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What can you tell me about this old PC?

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First post, by aries-mu

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Hello Vogons friends!

I'm finding little bites of free time every now and then to check out this old "486 DX" (so the case logo says) PC I've got.

I would be grateful if you could help me to figure the following:

1) Can you identify the motherboard?
2) If it helps, I found the bus speed jumper settings drawings and the actual jumpers, it is set to 33 MHz (see pictures)
3) Oddly, it has 9 L2 cache sockets, 5 of which are populated by chips, but the chips are not as long as the sockets. Can you tell me what kind of L2 cache chips it has? Sync? Async?
4) Can you understand how much L2 cache it has and how much it can hold?
5) If the L2 cache is async, can it get sync cache?
6) Do you know how large is the RAM module and what type? EDO? 70ns? 60ns? There's 2 of them. 2 other slots are empty
7) See the 3 VLB slots? There's a text saying BUS MASTER with 2 arrows indicating only 2 slots. In 1 there's the controller, the other one is empty. The Cirrus Logic GD5429 is in the 3rd slot, which I assume is not BUS MASTER. Is that normal? Or should I move the SVGA in the empty BUS MASTER slot?
😎 Can you see the VLB wait states?
9) I can't identify the VLB controller. Can you tell me anything about it?
10) Where's the CMOS battery? Is it that tiny little green cylinder thing?

11) Any other comments/suggestions/recommendations?

Thanks a lot.

Here are the pictures:

https://imgur.com/a/xjVO1qh

They said therefore to him: Who are you?
Jesus said to them: The beginning, who also speak unto you
--
"physical media trumps cloud-simp servitude" (Conrad Riker)
--
Computers should be fun inside not outside! 😉 (by Joakim, VOGONS)

Reply 1 of 12, by Boohyaka

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Motherboard is SOYO-025P1

https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/soyo-sy-025p2

Hard to tell from the pictures but the green barrel battery may show signs of leakage and needs to be removed asap, and if there's any corrosion clean it with white vinegar hoping it didn't start to eat stuff up!

Reply 2 of 12, by aries-mu

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Boohyaka wrote on 2023-09-27, 20:22:

Motherboard is SOYO-025P1

https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/soyo-sy-025p2

Hard to tell from the pictures but the green barrel battery may show signs of leakage and needs to be removed asap, and if there's any corrosion clean it with white vinegar hoping it didn't start to eat stuff up!

Oh wow! Thanks!

Mmm.... gosh I have also other old PCs on the loft under the roof.... 😥
But I'm not equipped right now to do this kind of job... and don't have the time...
Is there a way I can at least 'wrap' it in something so that it doesn't keep leaking on the mobo?

Thanks!

They said therefore to him: Who are you?
Jesus said to them: The beginning, who also speak unto you
--
"physical media trumps cloud-simp servitude" (Conrad Riker)
--
Computers should be fun inside not outside! 😉 (by Joakim, VOGONS)

Reply 3 of 12, by Boohyaka

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My understanding of VLB BUS Mastering is that it doesn't really matter. I usually put the VLB IO card in one of the BUS Master slots, and I believe for VGA it doesn't really matter (but may be wrong).

The VLB IO card, according to the FCC ID is a Holtek LCMVIO-3A. All jumper configuration are silkscreened on the PCB, you shouldn't need more than that.

Last edited by Boohyaka on 2023-09-27, 20:39. Edited 2 times in total.

Reply 4 of 12, by Shponglefan

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aries-mu wrote on 2023-09-27, 20:13:

9) I can't identify the VLB controller. Can you tell me anything about it?

Looks like a Holtek 6560A.

There's some info about it here: https://web.archive.org/web/19970129011353/ht … um/PC/6560a.htm

Unfortunately no drivers appear to be available.

Pentium 4 Multi-OS Build
486 DX4-100 with 6 sound cards
486 DX-33 with 5 sound cards

Reply 5 of 12, by aries-mu

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Boohyaka wrote on 2023-09-27, 20:32:

My understanding of VLB BUS Mastering is that it doesn't really matter. I usually put the VLB IO card in one of the BUS Master slots, and I believe for VGA it doesn't really matter (but may be wrong).

The VLB IO card, according to the FCC ID is a [link=https://fccid.io/LCMVIO-3A]Holtek LMCVIO-3A[/link]. All jumper configuration are silkscreened on the PCB, you shouldn't need more than that.

thanks a lot again!

