VOGONS


First post, by bloodem

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I've recently got my hands on this beautiful Batman's Revenge motherboard (see attached pic), and I'm itching to use it for a Win95 neo-retro/reverse-sleeper PC build.
Unfortunately, I ran into a roadblock that I did not anticipate: as far as I can see, the board doesn't seem to have a PS/2 mouse header, but it does have unpopulated PS/2 keyboard & mouse connector pads under the 5 pin DIN keyboard connector (apparently some OEM boards actually came with the PS/2 connectors instead of the 5-pin female DIN).

Now, of course, it would be very easy for me to just remove the DIN connector and solder the missing PS/2 connectors, but I really, really want to keep it as original as possible (well, almost, I obviously had to add a socket for the Dallas chip, no way around that).

So, has anyone found a good solution to add a separate PS/2 mouse header on these boards? I don't want to use a serial mouse... 🙁

2 x PLCC-68 / 4 x PGA132 / 5 x Skt 3 / 1 x Skt 4 / 9 x Skt 7 / 12 x SS7 / 1 x Skt 8 / 14 x Slot 1 / 6 x Slot A
5 x Skt 370 / 8 x Skt A / 2 x Skt 478 / 2 x Skt 754 / 3 x Skt 939 / 7 x LGA775 / 1 x LGA1155
Current PC: Ryzen 7 9800X3D
Backup: Ryzen 7 5800X3D

Reply 1 of 17, by keropi

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the only solution I can think of is getting a ps/2 mouse bracket and solder it's wires directly on the underside... perhaps if there is space solder some angled pins on the mobo and plug the bracket connector there
this way all mods are on the backside and not visible

🎵 🎧 MK1869, PCMIDI MPU , OrpheusII , Action Rewind , Megacard and 🎶GoldLib soundcard website

Reply 2 of 17, by bloodem

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keropi wrote on 2025-03-19, 09:16:

the only solution I can think of is getting a ps/2 mouse bracket and solder it's wires directly on the underside... perhaps if there is space solder some angled pins on the mobo and plug the bracket connector there
this way all mods are on the backside and not visible

This also crossed my mind, but I can't think of any way to make it look acceptable. Even if it's the backside, my OCD would kill me. 😀

2 x PLCC-68 / 4 x PGA132 / 5 x Skt 3 / 1 x Skt 4 / 9 x Skt 7 / 12 x SS7 / 1 x Skt 8 / 14 x Slot 1 / 6 x Slot A
5 x Skt 370 / 8 x Skt A / 2 x Skt 478 / 2 x Skt 754 / 3 x Skt 939 / 7 x LGA775 / 1 x LGA1155
Current PC: Ryzen 7 9800X3D
Backup: Ryzen 7 5800X3D

Reply 3 of 17, by keropi

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well since the mouseport is under the AT keyboard connector there is really no other option
also it seems there are some missing passives behind the keyboard connector, at least 3x ferrite beads - perhaps they are related to mouseport and perhaps there are some more passives missing so it's another thing to investigate

🎵 🎧 MK1869, PCMIDI MPU , OrpheusII , Action Rewind , Megacard and 🎶GoldLib soundcard website

Reply 4 of 17, by bloodem

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keropi wrote on 2025-03-19, 10:38:

well since the mouseport is under the AT keyboard connector there is really no other option
also it seems there are some missing passives behind the keyboard connector, at least 3x ferrite beads - perhaps they are related to mouseport and perhaps there are some more passives missing so it's another thing to investigate

Yeah, I was affraid of that... Damn it, in that case I would much prefer to simply remove the DIN-5 keyboard connector and add the two PS/2 connectors.
Regarding those passives, good catch, will check if there are more besides those FBs! Thank you!

