NaderGator - PROJECTS :
So, I got this Gateway Dx4300 computer motherboard with a dead BIOS chip in it that wont start at all, so I figured it must be a corrupt bios. The motherboard was kinda nice that supports Phenom II quad processors & DDR3 ram (I think) .. so I didn't want to waste it just because it had a bad bios chip.
Buy a replacement bios chip you say ? .. sure , but not for $25-$35 .. so I had an idea to build a simple BIOS programmer that I can use to save his board and possibly others in the future ..
so the bios chip was an Macronix MX25L8005 (1MB) .. and .. luckily, it sat on a socket (not soldered in) ..
after asome research, I found a few DIY kits, but the price was way up there .. , comercial ones like the Willem,Acron,SMARTPRO ..etc are also expensive. Eventually I stumbled upon a design that will probably do the job, so I built the simple circuit & started experiminteng with it .. a few attempts later, I was able to reflash the chip with a new bios that saved the motherboard from the garbage man, later I decided to add some improvements to this design to make it more convenient to use in the future.
My design is based on RayeR's with slight improvements, I have added a voltage regulator to power it directly from USB port, a switch and some LED indicators ..
DIY Flash EEPROM BIOS Programmer
Date of this mod: 1/7/2011
AMIC:
A25L05PU/PT (64kB)
A25L10PU/PT (128kB)
A25L20PU/PT (256kB)
A25L40PU/PT (512kB)
A25L80PU/PT (1MB)
A25L16PU/PT (2MB)
A25L32PU/PT (4MB)
A25L64PU/PT (8MB)
A25L512 (64kB)
A25L010 (128kB)
A25L020 (256kB)
A25L040 (512kB)
A25L080 (1MB)
Atmel:
AT26DF041 (512kB)
AT26DF081A (1MB)
AT26DF161A (2MB)
AT26DF321 (4MB)
EON:
EN25P16 (2MB)
EN25P32 (4MB)
EN25P64 (8MB)
EN25P128 (16MB)
EN25F16 (2MB)
EN25F32 (4MB)
EN25F64 (8MB)
EN25F128 (16MB)
Macronix:
MX25L1005 (128kB)
MX25L2005 (256kB)
MX25L4005 (512kB)
MX25L8005 (1MB)
MX25L1605 (2MB)
MX25L3205 (4MB)
MX25L6405 (8MB)
Spansion:
S25FL004A (512kB)
S25FL008A (1MB)
S25FL016A (2MB)
S25FL032A (4MB)
S25FL064A (8MB)
S25FL128P (16MB)
SST:
SST25VF010 (128kB)
SST25VF020 (256kB)
SST25VF040 (512kB)
SST25VF080 (1MB)
SST25VF016 (2MB)
SST25VF032 (4MB)
SST25VF064 (8MB)
SST25VF128 (16MB)
SST26VF016 (2MB)
SST26VF032 (4MB)
SST26VF064 (8MB)
ST Microelectronic:
M25P10 (128kB)
M25P20 (256kB)
M25P40 (512kB)
M25P80 (1MB)
M25P16 (2MB)
M25P32 (4MB)
M25P64 (8MB)
M25P128 (16MB)
Winbond:
W25X10 (128kB)
W25X20 (256kB)
W25X40 (512kB)
W25X80 (1MB)
W25X16 (2MB)
W25X32 (4MB)
W25X64 (8MB)
Supported chips (and possibly others) :
NOT BAD AT ALL FOR A $5 HOME-MADE FLASHER !!!
The finishd PCB in action, just remember to erase the chip first before re-programming, it works best that way... the extra 3 pin white-connector you see is for my personal use to get +5VDC & +3.3VDC directly out (optional) .. you don't need to have that
Software ???
There are many option out there that work with SPI based LPT port programmer .. I tested a few, SPIPGM (DOS) worked best for me .. the pic below is from a Window$ based GUI that I also tested .. and finaly, I will definately make a nice housing for this PCB and add a ZIF socket to make it more convenient to use ..
And off-course .. here's the schematic ..
Do this project at your own risk. As with any electronic project, you may risk damaging your motherboard or controller. I will not be responsible for it.