Re:The KimKlone Microcomputer
by lproven on Friday March 12, 2021 @11:40AM
(#26437635)
If I remember correctly, Windows 3.0 could not be used in VGA mode on an 8086 PC, because the VGA device driver used some 80286 instructions.
Nobody noticed, because VGA was mostly found in '286 & '386 level machines, and TBH Windows 3.0 was not really aimed at XT-class PCs (8088 & 8086).
But the NEC V20 & V30 implemented the additional Real Mode instructions from the 80286 — so if you replaced your Intel CPU with an NEC equivalent, suddenly you could use VGA on Windows 3.0.
Nobody noticed, because VGA was mostly found in '286 & '386 level machines, and TBH Windows 3.0 was not really aimed at XT-class PCs (8088 & 8086).
But the NEC V20 & V30 implemented the additional Real Mode instructions from the 80286 — so if you replaced your Intel CPU with an NEC equivalent, suddenly you could use VGA on Windows 3.0.