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I decided to modify my VoodooMAC BIOS enabling DVI out for PC.

There are two different versions here.

Here's how they look.

With the 3dfx logo.
Image Insert:
(https://www.3dfxzone.it/public/uploaded/trigger/20068415465_V5DVIBIOS.JPG)
12.21 KB

Without the 3dfx logo.
Image Insert:
(https://www.3dfxzone.it/public/uploaded/trigger/20068583431_V5DVI.jpg)
41.47 KB

Fully tested of course.

You can grab them here if you like. (Flash tools included)
Download Attachment: (https://www.3dfxzone.it/enboard/images/icon_paperclip.gif) V5DVIbios.zip (https://www.3dfxzone.it/public/uploaded/trigger/20068583752_V5DVIbios.zip)
301.68 KB

Thanks go out to to tdfx for his great bios editor v1.6.

Nice work !
Is there also a modifyed BIOS for Voodoo5 without DVI out ?
( because i have a regular v5 without DVI )
I like very much the new look with the 3dfx logo.;)
thanx.
Radu.

No problem Radu!

Just send me your BIOS. You can grab that file above for the DUMPBIOS.EXE if you don't have it already.

Or just let me know what version you would like and if it's AGP or PCI.

I can change the color of the 3dfx logo if you like.
I'm working from the offical logo in Photoshop (3dfx.eps).

For those with Photoshop.
Download Attachment: (https://www.3dfxzone.it/enboard/images/icon_paperclip.gif) 3dfx.zip (https://www.3dfxzone.it/public/uploaded/trigger/2006863319_3dfx.zip)
20.68 KB

I can also make it display the last two lines.
I Just thought it looked better without them.

To give you an idea of how it looks. Ignore the last line, that's easily fixed.

Image Insert:
(https://www.3dfxzone.it/public/uploaded/trigger/2006863279_logofullinfo.JPG)
14.96 KB

looks better with the last 2 lines imho :) nice work Trigger ;)

Yeah.... looking at it now I think your right Obi-Wan. A little extra information too! ;)


Just as a side note: I used a red 3dfx logo and it came out blue.
But I think I may have it under control.

Here's your choice of colors (4-bit color  = 16 colors)
Welcome to the world of EGA.

Image Insert:
(https://www.3dfxzone.it/public/uploaded/trigger/200687153633_ColorPallet.JPG)
32.35 KB

Sorry... no orange! [:(!]

Final product I guess!

I managed to figure out the colors.
Turns out Red actually looks more like Orange.

Image Insert:
(https://www.3dfxzone.it/public/uploaded/trigger/20068955458_3dfxOrange.jpg)
109.34 KB

Download Attachment: (https://www.3dfxzone.it/enboard/images/icon_paperclip.gif) v5dvi_wo.zip (https://www.3dfxzone.it/public/uploaded/trigger/200689112958_v5dvi_wo.zip)
66.1 KB

Awesome! :D

Probably a stupid question, but with this BIOS, the normal VGA port is still the primary display, correct? I've finally found a use for my Voodoo 5 MAC (which I bought ages ago to put in a real mac that has since been moved back to parts.

PS: I like the blue logo better :-D

very nice Trigger looks nice with the Blue and Orange logo's only my MAC 5500 is a secondary card so flash'n my cards will be useless since my X1900 XTX is my main VGA.[:I]

But the idea is very creative ;)

nice work ! couldn't you actually make a real big 3dfx logo as bootscreen ? And somwhere small in the corner the bios version etc. ?

hey that's a good idea hmm sounds tastey Hiero ! , why not for all 3dfx cards like our Voodoo 5 6000's, 5000 AGP's, 5000 PCI's, 5500 AGP's, 5500 PCI's and all Voodoo Banshee, Voodoo3 and Voodoo4 cards? [:P]

"There is no such thing as a stupid question!" -- Some GURU

QuoteProbably a stupid question, but with this BIOS, the normal VGA port is still the primary display, correct? I've finally found a use for my Voodoo 5 MAC (which I bought ages ago to put in a real mac that has since been moved back to parts.

Are you kidding amp_man?! You've got an old voodooMAC just lying around doing nothing?
Still unexorcised?!

OK ok ok ok ....These are completely normal BIOS's for just your card!
Normal being for use in a PC with the bonus of DVI enabled if you so choose.

PLEASE NOTE: I don't know If you can flash your VoodooMAC back to Macintosh format.

Depending upon what port you are using VGA or DVI, that will be your primary display. One or the other only. If your using the card as a secondary adapter those screenshots above is what you'll see on the output screen, until you tell your OS to extend your desktop space or something.

Most of what I've done here is Aesthetics! I just wanted my BIOS to Report exactly what it did. I've actually gone for the dark green 3dfx logo for my US V5MAC and Yellow for my Euro V5MAC. Some sort of color coding i guess. :)

US version
Image Insert:
(https://www.3dfxzone.it/public/uploaded/trigger/20069913235_USV5MACBOX.JPG)
42.13 KB

Euro version
Image Insert:
(https://www.3dfxzone.it/public/uploaded/trigger/200699132335_EUR5500macbox.JPG)
25.18 KB

As far as the size of the logo, you'd have to talk to tdfx about that.
His great BIOS editor only accepts 64x48 images at the moment.
I did see quite a bit of room in the BIOS dump, but how much can you fit in to 64.0 KB (65,536 bytes)!?

heyheyhey! good to see that amp still peeks in here from time to time :).as for the voodoo5mac,its just like trigger said,the latest PC BIOS will allow you to use the card in your pc without problems.I have flashed mine like half a year ago and it works great,no problems so far..I havent tried the dvi though.

see you around ;)

QuoteOriginally posted by trigger
Are you kidding amp_man?! You've got an old voodooMAC just lying around doing nothing?
Still unexorcised?!

Yep [:0] Or at least I did have until about a week ago. It's now up and running, running ZenWalk linux. Still trying to get 3D acceleration working, but that's not a huge deal, it's in a file server.

QuotePLEASE NOTE: I don't know If you can flash your VoodooMAC back to Macintosh format.

I dumped the original BIOS before flashing it, so in theory, I should be able to just flash it back. In reality, I highly doubt I'll ever need to, due to the complete lack of OS 10.3 support (which is what I was running on the mac, when it had a hard drive and ram, those are now in the server :D).

@ps47: nice to see you're still kicking around too!

I fiddled about with the 3dfx BIOS editor back in 2004 or thereabouts while I was looking into the Voodoo5 overclocking issue (where only one processor's clock is adjustable).  It's not that hard to take the bit of code that enables DVI on the MAC version and copy and paste it into vacant part of the BIOS image file in PC version BIOS image.  The string in the BIOS file simply signifies if it's present or not.  I think quite a few people have done this in the past, the problem is that there is (well there was) a general reluctance within the "3dfx community" to make such things available generally, at least unpackaged anyway.

Hi to all,

In particular:

ps47 how's it going?

amp_man it's been a long time!

Later.

Caravel

my lastest version:
Special Voodoo 4/5 bioses: http://people.overclockers.ru/rbws/record3
3dfx flash 2.17 mod: http://people.overclockers.ru/rbws/record4
tdfx bios editor v1.62: http://www.overclockers.ru/download?181:tdfx_bios_editor_1.62.rar

Hey Rainbow!

Could you give us a rundown of what is modified with the 3dfx flash 2.17 mod in English? Do we need this flash tool specifically for your BIOS's?

Special Voodoo 4/5 bioses look self explanatory with the screenshots.
I like the VGA Bios Setup v1.1, choice! ;)
I'll be giving that a spin!

I'm also getting a 403 Forbidden error on your link to the tdfx bios editor v1.62.

Someone was asking about the size of the logo image as well. Can we get images larger than 64x48?

Cheers!

Hi!

oops...
tdfx bios editor v1.62: http://download.overclockers.ru/video_bios/3dfx_bioses/tdfx_bios_editor_1.62.rar

sorry, on my bad english.... :(

3dfx flash 2.17 mod:
1. Based on "3dfx flash 2.17" source code.
2. Before flashing, displays all 3dfx cards on system and their PCI location.
3. Displays vendor and mark flash chip (bios chip).
4. Saves original bios (from card), without flashing.
5. Fixes small bug, if system has several PCI buses.

My bioses flashed with any 3dfx flashers. I'm tested v2.11, v2,14 and 2.17.

QuoteSomeone was asking about the size of the logo image as well. Can we get images larger than 64x48?

where? in bios editor or special bioses?

in bios editor - possible. BMP must have 16 colors, uncompressed and width must divide on 8 without remainder (i.e. 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 72, 80, 88, 96, ...), height can be any. The maximum size is defined from free space in bios image.

in special bioses - only when compiling bios from source code. restrictions as in editor.

QuoteOriginally posted by Rainbow

my lastest version:
Special Voodoo 4/5 bioses: http://people.overclockers.ru/rbws/record3
3dfx flash 2.17 mod: http://people.overclockers.ru/rbws/record4
tdfx bios editor v1.62: http://www.overclockers.ru/download?181:tdfx_bios_editor_1.62.rar

guys, did anyone grab those BIOSes? they are not available anymore..

I should have backed up them somewhere.

Let me check.

In the meanwhile you can retrieve tdfx editor and 3dfx flash (latest release) here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ueh75itrbfvs6i6

http://www.mediafire.com/?yzajfio5ohs89ox

EDIT: OK, forget the links, they have expired.

I asked Glide to upload these files at 3dfxzone but looks like He forgot to do it.

I hope to come back with good news

Here you go:

http://205.196.122.209/1cxaisv628wg/fakafofsyb1ezyu/rainbow+stuff.zip

Archive contains:

spbiosb03.rar
spbiosb04.rar
flash217.rar
tdfx_bioseditor_1.62.7z

Thanks to Rainbow who sent me the spbiosb04 release:)

EDIT:

spbiosb03 archive contains bioses primarily for AGP and PCI Voodoo4/5 cards (+ early bios for VoodooMAC 5500)

spbiosb04 archive contains the 03 release for the AGP/PCI cards + latest bioses for the Mac cards. So this one is the definitive release. The main difference between 04 and the previous build is the possibility to use both the VGA and DVI port at the same time (dual display port)!

I would strongly suggest the admin to put these files online and store them at 3dfxzone.it once for all before they vanish again, with all the needed credits that Rainbow deserves.

I talked with the author and he agreed.

The archive, named "Rainbow VSA-100 BIOS KIT", is on line here: https://www.3dfxzone.it/dir/3dfx/voodoo5/bios/tools/

Many thanks to Rainbow for the good work and the contribution, and to goriath :).

Bye bye

Awesome!!

Thanks;)

thanks guys ;)

Kind Mod,

thank you also to you for the continous support and tips!

Bye bye

@goriath: did you try to use both the VGA and DVI port at the same time (dual display port) ?
The release 04 should do this :D

QuoteOriginally posted by m14radu

@goriath: did you try to use both the VGA and DVI port at the same time (dual display port) ?
The release 04 should do this :D

Nope, I didn't. My VoodooMAC 5500 is not working anymore so I can't at the moment.

Did you try these bioses? On my Voodoo5 5500 AGP I get a strange behaviour at the VGA Bios Setup; timings and clock rate are hidden until you try to move selector through the arrow keys, so they suddenly come out but they aren't setted at default values, they all start from 0 instead. You have to recall the correct values for the SDRAM and set them again, otherwise if you don't the screen will get corrupted.

BTW, I found that if you increase the clock rate inside the bios, only one VSA100 will be overclocked.

I already informed Rainbow about that (and other). I don't know if he's still working on these bioses. I'm waiting for his answer anyway.

no, i did not test the new release.

If the new release overclock only one bios, then maybe also the memory timmings changes are not fully working.
Personaly i like the possibility to overclock the card directly fro bios :)

Let's hope that rainbow will continue the good work !

Glad to see this thread existed :)

Needed some V4 4500 PCI MAC bios for PC so I could use the DVI output. Works like a dream. Big thanks!