you see one of these messages Parity check 1 Parity check 2 The program also displays the number of the segment causing the problem Keyboard Controller and Keyboard Check The computer checks the keyboard controller and keyboard for prob lems such as failure of one of the keys to release If there are any errors in the connection between the keyboard and the computer this error message displays 301 Keyboard error When this message is preceded by a number xx the number represents the key in hexadecimal that is the source of the error
118. tro l 1 1 7 8 B 4 Index 3 I Initial screen display 1 15 Initial setup procedure 1 14 15 Inlet AC 1 5 6 5 1 Input output slots Inserting diskette 2 1 Installing option cards 1 7 4 1 8 Interface clock calendar RAM option slots B 2 parallel 1 6 1 11 B 1 serial 1 6 1 12 B 1 speaker B 2 Internal memory See RAM Internal self test J Jumper settings 4 6 5 5 Jumpers changing main circuit board A 4 memory card multifunction card K Keyboard angle adjusting 1 10 cable LE Jo 10 connector cover 1 9 connecting 1 9 10 function keys 2 3 B 3 keys layout legs socket 1 4 5 1 9 10 special keys User s Guide Physical characteristics 8 3 S setup option card 4 8 Power auxiliary outlet 1 9 switch turning off turning on Power cord connecting 1 6 Preparing hard disk 3 7 8 Printer cable 1 11 12 problems serial El Printing graphic characters 1 13 Protecting data 3 5 6 R RAM Random access memory Intro l Read only memory ROM B 1 Read write heads 3 1 Reference diskette 1 1 1 14 4 8 Registration card Removing cover 4 1 diskette memory card A 3 multi function card option card 4 7 Replacing cover RESET button Resetting computer 2 4 5 RGB color monitor Intro l ROM B 1 RS 232C serial port
119. tton Press this button to reset the computer When an operat ing system is running and the computer is unlocked you can press the RESET button to reboot the system CPU SPEED switch Use this switch to select the CPU s execution speed slide it to the left to run at 8 MHz and slide it to the right to run at 12 MHz MONITOR SELECT switch Slide this switch to the left if you are using a monochrome monitor or to the right if you are using a color monitor Keyboard cable socket Plug in the keyboard cable here The back panel Now look at the back panel to identify the input output ports Figure 1 3 shows where you connect your peripherals Voltage switch AC INLET SWITCHED TA maa FOR CRT DISPLAY 0 0 Parallel Serial Option card port port access slots Figure 1 3 Back pane User s Guide 1 5 WARNING Connect all your peripherals before you plug in the power cable After you plug in the power cable always turn off the power switch before you connect or disconnect any peripheral e Voltage switch Leave this switch at 115V for USA and Canadian use Slide the switch to the right to select 230V for use in other countries as necessary e AC OUTLET Auxiliary power outlet You can plug some monitors and other types of peripherals into the main unit here instead of a wall outlet The main unit s power switch controls the monitor or peripheral connected to this outlet e AC INLET Plug the power cord into th
120. ty blinking reverse and underlin ing Check the information that appears on your screen and then respond to the prompt Is the display correct Y N Press Y and then Enter if the display is correct Diagnostics 4 9 If the display attributes are not correct adjust the brightness and contrast on your display monitor If they are still incorrect press N and Enter Character set check To check your character set press 3 and then Enter The characte fonts that are included in the internal character generator display on your screen Compare your screen display to this illustration POCA HOPI PASH 4193 oF te rer vay PHS KG 7612345678953 C gt gt 7OABCDEFGHIUKLMNO PQRSTUYWXYZINIA_ abcdefghijklmnoparstuvu 247744 8 3316 er i 13050549 suceyAsF 3 359 3 11 9 6 1 0 4 7 1 1 1 5 ifs After checking the character fonts respond to the prompt Is the display correct Y N If the characters match the illustration press Y and Enter If you find a problem with the characters on the screen press N and then Enter to dis play the error message Video check To check the video output of your monochrome adapter press 4 and Enter This check displays two different screens black and intensified white First you see the black screen press any key to display the intensified white screen Then press any key to end this check You can use th
