flashjazzcat Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 (edited) Ah: so it's a 64KB sector chip, which makes sense if it's from an early board. It doesn't make all that much difference, in reality, if you're doing a full flash. The 4KB chips are somewhat "safer", though, in general use, since the amount of content which has to be cached while sectors are erased when updating individual slots is basically little to zero. With a 64KB sector chip, updating the PBI BIOS requires a cache/erase/reflash of the main BIOS, and vice-versa. Of course it's all handled transparently by the flasher. Just as long as you heeded these words on the download page before you started: The above notwishtanding: uflash is currently beta software, and it's advisable - as when performing any flash maintenance on your Ultimate 1MB or Incognito - to ensure you have some means of disaster recovery available in the event that the main BIOS becomes corrupted. This could be an external PLCC flasher, or a cartridge capable of reprogramming the 512KB flash ROM. That said, uflash has performed reliably in testing. Edited February 7, 2014 by flashjazzcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 I tried the Trub method, but all that the MF8 says is "Unable to detect flash cartridge." I can put one of the regular MF8 chips in the left socket and it recognizes it immediately as a 4-Mb cartridge. I couldn't flash anything anyway, since I need the internal SDX to flash it. Is it not possible to use another SDX (like the SIDE)? Would it be possible to use one of the 4 Mb chips from the MF8 cart in the Ultimate? -Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roydea6 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 As Roy said, worth a try. The MF flasher obviously doesn't recognize the ID of the (Amic?) chip from your Ultimate. IIRC, the MF carts often use AMD chips, so you can try flashing one of those and sticking it in the Ultimate. Uflash should also subsequently recognize the AMD chip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Answer -- it appears to work perfectly! These chips are "Bright" BM29F040-90AC. Presume they are 90 nsec? But 90 nsec should work fine in an Atari. Never heard of these before, but Trub's ATR did the job! SDX comes up. Appears in quick testing to work just great.!!! Whew! Plenty of excitement today! What chip do I really want to get to replace the "defunct" Amic? -Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 Does uflash recognize the Bright PLCC? Anyway: I'd recommend SST, as per the latest Ultimate boards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Appears not -- "Unrecognized rom" Do you have a # for the SST handy? -Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariGeezer Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 The BM29F040 contains two different procedures for the autoselect mode. One is the traditional PROM programmer methodology (by taking Address pin A9 to VID) and the other is by writing the Auto Select command sequence into the command register. Following the third bus cycle write command, a read cycle from Address 00H retrieves the BMI manufacturer code ADH, and a read cycle at 01H retrieves the device code of 40H. Scanning the sector addresses (A16, A17, A18) while (A6, A1, A0) = (0, 1, 0) will produce a logical at device output DQ0 for a protected sector. See table 5 for more details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 (edited) Do you have a # for the SST handy? I assume you mean a part number? I can't get near one to have a look right now, but perhaps this is it: http://uk.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Microchip-Technology/SST39SF040-70-4I-NHE/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtI%2bQ06EiAoG9b6MJ3e%2fs9VJKdOBPslpOQ%3d I can add the Bright chip's ID to uflash's table if necessary. It's a 64K sector part. Edited February 8, 2014 by flashjazzcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariGeezer Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 All that's needed to fix Larry's problem is to add the BM29F040 to your table: manufacturer code ADH device code 40H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 See above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 There you go: uflash.xex No way of testing with the Bright chip here, so let me know if it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Thanks, Jon! I'll check it this morning. You were up late! I had another thought about this -- Since Trub's ATR works with the MaxFlash 8 Mb, that should mean that one could put together workbooks and use the MaxFlash Studio to program the Ultimate rom. Certainly not as convenient as UFLASH, but I think I'll give it a try sometime, anyway. -Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Oops! Bricks the rom... Back to the MF8 cart recovery. (But it does recognize the rom description.) -Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Back in business! (Anyone) could someone please verify that this is the correct SST part -- I am going to order a few and I definitely want to get the correct ones! SST39SF040-70-4I-NHE Thanks! Edit: But I do find an issue: nearly every time that MyDos looks at the expanded ram in the Ultimate, it comes back with a different size. If set to 320 Rambo, sometimes says "196" sometimes "224." I don't find this ever with a regular 256K Rambo or the 512K 2011 Freezer or Ram320XL. Don't know what is going on, but certainly needs more investigation on my part. @Roy -- could you please boot with MDos 453 or 455 B4 and go through the config process for the ramdisk and see if you get consistent numbers for the ramdisk size? Thanks! -Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 uflash must be recognizing the RAM size consistently, otherwise it wouldn't permit a full chip flash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 uflash must be recognizing the RAM size consistently, otherwise it wouldn't permit a full chip flash. Does it require 1088 in order to do the full flash or just 576? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roydea6 Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Back in business! @Roy -- could you please boot with MDos 453 or 455 B4 and go through the config process for the ramdisk and see if you get consistent numbers for the ramdisk size? Thanks! -Larry Larry, Yes mine is consistent ... If bios is stock I have no ram disk --320k I get a 2032 FREE SECTORS ram disk --and so on up to 1024k at 8170 FREE SECTORS.. O-RETURN 3 BUFFERS 3 DIGITS XE--YES DRIVE # 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Thanks, Roy. I definitely have a problem somewhere. I suspect I'll have to wait until I get my new SST chips to sort this out. -Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 Does it require 1088 in order to do the full flash or just 576? 1088 if SDX is running in the uppermost extended bank; otherwise just 576. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Larry Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Thanks, Jon. Got an email from Lotharek -- confirmed he is using SST39SF040 (which is what you indicated). Ordered several from China. About two weeks and I should be ready to give UFLASH another try. -Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 Good stuff Larry. If you continue to experience bad flashes, then we may be looking at hardware instability. I say this purely because of the unprecedented nature of the issues you've experienced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle22 Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 I don't think I have asked this before... I hope not. I have searched all over and can't find the answer. Question: What is the purpose of Recovery OS in Incognito? It appears to be the same as the BIOS by comparing the first few lines of the dumps. Is this Recovery OS something that could be used to recover from a bad flash? If so, how? Any and all info appreciated. Thanks, -K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 (edited) UFLASH version 1.0 released http://atari8.co.uk/uflash/ Several improvements and bug fixes: Program no longer crashes after updating the Colleen OS slots File selector now produces descriptive error messages Progress bars give better feedback during lengthy flashes Image files which are too long (as well as too short) are now rejected Manual hardware selection provided for those occasions when very aged BIOS revisions are not recognized Minor bugs in file selector fixed BM29F040 support added Question: What is the purpose of Recovery OS in Incognito? It appears to be the same as the BIOS by comparing the first few lines of the dumps. Is this Recovery OS something that could be used to recover from a bad flash? If so, how? Any and all info appreciated. Presumably just that, but Candle will be the one to ask. Edited February 17, 2014 by flashjazzcat 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockdoc2010 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Well I am almost ready to start installation of several items into a 1200XL and 600XL I have the following.. SIO2USB interface (One internal installable and another left for the rest of my systems) Atarimax 512K memory upgrade for xl systems Ultimate 1MB 2K14 Lotharek (really happy it has flashable ROM slots) SIO2SD internal Lotharek (seemingly very flexible but i need to build a SIO2SD cable I think because it uses serial vs USB) MYIDE 1 for 1200XL by Atarimax/Mr-Atari (with Atari Basic C on eprom) this might be usable on a different system but not sure exactly VBXE 2.1 for XL systems Lotharek Stereo board for XL Systems Lotharek They will obliviously need to attach to the same locations so I need to determine the following.. Applying a 64k upgrade to the 600XL first, can you use a 1064 in addition to that? Can the Ultimate be fitted into a 600XL case? Any conflicts with the 64k upgrade? Can The Simple Stereo be fitted into a 600Xl case? No room for a hard drive so its probably stuck with the SIO2SD option On the 1200XL Atarimax 512k upgrade is probably specific to this computer..it might be for sale!! The IDE interface will work on 1200XL or XEGS. I have a second XEGS style controller that needs to be traded for an 65/130XE style controller. The Ultimate and Atarimax 512 cant be in the 1200 at the same time so If I balk on the 512K then I will have flashable carts and a hard drive and memory. MYIDE 1 internal IDE with Atari Basic Rev C on eprom for 1200XL and 512K upgrade will give me decent memory and a hard drive. but no flash for OSS BasicXE (or others) install. I know that program is larger than atari basic that came with the IDE interface and there is the Extensions disk that needs to be installed in a physical disk (the soon to be installed hard drive?) The eprom is a M2764A and I was wondering if it could hold the BasicXE OSS cartridge ROM in place of atari basic rev C image that is installed. I can use the SIO2SD to autoload rom images I think so the OSS Basic XE issue is probably mute. I like the fact that once you set up the unit it really needs no more intervention, AWESOME due to the fact there was a lack of internal installment options, like an SD cable that would allow for distance between the units for installation of an SD socket in tight locations. SparkFUN has a socket that I will be having to figure out a wiring solution that will attach to the board or preferably slide into the microSD socket on the unit. I basically want the 1200XL to be a powerhouse yet I do want the more portable 600xl to be provided with internal memory and storage. If anyone knows of conflicts that may arise I would love to hear from you!! Thanks Douglas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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