With various old PC parts, that I recently acquired, came in a stray UV EPROM chip of a 386 motherboard. I tried to identify the motherboard it belonged to, from a BIOS ID string and post image in the appropriate thread with all info, but it appears, that the 386 MB was made by a manufacturer, that no one was able to identify yet (as far as googling results shows). The BIOS ID string is 30-0201-428028-00101111-070791-OPWB, numbers in bold shows manufacturers ID, the last four letters of the ID sting probably means, that the MB used OPTi chipset which supported Write-Back cache writing policy.

The only motherboard picture I was able to source from that manufacturer looks like this:

It's marked "M1487/9 rev. B1" and nothing more.

I'm curious, could you guys pop this BIOS image in one of yours 386 MBs with OPTi chipset and confirm, that it's compatible with it? It's AMI BIOS from 1991/07/07, original UV EPROM chip type - 27C512.

So the manufacturer number is 8028. On this website it refers to 3 unidentified motherboard : http://www.geocities.ws/alacidehard/BIOS.html

However one POST string brought me there Can anyone Identify/help me with jumper settings for this 486 board?

.. and then here : https://www.wimsbios.com/forum/what-motherboa … 834.html#p69808

according to TH99 the manufacturer is VEXTREC TECHNOLOGY, INC.
according to elhvb, it's Gemlight.
according to some guy on winmsbios, it's the ASK company from Hong Kong.

Hmmm not sure if it's really useful 😒

It's some stealth manufacturer. I've scrolled through the 386 BIOS collection thread and found that this 80386 BIOS image collection motherboard is the closest match for the BIOS image that I got. Compared both images and they are very similar, so it probably belongs to the OPTi 82C391/82C392/82C206 chipset.

The board in that picture (which I also have) seems to be a clone of the BEK P405 motherboard: https://www.instagram.com/p/BjsYiyqgp4y/

So it's quite likely that the manufacturer that used the 8028 BIOS ID either cloned or made OEM variants of motherboards.

Hello

I have a Compumate Super Turbo V mainboard without a BIOS chip.
I have a blank Hitachi HN27C64G-15 EPROM that is compatible and I need a standard BIOS that works well in this board. I don't need anything special, just a stock BIOS that fits this 8K chip. (the chip in the mainboard is from another XT and it has a german BIOS).
Could you link me a compatible (english) BIOS? Thank you.

Try this generic one:
http://www.phatcode.net/downloads.php?id=101

What to do when I have a different BIOS for already catalogged motherboard ? I would think the better idea is to add the new BIOS to the post of that mobo rather than make another entry with the new BIOS.

Tiido wrote:

What to do when I have a different BIOS for already catalogged motherboard ? I would think the better idea is to add the new BIOS to the post of that mobo rather than make another entry with the new BIOS.

Yes, makes sense. But you need to ask the author of the 1st post to add it...

Hi,
all the bios file dumps of boards with Headland (or G2 Incorporation) chipset including gc-101, gc-102 and gc-201 are useless without the video bios file (for gc-201).

For unknown or unindentified mainboards, the ID string can help.
For example :

HanJammer wrote:

#43 Manufacturer/Identifier: n/a Chipset: OPTi 495SLC BIOS: AMI ID string: 40-040A-001102-00101111-111192-OP495SLC […]
Show full quote

#43
Manufacturer/Identifier: n/a
Chipset: OPTi 495SLC
BIOS: AMI
ID string: 40-040A-001102-00101111-111192-OP495SLC

amibios-40-040A-001102-00101111-111192-OP495SLC.zip

IMG_20190701_014046.jpg

001102 is the code for Soyo.
(AMI manufacturer codes can be found here : https://www.wimsbios.com/aminumbers.jsp

rfka01 wrote:

@Predator99 I'm working my way through the BIOSs integrating them in MAME ... done most of the 286's and am halfway through the […]
Show full quote

@Predator99 I'm working my way through the BIOSs integrating them in MAME ... done most of the 286's and am halfway through the 386s.
Can I bother you again with checking one of your dumps ... #21 of the 386s ... other BIOS versions from boards with the same chipset run in the emulation, e.g. #4, but the DFI386 BIOS hangs after initializing the graphics card.
Edith says: #24 also dies mysteriously in emulation 😀

Thanks!
Robert

Regarding #24: Works in PCem as "AMI 386DX clone":

For #21 PCem also shows only a blinking cursor. I have to check the dumps again...

Reagrding the DFI board #21 I verified my dumps and they are OK. I wrote them back to W27E512 and the boards starts with the copies. Therefore there seems to be a problem with the emulators...

Thanks for checking, @Predator99, I'll give that dump another go. Sorry for not answering your PM, the board won't let me use that function until I reach a certain number of public posts.

Robert

OK, many thanks!

I would also very happy if you could add all the ROMs uploaded in the SUNTAC thread:
Suntac 80286 Mainboards

For the Phoenix BIOS it seems that version 3.03 does not run in PCem (but in MAME it does as shown by you). Even more surprising the older version 3.01 - which I found in another forum - works. I also tested it on a real SUNTAC board, it works there too.

What would you all say is the best 286 BIOS?

Is there any modern or open source BIOS for these clones, similar to the Super XT/Turbo XT 3.1 BIOS for 8088 machines?

Is there any thread to donate NexGen and Socket 4,5,7 BIOSes ?

BreakPoint wrote on 2020-02-27, 11:25:

Is there any thread to donate NexGen and Socket 4,5,7 BIOSes ?

Feel free to open them 😀 If you do so I will also link them in the ones I opened.

I didnt see the necessity as most of these BIOS are still available for download and I am not very interested in these modern boards 😉

Thank you canthearu for the info on the VSLI based 286 #27.

canthearu wrote on 2018-12-29, 06:54:

#27
Manufacturer/Identifier: Unknown VLSI 286 motherboard
Chipset: VLSI

My Protek 286 is exact same model and with your help went from no boot to booting, still have to fix a ram issue but better to see the BIOS on a screen then see nothing. Thanks !

Also big thanks to Predator99 for the info on Symphony 386Sc #22

Predator99 wrote on 2019-01-26, 11:40:

#22
Manufacturer/Identifier: 386 SC Rev A2
Chipset: Symphony SL82C362 SL82C461 SL82C465

Got it working with your info. It is an FIC motherboard: FIC 386-25/33/40SC (REV.A2)
Thanks all !

edit: Why is this thread not stickied ?

Horun wrote on 2020-03-02, 04:54:

Thank you canthearu for the info on the VSLI based 286 #27.

canthearu wrote on 2018-12-29, 06:54:

#27
Manufacturer/Identifier: Unknown VLSI 286 motherboard
Chipset: VLSI

My Protek 286 is exact same model and with your help went from no boot to booting, still have to fix a ram issue but better to see the BIOS on a screen then see nothing. Thanks !

Sweet stuff. That motherboard came from a system I simply bought because I wanted an AT case and power supply. Surprisingly the entire computer was still working, despite the corrosion it had when I got it originally. It did blow a tantalum capacitor good and proper when I first started it though. You can see in the photo it is missing a capacitor near the power connector.

lgj1107 wrote on 2020-03-07, 05:09:

Unknown 386 motherboard

That's a Pine Technology PT-321
Settings are here https://arvutimuuseum.ee/th99/m/P-R/31977.htm