Olivetti · M
Olivetti M300-02F
Professional M300 with BA013/25, a 25 MHz 386SX, TOPCAT and integrated WD90C11.
History
The M300-02F is the professional model with the BA013/25 board, running at 25 MHz. The PCS 33 of late 1992 uses the same technical base, but the M300-02F has its own BIOS (5.01).
Hardware
- Processor
- Intel 80386SX 25 MHz
- Memory
- 2, 4 or 10 MB
- Chipset
- VLSI TOPCAT VL82C320/VL82C331
- Video
- Integrated Western Digital WD90C11, 512 KB
Catalogue classification
- Form factor
- Desktop
- Mobility
- Stationary
- Processor generation
- 80386SX class
- Graphics standard
- VGA
Research
This page separates documented hardware facts, behavior observed in original firmware, and the current fidelity of BluMach emulation.
Sales and commercial configurations
Evidence: documented or confirmed hardware
- Commercial models
25 MHz model with the BA013/25 board and 2 MB. The service guide presents it as the successor of the 16 MHz M300-02, with the same case and the same two-slot expansion board.
Architecture and memory
Evidence: documented or confirmed hardware
- CPU and bus
25 MHz Intel 386SX on the BA013/25 board, with an i387SX socket. VLSI TOPCAT chipset: VL82C320 system controller and VL82C331 bus controller. Two 16-bit ISA slots on the bus expansion board.
- Memory
Bank 0 with 2 MB soldered and bank 1 with two sockets for 1 M × 9 SIMMs (2 MB in total) or 4 M × 9 SIMMs (8 MB in total): 2, 4 or 10 MB. 80 ns access.
- Video
Integrated VGA: Western Digital WD90C11A, WD90C64 clock generator and Brooktree BT476 DAC. BluMach uses its WD90C11 model with 512 KB.
- Storage
3.5-inch 1.44 MB or 5.25-inch 1.2 MB floppy drive, with an Acer controller and serial and parallel ports in the 87C310. The IDE disk uses a buffered interface on the board. The BIOS table has only four types; the first three are 980/5/17 (40 MB), 903/4/46 (85 MB) and 762/8/39 (120 MB).
BIOS and firmware
Evidence: observed in preserved firmware and boot testing
- Known revisions
The preserved BIOS is 5.01 (08/24/92), 128 KB. The service guide mentions a later 5.03 that adds Quantum ELS and Conner CP30124 drives; it has not been found. It includes Resident Diagnostics and a Setup in ROM with six languages.
Emulation status
Evidence: current BluMach status; not necessarily a description of the original circuit
- Verified
With 2 MB and an IDE disk, cold POST, 640 KB base + 1024 KB extended + 384 KB expanded = 2048 KB, EMS programming, disk detection and booting have been observed.
- Pending or approximate
Bootable partial emulation. Ctrl+Alt+Del and a standalone EMM driver remain to be tested. TOPCAT is a first register model; PC87310 and common IDE provisionally group the real functions of the 87C310, Acer FDC and MSI logic. The 87C310 chip has two serial ports although the board brings out a single connector; how many the BIOS enables remains to be checked.
Sources
Preserved research material
Evidence: primary sources and research notes