2 x PLCC-68 / 4 x PGA132 / 5 x Skt 3 / 1 x Skt 4 / 9 x Skt 7 / 12 x SS7 / 1 x Skt 8 / 14 x Slot 1 / 6 x Slot A
5 x Skt 370 / 8 x Skt A / 2 x Skt 478 / 2 x Skt 754 / 3 x Skt 939 / 7 x LGA775 / 1 x LGA1155
Current PC: Ryzen 7 9800X3D
Backup: Ryzen 7 5800X3D

Reply 6 of 17, by PC@LIVE

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bloodem wrote on 2025-03-19, 07:55:
I've recently got my hands on this beautiful Batman's Revenge motherboard (see attached pic), and I'm itching to use it for a Wi […]
Show full quote

I've recently got my hands on this beautiful Batman's Revenge motherboard (see attached pic), and I'm itching to use it for a Win95 neo-retro/reverse-sleeper PC build.
Unfortunately, I ran into a roadblock that I did not anticipate: as far as I can see, the board doesn't seem to have a PS/2 mouse header, but it does have unpopulated PS/2 keyboard & mouse connector pads under the 5 pin DIN keyboard connector (apparently some OEM boards actually came with the PS/2 connectors instead of the 5-pin female DIN).

Now, of course, it would be very easy for me to just remove the DIN connector and solder the missing PS/2 connectors, but I really, really want to keep it as original as possible (well, almost, I obviously had to add a socket for the Dallas chip, no way around that).

So, has anyone found a good solution to add a separate PS/2 mouse header on these boards? I don't want to use a serial mouse... 🙁

Ciao
I have a similar motherboard, it should be a hendix or mercury, I don't remember exactly which one it is, but I can start it and see if it's prepared for the PS/2 port.
Recently Tony359, worked on an MB equal to yours, here if it is possible you could save a copy of the BIOS, and put the file here, you could give him a hand to solve it, there is a suspicion that the BIOS he tried, are defective, while yours would remove the doubt, if it does not work then there is a hardware problem, somewhere.

AMD 286-16 287-10 4MB HD 45MB VGA 256KB
AMD 386DX-40 Intel 387 8MB HD 81MB VGA 256KB
Cyrix 486DLC-40 IIT387-40 8MB VGA 512KB
AMD 5X86-133 16MB VGA VLB CL5428 2MB and many others
AMD K62+ 550 SOYO 5EMA+ and many others
AST Pentium Pro 200 MHz L2 256KB

Reply 7 of 17, by bloodem

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auron wrote on 2025-03-19, 19:16:

already made a topic about this: Intel Batman's Revenge/Plato AT to dual PS/2 port conversion (SMD component list required)

the alternative is to use one of these ps/2 isa adapters that people have been making in the last few years.

Thank you. Yes, I saw the topic, but the linked "mod guide" refers to the socket 5 Intel Plato, which is not really comparable. As far as I could see, those ferrite beads are the only missing components on mine.
I've ordered 10 x PS/2 connectors from China, because I only have combined keyboard + mouse PS/2 connectors in my stash. Will keep this thread updated with my progress.

PC@LIVE wrote on 2025-03-19, 19:35:

Ciao
I have a similar motherboard, it should be a hendix or mercury, I don't remember exactly which one it is, but I can start it and see if it's prepared for the PS/2 port.
Recently Tony359, worked on an MB equal to yours, here if it is possible you could save a copy of the BIOS, and put the file here, you could give him a hand to solve it, there is a suspicion that the BIOS he tried, are defective, while yours would remove the doubt, if it does not work then there is a hardware problem, somewhere.

Ciao! I know, I am a big fan of his channel! 😁
All BIOS files are available on TheRetroWeb.
The problem is that this board has a soldered BIOS chip, so if recovery mode via the boot block does not work, then the only solution is to desolder the chip and try to flash it with an external programmer.

Last edited by bloodem on 2025-03-20, 20:20. Edited 1 time in total.

2 x PLCC-68 / 4 x PGA132 / 5 x Skt 3 / 1 x Skt 4 / 9 x Skt 7 / 12 x SS7 / 1 x Skt 8 / 14 x Slot 1 / 6 x Slot A
5 x Skt 370 / 8 x Skt A / 2 x Skt 478 / 2 x Skt 754 / 3 x Skt 939 / 7 x LGA775 / 1 x LGA1155
Current PC: Ryzen 7 9800X3D
Backup: Ryzen 7 5800X3D

Reply 8 of 17, by PC@LIVE

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bloodem wrote on 2025-03-20, 19:12:
Thank you. Yes, I saw the topic, but the linked "mod guide" refers to the socket 5 Intel Plato, which is not really comparable. […]
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auron wrote on 2025-03-19, 19:16:

already made a topic about this: Intel Batman's Revenge/Plato AT to dual PS/2 port conversion (SMD component list required)

the alternative is to use one of these ps/2 isa adapters that people have been making in the last few years.

