@Nachtrave

I'm a bit worried SN11 is a dud.
Can I ask that you start over with a new board? parts and all?

I'd like to mitigate the risk of receiving a problematic WeeCee.

I'll test the new drivers tomorrow hopefully.

@Nachtrave
I can't really give you many specific things to look for on the board. Start by checking voltages. Make sure all the analog and digital VCC pins (17, 45, 54, 65, 81, 98) on the crystal chip are at 5v.

BTW I'm happy to take a look at the board if you want to send it to me for diagnosis.

Duffman wrote on 2022-10-23, 01:26:

@Nachtrave […]
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@Nachtrave

I'm a bit worried SN11 is a dud.
Can I ask that you start over with a new board? parts and all?

I'd like to mitigate the risk of receiving a problematic WeeCee.

Update: No risk, board working perfectly now.

rasteri wrote on 2022-10-23, 01:44:

I'll test the new drivers tomorrow hopefully. […]
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I'll test the new drivers tomorrow hopefully.

@Nachtrave
I can't really give you many specific things to look for on the board. Start by checking voltages. Make sure all the analog and digital VCC pins (17, 45, 54, 65, 81, 98) on the crystal chip are at 5v.

BTW I'm happy to take a look at the board if you want to send it to me for diagnosis.

@Duffman - ^ this is also another option. Just start over from scratch. Or play international tag. :3

NachtRave wrote on 2022-10-23, 02:05:

@Duffman - ^ this is also another option. Just start over from scratch. Or play international tag. :3

Honestly if it comes down to removing all the components from the board just sent it to me instead and I'll repair it and forward it to Duffman. I have a bunch of spare boards that I can use if necessary. (It probably won't be)

@rasteri

Do you think you'll ever do a revision of the WeeCee?

If you ever do a revision there are a few things I would suggest (although this would mean having to use a larger enclosure.)

1x additional USB port, I find that some USB hubs interfere with USB booting, but I also like to use a USB Mouse/KB too (hub is not an issue for these). Being able to use USB Mouse/KB and boot off of USB at the same time would be nice.

1x RS-232 Serial Port for remote debugging - although this would be a very rare scenario so maybe not?

1x VIA VT6421a - IDE SATA chip with Win3.1 and 9x drivers - The only SATA controller I know of with a Win3.1 driver.

EDIT: omores used this VIA chip in his video running win3.1 on a 3900x - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEbnzPDdF0E

Duffman wrote on 2022-10-23, 15:26:

1x additional USB port, I find that some USB hubs interfere with USB booting, but I also like to use a USB Mouse/KB too (hub is […]
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1x additional USB port, I find that some USB hubs interfere with USB booting, but I also like to use a USB Mouse/KB too (hub is not an issue for these). Being able to use USB Mouse/KB and boot off of USB at the same time would be nice.

1x RS-232 Serial Port for remote debugging - although this would be a very rare scenario so maybe not?

1x VIA VT6421a - IDE SATA chip with Win3.1 and 9x drivers - The only SATA controller I know of with a Win3.1 driver.

EDIT: omores used this VIA chip in his video running win3.1 on a 3900x - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEbnzPDdF0E

If I did these, it wouldn't fit in the tiny case 😀 I built another PC (the wee86) that had some of these.

USB keyboards and mice make it crashy anyway.

@rasteri

So, no chance for any hardware revisions? or experiments?

What scenarios do you encounter USB crashing in?

Also, does the BIOS have a USB Keyboard option?

Duffman wrote on 2022-10-24, 06:28:

@rasteri

So, no chance for any hardware revisions? or experiments?

Well down the line I might consider doing a "weecee max" or something that had some extra stuff. But probably not with the 86DX - there are other Vortex86 SoMs that have inbuilt SATA/HDMI and other fun stuff that I've been playing with 😀

What scenarios do you encounter USB crashing in?

Also, does the BIOS have a USB Keyboard option?

Using the BIOS USB keyboard PS/2 emulation It crashes under DOS games. It's why I included a PS/2 port in the first place.

Interestingly the Vortex86EX's BIOS (SeaBIOS) doesn't seem to crash, so it's presumably a BIOS bug.

Duffman wrote on 2022-10-22, 15:21:

@rasteri

Can you post some screenshots of the RDC storage controller in device manager? One of it showing the error, one of the Driver File Details, and one of the resource allocations (if any)?

Does Device Manager show any error message with my driver on the Volari Z9? If not then try running a game with some 3D acceleration?

@Rasteri

When you have time can you get me these device manager screenshots please?

