Re: Tiny Vortex86-based DOS gaming PC - weeCee

Posted on 2022-02-24, 15:35

by

by NachtRave

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

More info I dismantled my SOM and there is a non-populated component that I'm assuming is populated on your SOM - this is the SST flash. IMG_20220224_144816006.jpg I have checked with a multimeter and it is indeed connected to the IDE bus. This has made me 99% sure that it's interference between …

---

Re: Tiny Vortex86-based DOS gaming PC - weeCee

Posted on 2022-02-24, 14:23

by

by NachtRave

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Rasteri, I have been looking up schematic design for MicroSD cards, just for sake of looking at how others are doing theirs, and I haven't found a single source for adding on-line resistors (even if they are only 33 ohms). I am not an electronics engineer by any stretch, but why are you using the 33 …

---

Re: Tiny Vortex86-based DOS gaming PC - weeCee

Posted on 2022-02-24, 13:45

by

by NachtRave

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

rasteri wrote on 2022-02-24, 13:03: If you remove the SD card and boot into DOS from USB or whatever can you see the flash in FDISK? Nope. Running Dos 6.22 fdisk produces message "Incorrect DOS version" while running xfdisk under Freedos produces message along lines of "Cannot partition floppy …

---

Re: Tiny Vortex86-based DOS gaming PC - weeCee

Posted on 2022-02-24, 12:49

by

by NachtRave

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

I'm not exactly certain that that is what is there, though, is the thing. Here's a doc I found with a bit more detail: http://ftp.emacinc.com/LegacyProducts/SBC/drivers/vdx/Enabling_SPI_Flash_Disk_on_Vortex86.pdf -> Doesn't really look like it's an IDE thing, it looks more like it's some sort of …

---

Re: Tiny Vortex86-based DOS gaming PC - weeCee

Posted on 2022-02-24, 12:15

by

by NachtRave

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

In the meantime you could just remove the SD card and try installing Windows 98 to the onboard flash :) I'm not exactly certain that that is what is there, though, is the thing. Here's a doc I found with a bit more detail: http://ftp.emacinc.com/LegacyProducts/SBC/drivers/vdx/Enabling_SPI_Flash_ …

---

Re: Tiny Vortex86-based DOS gaming PC - weeCee

Posted on 2022-02-24, 11:27

by

by NachtRave

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

What about R12-R17? Are they definitely 47K? If so then I'm officially out of ideas without being able to see the board. I'm happy to take a look at it if you can send me it, hit me up in DMs. They are. Another data point: Half the time when I reset, it isn't always a given that the SOM will detect …

---

Re: Tiny Vortex86-based DOS gaming PC - weeCee

Posted on 2022-02-24, 08:40

by

by NachtRave

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

What did you use for the polyfuse? Is it possible your board loads up a few more devices (USB peripherals) during the win98se launch and it hangs because it trips it? It would normally reboot but maybe there's a halt behavior as well? Same as listed in the BOM, and I used a separate powered USB hub …

---

Re: Tiny Vortex86-based DOS gaming PC - weeCee

Posted on 2022-02-23, 20:24

by

by NachtRave

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

@Rasteri: What about the ferrite beads? I couldn't find BLM31PG601SN1L rated at 600 ohms / 1.5A in stock, so I went with a slightly beefier BLM31KN601SH1L rated at 600 ohms / 2.9A -- would this affect the circuit at all? Lemme know if you think of anything else I could throw my meter/scope onto and …

---

Re: Tiny Vortex86-based DOS gaming PC - weeCee

Posted on 2022-02-23, 18:39

by

by NachtRave

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

I've never had these problems with the SD card on any of the boards I've built. If you have a multimeter could you check all the SD card pins are really connected to the SOM pins? SD cards can partially operate with some of the data lines missing so I'm wondering if that might be it Yup, I have …

---

Re: Tiny Vortex86-based DOS gaming PC - weeCee

Posted on 2022-02-23, 17:48

by

by NachtRave

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Don't worry about helping me set up the config.sys/autoexec.bat for my stuff, I am fairly well versed in such from just retro gaming in general (I remember a game called Seal Team being one of the most difficult due to its super hungry conventional memory consumption). I'm running similar, but it …