Thank you. Yes, I saw the topic, but the linked "mod guide" refers to the socket 5 Intel Plato, which is not really comparable. As far as I could see so far, those ferrite beads are the only missing components on mine.
I've ordered 10 x PS/2 connectors from China, because I only have combined keyboard + mouse PS/2 connectors in my stash. Will keep this thread updated with my progress.

PC@LIVE wrote on 2025-03-19, 19:35:

Ciao
I have a similar motherboard, it should be a hendix or mercury, I don't remember exactly which one it is, but I can start it and see if it's prepared for the PS/2 port.
Recently Tony359, worked on an MB equal to yours, here if it is possible you could save a copy of the BIOS, and put the file here, you could give him a hand to solve it, there is a suspicion that the BIOS he tried, are defective, while yours would remove the doubt, if it does not work then there is a hardware problem, somewhere.

Ciao! I know, I am a big fan of his channel! 😁
All BIOS files are available on TheRetroWeb.
The problem is that this board has a soldered BIOS chip, so if recovery mode via the boot block does not work, then the only solution is to desolder the chip and try to flash it with an external programmer.

Yes Thank you ☺️ a thousand
I follow Tony359's channel, which I found by chance, on one occasion I contributed to the resolution of an ASUS P2L97, it can be found here:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bXaMuqUzV8g&t=2552s
As for its Batman motherboard, the BIOS chip was originally soldered, but it was later removed, and a socket was soldered, because there was probably the doubt that it did not work, and to be able to program it easily, since the card does not work.
The problem from what I understand, is that on the "RetroWeb" there are files for floppy recovery, and there is a somewhat complicated procedure, so the idea was to duplicate the BIOS of an identical working motherboard, and then reprogram the BIOS chip, in this way it would be safe, that if it doesn't work it's not the BIOS' fault. If I had time to make a copy of the BIOS, it could be useful as a backup copy, lately working on various non-working motherboards, I found a BIOS chip not working, luckily 😰 it is a card that has some BIOS available, otherwise 😥 I should have tried BIOS of similar motherboards.

AMD 286-16 287-10 4MB HD 45MB VGA 256KB
AMD 386DX-40 Intel 387 8MB HD 81MB VGA 256KB
Cyrix 486DLC-40 IIT387-40 8MB VGA 512KB
AMD 5X86-133 16MB VGA VLB CL5428 2MB and many others
AMD K62+ 550 SOYO 5EMA+ and many others
AST Pentium Pro 200 MHz L2 256KB

Reply 9 of 17, by bloodem

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PC@LIVE wrote on 2025-03-20, 19:39:

As for its Batman motherboard, the BIOS chip was originally soldered, but it was later removed, and a socket was soldered, because there was probably the doubt that it did not work, and to be able to program it easily, since the card does not work.
The problem from what I understand, is that on the "RetroWeb" there are files for floppy recovery, and there is a somewhat complicated procedure, so the idea was to duplicate the BIOS of an identical working motherboard, and then reprogram the BIOS chip, in this way it would be safe, that if it doesn't work it's not the BIOS' fault. If I had time to make a copy of the BIOS, it could be useful as a backup copy, lately working on various non-working motherboards, I found a BIOS chip not working, luckily 😰 it is a card that has some BIOS available, otherwise 😥 I should have tried BIOS of similar motherboards.

Well, I just spent an hour trying to save the BIOS but was unable to. 🙁
Uniflash crashes and causes a system reboot, while all other AMIFLASH utilities that I tried output the same message: "System BIOS does not have Flash support".

The only thing that "works" is the Intel Flash Memory Update Utility (fmup.exe), which is found in the BIOS update archives, however this utility creates the same type of files as those you see on TheRetroWeb (.BIO & .BI1).
So... I think the only possibility is for him to try the recovery procedure, as mentioned in the manual. If that doesn't work, there is probably another hardware related problem that he needs to deal with first...

