Real mode, also called real address mode, is an operating mode of 80286 and later x86-compatible CPUs. Real mode is characterized by a 20 bit segmented memory address space (giving exactly 1 MiB of addressable memory) and unlimited direct software access to all memory, I/O addresses and peripheral hardware. Real mode provides no support for memory protection, multitasking, or code privilege levels. 80186 CPUs and earlier, back to the original 8086, have only one operational mode, which is equivalent to real mode in later chips. All x86 CPUs in the 80286 series and later start in real mode when reset.

The 286 architecture introduced protected mode, allowing for (among other things) hardware-level memory protection. Using these new features, however, required a new operating system that was specifically designed for it. Since a primary design specification of x86 microprocessors is that they are fully backwards compatible with software written for all x86 chips before them, the 286 chip was made to start in 'real mode' – that is, in a mode which turned off the new memory protection features, so that it could run operating systems written for the 8086 and the 80186. As of August 2011, even the newest x86 CPUs (including x86-64 CPUs) start in real mode at power-on and can run software written for almost any previous chip (with a few exceptions due to slight instruction set differences).

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Wesley Maynor

Real (Spanish pronunciation: [reˈal]), translated from Spanish as "royal", is a title historically used by sports clubs to designate a royal status.

Other football (soccer) teams:

Mode (etymology from Latin modus: "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may mean: