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how to enable bootrom on network cards

soviet9922

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2013
Messages
552
Location
Montevideo, Uruguay
Hi i have been trying to enable the boot rom on several network cards but proved imposible to do so
Have several UM9003AF and DM9008F cards.
Try to enable the boot ROM on 5 different 286 xt and 386 computers and was unable to do so.



Downloaded the software for the um9003 called LANSET
The software detects the presence of the UM9003 card and show it (if i remove it will get another screen)
But says "ANY KEY TO CONTUNUE" (its not a typo) if a press any key it will exit.
Using the /RESCUE mode let me change the base address try several diferent ones same result.



now the 9008 card the setup program let me change all options but not enable the boot ROM.
No matter if is 16k 32k 64k and on what computer y try tested using a bare 286 and an old 360 floppy and network card.
Always same error, have 6 9008 chip based lan cards.
ERROR:


Someone have been able to enable the rom on this chipset cards ?
 
Hmmm, I have at least one similar card, but the rear of it is labeled "Magitronic". I think I've got the setup disk for it. I'll give it try this week with a boot PROM. All of these setup programs differ slightly from one another--yours doesn't look familiar.
 
Is it that you don't know the code that needs to run or that you don't know how to get the boot code to run it?
Dwight
 
Do you actually have an EPROM inserted when you try to enable the boot ROM? Because both those cards have empty sockets...

You should select the size that matches the code on the chip. If the code size is smaller than the chip size, duplicate it to fill the chip when you program it.
 
I have the software packet drivers for the 9008 and 9003 cards this work i can network using mtcp.

The main issue is the other software that let you change the config of this cards address jumperless or pnp mode etc don't let you enable the boot rom socket.

In the 9008 i have try to enable it having no ROM inserted, having a 27c64,27c128,27c256,27c512,w27512 eeprom inserted and it will always says the same error (i have several of this cards and always the same in all of them) also tested this in several computers and always fail.

May be the software is for this chipset but the cards need another especial software or something like this.

What i have found is one of this 9003 cards that already have the boot rom option enabled beforehand placed a 27c256 and XTIDE worked like charm.
So there's must be a way to enable de boot rom on them.
 
For the boot code to run on a card, as I recall it needs a header, something like AA, 55, or such. Could that be the issue?
Dwight
 
Thanks for the software lanpro, will say it can't find any network card (for the um9003) even forcing the address.
ie16 and 200e will not find the card.
Anyway i can get by using the 9003 card that have the boot rom enabled.
The problem is that my testing for was not very deep now i have tested the um9003af using the ne2000 packet driver when running mtcp dhcp or ping etc i got a timeout and an error "the server never responded they where no packets seen on the wire".
Maybe it need an especial packet driver ?, or is just bad.
I use ne2000 0x60 3 0x340 and the card is find got the mac address. Tried also other irqs.
 

physical and chemical properties of ammonia

OK now i finally managed to get the uf9008 card working the software is called pcnet setup or something like that.
so i have done a zip file renamed included the setup that let you change settings and the packet driver.



attached 2 hosting sites.:
https://www.filehosting.org/file/details/763667/um9008f driver setup.zip
http://s000.tinyupload.com/?file_id=05937233631979934043

"physical and chemical properties of ammonia"

How is that relevant to this thread?
 
Sorry my submitted files didn't do the trick, but it just goes to show you how cards using the same chip can differ!

Thanks for the files Chuck, they could prove useful for me later maybe in other card model.

And is true same chip set but software for changing configuration must be different.
Maybe the packet drivers are NE2000 but the configuration part is possible to be different in every card. Maybe have to do to the firmware that is loaded in the small flash memory chip in the cards.
It could be cool to dump them to compare but my eprom programmer don't read them
 
That 8 pin DIP is too small for firmware; but it does record settings--and perhaps the secret is how each vendor records them. Just another good reason to hang onto the installation media when you bought the NIC. ;)
 
Hmmm, I wonder if most people are like me--I have manuals for motherboards and adapter cards that have long been discarded or given away. When I offer a card here, I'll include the manual, if I can find it. Sometimes the "manual" is little more than a sheet of paper that says "plug it in and run the installation software". Those aren't worth keeping.
 
I have the exact same card as your first image and I did get it to work.

If I recall correctly (this was 12 months ago...) I had to set the boot rom address *first* before enabling it. The error your getting, again if my memory serves me correctly, is basically saying the address you specified is already in use by something else in the system. I might have also turned off rom shadowing in the bios (temporarily) while I enabled the boot rom and then reactivated it when done.... I also may have reserved some ROM space in the bios or something like that too.....

Whatever I did I remember there was a trick to it....

If your still stuck I can boot up the old PC I installed it in and post up the configuration utility I used.
 
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