So ..before I start experimenting with alternative bios ..I figured it would be wise to read and backup the original Winbond chip to a .BIN file ..
Here it is to share just in case anyone needs it.
Read with a TL866 programmer
Winbond W29C011 Award 1998 PCI_PNP Bios _P5VB3+ mobo.BIN
rgds
VS

So ..dug out an old 1.44mb floppy drive ...and popped it on the end of a multi IDC cable after the twist ..and the mobo boots just fine from a win 98 startup floppy.
but not when the floppy drive is connected by the IDC -before- the twist ..
This I assume is because it is then selected as a B drive.
Obviously this is not an issue normally.
But I also want a 5.25 inch floppy drive in the system.
which only appears to use the edge connector at the cable end.
Thus A can be either 5.25" OR 3.5" ..
But I want both drives in the system ...and connecting the 3.5 as B means I cannot boot from it ..
The Bios allows both A and B ...but only A is bootable.
Is there a way round this ?
Hope that made sense..
🤣

So ...I am going to try and unclip and move the 5.25" edge connector to the B side of the twist ...leaving the A drive 3.5" IDC after the twist ..
This I hope will give me the configuration I need..
wish me luck.

Your cable doesn't have an edge connector before the twist too? If not, get such a cable and connect the 5.25 drive before the twist. Usually 5.25 drivers can be set as Drive 0 or 1 (Or A, B) using jumpers.

Yep thats what I figured QuickNick....
What are these 5.25" edge connectors actually called ? ..so I know what to search for..
I know the standard floppy connectors are refered to as IDC ..
rgds
VS

There's a cable with both types of connector for A and B FDD

Vipersan wrote:

So ...I am going to try and unclip and move the 5.25" edge connector to the B side of the twist ...leaving the A drive 3.5" IDC after the twist ..

Yes, it could be done. Good luck!

PS But you could use BIOS option "Swap Floppy Drive" instead

Roman555 wrote:

Yes, I agree, but the Rage IIC card would be a trade-off (IMO)

Agreed, it always is, and you're right about picture quality.

Not attempted the FDD cable mod yet ..
been busy working a piece of aluminium to make that custom I/O shield..
Better than a gaping hole ...and of course only the AT keyboard port overlaps ..
plenty of space for PS2 mouse ..serial and parallel ...
and enough space left for a USB port at some point..
rgds
VS

Vipersan wrote:

Not attempted the FDD cable mod yet ..

Don't do it! Swap Floppy Drive option should help

BTW, DIY I/O shield is impressing! Few people know how difficult is to make a big hole in thin metal.

Yeah, never mind my previous reply, seems that I was typing while you were typing yours 😀
And Roman555's solution is easier and more elegant.

Thanks guys ..I'll try that tomorrow ..
but for now I'm trying to install win98se on a 120gb IDE hard drive ..but the boot process hangs after the bios tries to initialise the hard drive..
I can boot to floppy A ...if I leave the hard drive disconnected.
So ..have to assume the bios simply cannot identify the drive ??
too modern for this board with it's current bios ..I guess
I'm tempted to flash the modded unofficial bios posted earlier ..but not until I have a replacement 29CO11 to play with ..
Currently on order ..
Does anyone know for certain if my hunch is correct ..?

Tried the 'auto detect' feature in the bios ..and this also causes the bios to lock up ..
rgds
VS

Vipersan wrote:

Thanks guys ..I'll try that tomorrow .. but for now I'm trying to install win98se on a 120gb IDE hard drive ..but the boot proce […]
Show full quote

Thanks guys ..I'll try that tomorrow ..
but for now I'm trying to install win98se on a 120gb IDE hard drive ..but the boot process hangs after the bios tries to initialise the hard drive..
I can boot to floppy A ...if I leave the hard drive disconnected.
So ..have to assume the bios simply cannot identify the drive ??
too modern for this board with it's current bios ..I guess
I'm tempted to flash the modded unofficial bios posted earlier ..but not until I have a replacement 29CO11 to play with ..
Currently on order ..
Does anyone know for certain if my hunch is correct ..?

I guess too. And keropi gave you the link for a verified BIOS.
If you could read BIOS by the TL866 you'll be able to write the backup back into the chip by the TL866 (if the chip is fully working).

As you say buddy ..I think this is my way forward ...but I want to get a blank chip so as not to risk the one I have.
It may be a couple of weeks though as my order was via ebay from HK ..

Vipersan wrote:

As you say buddy ..I think this is my way forward

Of course and I respect your way! (as anybody here I suppose)
I'm just used to updating BIOSes of desktop mainboards so I don't concern much about it (especially if there's a programmer in hand).

Amazingly the winbond bios chips I ordered arrived today from HK ..so no slow boat from China involved..
I suspect these came by air ..it was so fast.
Anyhoo ..flashed one with the modded bios using the TL866 ..
and yes it works.
The boot time is roughly doubled ..but that I can live with.
I do have sort of related questions.
Using an Fdisk floppy I partitioned a 128gb Maxtor ..using full capacity ..
..the formatted ..Fat 32 LBA.
The resulting reported partition size shown by Fdisk is roughly 51 gb ..
I was curious and mounted the drive in my win 7 machine ..which shows the actual size as approx 114 GB ..
more like it ..
So I guess that Fdisk doesn't report true info ?
I've not tried Super Fdisk ..which I would assume was written in such a way as to not mis-report HD info ?
I,ve never actually used it before..so can anyone verify this ?
rgds
VS

So ..I am considering getting a Voodoo card of some sort for use with this mobo ..
but dont want to get something incompatible that simply wont work.
can anyone tell me for certain what I should be looking for ???
rgds

Vipersan wrote:

Anyhoo ..flashed one with the modded bios using the TL866 ..
and yes it works.
The boot time is roughly doubled ..but that I can live with.

Glad to read this 😀

Vipersan wrote:

I do have sort of related questions. Using an Fdisk floppy I partitioned a 128gb Maxtor ..using full capacity .. ..the formatted […]
Show full quote

I do have sort of related questions.
Using an Fdisk floppy I partitioned a 128gb Maxtor ..using full capacity ..
..the formatted ..Fat 32 LBA.
The resulting reported partition size shown by Fdisk is roughly 51 gb ..
I was curious and mounted the drive in my win 7 machine ..which shows the actual size as approx 114 GB ..
more like it ..
So I guess that Fdisk doesn't report true info ?
I've not tried Super Fdisk ..which I would assume was written in such a way as to not mis-report HD info ?
I,ve never actually used it before..so can anyone verify this ?
rgds
VS

Fdisk Does Not Recognize Full Size of Hard Disks Larger than 64 GB

Even at the ripe old age of 60 ..I still have the impulsiveness of a teenager ..
Spotted one of these and hit the buy button..
3dfx Voodoo 3 3000 16MB AGP

I have never owned a Voodoo ...so a bit out of my depth ..
I just hope it will work in this setup ...
rgds
VS

Yeah, I bought a Voodoo 3 3000 AGP for my P-II 350 setup. Nice match up.

You can't have more than 512meg RAM in a windows 98 system, at least not without a whole pile of muck-arounding-ish stuff. So I suggest pulling one of the 256meg chips and leaving it at 512meg.