Geforce 6600/6200 Rom Makers

[DearthnVader]

We dug up some of these old Geforce ROM maker by Arti Itra, maybe of use to the diehard PPC folks around here.

I can't remember my login to the MacElite wiki, hopeful one day we can add these to the Wiki.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1CGzDE3xlhjfmErVn3lk_x6rH22-15UO1

Enjoy, I'll try and answer any question if I can remember them.

 

[LightBulbFun]

Oh wow I didn't realise there where ROM makers for other cards!

thank you very much for posting these

I have an XFX WAMG (not WANG) 6200 That I plan to test it on

(the WAMG is the DDR1 version of the WANG 6200)

ill let you know how it goes

 

[mode11]

How do you use these?

 

[LightBulbFun]

How do you use these?

PC ROM goes in Mac version of that ROM comes out


Generally you will want the (64KB) No sensor one if available.

then open the app on a PPC mac and it will ask you for the source ROM this has to be the PC VBIOS of the card you want to flash

then once ya select your PC ROM, it will think for a moment and ask you to save the new Mac ROM somewhere, so gave it an aproprate name and choose your folder, and it will spit out a Mac ROM for your PC card, generated from the specs in your PC Card ROM.

then ya just flash the Mac ROM to your PC card as per normal and hope it works

(I Know the GeForce4 Ti one works well, im hoping to test the 6200 one soon, and the 6600 one once i get a suitable PC card to try and flash along with some larger EEPROMs as PC 6600s need 128KB EEPROMs soldered on)

 

[DearthnVader]

Here is the ultimate PCI card for the Yikes and B&W( Won't work in Old World, yet )

Not my auction!

EVGA NVIDIA GeForce 6200 512MB DDR2 Video Card | eBay

1988 E. Alpine Ave.

www.ebay.com

I did make a ROM for the 512MB card with the 64k 6200 ROM Maker, but I also had a Windows tool that Arti Itra also made called NVStrap Editor.

That tool has now been lost, so it may take some doing to get the correct NV_STRAP for all 512MB of VRAM to be working in your New World PCI Graphics machine.

I don't have a B&W or a Yikes or I'd be all over this NOS card, but you may want to check what outputs the card has, some of these cards only have VGA, and it would kind of be a waste if it wasn't Dual Head DVI+VGA.

If someone buys it, let me know, and I'll help you get all 512MB working, if I can w/o the NVStrap Editor.

 

[LightBulbFun]

Here is the ultimate PCI card for the Yikes and B&W( Won't work in Old World, yet )

Not my auction!

EVGA NVIDIA GeForce 6200 512MB DDR2 Video Card | eBay

1988 E. Alpine Ave.

www.ebay.com

I did make a ROM for the 512MB card with the 64k 6200 ROM Maker, but I also had a Windows tool that Arti Itra also made called NVStrap Editor.

That tool has now been lost, so it may take some doing to get the correct NV_STRAP for all 512MB of VRAM to be working in your New World PCI Graphics machine.

I don't have a B&W or a Yikes or I'd be all over this NOS card, but you may want to check what outputs the card has, some of these cards only have VGA, and it would kind of be a waste if it wasn't Dual Head DVI+VGA.

If someone buys it, let me know, and I'll help you get all 512MB working, if I can w/o the NVStrap Editor.

did you/they ever get any non PCIe 512MB card working in PPC OS X?

I remember attempts at the special 7800 GS Gainward card, but the moment they tried to enable more then 256MB of VRAM it fell over

I have to wonder if its something to do with the AGP GART etc

so I have wondered if a PCI GeForce 6200 512MB could be flashed successfully since it wont run into any AGP specific issues



(side note I did try flash my XFX WAMG (DDR1 version of the WANG) with a ROM made by the GeForce 6200 64KB ROM maker but It did not work sadly, must revisit that some day)

 

[DearthnVader]

did you/they ever get any non PCIe 512MB card working in PPC OS X?

I remember attempts at the special 7800 GS Gainward card, but the moment they tried to enable more then 256MB of VRAM it fell over

I have to wonder if its something to do with the AGP GART etc

so I have wondered if a PCI GeForce 6200 512MB could be flashed successfully since it wont run into any AGP specific issues



(side note I did try flash my XFX WAMG (DDR1 version of the WANG) with a ROM made by the GeForce 6200 64KB ROM maker but It did not work sadly, must revisit that some day)

Yes, it worked just fine in OS X Tiger, never tested it under Leopard.

All 512MB was active.

 

[pc297]

Great writeup, thanks a lot, I flashed a 256Mb Geforce 6200 PCI to PPC using the 64kb no sensor ROM maker, works like a charm, QE/CI enabled - with transparency that is - on Leopard on a G3 B&W upgraded to G4.

I used nvflash v5.13 using -4 -5 -6 -j, worked fine

Cheers,

 

[PowerfulEra]

Yes, it worked just fine in OS X Tiger, never tested it under Leopard.

All 512MB was active.

Can you post the rom?

 

[DearthnVader]

Can you post the rom?

Sorry, long gone now. Anyway it would be specific to your 6200 card, I used a ROM Maker+ a tool called the NVStrap editor for Windows that I don't have anymore.

Arti Itra wrote the NVStarp Editor for Windows, and there were basically three settings for the VRAM, use the hard strap( resisters ), use the soft strap and the hard strap, or use only the soft strap( ignore the hard strap resisters).

For the 512MB cards it was necessary to use only the soft strap, but without the tool, I'm afraid all that is lost to time and the internet.

 

[ITzTravelInTime]

Are there rom makers for other cards? If yes can you link them?

 

[pc297]

Are there rom makers for other cards? If yes can you link them?

I am wondering how difficult it might be to adapt a 7800 PPC ROM maker, if any is out there, to make a 8XXX PPC ROM maker as nvidia never made PPC roms for those cards It might be supported by the GeforcePPC kext as the intel Geforce kext supports it under intel, or the 10A190 Geforce kext.

OpenGL would be a different story though as there is no ppc Geforce8XXXGLDriver.bundle, if only Apple could release the source code for this one (or actually most of the source code for the GPU kexts including RadeonX2000 to get RadeonHDs working on Leopard PPC, or also for people who bought a WallStreet or Lombard G3 such as myself and who got left behind when OSX was released, ATIRageProGLDriver.bundle )

 

[DearthnVader]

I am wondering how difficult it might be to adapt a 7800 PPC ROM maker, if any is out there, to make a 8XXX PPC ROM maker as nvidia never made PPC roms for those cards It might be supported by the GeforcePPC kext as the intel Geforce kext supports it under intel, or the 10A190 Geforce kext.

OpenGL would be a different story though as there is no ppc Geforce8XXXGLDriver.bundle, if only Apple could release the source code for this one (or actually most of the source code for the GPU kexts including RadeonX2000 to get RadeonHDs working on Leopard PPC, or also for people who bought a WallStreet or Lombard G3 such as myself and who got left behind when OSX was released, ATIRageProGLDriver.bundle )

Up until the GeForce 7900/7600 the Mac and PC ROM's shared a section called the NVDA,BMP. This section contained most all of the 32bit registers needed to properly initialize the GPU and VRAM. With the die shrink 7900/7600 nVidia moved most of this to 7A registers. The Fcode ROMs have a GPU check, and if it doesn't match the Fcode will abort.

The 6200 ROM Maker removes this GPU check, but I'm unsure how that is done and Arti is not around to ask. If you could find the GPU check by detoking the 6600 OEM Fcode ROM and comparing it to the output of the 6200 ROM Maker's detoked Fcode ROM, you would be able to remove the check, but you would only get an improperly initialized card( crazy colors all over your screen ) if you flashed the ROM to a 7900/7600. You'd then have to find all the 7A registers in the PC VBios and figure out how to properly edit them into the Fcode ROM.