2 x PLCC-68 / 4 x PGA132 / 5 x Skt 3 / 1 x Skt 4 / 9 x Skt 7 / 12 x SS7 / 1 x Skt 8 / 14 x Slot 1 / 6 x Slot A
5 x Skt 370 / 8 x Skt A / 2 x Skt 478 / 2 x Skt 754 / 3 x Skt 939 / 7 x LGA775 / 1 x LGA1155
Current PC: Ryzen 7 9800X3D
Backup: Ryzen 7 5800X3D

Reply 10 of 17, by PC@LIVE

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bloodem wrote on 2025-03-22, 09:20:
Well, I just spent an hour trying to save the BIOS but was unable to. :-( Uniflash crashes and causes a system reboot, while all […]
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PC@LIVE wrote on 2025-03-20, 19:39:

As for its Batman motherboard, the BIOS chip was originally soldered, but it was later removed, and a socket was soldered, because there was probably the doubt that it did not work, and to be able to program it easily, since the card does not work.
The problem from what I understand, is that on the "RetroWeb" there are files for floppy recovery, and there is a somewhat complicated procedure, so the idea was to duplicate the BIOS of an identical working motherboard, and then reprogram the BIOS chip, in this way it would be safe, that if it doesn't work it's not the BIOS' fault. If I had time to make a copy of the BIOS, it could be useful as a backup copy, lately working on various non-working motherboards, I found a BIOS chip not working, luckily 😰 it is a card that has some BIOS available, otherwise 😥 I should have tried BIOS of similar motherboards.

Well, I just spent an hour trying to save the BIOS but was unable to. 🙁
Uniflash crashes and causes a system reboot, while all other AMIFLASH utilities that I tried output the same message: "System BIOS does not have Flash support".

The only thing that "works" is the Intel Flash Memory Update Utility (fmup.exe), which is found in the BIOS update archives, however this utility creates the same type of files as those you see on TheRetroWeb (.BIO & .BI1).
So... I think the only possibility is for him to try the recovery procedure, as mentioned in the manual. If that doesn't work, there is probably another hardware related problem that he needs to deal with first...

Thanks a lot
I thought it was like in other PCs, all in all quite simple, but maybe in PCs quite dated like these, it is not possible to make a copy of the BIOS, at least as you would usually do.
So I think, if on "TheRetroWeb" there are no .bin files or similar, it's because they can't be extracted (?), the thing I don't understand 😐, because you need two files, in this case . BI0 and BI1, so I would say, as you suggested, if you can't do the Floppy Recovery, it's because there must still be a hardware problem.
Thank you for your cooperation, and if there is any news, I will let you know.

AMD 286-16 287-10 4MB HD 45MB VGA 256KB
AMD 386DX-40 Intel 387 8MB HD 81MB VGA 256KB
Cyrix 486DLC-40 IIT387-40 8MB VGA 512KB
AMD 5X86-133 16MB VGA VLB CL5428 2MB and many others
AMD K62+ 550 SOYO 5EMA+ and many others
AST Pentium Pro 200 MHz L2 256KB

Reply 11 of 17, by bloodem

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PC@LIVE wrote on 2025-03-22, 14:02:
Thanks a lot I thought it was like in other PCs, all in all quite simple, but maybe in PCs quite dated like these, it is not pos […]
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Thanks a lot
I thought it was like in other PCs, all in all quite simple, but maybe in PCs quite dated like these, it is not possible to make a copy of the BIOS, at least as you would usually do.
So I think, if on "TheRetroWeb" there are no .bin files or similar, it's because they can't be extracted (?), the thing I don't understand 😐, because you need two files, in this case . BI0 and BI1, so I would say, as you suggested, if you can't do the Floppy Recovery, it's because there must still be a hardware problem.
Thank you for your cooperation, and if there is any news, I will let you know.

You're welcome. 😀
It's not due to it being an old (dated) motherboard. It's because we're dealing with an Intel motherboard, which tends to have all sorts of proprietary bullcrap, similar to many system integrators. 😀
But they are sturdy and good looking boards, I'll give them that, with high quality components & Japanese capacitors.

2 x PLCC-68 / 4 x PGA132 / 5 x Skt 3 / 1 x Skt 4 / 9 x Skt 7 / 12 x SS7 / 1 x Skt 8 / 14 x Slot 1 / 6 x Slot A
5 x Skt 370 / 8 x Skt A / 2 x Skt 478 / 2 x Skt 754 / 3 x Skt 939 / 7 x LGA775 / 1 x LGA1155
Current PC: Ryzen 7 9800X3D
Backup: Ryzen 7 5800X3D

Reply 12 of 17, by bloodem

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bloodem wrote on 2025-03-20, 19:12:

Thank you. Yes, I saw the topic, but the linked "mod guide" refers to the socket 5 Intel Plato, which is not really comparable. As far as I could see, those ferrite beads are the only missing components on mine.
I've ordered 10 x PS/2 connectors from China, because I only have combined keyboard + mouse PS/2 connectors in my stash. Will keep this thread updated with my progress.

