Amstrad User Group

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The Amstrad NoteBook ANB-386SX20.

This notebook is a less than common computer, at least in The Netherlands it is: I do not have one myself and could investigate one only a few years ago.

Just before the HCC!dagen 2001 I received an e-mail about a malfunctioning ANB and at the HCC!dagen 2001 it was brought in at the stand (the owner was involved with the HCC!Newbrain group) for repairs.

The defect itself was quickly found and fairly simple: a run down BIOS battery. The Basic Input Output System takes care of the parameterisation of the configuration and storage of, amongst others, date and time and allows the configuration to interact.

Without power to the BIOS (a separate battery, not the main battery) the machine will forget it's configuration and will not be able to boot, at least not from the hard disk.

Repairs were thus restricted only to the sorting out of the BIOS parameters required (BIOS type 1 for the hard disk of the 386SX20).

The battery can be obtained normally in the trade and it can be reached easily through a small cover on the back of the machine, just like the main battery for work during, for instance, travelling.

The standard equipment and accessories of the ANB: the machine itself, an external adapter (there is an internal battery too) and a floppy imitation(?) leather bag that looks a lot like the one supplied with the NC-100.

Fortunately the ANB has more of the standard dimensions of a laptop (in fact it is a bit smaller) so you can easily replace it with a more sturdy bag.

The ANB is based on the Intel 80386SX processor and has a memory size of 640 kilobytes RAM and another 384 kilobytes 'shadow' memory used to store the BIOS parameters and video memory tasks during operation, which will speed up the performance.

The addition 20 in the model designation is not, as you would expect, related to the clock speed of the processor but refers to the size of the hard disc fitted (20 megabytes).

Now, 20 megabytes is small by today's standards (and even for a 80386SX machine back in those days) so I must assume that this is an early 80386 model.

However, I do not have many facts and figures about this machine and I still have not figured out the year(s) of production. There is not much to be found on the Internet about this computer.

The computer is rather heavy and bulky for a notebook but you will have no complaints in the field of steady- and sturdiness. It certainly does not feel flimsy!

The AND comes standard with a serial and parallel port, a connector for an external VGA monitor and two PS/2 connectors.

In short, the standard outfit of the ANB is a bit on the light side but it can still be perfectly used for word processing and light spread sheet applications. The model shown in the photographs is in use with the HCC!Newbrain GG and used to control robotics-applications under MS Dos (no Windows). I do not know anything about the software it came with.

Questions about the ANB-386SX20 via the contact formQuestions about the ANB-386SX

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