THIS IS A WARNING: Doing so may drive you quite mad!

You just end up spending way too much time in a hexedtor comparing 7A strings between the PC BIOS and the Mac FCode ROM. This is not a matter of luck, you'll need to learn 4th, and if you are not willing or able to learn it, you have no real shot of porting the x86 ROM's to Open Firmware compliant FCode ROM's, and you may likely need to learn x86 assembly and how to reverse engineer a PC Video Bios.

Linux PPC has the nouveau open source driver, and it can load a PC VBios from file on disk in early boot to properly initialize supported PC nVidia cards on Linux PPC. This is as close as you are likely going to come to bringing these cards to PPC Mac's and having support at the operating system driver level. While I can confirm that 7900/7600 cards are supported in Tiger and Leopard PPC, later cards are not.

 

[DearthnVader]

Are there rom makers for other cards? If yes can you link them?

GeForce 4 Ti Rom Maker.

GF Ti ROM Maker 2.zip

drive.google.com

 

[pc297]

Has anyone experienced difficulties using DVD player with a 6200 on leopard (with a B&W 600MHz G4)? The aspect ratio is all bungled up, menu text unreadable, but not with a 5200?!? Fine in Tiger though

 

[666sheep]

For the 512MB cards it was necessary to use only the soft strap, but without the tool, I'm afraid all that is lost to time and the internet.

I have a 512MB XFX YAMG in transit, maybe you'd want to refresh your memory in matter of softstraps edition? I'll be trying to unlock full 512MB in the ROM and any help/hint will be welcome. I found some pointers for the start and I think this should be doable (but not simple) even without Arti's tool.

 

[DearthnVader]

I have a 512MB XFX YAMG in transit, maybe you'd want to refresh your memory in matter of softstraps edition? I'll be trying to unlock full 512MB in the ROM and any help/hint will be welcome. I found some pointers for the start and I think this should be doable (but not simple) even without Arti's tool.

This should get you started:

PSTRAPS: straps readout and override — envytools git documentation

envytools.readthedocs.io

 

[flyproductions]

and the 6600 one once i get a suitable PC card to try and flash along with some larger EEPROMs as PC 6600s need 128KB EEPROMs soldered on)

If you are still playing around with this and are not in the mood for soldering, i have ROMs for some of them, at least for the Leadtek Winfast, the Sparkle and a Galaxy, which are 64k and worked for me on these cards.

Could leave them for testing, if you like.

 

[LightBulbFun]

If you are still playing around with this and are not in the mood for soldering, i have ROMs for some of them, at least for the Leadtek Winfast, the Sparkle and a Galaxy, which are 64k and worked for me on these cards.

Could leave them for testing, if you like.

I dont own any GeForce 6600 GT's currently, but very awesome to hear there are 64K ROM's it would be good if you can post em for others now, and me in the future if I ever get my mits on one

funnily enough I was looking at 6600 GT's on ebay the other day, as there is at least 1 AGP 2x compatible one that has Dual Link DVI

which I believe is the only way to get Dual Link DVI in a G4 Cube or Sawtooth/GigE

 

[DearthnVader]

I dont own any GeForce 6600 GT's currently, but very awesome to hear there are 64K ROM's it would be good if you can post em for others now, and me in the future if I ever get my mits on one

funnily enough I was looking at 6600 GT's on ebay the other day, as there is at least 1 AGP 2x compatible one that has Dual Link DVI

which I believe is the only way to get Dual Link DVI in a G4 Cube or Sawtooth/GigE

You have to watch tho, back in the day people tested the AGP "Universal" keyed 6600's and they didn't work with 2x AGP systems.

I think the AGP to PCI-E bridge chip does not know what to do with 3.3v signaling, it can do 1.5v and 0.8v. It was a little bit deceptive that the cards were built on an AGP Universal PCB, I don't know of anyone that ever found one that would work with 2x AGP.

