The IBM Personal Computer XT, often shortened to the PC XT or simply XT, was IBM's successor to the original IBM PC. It was released as IBM product number 5160 on March 8, 1983, and was one of the first computers to come standard with a hard drive. It was based on essentially the same architecture as the original PC, with only incremental improvements; a new 16-bit bus architecture would follow in the AT. The system was largely intended for business users, and a corresponding 3270 PC featuring 3270 terminal emulation was released later in October 1983. XT stands for eXtended Technology. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 100 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo of an old IBM Personal Computer XT, taken by me (Sherool) using the camera on my Sony Ericsson K700i. ... The abbreviation KB can refer to: Kilobyte (kB), equal to 1,000 bytes, or Kibibyte (KiB), equal to 1,024 bytes. ... The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, was the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. ... is the 67th day of the year (68th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar). ... Typical hard drives of the mid-1990s. ... The IBM Personal Computer/AT, more commonly known as the IBM AT and also sometimes called the PC AT or PC/AT, was IBMs second-generation PC, designed around the 6 MHz Intel 80286 microprocessor and released in 1984 as model number 5170. ... The IBM 3270 PC (model 5271), released in October 1983, was an IBM PC XT containing additional hardware which could emulate the behaviour of a 3270 terminal. ... Clemson Universitys Library Catalog The IBM 3270 is a class of terminals made by IBM (known as Display Devices) normally used to communicate with IBM mainframes. ...

The XT originally came with 128 KB of memory, a 360 KB double-sided 5 1/4" full-height floppy disk drive, and a 10 ~ 100 MB hard drive, a serial port, eight 8-bit ISA expansion slots, and an Intel 8088 microprocessor running at 4.77 MHz (with a socket for an 8087 math coprocessor); the operating system usually sold with it was PC-DOS 2.0. The eight slots were an increase over the five in the IBM PC, although three were taken up by the floppy drive adapter, the hard drive adapter, and the serial card. Later models came with 256 KB of memory standard, and eventually models with 640 KB motherboards and a 20 MB hard drive were sold. On these later 1986-dated XT's the enhanced keyboard was offered (essentially a Model M without the LED panel). Half-height floppy and hard drives were also factory-fitted on some later machines. The abbreviation KB can refer to: Kilobyte (kB), equal to 1,000 bytes, or Kibibyte (KiB), equal to 1,024 bytes. ... Categories: Computer stubs | Computer hardware ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible (floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. ... ReBoot character, see Megabyte (ReBoot). ... Typical hard drives of the mid-1990s. ... The Intels 8088[1] is an 8086 based microprocessor with 16-bit registers, but with only an 8-bit external data bus, instead of 8086s 16-bit. ... Intel C8087 Math Coprocessor The 8087 was the first math coprocessor designed by Intel and it was built to be paired with the ass] microprocessors. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... IBM PC-DOS was one of the three major operating systems that dominated the personal computer market from about 1985 to 1995. ... IBM Model M Keyboard, Part no. ...

The XT originally came only in a standard configuration with the hard disk. It was not until 1985 that a model without the hard drive became available. Other models came with two half-height floppy drives as well as the hard drive. Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ...

In 1986, the XT/286 (IBM 5162) with a 6 MHz Intel 80286 processor was introduced. This system actually turned out to be faster than the ATs of the time using 8 MHz 286 processors due to the fact that it had zero wait state RAM that could move data more quickly. Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... MegaHertz (MHz) is the name given to one million (106) Hertz, a measure of frequency. ... AMD 80286 at 12 MHz. ... A wait state is a delay experienced by a computer processor when accessing external memory or another device that is slow to respond. ... Look up RAM, Ram, ram in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Like the original PC, the XT came with a BASIC interpreter in ROM. Since this interpreter was meant to be used with a cassette drive (which wasn't offered on the XT), the only ways to access it were by disconnecting the hard drive and leaving the floppy drive empty, using the BASICA program (included on a floppy disk, which added extensions for using the disk drives), or invoking a BIOS call manually using a debugger. Screenshot of Atari BASIC, an early BASIC language for small computers. ... Typical 60-minute Compact Cassette. ... Typical hard drives of the mid-1990s. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that comprises a circular piece of thin, flexible (hence floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic wallet. ...

PC and XT keyboards are not compatible with those on more modern PCs (IBM AT or newer) even with DIN to PS/2 mini-DIN plug adapters because PC/XT keyboards use different keyboard scan codes. An XT to AT signal adapter is needed to create compatibility with modern computers. Also the 'parkbd' driver can be used under Linux in order to support either sort of keyboard via a simple adapter through the parallel port. 5 pin 180° DIN connector 4 pin Mini-DIN S-Video connector Speaker DIN line socket (left) and plug DIN connectors are multi-pin electrical connectors based on a DIN standard. ... PS/2 can refer to: IBM Personal System/2, a series of post-PC computers sold by IBM starting in 1987. ... The mini-DIN connectors are a family of multi-pin Electrical connectors used in a variety of applications. ... Scancodes are emitted by a computer keyboard to report pressed keys to a computer. ... The IBM Personal Computer/AT, more commonly known as the IBM AT and also sometimes called the PC AT or PC/AT, was IBMs second-generation PC, designed around the 6 MHz Intel 80286 microprocessor and released in 1984 as model number 5170. ...

Upgradeable ram cards: 4 MB, 8 MB

Video: MGA 2 colour b/w video card & CGA 16 colour video card

See also

• IBM PC
• IBM AT