BIOS Updates forum

OK, tried AWDFLASH 5.2c that is in the same folder as the bios on FC's FTP...
But THEN i tried UNIFLASH, and it beeped and showed me this one:
What? My 486 PC -HAS- a PCI bus and it works well! If it wouldn't respond, my PCI Graphics-card wouldn't work. How can I update my BIOS? I will purchase an AMD 486-100MHZ Socket 3 CPU tomorrow, but an info file on the First International Computers's FTP Server said, that I have to update my bios for the CPU to work properly...!

How can I get this working?

Bye,
Oerg

there are two things that i would like to point out. 1st: is the chipset on the motherboard supported by uniflash? 2nd: is there a FLASH installed on your motherboard? almost all 486 mainboards had eproms installed which can not be programmed in the mainboard but need a special external programmer (and a special eprom eraser)

Yes, it's displayed correctly.

I ripped the sticker off and......! There's a little window.. So if there's a window, is it a Chip that's flashable or not?

Greets
Oerg

congratulations! your problem is solved: this chip is not flashable because it is an eprom (without the extra e at the beginning). it can only be cleared with uv-light and only be programmed in an external programmer.
so you either find someone with the appropriate equipment or stick to the current bios (or you can take a flash programmable chip from another board, but hell no! i'm not going to explain this here).
before you try anything: are you sure your board and cpu will NOT work with your current bios?

It's right from FIC..

"486-VIP-IO

Item: AMD DX4-100 Jumper Settings


Use the BIOS version 427GN2A.awd.

Note:

CPU Voltage ---- 3.45V Use daugther board.

Other jumpers:

JC7 --- Open
JC8 --- 1-2
JC9 --- 1-2
J27 --- 2-3
JT3 --- 2-3
JT4 --- 1-2
J19 --- 1-2"

PS: And what is "Use daughter board" - Does this mean that I have to solder something? NO, PLEASE!

Before I bought myself a programmer some time ago, I always found that
any Intel 28F010 dip type chip I'd saved from boards I'd trashed,
worked well in any socket 3 system that already had a 32pin windowed
eprom chip in it.
And the awdflash utilities used to flash the boards usually always detected
& flashed the i28F010 chip without errors or problems.
probably of no use to the 1st poster but thought I'd mention it if by some
chance he had access to the later type intel chip I mentioned.
I used to just boot the system with the original chip, then whilst booted
to a dos prompt just before attempting to flash the bios, I would swap the
windowed chip for the i28F010 chip & flash it, got to keep the original bios
too that way so in the event of any problems like bad floppy or corrupt
bios I wasn't left with a dead board.

Hm, that would work probably, if i only had another chip... I'm gonna find one definetly, but where ? Hm, my version is the 26, not the 27, so maybe it still works... So what does the daughterboard mean?

just guessing, but the daughterboard may be a voltage regulator board that provides the correct cpu voltage (3.45V) for the AMD cpu. the mainboard itself may have a 5V regulator or maybe a 3.3V regulator, too. they are fixed voltage linear regulators attached to a heatsink. easy to find. just post what's written on those parts.

For whatever reason, this is an all female "family" relationship... motherboard -> daughterboard.

In this case the daughterboard "might" be a VRM (Voltage Regulator Module).

You could try getting an aftermarket BIOS with flash capabilities (again...a plug-in daughterboard). I did this a long time ago for an old Packard Bell 486 PC so I could install a larger HDD.

Thanks.

@Oerg: can you send in a clear photo of the entire board and another closeup of the CPU socket area? This way we might be able to spot any possible locations for a daughterboard/voltage regulator. If there are none you may not need one after all.

The mainboard

CPU area

CPU area again.


Schematic image of the board.

I Hope this Helps.

Bye,
Oerg.

Eh, What the hell?

Jumper JC8 CPU type select Intel/AMD DX4

??????

They say it works, and that it doesn't? Umm yeah?

you got the 27 bios loaded then?