Files
yann64andClaude Opus 5.5 b274874139 All machines linked to their forum thread (full comment import)
1,289 discussions, 9,527 archived comments; pages no longer carry the comments themselves.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01YDRjtmAiNpo5mK5N3d7QwZ
2026-10-13 17:26:43 +02:00

5.8 KiB

title, categories, types, origins, years, cpus, params
title categories types origins years cpus params
Xerox 820-II
Computers
Professional Computer
U.S.A.
1983
Z80A
name image company company_name specs tabs forum_thread photos adverts hardware oc_id source
820-II /media/museum/photos/xerox_820-2_1.jpg /companies/xerox Xerox
label value
NAME 820-II
label value
MANUFACTURER Xerox
label value
TYPE Professional Computer
label value
ORIGIN U.S.A.
label value
YEAR 1983
label value
END OF PRODUCTION 1985
label value
BUILT IN LANGUAGE Basic 80 delivered on disk
label value
KEYBOARD AZERTY/QWERTY, full-stroke keyboard with separated keyboard, 74 keys
label value
CPU Z80A
label value
SPEED 4 Mhz
label value
RAM 64 kb
label value
ROM 8 kb
label value
TEXT MODES 80 x 24 (character matrix : 5 x 7)\ 12'' black & white monitor
label value
COLORS Black & white
label value
SIZE / WEIGHT Main unit / monitor : 32,8 x 38,1 x 34,3 cm / 13,6 kg
label value
I/O PORTS Serial 9600 bauds, Internal Expansion Slot, External Floppy Connector
label value
BUILT IN MEDIA one 8'' disk-drive (DD/DS) (320 KB) and one 8'' hard-disk (10MB).
label value
OS CP/M 2.2
label value
POWER SUPPLY Built-in PSU
label value
PERIPHERALS Additional disk-drives, printer, modem, 16-bit board
label value
PRICE 9832 (France, 83)
photos
adverts
hardware
481
title subtitle text image
SYSTEM /media/museum/photos/xerox_820ll_system_1.jpg
title subtitle text image
XEROX LOGO /media/museum/photos/xerox_820ll_logo_1.jpg
title subtitle text image
REAR This picture shows how the different parts are interconnected. Some cords are a bit too short. /media/museum/photos/xerox_820-2_rear_1.jpg
title subtitle text image
CONNECTORS CLOSE-UP Main unit and FD unit connectors /media/museum/photos/xerox_820ll_connectcloseup_1.jpg
title subtitle text image
DISKS These are the 8" double-sided disk-drive (980kb) and the Shugart 10Mb 8" whinchester-technology hard-disk. Only 8MB of the drive were usable due to the 8192KB limitation of CP/M.\ It was possible to daisy chain additional drives to the main unit. /media/museum/photos/xerox_820-2_disks_1.jpg
title subtitle text image
INSIDE FD/HD UNIT #1 /media/museum/photos/xerox_820ll_insidefd_1.jpg
title subtitle text image
INSIDE FD/HD UNIT #2 /media/museum/photos/xerox_820ll_insidefd_2.jpg
title subtitle text image
BOOT-UP SCREEN /media/museum/photos/xerox_820ll_screenshot_1.jpg
title subtitle text image
MASS STORAGE CONFIGURATION /media/museum/photos/xerox_820ll_screenshot_2.jpg
title subtitle text image
PRICE LIST This reseller advert shows the initial price list from 1982 and the new prices of June 1983, about 40% less expensive. /media/museum/pubs/xerox_820_pricelist_1.jpg
title subtitle text image
DIABLO 630 Printer This printer is an option of the Model 820. It can print 132 character per line at a speed of 40 cps. It is bi-directional. /media/museum/hardware/xerox_820-2_printer_1.jpg
487
url date
https://web.archive.org/web/20230530203445/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=487 2023-05-30

The model 820-II is basically a model 820 with a higher clock rate (4 MHz instead of 2.5 MHz) and a 8" double density/double side disk-drive and hard-disk instead of the the two basic 8" Single density/single side disk-drive of the first model 820. But the hard-disk is said to be very noisy and the dual disks weigh more than 38 pounds!

Nearly all the hardware is housed within the monitor, a bit like a Macintosh. The separate keyboard is linked to the monitor by a "not-long-enough" cord. The 8" disk-drive and hard-disk are mounted in a separate huge box. The 10MB hard drive for example was boxed with an 8" drive. A real-time clock is included in the hardware. Green screens were available in all models since the screen/processor case was common to all.

Like its predecessor, the 820-II is well furnished in software of all sorts. Thanks to its CP/M compatibility nearly every profession can find a suitable program. A lot of languages and OS were also available (CP/M, Basic 80, C Basic 2, Assembler Macro 80, Cobol 80, Short 80, TTY communication, 3270/3780 emulation).
But the 820-II has no real graphic possibilities nor sound, and a small RAM capacity (64 KB) for a professional computer. Above all it was quite expensive compared to its competitors.

There was also WP dedicated versions with unique key caps.

A 16-bit expansion board was released to upgrade the 820-II, so that its performance would nearly match the new Xerox computer(the 16/8), and also allowed the 820 to work under DOS. At the start of the year 1985, Xerox would definately leave the micro-computer market and stop the production of the 820.


Contributors: Jeremy Wilcox, Bronislaw Opacki Jr

Dale Carpenter clarifies:
I started working for Xerox in 1983 as a PC tech in the Xerox Service Center a sevice/support part to the retail store they had back then.
820-II's were the next step after 820's they were already double density instead of upgraded like many 820's were. They also supported double sided drives.
The drive choices were 5.25" dual drives single or double sided, 8" dual drives also single or double sided and the top was a 8"double sided floppy paired with a 8" 10Mb Shugart hard drive.The 8" double density, 2-sided floppies had a capacity of 960K which was a lot for back then.