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The Compaq Portable has basically the same hardware as an IBM PC, transplanted into a luggable case (specifically designed to fit as carry-on luggage on an airplane), with Compaq's BIOS instead of IBM's. [11] All Portables shipped with 128 KB of RAM and 1-2 double-sided double-density 360 KB disk drives.
The BIOS Boot Specification (BBS) was developed by a consortium comprising Compaq, Intel and Phoenix Technologies to standardize the initialization sequence of Plug and Play (PnP) BIOS and Option ROMs. [3] This standard is supported by most post-2000 BIOSes. The standard presents the notion of a Boot Connection Vector (BCV) table and BCV ...
During development, Compaq engineers found that Microsoft Flight Simulator would not run because of what subLOGIC's Bruce Artwick described as "a bug in one of Intel's chips", forcing them to make their new computer bug compatible with the IBM PC. [45] At first, few clones other than Compaq's offered truly full compatibility. [46]
This BIOS enabled OEMs to build essentially fully compatible clones without having to reverse-engineer the IBM PC BIOS themselves, as Compaq had done for the Portable; it also helped fuel the growth in the PC-compatibles industry and sales of non-IBM versions of DOS. [69] The first American Megatrends (AMI) BIOS was released in 1986.
After the release of the initial models in 1993, new models started to become available as the Presario brand grew over time. The 500, 700, and 900 series (including the 5500, 7100, 7200, 9200, 9500, and 9600 series) were introduced to compliment and succeed the original lineup, making up the first generation of Presario computers produced from 1993 to 1996, also known as "Series 1".
The only part which had to be duplicated was the BIOS, which Compaq did legally by using clean room design at a cost of $1 million. [27] [28] [29] Unlike other companies, Compaq did not bundle application software with its computers. Vice President of Sales and Service H. L. Sparks said in early 1984: [30]
The Compaq Portable 386 is a computer released by Compaq Computer Corporation in 1987. [1] It was equipped with a 20 MHz Intel 80386 CPU, 1 MB RAM, 16 KB ROM, 1.2 MB 5¼-inch floppy, 40 or 100 MB hard disk drive, priced at US$ 7,999 or 9,999 respectively, [1] [2] and a 10" amber gas-plasma display.
The Compaq Portable has basically the same off-the-self hardware as an IBM PC, transplanted into a luggable case (specifically designed to fit as carry-on luggage on an airplane), with Compaq's BIOS instead of IBM's. [2] All Portables shipped with 128k of RAM and 1-2 double-sided double-density 360 KB disk drives.