80286 Microprocessor, in computer science is also called the 286. A 16-bit microprocessor from Intel introduced in 1982 and included in the IBM PC/AT and compatible computers in 1984. The 80286 has 16-bit registers, transfers information over the data bus 16 bits at a time, and uses 24 bits to address memory locations. The 80286 operates in two modes, real (which is compatible with MS-DOS and the limits of the 8086 and 8088 chips) and protected (which increases the microprocessor’s functionality). Real mode limits the amount of memory the microprocessor can address to 1 megabyte; in protected mode, however, the 80286 can directly access 16 megabytes of memory. In addition, an 80286 microprocessor in protected mode protects the operating system from ill-behaved applications that normally could halt (or “crash”) a system with a non-protected microprocessor such as the 80286 microprocessor in real mode or the 8088.