121. u finish using the Setup program select the Exit option from the main menu The program displays a list of the current settings you just made Check the list before placing the settings in CMOS RAM Below the list you see this menu Exit without saving EXIT AND SAVE If any setting is incorrect press Enter The main menu appears again and you can correct the setting If you did not make any changes or if you want to cancel the changes you made you can return to the OPERATION MENU or the MS DOS prompt without re booting the computer Press 1 to highlight the option Exit without saving and press Enter When the settings are correct press to highlight the option EXIT AND SAVE and press Enter The program writes the settings in CMOS RAM and then resets the computer using the new configuration If the computer displays a Setup error message during the power on self test run Setup again and check all your settings Changing the Amount of Memory Use the Memory option to change the amount of memory the systen recognizes after you install or remove an optional memory board The maxi mum amount of memory MS DOS uses is 640K 8 Certain MS DOS appli cations and other operating systems may require expansion memory You can also use expansion memory to set up RAM disks for temporary storage using the VDISK SYS driver See your MS DOS manual for information regarding VDISK SYS 1 2 Diagnostics Note If memory on an option b
122. ulti function card jumpers A 8 User s Guide Appendix B Equity ll Specifications 80286 microprocessor 8 or 12 MHz clock rate switch selectable Real address 8086 compatible and pro tected virtual address multi tasking or multi user modes 24 bit address and 16 bit data bus 640KB RAM on memory card expandable to 15 5MB maximum with expansion cards 32KB expandable to 64KB selectable alternate ROM for custom use 80287 8 MHz support optional Supports up to two drives available in any of four formats double density 360KB double density 720KB high density 1 2MB or high density 1 44MB control ler on multifunction card Supports up to two drives available in multiple formats including 10MB 20MB 30MB and 40MB installs in option slot RS 232C programmable asynchronous DB 9P male connector Standard 8 bit parallel DB 25S female connector CPU and Memory 16 bit CPU Main memory ROM Math coprocessor Controllers Floppy disk Hard disk Interfaces Serial Printer User s Guide Six IBM compatible input output expan sion slots one occupied by parallel and serial interface and floppy disk controller card five slots available for options in base configura tion three with 16 bit bus and two with amp bit bus Internal programmable Real time clock calendar and 64 byte CMOS RAM for configuration battery backup Switching type fan cooled
123. ursor positioning changes back when pressed aaain Esc Cancels the current command line or operation Fi 2 Perform special functions within application programs Print Screen Prints the screen display on a line printer Sys Rq Generates the System Request function Scroll Lock In some applications controls scrolling Pause Suspends current operation Break Terminates current operation The Num Lock Caps Lock and Scroll Lock keys work as toggles when you press them When the function is enabled the corresponding light on the upper right corner of the keyboard is on when the function is dis abled the light is off Selecting Execution Speed The Equity II can operate at two different execution speeds 8 MHz or 12 MHz At the faster speed the computer performs all tasks more rapidly You can select the slower speed to run application programs that have spe 086 timing requirements User s Guide 2 3 To change the speed move the CPU SPEED switch on the front pand See Figure 2 3 Co rower CD noD MONITOR SELECT cru SPEED RESET MONO COLOR Figure 2 3 CPU speed switch When the computer is running at 8 M Hz the power light is orange and at 12 MHz the light is green Resetting the Computer You can reset the computer to load a different operating system or to reload the current operating system
124. y Does Not Appear If the computer starts up but no image appears on the screen follow these steps to solve the problem 1 Check to see that the power indicator on the video monitor is on If it is not turn off the monitor s power wait five seconds then turn the power back on Wait to see if the display screen image appears User s Guide 5 1 Use the controls on the monitor to turn up the brightness and contrast Remove any diskettes then turn off the power switches on the monitor and the main unit Check that the monitor s power cable is securely connected to the electrical outlet and that the monitor cable is properly connected to both the monitor and the main unit Turn both power switches back on Turn off the power switches on both the main unit and the monitor Then check the electrical outlet for power Plug a portable lamp into the outlet you are using for the monitor and turn it on to see if the outlet supplies power The Computer Does Not Respond If the computer does not respond to something you enter from the key board try the following Wait a few seconds Some operations take longer to perform than oth ers For example a spreadsheet program takes longer to recalculate an entire spreadsheet than to record one figure Also BASIC programs that have a lot of calculations to perform can take several minutes or even hours Be aware of the task the computer is performing and judge the time accordingly If the
125. you decide to do it yourself be very careful when you follow the procedures in this appendix There are many system components that can be damaged accidentally The Equity jumpers you may need to change are on the e Main circuit board e Memory card e Multifunction card parallel port serial port and floppy disk controller Figure A shows where each of these cards is located in the computer Multi function card Memory card Main circuit board Figure A 1 Location of cards User s Guide 1 WARNING Thejumpers on these cards are preset at the factory in default positions Do not change any of them unless you are sure the option card you are installing requires different settings If you have any doubts ask your Epson dealer The procedure for changing a jumper setting is given first then the jumper functions and locations for each card are described separately All the instructions assume you have already renoved the cover from the main unit For instructions on removing the cover replacing the cover and installing and removing option cards see Chapter 4 Changing a Jumper Setting A jumper s setting is determined by where the jumper is placed either between pin A and the middle pin position A or between pin B and the middle pin position B Figure A 2 shows both positions Position A Position B Figure A 2 Jumper positions To move a jumper from one position to the other use needle nose pliers or tweezer
126. ysical cylinder may be destroyed by this check Enter Y to start this check Enter N to return to the menu Press Y and then Enter to continue with the test If no errors occur the menu reappears An error occurs only if the drive is malfunctioning In this case back up all your files and have the drive serviced immediately The drive may be corrupting your data 4 26 Diagnostics Read verify check This test reads and verifies data from all tracks of the disk checking each cylinder and using both heads Select option 5 from the menu to start this test The program displays the number of each cylinder it finds For example with a hard disk the first message you see is Current cylinder is nnn The cylinder number counts down to 0 At the end of the test you see a table of the results of the test For example for a hard disk with no bad tracks you see BAD IRAGKS lt se5 Gate essa eee n READ ERROR TRACKS n GOOD TRACKS nnnn Press ENTER to return to the menu Press Enter when you have viewed the table Run all above tests To run all the tests on the menu in seguence press 6 and then Enter When you choose this option all checks for the hard disk drives and controller are performed automatically in seguential order Although you do not start each test you must still supply the appropriate responses to progress from one test to the next The first prompt you see is T
127. ystem board errors yourself may violate your warranty agree ment Memory Check Use this option to check the memory installed in your computer including expansion memory The program checks the internal jumpers to determine the amount of main memory and reads the CMOS RAM to find the amount of expansion memory If any settings are incorrect use Setup to define the correct amount in CMOS RAM and adjust the jumpers on the system memory card 4 6 Diagnostics For this check the program writes specific data into memory and then reads it back The data is written and read in blocks of 64KB A parity check is also made on each block A memory count displays after each block tests without error After the program checks the last block you see a message like 000640 KB 0K If an error occurs make a copy or a printout of the error code and message and contact your dealer or Epson for customer service Attempting to correct memory errors yourself may violate your warranty agreement Note Memory above 640KB which is normally not available to MS DOS is checked using the protected mode of the 80286 CPU chip Keyboard Check Use this option to check the operation and the configuration of the keyboard The program first checks the keyboard controller during this check you see the green indicator lights on the keyboard flash Before checking the operation of the keys you must select the appro priate keyboard layout so that the test

Epson EQUITY II+ User's Manual

Contents

Download Pdf Manuals

Related Search

Related Contents