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Amstrad PC3286

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Amstrad PC3286
PC3286 system unit (photo: tarasque, CC BY 4.0)
Specifications
ManufacturerAmstrad plc
TypeDesktop personal computer (IBM PC/AT compatible)
Released1990
CPUIntel 80286 at 16 MHz on a plug-in processor board; 80287 socket
Memory1 MB, expandable to 16 MB with SIMMs; optional 64 KB cache
Storage3.5-inch 1.44 MB or 5.25-inch 1.2 MB floppy drive; optional 40 MB AT-IDE hard disk
Display—
Sound—
GraphicsBuilt-in Paradise VGA, compatible with EGA, CGA, MDA and Hercules
Ports / interfaceParallel (25-way), RS232 serial (25-way), Amstrad mouse, VGA, monitor power outlet
ExpansionTwo full-length and one half-length 16-bit ISA slots, one full-length and one half-length 8-bit
Dimensions425 × 135 × 390 mm (W × H × D)
OS / FirmwareMS-DOS 3.30A

The Amstrad PC3286 is the 80286 model of Amstrad's "Generation 3" desktop PCs, launched in 1990 with the 8086-based Amstrad PC3086 and the 80386SX-based Amstrad PC3386SX. Amstrad's leaflet called it "the workhorse of the Generation 3 range". It runs a 16 MHz 80286 on a plug-in processor board, has 1 MB of memory on SIMMs, an AT-type IDE interface, built-in VGA and five ISA slots, and shares its main board and case with the PC3386SX.[1][2][3][4]

Specifications

PC3286 (Amstrad leaflet and user manual)
Item Value
Processor 80286 at 16 MHz, slowed to 8, 5 or 4 MHz by software; 80287 socket
Memory 1 MB parity-checked, expandable to 2, 4, 8, 10 or 16 MB; built-in LIM expanded memory
Cache 64 KB of 35 ns cache RAM, optionally fitted
Floppy drive 3.5-inch 1.44 MB or 5.25-inch 1.2 MB
Hard disk Optional 40 MB IDE, 28 ms, on the built-in AT-type IDE adaptor
Drive bays Two 3.5-inch third-height and two 5.25-inch half-height
Expansion Two full-length and one half-length 16-bit ISA slots, one full-length and one half-length 8-bit; expansion bus at 8 MHz
Video Extended VGA, also supporting MDA, CGA, Hercules, EGA and MCGA
Ports Bi-directional parallel, RS232C serial (25-way D), mouse, VGA, monitor power socket
Keyboard 102-key, AT software compatible
Size 425 × 135 × 390 mm
Software MS-DOS 3.30A

Sources: Amstrad's leaflet and user manual; the speed steps are from Amstrad PC International.[1][2][5][4]

Hardware

The 286 processor board, MS0188A (photo: tarasque, CC BY 4.0)

The processor sits on a daughterboard that plugs into the main board; on one machine it is silkscreened MS0188A, "286" and "Amstrad copyright 1990". The 80287 co-processor socket is on this daughterboard, and the PC3386SX uses the same main board with an 80386SX daughterboard.[3][6] The Centre for Computing History holds both a 286 and a 386 daughterboard catalogued against the PC3286.[7]

Memory is on parity SIMMs (nine bits to the byte) in four sockets, fitted in pairs; DRAM speed and memory size are set by links, and an optional 64 KB cache uses 35 ns chips.[8] The built-in devices (hard disk adaptor, VGA, mouse port, printer port, floppy controller and COM1) can each be disabled by a link, and four links select the mouse interrupt.[5] The video is a Paradise VGA, which the DEVICE command reports as "Internal PVGA". It is set by four DIP switches on the back panel, the fourth of which selects an 8-bit or 16-bit interface to the VGA.[9][10][11]

The clock and setup data are in a CMOS RAM with a built-in lithium battery, a Dallas DS1287-type module on a socket.[12][6] The keyboard uses Amstrad's own interface. The mouse plugs into a 9-pin D socket, which is not a serial port, and appears to software as a Microsoft bus mouse, so the standard MOUSE.COM works.[13] The BIOS is Amstrad's own, version 2.0 in the manual; Cliff Lawson of Amstrad gives the 3000 series a 2.xx BIOS, against 1.xx in the 1000 and 2000 series.[14][11][15]

Configuration

Amstrad's manual runs the SETUP utility (version 2.0) from the system disk, at the DOS prompt; it records memory sizes, the primary display, the co-processor, the processor speed, the floppy and hard disk types and the expanded memory I/O address in the CMOS RAM. Lawson gives Ctrl-Alt-S at the DOS prompt for the 3000 and 4000 series.[14][11] The DEVICE command changes the processor speed, cache settings and video emulation without a restart.[9]

Amstrad GmbH's interrupt table for the PC3286 and PC3386SX gives IRQ 3, 10, 11, 12 and 15 as free; the mouse port is on IRQ 5, the hard disk on IRQ 14 and the real-time clock on IRQ 8.[16]

Known faults

  • Owners report problems with SETUP: one found that a SETUP program meant for the earlier models, which identified the machine as a PC2286, offered only 12 MHz on his PC3286, and that Ctrl-Alt-S did nothing on his machine.[17]
  • A PC3286 described on Vogons in 2024 would not POST, even after the clock module was replaced with a modern equivalent; the thread did not record a fix.[6]
  • The clock module's battery runs down with age, giving "WARNING: CMOS battery failed".[18]

