QUESTION-BANK

Q1. Differentiate between microprocessor and microcontroller?

Ans.
1. Microprocessor is a general purpose devise
2. Microcontroller is indented for a specific purpose
3. Memory ,I/O devices etc need to be interfaced with microprocessor
4. Microcontroller is having its own memory , I/O etc integrated with it
5. We can say that microprocessor is a cpu on a chip
6. Microcontroller is a system on a chip
Q2. What is an instruction queue? Explain?
Ans. This is introduced in 8086 processor.This queue is in the BIU and is used for
storing the predecoded instructions.This will overlap the fetching and execution cycle.
The E U will take the instructions from the queue for decoding and execution.
Q3. What is REP prefix? How it functions for string instructions?
Ans. This REP prefix is used for repeating. The instruction with REP prefix will execute
repeatedly till the count in the cx register will be zero. This can be used in with some of
the string handling instructions.
Q4. Explain the instructions (i) LDS (ii) PUSHF (iii) TEST (iv) CLD
Ans.
i)
LDS : load pointer to DS
Move a 32 bit content from the memory given as source to 16
bit destination register specified and to DS register.
ii)

PUSHF : push the flag

After the execution the content of the flag register will be
pushed to the stack.The higher byte to sp-1 and lower to
sp-2

iii)

TEST : logical comparison

This will compare the source and the destination specified.
The result will be reflected only in the flag registers.

iv)

CLD : this will clear the direction flag.

Q5. What is stack? Explain the use and operation of stack and stack pointer?
Ans. A stack is a portion of the memory used for the temporary storage. A stack is a last
In first Out memory. A stack grows in the decreasing order. A stack will hold the
temporary informations push and pop are the instructions used for storing and
accessing data from the stack. Contents can be moved as 16 bit only using push and
pop instructions.

Q6. What are the flags in 8086?

Ans. In 8086 Carry flag, Parity flag, Auxiliary carry flag, Zero flag, Overflow flag,
Trap flag, Interrupt flag, Direction flag, and Sign flag.
Q7. What are the various interrupts in 8086? Explain.
Ans. Maskable interrupts, Non-Maskable interrupts.
i) An interrupt that can be turned off by the programmer is known as Maskable
interrupt.
ii) An interrupt which can be never be turned off (ie.disabled) by the programmer
is known as Non-Maskable interrupt.
Q8. Which interrupts are generally used for critical events?
Ans. Non-Maskable interrupts are used in critical events. Such as Power failure,
Emergency, Shut off etc.
Q9. What is the effect of executing the instruction?
MOV CX, [SOURCE_MEM]
Where SOURCE_MEM equal to 2016 is a memory location offset relative to
the current data segment starting at address 1A00016
Ans. Execution of this instruction results in the following:
((DS) 0 + 2016) (CL)
((DS) 0 + 2016 + 116) (CH)
In other words, CL is loaded with the contents held at memory address
1A00016 +2016 +116 =1A02116
Q10. The original contents of AX, BL, word-sized memory location SUM, and carry
flag
CF are 1234H, ABH, 00CDH, and 0H, respectively. Describe the results of
executing the following sequence of instructions:
ADD AX, [SUM]
ADC BL, 05H
INC WORD PTR [SUM]
Ans. Executing the first instruction adds the word in the accumulator and the word in the
memory location pointed to by address SUM. The result is placed in the
accumulator. That is,
(AX) (AX) + (SUM) = 1234H + 00CDH = 1301H
The carry flag remains reset.
The second instruction adds to the lower byte of the base register (BL) the
immediate operand 5H and the carry flag, which is 0H. This gives
(BL) (BL) + imm8 + (CF) = ABH + 5H+ 0H = B0H
Since no carry is generated CF remains reset.
The last instruction increments the contents of memory location SUM by one. That
is,
(SUM) (SUM) + 1H = 00CDH + 1H =00CEH

Q11. The 2s complement signed data contents of AL equal -1 and the contents of CL
are
-2. What result is produced in AX by executing the following instructions:
i) MUL CL ii) IMUL CL
Ans. As binary data, the contents of AL and CL are
(AL) = -1 (as 2s complement) = 111111112 = FFH
(CL) = -2 (as 2s complement) = 111111102 = FEH
Executing the MUL instruction gives
(AX) = 111111112 * 111111102 = 11111101000000102
= FD02H
The second instruction multiplies the two numbers as signed numbers to generate
the signed result. That is,
(AX) = -1H * -2H
= 2H = 0002H
Q12. Explain different types of registers in 8086 microprocessor arch.
Ans. Most of the registers contain data/instruction offsets within 64 KB memory
segment. There are four different 64 KB segments for instructions, stack, data and extra
data. To specify where in 1 MB of processor memory these 4 segments are located the
processor uses four segment registers:
Code segment (CS) is a 16-bit register containing address of 64 KB segment with
processor instructions. The processor uses CS segment for all accesses to instructions
referenced by instruction pointer (IP) register. CS register cannot be changed directly.
The CS register is automatically updated during far jump, far call and far return
instructions.
Stack segment (SS) is a 16-bit register containing address of 64KB segment with
program stack. By default, the processor assumes that all data referenced by the stack
pointer (SP) and base pointer (BP) registers is located in the stack segment. SS register
can be changed directly using POP instruction.
Data segment (DS) is a 16-bit register containing address of 64KB segment with
program data. By default, the processor assumes that all data referenced by general
registers (AX, BX, CX, DX) and index register (SI, DI) is located in the data segment.
DS register can be changed directly using POP and LDS instructions.
Extra segment (ES) is a 16-bit register containing address of 64KB segment, usually
with program data. By default, the processor assumes that the DI register references the
ES segment in string manipulation instructions. ES register can be changed directly using
POP and LES instructions.
It is possible to change default segments used by general and index registers by prefixing
instructions with a CS, SS, DS or ES prefix.
All general registers of the 8086 microprocessor can be used for arithmetic and logic
operations. The general registers are:

Accumulator register consists of 2 8-bit registers AL and AH, which can be combined
together and used as a 16-bit register AX. AL in this case contains the low-order byte of
the word, and AH contains the high-order byte. Accumulator can be used for I/O
operations and string manipulation.
Base register consists of 2 8-bit registers BL and BH, which can be combined together
and used as a 16-bit register BX. BL in this case contains the low-order byte of the word,
and BH contains the high-order byte. BX register usually contains a data pointer used for
based, based indexed or register indirect addressing.
Count register consists of 2 8-bit registers CL and CH, which can be combined together
and used as a 16-bit register CX. When combined, CL register contains the low-order
byte of the word, and CH contains the high-order byte. Count register can be used as a
counter in string manipulation and shift/rotate instructions.
Data register consists of 2 8-bit registers DL and DH, which can be combined together
and used as a 16-bit register DX. When combined, DL register contains the low-order
byte of the word, and DH contains the high-order byte. Data register can be used as a port
number in I/O operations. In integer 32-bit multiply and divide instruction the DX
register contains high-order word of the initial or resulting number.
The following registers are both general and index registers:
Stack Pointer (SP) is a 16-bit register pointing to program stack.
Base Pointer (BP) is a 16-bit register pointing to data in stack segment. BP register is
usually used for based, based indexed or register indirect addressing.
Source Index (SI) is a 16-bit register. SI is used for indexed, based indexed and register
indirect addressing, as well as a source data address in string manipulation instructions.
Destination Index (DI) is a 16-bit register. DI is used for indexed, based indexed and
register indirect addressing, as well as a destination data address in string manipulation
instructions.

Introduction to Advanced processors

Q1. Explain the 80186 microprocessor evolution.

Ans. The 80186 microprocessor was developed by Intel in 1982. It is an improved 8086
with several common support functions built in: clock generator, system controller,
interrupt controller, DMA controller, and timer/counter. It also added 8 new instructions
and executes instructions faster than the 8086. As with the 8086, it has a 16-bit external
bus and is also available as the 80188, with an 8-bit external data bus. The initial clock
rate of the 80186 and 80188 was 6 MHz. In 1987 Intel announced the second generation
of the 80186 family: the 80C186/C188. The 80186 was redesigned as a static, stand-alone
module known as the 80C186 Modular Core and is pin compatible with the 80186 family,
while adding an enhanced feature set. The high-performance CHMOS III process allowed
the 80C186 to run at twice the clock rate of the NMOS 80186, while consuming less than
one-fourth the power.
In 1991 the 80C186 Modular Core family was again extended with the introduction of the
80C186XL. The 80C186XL/C188XL is a higher performance, lower power replacement
for the 80C186/C188
Q2. Draw the internal architecture of 80186.
Ans.

Q3. What are the features of 80186?

Ans. The various enhancement features of 80186/88 processors are :
Clock Generator

Programmable Interrupt Controller

Timers
Programmable DMA Unit
Programmable Chip Selection Unit
Power Save/Power Down Feature
Refresh Control Unit

Q4. Draw the timing diagram of 80186.

Ans.

Note, the only difference in 80186/88 vs. 8086/88 is in the generation of ALE which
is asserted one-half clock cycle earlier

Q5. Draw the internal architecture of 80286.

Ans.

Q6. What are the features of 80286?

Ans. 80286 have following features:
1. 4 independent units (8086 has only two units) 4
2. 24-bit Address bus in
3. Bus Unit generates all data, address and I/O signals.
Prefetcher flushes the prefetched data, if IU finds a branch instruction.
4. Address Unit (AU) off-loads address generation, translation and checking from
BU.units (
5. Instruction Unit off-loads EU by performing the instruction decoding.

