If the flash ROM is empty there is just no way the HW can initialize itself. It's rather stupid to blame Phase5 for the trouble you're having.
Have you ever tried to flash a PC motherboard with an empty BIOS?
Hint: It won't even POST.
It's rather stupid to make flash files that are just updates, because there is actually more work to take care not to overwrite those parts that are not covered by the update. So it would have been easier to make full dumps and also secure if they are crypted like Framiga says they are.
I won't blame Phase 5 for the trouble. I blame them for "going under the fence where it is lowest" and still getting near cult reputation which they in my opinion never would have deserved.
By inspecting and repairing 2 Blizzards 1260s, 2 Cyberstorms PPCs and 1 Cyberstorm Mk 2. I have seen so many design flaws, bad inspection and bad component choises it had made me highly doubt their know-how.
An example: One Blizzard 1240 I owned had resistor network with non-soldered feet. All that time since it was manufactured that resistor network was hiding under the CPU and slowly it lost contact because it only touched pad with no solder at all. Well I desoldered 040 CPU and ran microscopic inspection under it and found it. Luckily card came into life and I updated it to 060 version. But for expensive products like they were, should not have contained these kind of rookie manufacturing errors.
No I have not tried to boot PC mobo with empty BIOS chip. I have never managed to be unsuccessful enough to corrupt any BIOS. But after all this time they have started to put their BIOS files to easy detachable socketed ZIP ICs just to allow easy swap in case of failure. For example my new Asus P8P67 Deluxe motherboard has this feature. So my point is, if Blizzard 1240/1260 had firmware chip in socketed PLCC that is easy to extract ans swap, in Blizzard PPC they should have never gone to soldered TSOP chip just because it was cheaper as manufacturing process and lacks one work routine of assembling that PLCC chip after PLCC socket is paste soldered.
I want to explain the reason why I initially thought it might be possible to flash empty 29F040 on board is:
Because of the first reply I thought flash memory only contains those libraries and some of the programmable logic chips located in the card contained data cards needs for intitializing itself. The fact that there are keys that can be depressed to disable the card or its features supported my thought about this theory.
If I would have working BlizzardPPC and some foolish bravery I could try what happens if I boot some A1200 with working card and then hot swap the one with empty flash, and then, assuming I do it fast enough (which surely is impossible) that A1200 does not reset, then trying to flash assuming flash data is loaded in memory. :crazy:
