Try Uniflash.

Link to it:
http://www.rainbow-software.org/uniflash/

Error : PCI BUS not found or not responding

invest in a programmer

If the system runs why not just copy the data from the running system's memory?

keropi wrote:

invest in a programmer

Do you have a tutorial or a topic where you expalined that kind of stuff a bit ?
I have a bios I'd like to try to update on a 486 MB (see system specs section), and your name poped up when we spoke about BIOS updates 😁

You can use NSSI to dump the typical roms in a system. It is very simple.

Harekiet wrote:

If the system runs why not just copy the data from the running system's memory?

How?

FGB wrote:

You can use NSSI to dump the typical roms in a system. It is very simple.

How? 🤣

NSSI has a built in dump option in the menu. You should be able to look it up. As said.. it is very simple. Just run NSSI and go through the menus 😎

What's NSSI????
this: http://www.navsoft.cz/products.htm

^ Yes thats it 😀

I got some weird results when googling NSSI, thats why i asked how.
I have managed to extract the BIOS ROM with it! Thanks 😁

[EDIT]

This tool can also extract the VIDEO BIOS. But from what i know VIDEO BIOS has two chips?
NSSI Created one file from my Western Digital WD90C31.

Here is Young Micro VEGA 486F-2VL BIOS , dated 06/06/92 : https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/54462712/ … A%20486F-2VL.7z

Kewl. must try this evening.

The dumps have to be splitted into even / odd files if the ROM is in two chips. But that is also an easy task before you burn them into a new ROM / PROM.

That's when you mention 286 mainboard bios's? with low and high bios?

Is there a util to split the bios into odd even, or de we have to create one?

I was referring to the VGA BIOS Stojke dumped but of course that also applies to 286 and early 386 BIOSes that are split in 2 chips.

Cool. What tools can do this, or is this done manually?
Also, what about cards like Sigma VGA Legend? http://puu.sh/amplj/d8405a9211.jpg

And also, do you have any articles to give me to read about what makes a BIOS and how does it work? (For retro computers of course)

sunaiac wrote:

I have a bios I'd like to try to update on a 486 MB (see system specs section), and your name poped up when we spoke about BIOS updates 😁

From what I know and learned by searching on the net (correct me if i'm wrong)... 🤣

Your will not be able to update the BIOS (EPROM must be erased with UV before you can write/programm a new BIOS in it).
If your ROM is a DIP 32 one (I do not have found DIP 28 flash eprom yet, only EEPROM), you can buy some FLASH EPROM (it will be easier to program/erase by hotflashing on a recent motherboard) and flash the new bios in it (if the bios is 64KB and your flash eeprom is 128KB you will have to double the bios file to match the size or just fill the rest with "ff" to obtain a 128 KB file with an hexa editor).

If you have a DIP 28 ROM you will have to buy some EEPROM (that can be erased/programed electronically by applying some voltage on dedicated pins like with FLASH EPROM) and use a programmer.

I don't know if you can use an EEPROM as a FLASH EPROM yet, using a DIP 28 to DIP 32 adapter and trying to flash it like a FLASH EPROM by hotflashing on a motherboard that match +12v programming and has PCI (like a socket 7 motherboard).

I bought some DIP 28 EEPROM that will arrive soon, and I will give it a try (the programming/erasing process should be similar to the FLASH EPROM one, but i'm not totally sure).

Will test that with a DIP 28 to DIP 32 adapter I made, using uniflash on a socket 7 motherboard with bios programming voltage set to 12V (trying it for the lulz cause for me programmers are a bit expensive).

sunaiac wrote:

keropi wrote:

invest in a programmer

Do you have a tutorial or a topic where you expalined that kind of stuff a bit ?
I have a bios I'd like to try to update on a 486 MB (see system specs section), and your name poped up when we spoke about BIOS updates 😁

There is nothing special really... use your programmer's software to read/write the chip and an UV eraser in case the chip is an UV EPROM and you want to re-use it.
Else darksheer pretty much sums it up, you get eeproms that are flashed based and can be erased on the programmer. UV or flash ones make no difference as long as we are talking about the normal 27Cxxx chips that BIOSes use.
It's per case but nomaly a 27C512 64kbyte eprom is fine for 386/486 usage (W27C512 is an eeprom alternative) and 27C010 or 020 are used in P1/P2 machines (27SF010 nai 020 are the flash alternatives).
Post your specific requirements and I'll tell you more 😊

JaNoZ wrote:

That's when you mention 286 mainboard bios's? with low and high bios?

Is there a util to split the bios into odd even, or de we have to create one?

I made a pic regarding amiga kickstarts, just follow step 1 for splitting ODD/EVEN (or LO/HI , it's the same) and replace "kickstart" with "BIOS"

Awesome, thanks Keropi!

Yeah I should have specified that I bought W27C512 EEPROM for all my DIP 28 sockets (will use it for 386/486 and ISA/VLB video cards).
For DIP 32 sockets (late 486 motherboards up to socket A and even newer boards) W29C020C are really nice Flash eprom.

Even if hotflashing work with WC27C512 on a 12V motherboard, only the programming part would work, for erasing it need 14V.
I don't think it's a big loss, because re-programming the EEPROM with the blank bios saved before should act the same (but not really sure) ?

Edit : thanks keropi that's a very useful information 😀