---

Re: Tiny Vortex86-based DOS gaming PC - weeCee

Posted on 2022-02-23, 15:25

by

by NachtRave

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Yup, I did. Emm386 NOEMS, all that HIGH,UMB stuff. I don't think it's an autoexec.bat/config.sys issue, I just think the SD card isn't working. 😖

---

Re: Tiny Vortex86-based DOS gaming PC - weeCee

Posted on 2022-02-23, 15:16

by

by NachtRave

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Played around more in DOS mode, and was able to get Doom to at least run with PC sound (that came through the audio lines, hurray), but as I put Duke3D on it, now I'm getting a whole lot of "General failure reading drive C" errors. *le sigh* Just cannot win.

---

Re: Tiny Vortex86-based DOS gaming PC - weeCee

Posted on 2022-02-23, 14:23

by

by NachtRave

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

@Achernar, that's about the same behavior I'm seeing, also. I can get Dos 6.22 to at least fdisk and format /s the drive successfully, and copy over boot disk files, but nothing much beyond that. I guess it's at least something, but definitely not ideal by any stretch. @Muon, no worries, I had …

---

Re: Tiny Vortex86-based DOS gaming PC - weeCee

Posted on 2022-02-23, 13:55

by

by NachtRave

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Dos 6.22 was on a FAT16 2GB partition (I also tried 512 MB for kicks), didn't work. Haven't really tried a whole lot of games yet, given I cannot even install an OS without it seemingly deciding it doesn't wanna. I'm sure they would work if they were reading off an image drive of some kind, but …

---

Re: Tiny Vortex86-based DOS gaming PC - weeCee

Posted on 2022-02-23, 13:49

by

by NachtRave

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Reset BIOS back to default, same issue. Surprised that it worked without setting the Pin Select in BIOS to SD, but as you said. Works fine set to Parallel IDE., too. I dug my little scope out and put it on the thing to take a look if there is activity on the SD card transmission lines, and there is …

---

Re: Tiny Vortex86-based DOS gaming PC - weeCee

Posted on 2022-02-23, 08:58

by

by NachtRave

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

ockiller wrote on 2022-02-23, 08:15: What DOS version do you use when you manually install Win98 from the MicroSD folder ? I am booting up off the Win98SE OEM setup CD/USB. I can certainly try Dos-7.

---

Re: Tiny Vortex86-based DOS gaming PC - weeCee

Posted on 2022-02-23, 05:59

by

by NachtRave

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Yeah, I’ve been trying various Win98 images, and while the OEMs are bootable, they hang after install on first startup, both First Edition and Second Edition. The Retail versions aren’t bootable, but copying the Win98 folder over to the MicroSD and running setup after booting (same way Rasteri does …

---

Re: Tiny Vortex86-based DOS gaming PC - weeCee

Posted on 2022-02-22, 11:15

by

by NachtRave

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Update: Got the new/correct LDOs today, installed them, 3.3v comes through like a charm. Noticed the lights on the LAN port lit up as well, since it's also on the 3.3v. Now it's onwards to getting this external USB CD-ROM to be recognized correctly for Win98 setup to boot. May have to fiddle around …

---

Re: Tiny Vortex86-based DOS gaming PC - weeCee

Posted on 2022-02-19, 00:29

by

by NachtRave

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Hmm that does sound pretty broken Yeah, unfortunately. That’s okay, I was able to buy the same LDOs as was in your BOM now that they’re back in stock on Mouser. I am betting that fixes it, but I’m also going to pay a little bit more attention to that circuit and making sure I see 3.3v running out …

---

Re: Tiny Vortex86-based DOS gaming PC - weeCee

Posted on 2022-02-18, 23:09

by

by NachtRave

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Yeah if you don't have 3.3v the SD card won't work. LDO's arent normally very easy to fry. Could you have a short on the 3.3v rail somewhere? Disconnect all power and measure the resistance between the ground and 3.3V rail Yup, that's precisely what I'm thinking. I can't believe that something so …

---