They said therefore to him: Who are you?
Jesus said to them: The beginning, who also speak unto you
--
"physical media trumps cloud-simp servitude" (Conrad Riker)
--
Computers should be fun inside not outside! 😉 (by Joakim, VOGONS)

Reply 6 of 12, by Boohyaka

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aries-mu wrote on 2023-09-27, 20:26:
Mmm.... gosh I have also other old PCs on the loft under the roof.... 😥 But I'm not equipped right now to do this kind of job... […]
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Mmm.... gosh I have also other old PCs on the loft under the roof.... 😥
But I'm not equipped right now to do this kind of job... and don't have the time...
Is there a way I can at least 'wrap' it in something so that it doesn't keep leaking on the mobo?

Thanks!

If you're not ready for a desoldering job right now, you can always snip the barrel's legs with a wire cutter and clean the corrosion on the board with white vinegar asap, at least it will remove any risk and stabilize the situation.

Reply 7 of 12, by aries-mu

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Boohyaka wrote on 2023-09-27, 20:36:

If you're not ready for a desoldering job right now, you can always snip the barrel's legs with a wire cutter and clean the corrosion on the board with white vinegar asap, at least it will remove any risk and stabilize the situation.

oh that's comforting! Thanks so much!

I did the desoldering and re-soldering (just wires connected to a 2xAA battery box) on a Compaq Prolinea 4/66 DX2 once, with a cheap Home Depot soldering iron, and it was a pain! To desolder that stuff it took forever.

I just went to an electronics store, bought a simple didactic kit with a tiny board ending up with a flashing light if you did it correctly, just to practice, because I never did anything electronics in my life before. Initially, it didn't work. Becuase one soldering was loose. I fixed it and it worked. Then I was sufficiently (barely) confident to do the job. But the Compaq was a totally different story man! It took forever!!!
Now, I have that soldering iron buried somewhere, with the other stuff, but that was in Canada. Now I'm in Italy. I suspect the 220V won't be okay for that.

Actually! I have a video here! As you can see, I did a pretty ugly job 🤣:

https://youtu.be/Tq6BT0E3tF4?si=BmjhLXLEfgr7H2Cx

They said therefore to him: Who are you?
Jesus said to them: The beginning, who also speak unto you
--
"physical media trumps cloud-simp servitude" (Conrad Riker)
--
Computers should be fun inside not outside! 😉 (by Joakim, VOGONS)

Reply 8 of 12, by aries-mu

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Shponglefan wrote on 2023-09-27, 20:33:
Looks like a Holtek 6560A. […]
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aries-mu wrote on 2023-09-27, 20:13:

9) I can't identify the VLB controller. Can you tell me anything about it?

Looks like a Holtek 6560A.

There's some info about it here: https://web.archive.org/web/19970129011353/ht … um/PC/6560a.htm

Unfortunately no drivers appear to be available.

oh I missed your message, thanks!

They said therefore to him: Who are you?
Jesus said to them: The beginning, who also speak unto you
--
"physical media trumps cloud-simp servitude" (Conrad Riker)
--
Computers should be fun inside not outside! 😉 (by Joakim, VOGONS)

Reply 9 of 12, by aries-mu

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Shponglefan wrote on 2023-09-27, 20:33:
Looks like a Holtek 6560A. […]
Show full quote
aries-mu wrote on 2023-09-27, 20:13:

9) I can't identify the VLB controller. Can you tell me anything about it?

Looks like a Holtek 6560A.

There's some info about it here: https://web.archive.org/web/19970129011353/ht … um/PC/6560a.htm

Unfortunately no drivers appear to be available.

Wow! 32 Bit, 50 MHz VLB at zero wait states!!!! 😳 they made it well!

Well, the 486 box still has it's HDD. I haven't tried to boot it up as I don't have a VGA monitor or adapter at the moment, but, theoretically, somewhere on the HDD there should be drivers. The computer, in a very distant past, worked.

They said therefore to him: Who are you?
Jesus said to them: The beginning, who also speak unto you
--
"physical media trumps cloud-simp servitude" (Conrad Riker)
--
Computers should be fun inside not outside! 😉 (by Joakim, VOGONS)

Reply 10 of 12, by Boohyaka

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In any case it will work without drivers for basic function. But to reach faster PIO modes and therefore faster transfer speeds, drivers would be necessary.

Reply 11 of 12, by PC Hoarder Patrol

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If you're looking for drivers you could give these a try...

