The PC System Design Guide (also known as the PC 97, PC 98, PC 99, or PC 2001 specification) is a series of hardware design requirements and recommendations for IBM PC compatible personal computers, compiled by Microsoft and Intel during 1997–2001. They were aimed to help manufacturers provide hardware that makes best use of the capabilities of the Microsoft Windows operating system, and to simplify setup and use of such computers.
Every part of a standard computer and the most common kinds of peripheral devices are defined with specific requirements. Systems and devices that meet the specification should be automatically recognized and configured by the operating system.
PC97
Color code
| Color | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Purple | Keyboard | |
| Green | Mouse | |
The various requirements and recommendations of the PC '97 standard were augmented or superseded in turn by the requirements and recommendations of the PC 98, PC 99 and PC 2001 standards.
PC99
PC 99 was a specification for PCs jointly developed by Microsoft and Intel in 1998. Its aim was to encourage the standardization of PC hardware to aid Windows compatibility. It set out minimum hardware specifications for various types of PC (e.g. office, entertainment) which were typical for the time (e.g. 300 MHz CPU with 64MB RAM on the entertainment PC). It strongly discouraged the use of non plug-and-play hardware (in particular ISA slots) and mandated the use of USB.
Color-coding scheme for connectors and ports
The perhaps most end-user visible and lasting impact of PC 99 was that it introduced a color code for the various standard types of plugs and connectors used on PCs.[1] As many of the connectors look very similar, particularly to a novice PC user, this made it far easier for people to connect peripherals to the correct ports on a PC. This color code was gradually adopted by almost all PC, motherboard and peripheral manufacturers.
| Color | Function | Connector | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mouse and keyboard | ||||
| Green | PS/2 mouse / pointing device | 6-pin mini-DIN | ||
| Purple | PS/2 keyboard | 6 pin mini-DIN | ||
| I/O Ports | ||||
| Black | USB port | USB Type A | ||
| Grey | Firewire / IEEE 1394 | 6 pin FireWire 400 | ||
| Burgundy | Parallel port | 25 pin D | ||
| Teal or turquoise | Serial port | 9 pin D | ||
| Video card | ||||
| Blue | Analog VGA | 15-pin VGA | ||
| White | Digital monitor | DVI | ||
| Yellow | S-Video | 4 pin mini-DIN | ||
| Yellow | Composite video | RCA jack | ||
| Sound card | ||||
| Pink | Analog microphone audio input. | 3.5 mm TRS | ||
| Light blue | Analog line level audio input. | 3.5 mm TRS | ||
| Lime green | Analog line level audio output for the main stereo signal (front speakers or headphones). | 3.5 mm TRS | ||
| Brown | Analog line level audio output for 'Right-to-left speaker'. | 3.5 mm TRS | ||
| Orange | speaker out / subwoofer | 3.5 mm TRS | ||
| Gold | Game port / MIDI | 15-pin D-sub | ||
References
- ^ PC 99 System Design Guide, Intel Corporation and Microsoft Corporation, 14 July 1999. Chapter 3: PC 99 basic requirements (pc99_c03.doc in ZIP file). Requirement 3.18.3: Systems use a color-coding scheme for connectors and ports.
External links
- PC System Design Guide downloads – Microsoft
- Windows Hardware Developer Central – Microsoft
PDF versions:
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