Vridek wrote on 2023-01-18, 09:54:

I got a new reply about ICOP […]
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I got a new reply about ICOP

We found the IDE driver in Real mode under Win98 can't distinguish our IDE Controller. So, under Device Manager, we will see both Primary & Secondary IDE Controller with an exclamation mark, that means we can only run in PIO mode, and it make system very slow. In Win98, even if the BIOS is changed to IDE Compatible Enabled, there is still an exclamation mark in Win98, and even if we try to change to the Intel IDE Vendor ID & Device ID, it does not work.
I have tried to modify it by following the link below, but I still can't get Win98 to drive our IDE Controller with the correct IDE Driver.

The reason why DOS is fast is that our BIOS has “PCI Bus Master Enabled” enabled, and DOS will run DMA Mode according to the BIOS plan.

I'm already sent this issue to our bios team, and keep you updated.

That's awesome that they are giving it some attention!! 😁

@Vridek

Oh, so there is some kind of quirk with their IDE controller.
Hopefully they'll have a BIOS fix for us soon that'll resolve the issue.

i've found an interesting articel about problems with ESDI_506.PDR and other drivers: https://www.os2museum.com/wp/those-win9x-cras … -fast-machines/

talking about problems due to higher loop performance

this project seem to got fixes for that: https://github.com/JHRobotics/patcher9x

but i don't know if that is releated to your problems

Duffman wrote on 2023-01-15, 10:05:

I've been using IDA disassembler to modify the code inside ESDI_506.PDR […]
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I've been using IDA disassembler to modify the code inside ESDI_506.PDR

But every time I go to test it, I get a Windows Protection Error.

Does anyone know why this happens?
Is there a way to skip this error?

is the ESDI_506.PDR free/available for download somewhere?

@llm

ESDI_506.PDR is on the WIN98SE CD in one of the CAB files, I can't remember which one.
There's also the one in the unofficial service pack 3, and rloew's version too.
But none of these ESDI_506.PDR files work on the WeeCee.

I think it's a BIOS issue so I'm hopping we'll get a BIOS fix from ICOP.

Duffman wrote on 2023-01-19, 11:51:

I think it's a BIOS issue so I'm hopping we'll get a BIOS fix from ICOP.

is the ICOP BIOS based on the Seabios code?
do they share the source code (i think they need if its Seabios due to licence stuff)

the "TinyLlama (Vortex86EX SBC)" project uses its own Seabios build (but can also use the current Seabios code, if im read correct)
does the weeCee project something similar?

llm wrote on 2023-01-19, 12:03:

is the ICOP BIOS based on the Seabios code? do they share the source code (i think they need if its Seabios due to licence stuff […]
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Duffman wrote on 2023-01-19, 11:51:

I think it's a BIOS issue so I'm hopping we'll get a BIOS fix from ICOP.

is the ICOP BIOS based on the Seabios code?
do they share the source code (i think they need if its Seabios due to licence stuff)

the "TinyLlama (Vortex86EX SBC)" project uses its own Seabios build (but can also use the current Seabios code, if im read correct)
does the weeCee project something similar?

EX\EX2 use Coreboot\SeaBios
DX\MX\DX2\DX3 - may depend on board manufacturer. DMP\ICOP use AMIBIOS8.

Quite impressive to get a response about BIOS, considering Win98 is not on the supported OS list.

Paul_V wrote on 2023-01-19, 12:30:

DX\MX\DX2\DX3 - may depend on board manufacturer. DMP\ICOP use AMIBIOS8.

sad, so its not possible to check if Seabios works better/different - there seem to be no option to switch the BIOS

@llm

I'd say it's still possible, but I'm sure some code will need to be written to properly add support the Vortex86DX.

Duffman wrote on 2023-01-19, 14:35:

I'd say it's still possible, but I'm sure some code will need to be written to properly add support the Vortex86DX.

did you think ICOP changed the AMIBIOS8 for the Vortex86DX?

llm wrote on 2023-01-19, 13:53:

sad, so its not possible to check if Seabios works better/different - there seem to be no option to switch the BIOS

It would almost certainly be possible to port coreboot/seabios to the DX, but it would likely be a lot of work and you'd need to know all the secret sauce initialization routines.

@Vridek

Any news from ICOP?

Duffman wrote on 2023-01-25, 00:19:

@Vridek

Any news from ICOP?

There is no news. They've got Lunar there now, so they won't be working until January 30th.

no news good news?!?

I wrote to ICOP last night. I'm waiting for a response. Otherwise the news is happening see attachment. Unfortunately it is not ready yet. The big problem now is the availability of SOM. It needs its own SOM.

@Vridek

So the fix for the SD card slot issue is not going to be as simple as a BIOS update?

also curious, what changes have you made to the WeeCee board?

Duffman wrote on 2023-02-13, 14:40:

@Vridek

So the fix for the SD card slot issue is not going to be as simple as a BIOS update?

also curious, what changes have you made to the WeeCee board?

This is just an experiment. It's untested, and if the SOM can't be solved, it will remain on paper. I have not revised or built the board.

Changes
1) Revision of components
2) Resolved grounding of some components and Ethernet.
3) Removal of microSD
4) Removal of microUSB
5) Integrated MIDI
6) 2x USB
7) Battery insertion option for bios
😎 Added option for power button

Theoretically repairing the BIOS won't be a problem but I'll know in a few days.

I don't have good news, unfortunately.

Also, regarding the previous IDE performance issue on Win98 in VDX, we are looking for a driver for it, but the chances of success are not great. We will continue to this problem and will keep you updated.

And this news didn't make me very happy either.

This letter is to guarantee that ICOP will continue to provide the VDX and VSX series CPU board at least until 2026/12/31.

@Vridek

But We've already tried every possible IDE driver solution already. Unless they're writing their own VXD IDE driver from scratch this isn't going to work.

Also, didn't they admit earlier that the problem is caused by the BIOS?

I'm still patient. I do firmly hope that the board review will bring positive news. But I don't believe that ICOP will make drivers for Win98 🙁 Theoretically if they found a bug in the BIOS then why wouldn't they write it.