IPAD Model 1200 Original Hardware Details
The information on this page is for the IPAD Model 1200 manufactured by eSoft, Inc. only. It is presented here without warranty or guarantee for accuracy or completeness.
Two major hardware revisions with different motherboards were used in eSoft production. The motherboards required manual changes from the factory default settings as described below. All BIOS level power management features must be disabled.
| Motherboard Type | Special Settings |
|---|---|
| Asus Main Board (Brown case) |
|
| Intel Rhinestone Main Board (Black or Brown case) |
|
Memory: The IPAD-OS versions provided by eSoft supported a maximum of 16 megabytes of 72 pin EDO dynamic RAM. Even though the motherboard hardware would physically accept more memory, only the first 16 megabytes would be used by the software. All IPAD 1200 units shipped with 4 megabytes of RAM installed.
There were two different riser cards used to connect the interface cards to the motherboard. The only physical difference between the two was the height.
- Has three ISA (black) slots, one on the side near the power supply and the remaining two on the side away from the power supply. Some rare cards had both ISA (black) and PCI (white) slots on the side near the power supply, but the model 1200 PNP software would not always detect a PCI network card connected this way.
- PCI expansion interfaces were never officially supported in the IPAD model 1200 and should never be used even if the riser has a PCI slot available. Using PCI expansion hardware in this IPAD model is likely to cause serious problems.
The physical location of the interface cards in ISA-only risers is not important from a technical perspective, but is very important for documentation (including external labels) and customer support.
- The LAN interface must be in the ISA (black) slot nearest the power supply.
- All other Provider interface options must be in the ISA slot away from the power supply. The traditional placement was to have the Provider interface in the top slot away from the motherboard if there is a choice.
The hardware options for the feed (Provider) interface must be set to the following.
| Feed Type | Make/Model | Interface | Memory IO Port | Hardware IRQ | Extra Settings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internal Modem | US Robotics/3COM Sportster Modem Part# 005687-03 | ISA | 3e8 | 7 |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Internal ISDN | US Robotics/3COM Courier I-Modem USA Part# 000698-13 Europe Part# ? | ISA | 2e8 COM4 | 7 |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ethernet Provider | Intel EtherExpress PRO/10 | ISA | 310 | 11 |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Internal 56K Leased Line/V.35 | Digiboard Sync/570i-56 | ISA | 280
|
10 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LAN Interface | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ethernet LAN | Intel EtherExpress PRO/10 | ISA | 300 | 5 |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Only one of any of the above feed (PROVIDER) interfaces may be installed in a model 1200 at a time. Installing more than one feed interface or a feed interface incorrectly configured may cause loss of data from the model 1200 performing a factory reset in an attempt to recover from the error. The best source for this hardware is the IPAD Owners Association that runs a list server populated by some of the most helpful and resourceful people in the industry.
BIOS Settings
This is an image of the BIOS setup for an IPAD model 1200 on an Intel Rhinestone motherboard. You should notice that this motherboard does not have any audio ability reflected in the BIOS, but some motherboards may show this option. If it does, just change the audio settings to Disabled and it will help to prevent address or IRQ conflicts.
First published 2006-12-31. The last major review or update of this information was on 2011-04-07. Your feedback using the form below helps us correct errors and omissions on this page.