LadyAIluros wrote on 2023-05-06, 14:56:

It came with a LinkSys Ether16 LAN card that has a bootrom socket. Naturally I want to put XTIDE in there to get large disk support, etc.

I was Not Paying Attention when installed the XTIDE chip and put it in backwards the first time so I may have hosed the card.... it's not seeing the new BIOS so I'm thinking okay that BootROM needs to be activated on the card, no problem.

It is quite likely that you broke the XTIDE BIOS chips by inserting it backwards, even if it was not activated. Power is supplied to the chip even if it is not active, and if you install it backwards, power is supplied in the wrong polarity. As long as a broken BIOS chip is inserted on that card, the card or even the whole computer might malfunction (depends on the kind of breakage and the design of the Ether16 LAN card).

I would expect the LinkSys Ether16 card to be detected by the matching setup utility at least after removing the possibly broken XTIDE ROM chip. To avoid possible conflicts, try running the setup utility with all other ISA cards (except the I/O card, if required) removed. If the card is still not detected, check for burnt traces. You might possibly need to fix a burnt +5V trace on that card. I don't expect damage to any chip on that card.

mkarcher wrote on 2023-05-06, 15:59:

It is quite likely that you broke the XTIDE BIOS chips by inserting it backwards, even if it was not activated. Power is supplied to the chip even if it is not active, and if you install it backwards, power is supplied in the wrong polarity. As long as a broken BIOS chip is inserted on that card, the card or even the whole computer might malfunction (depends on the kind of breakage and the design of the Ether16 LAN card).

I did this once and there was a burning plastic aroma after only a few seconds of power-on time.

The eeprom was not functional afterwards and the chip packaging was discolored, but nothing else was damaged.

Success! Taking the chip out did the trick.

Now I need to figure out what IRQ is free for it. I turned off PnP mode and right now it wants 3 which is also COM2, Oops.

I doubt you need COM2 so just disable in bios. Do you have the original drivers/diag/setup disk for your LinkSys Ether16 ?
I have the disks/files from about 1998, if you want them can post them....that way you can change the cards IRQ.
added: look here: http://www.vogonsdrivers.com/getfile.php?file … 0&menustate=0,0
In LNE20001.EXE in /Utility folder you will find a Diag and a Setup to check and change card settings....read the Diag.txt in /Readme folder for more info...

LadyAIluros wrote on 2023-05-06, 23:33:

Success! Taking the chip out did the trick.

That's good to hear. Make sure you put that chip into e-waste or ensure in some other way that you don't accidently try to re-use it for a different purpose later. The chip is very likely broken beyond repair.

LadyAIluros wrote on 2023-05-06, 23:33:

Now I need to figure out what IRQ is free for it. I turned off PnP mode and right now it wants 3 which is also COM2, Oops.

In standard PC setups without anything fancy installed, IRQ10 and IRQ11 are usually available for use with network cards. If you only have a single IDE channel, IRQ15 is free, too. If you have fancy stuff installed, open the Windows 95 device manager, and look at the property page of "my computer". It should show a list of the IRQs used.

Horun wrote on 2023-05-07, 02:14:

I doubt you need COM2 so just disable in bios. Do you have the original drivers/diag/setup disk for your LinkSys Ether16 ? I ha […]
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I doubt you need COM2 so just disable in bios. Do you have the original drivers/diag/setup disk for your LinkSys Ether16 ?
I have the disks/files from about 1998, if you want them can post them....that way you can change the cards IRQ.
added: look here: http://www.vogonsdrivers.com/getfile.php?file … 0&menustate=0,0
In LNE20001.EXE in /Utility folder you will find a Diag and a Setup to check and change card settings....read the Diag.txt in /Readme folder for more info...

That is the exact program I have to configure t in DOS, yes! I set it for IRQ 10.

And yes the only reason I would need COM2 is if I wanted to get cute and try and hook one of my ImageWriter II's up to the 486.