A: The PCChost 1100 is based on Texas Instruments PCI1131 CardBus controller while the PCChost 1200 is based on the ACPI compliant PCI1220. The PCI1220 offers significant improvements in performance over the PCI1131 chip used in the PCChost 1100.

A: The PCI1131 chip used in the PCChost 1100 uses a store and forward FIFO arrangement. Maximum throughput is approximately 45MBytes./sec. The PCI1220 chip used in the PCChost 1200 offers transfer rates approaching the maximum PCI bandwidth of 132MBtes/sec.

A: Yes, the PCChost 1200 supports both 5V and 3.3V 16-bit PC Cards.

A: No. Because of the large number of systems and configuration differences in OS, BIOS, and system resources, it is difficult for us to maintain an up-to-date list of systems.

A: Yes, Windows 98 directly supports the TI PCI1220 chip used on the PCChost 1200.

A: Windows 95 does not directly support the PCI1220 chip used on the PCChost 1200.

A: Windows NT 4.0 does not directly support the PCI1220 chip used on the PCChost 1200. Other software vendors, such as Touchstone/Unicore, SystemSoft or Phoenix Technologies may offer support for this chip.

A: Contact Sycard Technical Support for support information at (408) 749-0130 tel or e-mail your questions to:

A: No, the two boards are completely different. They cannot be upgraded.

A: Yes, the PCChost 1200 is fully ACPI compliant.

A: Yes, the PCChost supports zoomed video on both slots 0 and 1.

A: Windows requires the use of ISA-compatible interrupts for 16-bit PC Cards. PCI interrupts are required for CardBus PC Cards.

A: No. However, Texas Instruments can supply a debug program called PCIBUS.EXE that is designed to directly access the registers on the PCI1220. Contact TI directly for information.

A: Developing a driver requires a Driver Development kit (DDK). Microsoft supports driver development for all of their OSs through these DDKs. DDKs are also available from third party vendors: Blue Water Systems www.bluewatersystems.com.

A: Your status change interrupts are not configured correctly. The CardBus controller issues a hardware interrupt on card insertion and removal. On initial boot-up, if there is a card inserted, the PC Card driver will issue a simulated hardware interrupt to configure the card.

A: Most installation problems are related to the system BIOS. Unfortunately, other than a BIOS upgrades, there is little that can be done. If the problem persists, try another system. The requirements for the system BIOS can be found on the Microsoft Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/cardbus/

A: There are some possible reasons:

1. The PCChost 1200 requires initialization of several programmable features prior to use. In a portable computer, this function is usually done by the BIOS. However, in a plug-in board environment, the motherboard BIOS does not directly support CardBus controllers. These initialization steps must be performed or the CardBus slot will never be powered. The following Q&A describes the setup that the HOST1200.SYS program performs.
2. The PCI1220 chip on the PCChost 1200 has approximately 3-4 times the performance of the PCChost 1100.
3. If your CardBus card does not use CCLKRUN, it must be grounded in the card.
4. The power management, PCI CLKRUN and the CardBus CCLKRUN on the PCI1131 operate differently than the PCI1220. See the PCI1220 datasheet for more information.

A: The HOST1200.SYS driver is used to initialize the PCI1220 CardBus controller for use with Windows 9x. HOST1200.SYS also configures the programmable I/O pins for use with the indicator LEDs, interrupt type and power switch chip (TPS2206). HOST1200.SYS will do this initialization on boot-up. HOST1200.SYS performs the following:

1. Enable PCIC Legacy address at 3E0H by setting PCI configuration space 44H = 03E0 and 46H = 0000H.
2. Enable I/O and memory accesses by setting bits 0 and 1 in the PCI Command register at offset 04H in PCI Configuration space.
3. Enable clock to external voltage switch chip (TPS2206) by setting bit 27 in the System Control register at PCI configuration offset 80H.
4. Configure multifunction pins for PCChost 1200 by setting the multifunction routing register at PCI configuration space offset 8CH to 1DC7H and offset 8EH to 0007H.
5. Enable ExCA legacy interrupts by setting bit 7 in the bridge control register at PCI configuration space offset 3EH.

A: Sycard offers a fixed price repair service to replace damaged connectors. The price is $85.00.

A: Sycard does not sell the connector directly. However, it can be obtained from AMP or one of AMP's distributors. The AMP part number is 146321-1.