Re: Ti-89 Died
[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
Re: Ti-89 Died
>>when the good board is booted, then the eeprom chip is removed
>>carefully, and replaced with the bad chip.
I'm not sure - point me to reliable technical info - but
BIOS means Basic Input Output System and as far as I know it's impossible
even to execute the flash command without using BIOS instructions ... to
load the file from disk require a BIOS (at least any known OS use BIOS
instructions) or a program written specifically for this computer (it might
not even work on your neighbour's computer if he has floppy drive of another
make or another graphics card...) and this program might not use any OS
instruction so it has to be done in plain assembly and placed in the boot
sector on a floppy - Puh!
A lot of BIOSes' themselves run instructions anyway e.g. to keep track of
the current time...
Removing BIOS from a running computer would thus make it crash
*immediately*...
And yet I haven't even talked about the fact that most BIOS flashing
commands tries to identify the current BIOS version and size before even
letting you flash the BIOS.
And did I tell you that many computers (Olivetti, Commodore...) are very
different to take apart (the harddisk frame of some Olivetties is even
bolted to the chassis) and that some BIOS chips aren't mounted in sockets
meaning you need to desolder the chip while the computer is running before
you could remove it, then you might solder the bad chip on the board,
attempt to flash it, desolder it...
Let me know if YOU manage to do it:-)
Kasper
PS: I forgot that the virus might have destroyed your video card, CD-ROM,
modem, scsi-harddisk, scanner,... (brain) as well.
Follow-Ups:
References: