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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: Ianoakley on February 07, 2006, 02:59:15 PM
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I've been tesing what few components I've got left and unfortunately 2 sets of 3.1 roms appears to have "died". I say that because 3.0 roms work OK in the motherboard but are not of much use if you use OS 3.5/3.9.
Can roms be repaired / reprogrammed or are they now scrap?
:-?
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You can add them to my collection of dead 3.1 roms, I'm planning to make a necklace when I have enough.
by the way, 2 sets means, 2 sets ? you mean 4 chips ? how did you manage to do that ?
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No, those ROM's can't usually be repaired/re-programmed. I think there were actually a few versions around, but I don't recall any legal ROMs being programmed into erasable chips.
I know of 2 common types of erasable PROMs, the UV windowed type, requiring exposure to appropriate lamps for erasure, and electrically erasable.
As a (presumably) legal owner of the ROMs, you could probably burn a couple of backup pairs, using your kick.rom file.
I'm not sure how you would go getting a blank replacement part, but I think it should be possible.
There is a number of hobby eprom programmer designs around, ranging in features, complexity, cost and ease of use. SiliconChip designed a kit, which may be available to you somewhere. Additionally, a number of business commonly program PROMs, so you may be able to pay for a one off service.
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I just had a quick look around, and it seems the 9316 ROMs used in Amigas, don't have a pin compatible modern replacement. There are arcade/pinball machine techs using a 2716 as a replacement, but require some jumpering and so on, to match the original's configuration. It's not difficult or complicated, but probably more hassle than it's worth for some ROMs.
Apparently, a lot of 9316 chips are dying from old platforms, so it might not be too long before Amigans do start requiring equivalent parts though.