VOGONS


Reply 40 of 54, by Excelsior

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luckybob wrote on 2024-09-25, 01:14:
you should use ATX. […]
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you should use ATX.

Pentium pro is in this awkward position between AT and ATX. You actually have a psudo-ATX supply in that system. If you use an AT power supply (or use an adapter) the system may work fine. But anything that uses 3.3v will not work. This might only be PCI slots. Or it could be both PCI slots and the RAM.

This was the big transition from 5v to 3.3.

They do make ATX to AT converters, that include the 3.3v aux connection, if you must replace the power supply, I would start here.

edit: in your pic, there is a 3-pin connection as well. Dollars to doughnuts, its +5vsb, pgood and the atx start signal wire. Its really a bastard PSU, and was common for pentium pro systems.

Thank you for your reply!
Just to be clear: my system came without any PSU at all (the previous owner had it removed for being faulty) and this is why I was asking if I can use a normal (and modern) PSU with an adapter. If I use a new ATX PSU to power up my system what changes should I make? The adapter alone is enough or there is something more I need to use?

Reply 41 of 54, by luckybob

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They are actually hard to get. I didnt see any on ebay, but they look like this:

https://www.southsafe.com.br/produto/adaptado … e-3-fios/134102# <<< this one looks perfect

https://www.bicker.de/x1-116_atx-at_adapter_c … nboards?nbnet=1#

https://cfusion.com/inventory/63297.000/

It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes.

Reply 42 of 54, by soggi

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VLIW wrote on 2024-09-25, 06:35:
This latest BIOS version is available at retroweb https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/siemen … board-d983#bios Latest BIOS 4. […]
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soggi wrote on 2024-09-25, 06:17:

This isn't the version number of the BIOS you believe it is, the latest BIOS I could find is V4.05 R1.03.983 from 1999/09/03.

This latest BIOS version is available at retroweb
https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/siemen … board-d983#bios
Latest BIOS 4.05 1.03.983

V4.05 seems to be the "core version" of the BIOS, which was available at V4.06 for a few other Scenic Pro (with >8 GB support), but not this one alas.

OK, I had a deeper look at this. Yes, "V4.05" is some sort of core version. The date "1999/09/03" is not the date when the BIOS has been provided, I guess it was automatically created when SNI became FSC. So I opened the download you linked to and the BIOS image has a file creation date of 1997/05/27. Bad luck... Modding will be difficult as it is no standard AMI or Award BIOS.

kind regards
soggi

Vintage BIOSes, firmware, drivers, tools, manuals and (3dfx) game patches -> soggi's BIOS & Firmware Page

soggi.org on Twitter - talent borrows, genius steals...

Reply 43 of 54, by VLIW

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soggi wrote on 2024-09-25, 16:26:

Bad luck... Modding will be difficult as it is no standard AMI or Award BIOS.

I figured there wasn't really a chance to mod the BIOS. Even after searching archive.org for the old FSC pages no newer BIOS could be found.
That's why I ended up with Ontrack, which works quite OK so far.

Reply 44 of 54, by VLIW

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Now pretty happy with the Pentium Pro Siemens Pro D6. Windows NT4 is installed on a 64 GB compact flash, using Ontrack DDO.

Very sharp graphics with Matrox Millenium II on PCI. NT4 is really snappy on this box, and Windows games work well.
Will give the Kyro 1 (Hercules) PCI 64 MB a shot later this year.

Reply 47 of 54, by VLIW

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For further video card experiments -- found a Savage4 PCI.

savage4.jpg
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Creative Labs 3D Blaster PCI w/ 32 MB.
Works well on Windows NT4 with 8.20.33 drivers.

When I find a way to benchmark 3D on NT4 will test this card soonish. Picture quality is OK (MGA was slightly better)

Reply 48 of 54, by Bruno128

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Can you please test whether S3 MeTaL API (in UT99/Unreal) is supported in Savage4 NT4 drivers
It won't be very playable on PPro 200 but just for the sake of experiment

SBEMU compatibility reports list | Navigation thread


Now playing:
Gold Rush: My VLB 486 (now with SC-55)
Baldur's Gate: Bridging compatibility gap in this year 2000 build
Arcanum: Acrylic 2003 build (January 2024)

Reply 49 of 54, by VLIW

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Bruno128 wrote on 2024-11-05, 12:50:

Can you please test whether S3 MeTaL API (in UT99/Unreal) is supported in Savage4 NT4 drivers

It seems MeTaL is not supported in those drivers on NT, at least I cannot select it in Unreal.
Will try another driver version to make sure.

Reply 50 of 54, by Bruno128

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In Unreal you have to add MeTaL support manually but in UT99 it’s out of the box.

SBEMU compatibility reports list | Navigation thread


Now playing:
Gold Rush: My VLB 486 (now with SC-55)
Baldur's Gate: Bridging compatibility gap in this year 2000 build
Arcanum: Acrylic 2003 build (January 2024)

Reply 51 of 54, by VLIW

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I tried that but it didn't work. There was an error that it could not find the MeTaL engine, even though I added the metal.dll and changed UNREAL.INI.
Do you have a working extract from UNREAL.INI ?

Reply 52 of 54, by VLIW

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Rather hit and miss with games under NT 4.0 so far.

Unreal with 226 patch does not really start anymore and crashed the PC a few times. I suspect the SB16 driver of the soundcard plays a role, need to investigate that. SimCity 3000 also has issues starting and Mission Cyberforce needs compability settings which I'm not able to install.

Reply 53 of 54, by feipoa

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I wonder if there's one particular 3D card which works with the broadest selection of games in NT4? If I had to guess, it would be a Voodoo1, 2, or 3, but I haven't run a survey.

Plan your life wisely, you'll be dead before you know it.