effy wrote on 2022-07-28, 18:51:

Hey all. This is probably a long shot. I am working on repairing an old Gateway 2000 Colorbook. I need a good BIOS file to flash but I believe it needs to be from a model with a 486 DX40 or higher, in this case it's a DX75. The one available online appears to be only for SX25/33, and DX33. This BIOS does not work on this machine.

Anybody out there have the ability to pull the BIOS from a DX40 plus model Colorbook? Or if you are feeling really generous, possibly shipping the chip so I can read it off and ship back? It's fairly easy to get into and pull out the socketed bios chip. (some screws on the bottom, two clips, and that's it.)

Thanks!

Guessing you already know the name of the original file (cbfh58.exe) - https://web.archive.org/web/20010217060810/ht … able/cb02.shtml

Only other place I can find reference to storage of this file is an ftp archive linked to this site (might be worth an initial check) - https://bluefeathertech.com/

PC Hoarder Patrol wrote on 2022-07-29, 05:17:

Guessing you already know the name of the original file (cbfh58.exe) - https://web.archive.org/web/20010217060810/ht … able/cb02.shtml

Only other place I can find reference to storage of this file is an ftp archive linked to this site (might be worth an initial check) - https://bluefeathertech.com/

I did find that filename yes. But had not found anything related to bluefeathertech. It's worth a shot though. Thanks for the help!

effy wrote on 2022-07-29, 07:09:

PC Hoarder Patrol wrote on 2022-07-29, 05:17:

Guessing you already know the name of the original file (cbfh58.exe) - https://web.archive.org/web/20010217060810/ht … able/cb02.shtml

Only other place I can find reference to storage of this file is an ftp archive linked to this site (might be worth an initial check) - https://bluefeathertech.com/

I did find that filename yes. But had not found anything related to bluefeathertech. It's worth a shot though. Thanks for the help!

It used to be hosted at ftp://ftp.bluefeathertech.com/computing/hardw … BIOS/cbfh58.exe, last reported online in 2018. I'd try to contact the siteowner of the domain to get access. It says on the website the FTP service is still available, but behind a password:

The Blue Feather Tech FTP Archive is now web-accessible!
It was a lot of work, but I finally got the thing to where I'm happy with it.
Access to the site is FREE to anyone who asks. However, you need to Email me for the current password.

^The very one!

Another even longer shot might be a seemingly identical specced unit bought by @man-x86 back in 2016 - Re: Bought these (retro) hardware today - though they don't seem to have been logged on at Vogons since May 2017 🙁

So color me shocked. I got access to the FTP and sure enough it was there. Took a bit of digging to find it.

/computing/hardware/systems/workstations/active/gateway/colorbook/BIOS

I was able to unzip the exe with 7zip and flash the J2.ROM with a tl866ii plus. (since my colorbook was unbootable I can't just run the exe to flash it). Boots right up now!

I'll go ahead and attach it here in case anyone else finds this.

Thanks for finding that FTP, I never would have.