Editing Plug and play (section)

=== Micro-Channel Architecture ===
[[Image:MCA NIC IBM 83X9648.jpg|thumb|200px|An MCA expansion card without jumpers or DIP switches]]
In 1987, IBM released an update to the [[IBM Personal Computer|IBM PC]] known as the [[IBM PS/2|Personal System/2]] line of computers using the [[Micro Channel Architecture]].<ref>{{cite web |date=July 10, 2012
|url=https://www.arnnet.com.au/article/430099/ibm_ps_2_25_years_pc_history_slideshow_/?fp=2&fpid=2
|title=The IBM PS/2: 25 years of PC history
|quote=By the time of the PS/2's launch in 1987, IBM PC ... The line launched in April 1987 with ... its new expansion bus, dubbed Micro Channel Architecture.}}</ref> The PS/2 was capable of totally automatic self-configuration. Every piece of expansion hardware was issued with a floppy disk containing a special file used to [[auto-configuration|auto-configure]] the hardware to work with the computer. The user would install the device, turn on the computer, load the configuration information from the disk, and the hardware automatically assigned interrupts, DMA, and other needed settings.

However, the disks posed a problem if they were damaged or lost, as the only options at the time to obtain replacements were via postal mail or IBM's dial-up [[Bulletin board system|BBS]] service. Without the disks, any new hardware would be completely useless and the computer would occasionally not boot at all until the unconfigured device was removed.

Micro Channel did not gain widespread support,<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://techliberation.com/2004/12/09/open-standards-vs-ibm-remembering-the-microchannel-architecture
|title=Open Standards vs. IBM – Remembering the MicroChannel Architecture
|date=December 9, 2004
|quote=the PS/2 based on the proprietary MicroChannel architecture ...  was not what the market demanded}}</ref> because IBM wanted to exclude clone manufacturers from this next-generation computing platform. Anyone developing for MCA had to sign non-disclosure agreements and pay royalties to IBM for each device sold, putting a price premium on MCA devices. End-users and clone manufacturers revolted against IBM and developed their own open standards bus, known as EISA. Consequently, MCA usage languished except in IBM's mainframes.