I think I may have somehow damaged a 486 BIOS as it now hangs after memory check and asks for a password for setup (there was no password previously set). I do have a .ROM file and would be happy to pay someone to flash a new chip for me. Please message me if are interested in doing this.
Your location would help.
Also take a look at the TL866 and newer programmers. It is better to get a programmer than to pay somebody everytime you need a chip flashed.
As a warning, only buy from the mfg of these programmers as there are a bunch of hacked / fake ones out there.
That and for all we know, your BIOS chip may have gone bad.
Agree ! Not sure why some hide their location, there are great people all over the world and know that we as a group have great respect for anyone from anywhere that asks for help.
Yes get a real XGecu TL866II or better from the real manufacture, on ebay they have XGecu Official Store run by xgecupro....
Hate posting a reply and then have to edit it because it made no sense 😁 First computer was an IBM 3270 workstation with CGA monitor. Stuff: https://archive.org/details/@horun
A permanently engrained password is rare most reset with cmos reset on motherboard.but was it on a flash rom or eprom?
Love to see a picture of this bios.
Theres programmers offering replacement bios found on eBay but that age it would be a rare part and costly if possible.
Having backup BIOS and a spare chip handy from a donor board just in case.
Indeed. A damaged BIOS would most likely result in a checksum error.
I'm in Northern California.
So the problem I'm having is the BIOS counts up to 24192 KB (correct) then indefinitely hangs at "WAIT...." with the cursor flashing below. Ctrl-Alt-Delete does nothing.
There are three other anomalous symptoms that have coincided:
1) When testing memory, there is no longer the usual ticking sound accompanying the count. Speaker is properly connected.
2) The BIOS no longer displays "Hit DEL to run setup" while testing the memory.
3) Hitting delete anyway asks for a password. The BIOS has never asked for a password before. Per the manual, I tried the defaults: pressing enter and "AMI" or "ami".
There is no clear CMOS jumper on this board. Battery is not connected. I've also tried moving around the memory, installing less, etc. I asked on VCFed, and several user suggested it might not work without a battery (although it has before) and that it could also be a problem with the L2 cache.
I'm going to try both of those and will report back. If anyone has other suggestions, I'm happy to give them a try. It's sounding like it's not a problem with the BIOS after all.
Pic of the BIOS
The part number of that (E)EPROM is underneath the sticker. Can't help you with flashing the BIOS though since I'm not in the US.
I have had very similar issues with bad cache before. You could try removing the cache and seeing wether this helps with the problem.
Good luck!✊
Yes the EEprom could be bad.
Can you post a full picture of your motherboard ? Are you sure it can handle 24MB ram in the configuration you have ?
Please post a full board picture and try just 2 x 8mb simms just to see what happens.....
Hate posting a reply and then have to edit it because it made no sense 😁 First computer was an IBM 3270 workstation with CGA monitor. Stuff: https://archive.org/details/@horun