Also, please try my IDE_test4 driver and UniATA98 driver when you have time too.

rasteri wrote on 2022-10-24, 09:53:

Well down the line I might consider doing a "weecee max" or something that had some extra stuff. But probably not with the 86DX - there are other Vortex86 SoMs that have inbuilt SATA/HDMI and other fun stuff that I've been playing with 😀

Oh cool!
I wonder if that SOM's SATA will work with rloew's SATA patch?

If you're feeling up to it, could you try out the VIA VT6421A chip? It should be really compatible even with win3.1 assuming it can work with the WeeCee.

Using the BIOS USB keyboard PS/2 emulation It crashes under DOS games. It's why I included a PS/2 port in the first place.

Interestingly the Vortex86EX's BIOS (SeaBIOS) doesn't seem to crash, so it's presumably a BIOS bug.

I wonder if ICOP have a SeaBIOS build for the Vortex86DX on offer? maybe try asking?

Duffman wrote on 2022-10-24, 10:34:

I wonder if that SOM's SATA will work with rloew's SATA patch?

Doesn't even need a patch, the BIOS (at least in the Vortex86DX3) does IDE emulation.

If you're feeling up to it, could you try out the VIA VT6421A chip? It should be really compatible even with win3.1 assuming it can work with the WeeCee.

The SoM in the weecee doesn't have PCI, so no way to plug it in unfortunately.

I wonder if ICOP have a SeaBIOS build for the Vortex86DX on offer? maybe try asking?

I have their ear and am already discussing with them about BIOS options but DOS games are a low priority for them so it may take some time 😀

@rasteri

Something I noticed in your WeeCee Part 1 video -

2:35 - Standard IDE Compatible is Disabled - does Enabling help or change anything?

2:39 - Does setting PIO and DMA Mode settings manually help?

Hey guys ... I made some modifications to my weeCee.

1) Added a parallel port to use Serdaco's LPT adapters (OPL3LPT, TNDLPT, and Covox LPT) and any future adapters. I tried to find a tiny ~18-pin (17+ground pins) jack but the weeCee is just too darn small, haha. It's not the prettiest but it doesn't look too bad:

2) Added a serial port for connecting other misc things using 3.5mm jack (tx/rx/gnd):

@sofakng

haha! nice!

@rasteri

Did changing any of those BIOS settings help at all in windows 98?

@Nachtrave

How goes SN11? Still giving you trouble?

Also, did you get the money I sent for a potential SN12?

Duffman wrote on 2022-10-25, 02:16:

@Nachtrave

How goes SN11? Still giving you trouble?

Also, did you get the money I sent for a potential SN12?

Update: SN11 was fixed.

And I did receive it and everything - everything I need has been ordered and just waiting on it getting here now. 😀

I reached out to necroware thinking he might have some advice on ISA debugging, but I haven't put the most effort into looking further into it. Rather send it across the pond to rasteri to look at. 🤣

sofakng wrote on 2022-10-24, 14:52:

2) Added a serial port for connecting other misc things using 3.5mm jack (tx/rx/gnd):
IMG_6015.JPEG

That looks really great! I'm glad you were able to customize it like that - there is definitely a lot of potential space right above the SD card port. Do you remember what size hole did you wind up needing? I was going to do a mod with a pre-made 8mm hole (that's the diameter of button hole we used in our second run) but maybe there are some other sizes that are worthwhile to do.

What would be nice is if there was an extra pin header or two that could be used for mirroring the GPIO output, which is configurable in the BIOS menu to be a COM port, LPT port, SPI, i2c, etc. -- how well that works out, though, rasteri has mentioned may not be as functional as we hope. You'd need to look up further in the thread to where he mentions about it.

@rasteri @Nachtrave

I think you guys should check out one of these -
http://en.iodd.kr/wiki/index.php/Iodd-ST400

It Virtualizes Floppy IMG's, CD/DVD BIN/CUE/ISO's and HDD VHD's but with hardware instead of software.

I've used the earlier model iodd2531 to multi-boot ISOs for a few years now, very convenient!
Much easier to use than the software implementation of this sort of thing.

I recommend you get one for yourself.

Duffman wrote on 2022-10-24, 11:33:

@rasteri […]
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@rasteri

Something I noticed in your WeeCee Part 1 video -

2:35 - Standard IDE Compatible is Disabled - does Enabling help or change anything?

2:39 - Does setting PIO and DMA Mode settings manually help?

@rasteri

Have you tried adjusting these settings to see if it helps?