repairs

How to flash bios chips with Raspberry Pi

This post is an addition to my previous post: “How to flash bios chips with Arduino“. While doing some research online I found several articles/posts from people using a Raspberry Pi to flash SPI flash chips. Apparently the Raspberry Pi  is very suitable for this kind of thing as it has a SPI interface and is able to run linux. I was eager to try this out for myself so I got out my Pi 3 model B and got to work. For this project I used a Winbond 25X80 salvaged from a motherboard I had lying around. Outline of… Read More »How to flash bios chips with Raspberry Pi

Updating TOS to version 1.04

After finishing the drive swap mod on my Atari 1040 STF I continued browsing the Atari forum’s hardware section and found a post/guide on how to update the operating software. In general, updating the OS is advisable as newer versions may contain bug fixes, security updates and increased I/O compatibility. The same goes for my Atari. The last available version for my machine, 1.04 a.k.a. Rainbow TOS, contains all of the above and is found to be faster overall. On the Atari, the OS is stored on two or in my case six ROM (Read Only Memory) chips. As the… Read More »Updating TOS to version 1.04

How to flash bios chips with Arduino

In this post I will explain how to flash bios chips with an Arduino. We will be using a Arduino Duemilnove (uno, mega or clones do also work) and a ASUS P5B motherboard that no longer boots after a failed bios update. Here is an outline of the steps (some of these steps are not strictly necessary but I figured they might help the uninitiated): Identify board Find documentation for the board Locate and identify bios chip Find documentation for the chip Find pinout and operating voltages (important) Prepare the Arduino and installing flashrom Connecting the Arduino to the chip… Read More »How to flash bios chips with Arduino