Well, I've received the PS/2 connectors and can confirm that, besides the actual connectors, the Batman's Revenge board only requires those 3 x ferrite beads, which are needed for the PS/2 mouse voltage, clock and data lines (personally, I went with 3 x Murata 30 Ohms impedance @ 100 MHz, because that's what I had available and it works flawlessly). Btw, the physical size of the FBs is 1210.
Not that happy about doing this mod, I would have preferred a mouse header, but thanks to Intel, I had no choice. 😀

Some pics:

2 x PLCC-68 / 4 x PGA132 / 5 x Skt 3 / 1 x Skt 4 / 9 x Skt 7 / 12 x SS7 / 1 x Skt 8 / 14 x Slot 1 / 6 x Slot A
5 x Skt 370 / 8 x Skt A / 2 x Skt 478 / 2 x Skt 754 / 3 x Skt 939 / 7 x LGA775 / 1 x LGA1155
Current PC: Ryzen 7 9800X3D
Backup: Ryzen 7 5800X3D

Reply 14 of 17, by bloodem

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keropi wrote on 2025-04-09, 12:53:

nicely done!
but these ports don't create an issue where AT cases won't be compatible? you will use some ATX one with custom backplate?

Yes, modern ATX with a blank backplate - RGB and all! 😀 I have big plans! 😁

2 x PLCC-68 / 4 x PGA132 / 5 x Skt 3 / 1 x Skt 4 / 9 x Skt 7 / 12 x SS7 / 1 x Skt 8 / 14 x Slot 1 / 6 x Slot A
5 x Skt 370 / 8 x Skt A / 2 x Skt 478 / 2 x Skt 754 / 3 x Skt 939 / 7 x LGA775 / 1 x LGA1155
Current PC: Ryzen 7 9800X3D
Backup: Ryzen 7 5800X3D

Reply 16 of 17, by maxtherabbit

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bloodem wrote on 2025-04-09, 11:56:
Well, I've received the PS/2 connectors and can confirm that, besides the actual connectors, the Batman's Revenge board only req […]
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bloodem wrote on 2025-03-20, 19:12:

Thank you. Yes, I saw the topic, but the linked "mod guide" refers to the socket 5 Intel Plato, which is not really comparable. As far as I could see, those ferrite beads are the only missing components on mine.
I've ordered 10 x PS/2 connectors from China, because I only have combined keyboard + mouse PS/2 connectors in my stash. Will keep this thread updated with my progress.

Well, I've received the PS/2 connectors and can confirm that, besides the actual connectors, the Batman's Revenge board only requires those 3 x ferrite beads, which are needed for the PS/2 mouse voltage, clock and data lines (personally, I went with 3 x Murata 30 Ohms impedance @ 100 MHz, because that's what I had available and it works flawlessly). Btw, the physical size of the FBs is 1210.
Not that happy about doing this mod, I would have preferred a mouse header, but thanks to Intel, I had no choice. 😀

Some pics:

Well I think it looks nice, and you can find some AT cases which will accommodate this port layout. I have one myself

Reply 17 of 17, by bloodem

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maxtherabbit wrote on 2025-04-09, 15:54:

Well I think it looks nice, and you can find some AT cases which will accommodate this port layout. I have one myself

Thank you!
I have quite a few period correct AT cases in my collection, but none with this dual PS/2 port layout.
Either way, not a problem, I want to do something very different/extreme with this one: a Reverse Sleeper in a very modern case, especially since it will probably be the last full retro PC I build (at least that's what I promised my wife 😁 ).

2 x PLCC-68 / 4 x PGA132 / 5 x Skt 3 / 1 x Skt 4 / 9 x Skt 7 / 12 x SS7 / 1 x Skt 8 / 14 x Slot 1 / 6 x Slot A
5 x Skt 370 / 8 x Skt A / 2 x Skt 478 / 2 x Skt 754 / 3 x Skt 939 / 7 x LGA775 / 1 x LGA1155
Current PC: Ryzen 7 9800X3D
Backup: Ryzen 7 5800X3D