The procedures are in the Amstrad PC3286 Maintenance Guide and the fault tables in the Amstrad PC3286 Troubleshooting Guide. The case, clock chip and start-up messages are shared with the PC3086 and covered in its guides. No capacitor list has been published: Amstrad's service manual for the range (SM-PC3000) survives only in the Centre for Computing History's paper collection.[19][20]

Documentation

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Amstrad plc, PC3286 leaflet, © August 1990, p. 2 (specification). Hosted as File:Amstrad PC3286 leaflet (1990).pdf.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Amstrad plc, User Manual and MS-DOS Guide for the PC3086, PC3286 and PC3386SX, 2nd ed. (1990), pp. 1-2 to 1-4. Specifications of the three models and memory configuration.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Amstrad plc, User Manual and MS-DOS Guide for the PC3086, PC3286 and PC3386SX, 2nd ed. (1990), pp. 7-1 to 7-7. Processor speeds, fitting an 8087, 80287 or 80387SX co-processor, and opening the system unit.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Neue PC-Reihe von Amstrad", Amstrad PC International, October/November 1990, pp. 50–51. Internet Archive. Retrieved 2026-10-02. Announcement at OrgaTech '90 of the PC3086, PC3286 and PC3386 as replacements for the 2000 series, with a specification table.
  5. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Vogons forum, "Amstrad 3286", tarasque and others, September 2024 to February 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-02. A PC3286 that would not POST after the Dallas clock module was replaced with a Necroware nwX287; the owner's list of option link positions; photographs (CC BY 4.0).
  6. ↑ Centre for Computing History, "Amstrad PC3286 286 Daughterboard" (CH42246) and "Amstrad PC3286 386 Daughterboard" (CH42247), 1990. Retrieved 2026-10-02.
  7. ↑ Amstrad plc, User Manual and MS-DOS Guide for the PC3086, PC3286 and PC3386SX, 2nd ed. (1990), pp. 8-6 to 8-10. Memory cache, SIMM upgrades, memory size and DRAM speed links, cache speed links.
  8. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Amstrad plc, User Manual and MS-DOS Guide for the PC3086, PC3286 and PC3386SX, 2nd ed. (1990), pp. 4-2 to 4-18. The DEVICE command: display, floppy drive, cache, memory map and processor speed settings.
  9. ↑ Amstrad plc, User Manual and MS-DOS Guide for the PC3086, PC3286 and PC3386SX, 2nd ed. (1990), pp. 6-5 to 6-15. PS/2 and AT video modes, disabling the built-in VGA, links 901 and 902, and the video DIP switches.
  10. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Cliff Lawson (Amstrad plc), "Older AT PCs" (atpcs.htm), from his Amstrad support pages at web.ukonline.co.uk/cliff.lawson, as preserved at freetimeweb.nl. Retrieved 2026-10-02. SETUP on the 3xxx and 4xxx series, the BIOS 2.xx of the 3xxx series, memory links for the 3286, 3386SX and 4386SX, video DIP switches and option links.
  11. ↑ Amstrad plc, User Manual and MS-DOS Guide for the PC3086, PC3286 and PC3386SX, 2nd ed. (1990), pp. 13-2 to 13-4. Transporting a hard disk PC, PARK.COM, and replacing the CMOS RAM.
  12. ↑ Cliff Lawson (Amstrad plc), "General notes on Amstrad PCs" (general.htm), as preserved at freetimeweb.nl. Retrieved 2026-10-02. Amstrad's proprietary keyboard and mouse interfaces up to the 4386, PS/2-compatible ones from the 5xxx series, and a summary specification of each PC.
  13. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Amstrad plc, User Manual and MS-DOS Guide for the PC3086, PC3286 and PC3386SX, 2nd ed. (1990), pp. 3-7 to 3-15. Voltage selector, power switch, the "Please wait." self-test dots, start-up messages and BIOS versions, and the SETUP program for the PC3286 and PC3386SX.
  14. ↑ Thomas Kallay, "Big Brother: AMSTRADs Flaggschiff der Generation 3: der PC3386 SX", Amstrad PC International, February/March 1991, pp. 41–42. Internet Archive. Retrieved 2026-10-02. Specification table and test of a PC3386SX with a 100 MB Conner disk.
  15. ↑ "AMS-Line: Der Informationsdienst der Firma AMSTRAD", Amstrad PC International (page header CPC), August/September 1991, p. 7. Internet Archive. Retrieved 2026-10-02. Amstrad GmbH's column: the meaning of the start-up dots, the PC4386SX BIOS indicator, and the interrupt and I/O address tables of the PC3086, PC3286 and PC3386SX.
  16. ↑ Vogons forum, "Amstrad 286 wrong CPU speed", AndalusianRG and others, October 2021. Retrieved 2026-10-02. A PC3286 whose borrowed SETUP program offered only 12 MHz.
  17. ↑ Amstrad plc, User Manual and MS-DOS Guide for the PC3086, PC3286 and PC3386SX, 2nd ed. (1990), pp. 14-1 to 14-3. Non-fatal and fatal hardware error messages.
  18. ↑ Centre for Computing History, "Amstrad PC3086 PC3286 PC3386SX Colour Personal Computers Service Manual" (CH27476): 53-page service manual with schematics and wiring diagrams, reference SM-PC3000. Retrieved 2026-10-02.
  19. ↑ acpc.me (ACME) archive, Amstrad PC section, directory DOCUMENTS_TECHNIQUES/SERVICE_MANUALS. Retrieved 2026-10-02. The PC3086/PC3286/PC3386SX, PC4386SX and PC5086/PC5286 service manuals are listed with placeholder images only, marked missing.


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