The attachment d952572.rar is no longer available
The attachment Holtek HT-6560A VL Bus Driver.jpg is no longer available

Reply 12 of 12, by aries-mu

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PC Hoarder Patrol wrote on 2023-09-27, 21:51:

If you're looking for drivers you could give these a try...

d952572.rar

Holtek HT-6560A VL Bus Driver.jpg

Got it, thanks!

PC Hoarder Patrol wrote on 2023-09-27, 21:51:

If you're looking for drivers you could give these a try...

d952572.rar

Holtek HT-6560A VL Bus Driver.jpg

oooh wow! Thank you!!!!

Interesting! This is what the READ.ME shows:

READ.ME

ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
³ ³
³ Holtek VL-IDE ReadMe ³
³ ³
³ Version : 1.53 ³
³ ³
³ Date : 01/05/1995 ³
³ ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

This diskette contains the DOS device driver, Windows IDE Driver and
driver setup program for Holtek HT-6560A VL-Bus IDE Controller/Adapter.

Diskette Content
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

Filename Description
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
READ.ME This file
IDESETUP.COM Driver Setup Program
HTIDE.SYS DOS Device Driver
HTIDE.386 Windows IDE Driver
HTCDPRE.COM ATAPI CD-ROM Device Driver Preprocessor V2.00

Setup DOS Device Driver
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

Run IDESETUP to setup DOS Device Driver. The setup program will
install the DOS device driver (HTIDE.SYS) to directory 'C:\HTIDE',
and add the following command to your CONFIG.SYS (if required).

DEVICE = C:\HTIDE\HTIDE.SYS [/D0=rt, at [, m]] [/D1=rt, at [, m]]

If CONFIG.SYS is modified, the original content will be saved in
CONFIG.HTK, CONFIG.000, CONFIG.001, .... CONFIG.999 in sequence
if the previous file exists. Otherwise, a sample CONFIG.SYS named
CONFIG.HTK is created in directory C:\HTIDE.

Parameters Description :

All parameters are non-case sensitive. [ ] means the parameter
is optional.

/D0 = rt, at [, m]
/D1 = rt, at [, m]

/Dn defines the cycle time interfacing with drive n.

rt = Recovery Time
The valid values range from 4 to 17
The default is 15.

at = Active Time
The valid values range from 2 to 15
The default is 15.

m = Block size for Multiple Mode
1 - Multiple mode is disabled

Example :

DEVICE=C:\HTIDE\HTIDE.SYS /D0=5,5 /D1=8,8,1

Setup Windows IDE Driver
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

Setup Windows IDE Driver will setup the DOS IDE device driver for
you automatically, and modify the CONFIG.SYS. The IDESETUP program
copies HTIDE.386 to the directory C:\HTIDE, modifies the SYSTEM.INI
of Windows. It replaces

device=*wdctrl

with

DEVICE=C:\HTIDE\HTIDE.386

in the [386Enh] section of SYSTEM.INI. And always set the command

32BitDiskAccess=ON

The original content of SYSTEM.INI will be saved in SYSTEM.HTK,
SYSTEM.000, SYSTEM.001, .... SYSTEM.999, SYSTEM.BGY in sequence if
the previous file exists.

Trouble Shooting
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
1. When the system clock is changed, or move the drive (drives) to
another PC system, you must run IDESETUP program to resetup the
cycle time.

2. The IDESETUP program setups the cycle time for each drive
automatically. Sometimes it derives the cycle time improperly.
You can enlarge the cycle time to the drive when you can not
access the drive normally. Modify the command line parameters
rt, at for enlarging cycle time.

3. Some powerful IDE function would be disabled when driver detects
ATAPI CD-ROM was attahed. This will decrease the performance of
your hard disks. For conquering this spot, we supply HTCDPRE.COM,
the ATAPI CD-ROM Device Driver Preprocessor, to cooperate with
the IDE Controller.

Please add the following command

C:\HTIDE\HTCDPRE /D:<CD-ROM Device Driver Name>

before the MSCDEX command line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT, or run it
before the MSCDEX is executed. Please refer your CD-ROM device
driver or the MSCDEX program about explanation of parameter /D.

They said therefore to him: Who are you?
Jesus said to them: The beginning, who also speak unto you
--
"physical media trumps cloud-simp servitude" (Conrad Riker)
--
Computers should be fun inside not outside! 😉 (by Joakim, VOGONS)

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