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IBM 5170 - Performing SETUP Using The
 'Diagnostics for the IBM Personal Computer AT' Floppy



IMPORTANT:   The following assumes that your IBM 5170's motherboard is fitted with IBM 5170 BIOS ROM's, i.e. not swapped out for non-IBM ones.
If non-IBM BIOS ROM's are fitted, the following may not work (it depends on the particular BIOS).


Requirements

* The 'Diagnostics for the IBM Personal Computer AT' floppy (or, the Advanced version of that).


Assumptions

* The 5170 is presently displaying either a 161, 162 or 163 error.


Procedure

The text below is based on version 1 of the Diagnostics floppy.
Later versions have subtle changes, but not enough to make the following text unusable.

1. Place the floppy in A: drive, then reboot the computer.
2. At the (RESUME = "F1" KEY) prompt, press the F1 key.
   
  [ The 5170 will boot from the floppy. ]
   
3. You will be asked, "Have you completed running this program since connecting the battery?". Respond to that by pressing the N key followed by the ENTER key.
4. Enter the date in the specified format, and then press the ENTER key.
5. Enter the time in the specified format, and then press the ENTER key.
6. At the prompt, "Is this correct (Y/N)", press the Y key followed by the ENTER key.
   
  [ You will now see a screen that refers you to fetch your setup information from a foldout at the rear of your 'Installation and Setup' manual. ]
   
7. Irrespective of whether or not you have a record of your setup information, in response to the "Locate the foldout ..." prompt, press the ENTER key.
   
  [ You will now be presented with a list of the floppy drive type/s that the SETUP program thinks is in your computer.
When it comes to 360K and 1.2M drives, the SETUP program is very good at getting it right. ]
   
8. At the prompt, "Are diskette drive types correct (Y/N)", press the Y key followed by the ENTER key.
   
  [ You are now about to be asked about the hard (fixed) drives in your 5170, if any.
Because the vast majority of 5170s were supplied with a hard drive, most people will answer 1 for the next question. ]
   
9. At the prompt, "How many fixed disks are installed?", press 0, 1 or 2, followed by the ENTER key.
   
  [ If you entered 1 or 2, you will now be asked to enter drive type numbers.
Click here for information on how to determine the IBM hard drive type number. ]
   
10. At the prompt to enter the fixed disk type, enter the type number.
11. At the prompt, "Is this correct (Y/N)", press the Y key followed by the ENTER key.
   
  [ You will now see a question about the primary display. ]
   
12. At the prompt, "Is this correct (Y/N)", press the Y key followed by the ENTER key.
   
  [ You will now be asked about the amount of base memory.
Because the SETUP program is good at determining that amount, we will now accept what the SETUP program suggests. ]
   
13. At the prompt, "Is this correct (Y/N)", press the Y key followed by the ENTER key.
   
  [ You will now be asked about the amount of expansion memory.
Expansion memory is an early IBM term for what later became known as extended memory.
Expansion memory is not the same as expanded memory.
Because the SETUP program is good at determining the amount of expansion memory, we will now accept what the SETUP program suggests. ]
   
14. At the prompt, "Is this correct (Y/N)", press the Y key followed by the ENTER key.
   
  [ You will now be shown a list, which is a summary of the setup information entered so far. ]
   
15. At the prompt, "Are these options correct (Y/N)", press the Y key followed by the ENTER key.
16. Remove the floppy.
17. Press the ENTER key.
   
  [ The 5170 will now reboot. ]