I had a thought today. I know, that's pretty scary. But being without a web server was bugging me, and it really bugged me that I was without a web server only because I didn't have a particular set of ones and zeroes programmed into a read-only memory chip. ARGH! So, desperation called for desperate thoughts.

I wondered if it was possible to burn a flash ROM for one motherboard by using another motherboard. I did a little digging, and lo and behold, some desperate techie person had the same idea I had quite a few years ago. There is a hot flash utility that will allow me to do this. The problem is, I need a working computer to try it on.

The other computer that I killed would have been perfect to try this on. But, since it is dead, that left me extremely desperate, so I took other measures.

I got out my magic box.

My magic box consists of bits and pieces of old computers - motherboards (of the '486 variety), serial cards, video cards, ethernet cards - cards out the wazoo! I wondered if the motherboards were too old to have programmable BIOS chips in them. One is definitely too old (it has a genuine EPROM on it - with the UV erase window and all). But at least one of the other motherboards has an EEPROM on it. I couldn't find the datasheet on it, no matter how deep I dug on the Web, so I know it is old. It has a 27C part number, which made me think it was an EPROM, but it also has the programming voltage printed right on the chip, so I know it is electrically programmable. It also has the same number of pins as the BIOS on my dead server, but I don't know if the pinout is compatible or even if it can be programmed with the flash utility I have (it doesn't have this chip listed among the supported chips, so probably not).



Anyway, I just thought it was cool that I assembled a working '486 (100 MHz) computer on my desk top. No case - just the motherboard with a video card, a multi I/O card (with no disk drives attached -- yet), power supply and a keyboard and monitor.

It works just fine!

I suppose I could put together a really slow web server with it. Maybe another time.

By the way, a new theory as to why my other computer died was that I think I may have plugged the power supply connecters in the wrong way - plugging P8 into where P9 should have gone, and P9 into where P8 should have gone. That would have put 12V where only 5V would have been happy. A definite possibility.

Also, after assembling a computer on my desk, I never got to try the hot flash utility after all. I don't know if it will work, I don't think it will work, and I'm not going to kill another computer in the process. SO THERE!