Q7. Draw the interfacing diagram of 80286.

Ans.

ly two units)
Q8. Explain the evolution of 80286.
Ans. The 80286 was introduced by Intel on February 1, 1982. As the 80186/80188 CPUs
were not really significant to personal computing, the 80286 was Intel's next step
processor for micro computers.
Intel added four more address lines to the 8086/80186 design. The 8086, 8088, 80186,
and 80188 all contained 20 address lines, giving these processors one megabyte of
addressibility (2^20 = 1MB). The 80286, with its 24 address lines, gives 16 megabytes of
addressibility (2^24 = 16 MB).
The most substantial difference between the 80286 and the 8086/8088 is the addition of a
protected mode. In protected mode, segment registers became pointers into a table of
memory descriptors rather than being a direct part of the address. Among other things,
protected mode allows safe execution of multiple programs at once by protecting each
program in memory. DOS normally operates in real mode, in which segment registers act
just as they do in the 8086/8088. Protected mode is used by Microsoft Windows, IBM's
OS/2 and UNIX. (For an introduction to protected mode please refer to this source)
The 80286 is a much more powerful CPU than the 8086, offering 3-6 times the
performance of it. The 6 MHz 80286 is the CPU of the IBM AT (Advanced Technology),
which also introduced a 16-bit motherboard and 16-bit expansion bus to the PC world.
The IBM AT was introduced in 1985 - three years after introduction of the 80286.
With the 80286, the first "chipsets" were introduced. The computer chipset is a set of
chips that replaced dozens of other peripheral chips while maintaining identical
functionality. Chips and Technologies became one of the first popular chipset companies.
Intel second-sourced the 80286 to ensure an adequate supply of chips to the computer

industry. AMD, IBM, and Harris were known to produce 80286 chips as OEM products;
while Siemens, Fujitsu, and Kruger either cloned it or was also second-sources. Between
these various manufacturers, the 80286 was offered in speeds ranging from 6 MHz to 25
MHz:
Intel:6-12.5MHz
Siemens:8-16MHz
AMD:8-20MHz
Harris:10-25MHz
The 80286 was typically made in 3 package versions, each with 68 contacts: a PGA-,
CLCC-and a PLCC-package.
Q9. Is there any instruction added to 80286 instruction set? If yes, mention.
Ans. Yes, in 80286 few instruction is added with 80186 instruction set.
They are written below: ARPL - Adjust RPL Field of Segment Selector

CLTS - Clear Task-Switched Flag in CRO

LAR - Load Access Rights Byte

LGDT/LIDT - Load Global/Interrupt Descriptor Table
Register
LLDT - Load Local Descriptor Table Register
LMSW - Load Machine Status Word
LOADALL - Load All Registers
LSL - Load Segment Limit
LTR - Load Task Register
SGDT - Store Global Descriptor Table Register
SIDT - Store Interrupt Descriptor Table Register
SLDT - Store Local Descriptor Table Register
SMSW - Store Machine Status Word
STR - Store Task Register
VERR/VERW - Verify a Segment for Reading or Writing

Q10. What are the features of 80386?

Ans. Features of 80386 are given below:
275,000 transistors
Intels first practical 32-bit microprocessor
32-bit data bus and memory address
4GB of memory
Memory management unit
Multitasking

Q11. What are the features of Pentium?

Ans. Features of Pentium:
P5 architecture / 80586
Introductory version: 60MHz and 66MHz, 110MIPS / 100MHz, 150MIPS
16KB of cache size (8KB IC, 8KB DC)
4GB of memory system, 64-bit data bus
Executes up to two instructions at a time (If they dont conflict!)
Q12. Write down the addressing modes of 80386 with examples.
Ans. Addressing modes of 80386:
Register addressing: MOV ECX, EDX
Immediate addressing: MOV EBX, 12345678H
Direct addressing: MOV CX, LIST
Register indirect addressing: MOV AL, [ECX]
Base-plus-index addressing: MOV [EAX+EBX], CL
Register relative addressing: MOV AX, [ECX+4]
Base relative-plus-index addressing: MOV EAX, ARRAY [EBX+ECX]
Scaled-index addressing: MOV EDX, [EAX+4*EBX]

Q13. Draw the internal architecture of 80386.

Ans.

Q14. What are the comparisons between 8086, 80286, 80386, Pentium?
Ans.
8086
80286
80386
Pentium
Introduced
78
82
85
95
Clock Speed
510 MHz
6-12MHz
16-33MHz
150-200 MHz
Bus width
16 bits
16 bits
32 bits
64 bits
No.of transistor 29000
134000
275000
5.5 million
Addressable
1 MB
16 megabytes
4 gigabytes
64 gigabytes
Memory
Virtual memory
1 gigabyte
64 terabytes
64 terabytes

Q14. Draw the functional block diagram of Pentium pro.

Ans.