Pentium I BIOS trouble...

[basix]

The other day I was trying to get my old pentium I working as a router. I installed Linux and it went well. But then after a few reboots I started getting a message "Checksum error, defaults loaded". But this message wouldn't go away. So I thought may be the dust is interfering with the BIOS. So I tried to pull out the chip and unfortunately some of the legs just snapped off it. It was quite old... Anyway, now I am in a fix. I already spent a few hundred bucks in networking equipment and my router box won't work simply because the BIOS chip is busted. Here is the info I have got about the computer:

1. Pentium I 166MHz
2. VIA chipset. (I can see chips with numbers like VT82C586A, VT82C587VP and VT82C585VPX)
3. There is no motherboard model other than a 5SVA ver 1.3 written on it.
4. It's a socket 7 motherboard.
5. It's an Award BIOS (Award 1997 PCI/PNP 586 117256043)

I peeled off the label from the BIOS chip and I could see the following detail: Flash P28F001 BXT120 U74918J1 1990 1993

What do I do now? I heard from a friend that these are "EEPROM" chips which can be easily replaced. I just need to get the BIOS software and write it on a fresh EEPROM. But that is as far as he could tell me. So my questions are:

1. Is he right?
2. Which EEPROM should I use?
3. I dont have the BIOS string. How do I find the right software?
4. Where do I get the software for my CPU/Motherboard?
4. How do I program(flash?) the new chip?
5. How much will the chip cost me?

Please help me out. I am short on cash now so don't ask me to purchase a new machine

Thanks in advance!!!

[zonxar]

This appears to be a Zida Tomato board, model 5SVA. The current BIOS chip seems to be an Intel product, but you can probably cross-reference to several other manufacturers (using the P28F001BXT120 part number). These are relatively inexpensive to purchase, less than $10 CDN. There is a BIOS update here:

http://mobokive.dyndns.org/Archive/Zida/bios/5sva/

There is a lot of BIOS flashing information on this site, but if you don't want to do it yourself, companies like badflash.com can provide this service at a moderate price.

[basix]

zonxar, thank you VERY MUCH for your help . I struggled a hell lot to get that motherboard out of the case. I got hold of the following info:

Tomato Board
P/N 00-5SVA-20AX-P0
MI - 886PB 0398
S/N 24716186
5SVA-256K

So it definitely is a Tomato board but dunno whether the manufacturer is Zida (since there is no mention of zida anywhere on the board). Anyway, I guess I will take your word for it because you definitely know a whole lot more than me.

Now, let me get this clear. All I need to do is get an EEPROM with part no. P28F001BXT120. And flash it with the bios utility you gave me? Now that the P I is dead I can't run the flash utility on it. Will I need to "hot flash it" on another motherboard? I have a PIII. Is it ok if I use it? Will hot flashing damage this board? Can I use a similar EEPROM? How do I know which EEPROMs are compatible with my board? I will search the forum for exact steps to take while hot flashing but I would appreciate if you could answer these questions

Thanks!!!

Edit: The link to hotflash tutorial(in the collected wisdom forum http://www.wimsbios.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=509) is broken:
http://rainbow.ht.st/hardware/hotflash.html

All I get is "redirect by ulimit.com"

Is there a mirror for this tutorial??

Edit2: I found a chip with the exact part number. But I dont know who the manufacturer is. Should I buy it? Will it work?

[zonxar]

Hi again,

Here is another link that explains the method:

http://www.rainbow-software.org/hardware/hotflash.html

If the chip you found has the exact same part number it will work. These chips can usually be cross-referenced to other manufacturers as well.

[basix]

Thanks for all your help. I just want to know one more thing. Where could I find the manual for my motherboard? Zida's website has a broken link . I don't know whether I need to reconfigure some of the jumpers inorder to program the new BIOS while hot swapping...Do have any idea? I can see some jumpers near the BIOS chip. Dont know what they do.

[KURIAKI]

http://www.hodnet.hu/driver/ALAPLAP/Zida/5SVA0160.PDF