I wonder if the can take the 64k 6600 ROM and hack Arti's ROM Maker to spit out 64k ROMs. A 64k 6600 ROM Maker.

 

[flyproductions]

You have to watch tho, back in the day people tested the AGP "Universal" keyed 6600's and they didn't work with 2x AGP systems.

Not completely true. You can put these 2x keyed cards in a 2x AGP machine like the Sawtooth or even the Cube (if external power is provided) and for 20 or 30 boots it hangs befor entering the OS. But every now and then it boots up completely and runs like normal then. As far as i know, it has never been discovered what causes this phenomena.

The most commonly found of this 2x keyed cards is a Sparkle. But i have some Galaxy which even has dual DVIs. And yes, they do run the 30" Cinema Display. But even the Galaxy only on one port.

 

[flyproductions]

it would be good if you can post em for others now, and me in the future if I ever get my mits on one

...so here they are!

Three ROMs along with pics of the cards they should work with. They are a little bit "use at your own risk" as i can not guarantee them to work 100% on every card. Manufacturers used different memory chips on the same cards etc.. I. e. even if all of the 6600 GTs have very similar PCB-layout, i had a Gainward which i absolutely couldn't get to work with one of the small ROMs. But if they worked, they worked flawlessly. Safest bet should be the Sparkle. But there is also a dual DVI-card from XFX, which, as far as i remember, works with the Leadtek Winfast ROM.

So here, for everyone to test...

 

[LightBulbFun]

Not completely true. You can put these 2x keyed cards in a 2x AGP machine like the Sawtooth or even the Cube (if external power is provided) and for 20 or 30 boots it hangs befor entering the OS. But every now and then it boots up completely and runs like normal then. As far as i know, it has never been discovered what causes this phenomena.

The most commonly found of this 2x keyed cards is a Sparkle. But i have some Galaxy which even has dual DVIs. And yes, they do run the 30" Cinema Display. But even the Galaxy only on one port.

View attachment 2042412

interesting when you say "they do run the 30 inch cinema display" is that all 6600 GT's or only the Sparkle and Galaxy ones?

...so here they are!

Three ROMs along with pics of the cards they should work with. They are a little bit "use at your own risk" as i can not guarantee them to work 100% on every card. Manufacturers used different memory chips on the same cards etc.. I. e. even if all of the 6600 GTs have very similar PCB-layout, i had a Gainward which i absolutely couldn't get to work with one of the small ROMs. But if they worked, they worked flawlessly. Safest bet should be the Sparkle. But there is also a dual DVI-card from XFX, which, as far as i remember, works with the Leadtek Winfast ROM.

So here, for everyone to test...

and thanks for the ROM's! ill keep an eye out on eBay for any 3.3V keyed cards

BTW for what its worth I have a PNY GeForce 6200 in both AGP and PCI form

both of which I have flashed with a lightly edited WANG ROM (just dropped the clocks a little and fixed the F in GeForce because "Geforce 6200" was bugging the crap out of me LOL)

but its worth noting while the PCI card is fully stable in all systems I have tried it in (My G3 Blue and white and my Sawtooth etc) the AGP card in my sawtooth at least (I have not tested it in anything else yet)

does sometimes have OS X Hang while loading the window server and kernel panic on the GeForce kexts not always, but every now and then it will, I wonder if this has anything to do with the same stability issues the 6600 GT has in Sawtooth's? (Sawteeth?)

since IIRC the 6600 GT and 6200 ROM's are from the same base Mac card ROM (6600 PCIe IIRC?)

 

[flyproductions]

This is the XFX. Looking at the PCB and port-layout now, i'd say, more likely to work with the Galaxy-ROM. But i don't know exactly anymore. All too long ago. But i know for sure, one of the ROMs worked without any further modifications. And it's a even today relatively easy to find card, which is a nice one for later G4s.

Only downside: The fan is loud!

 

[Amethyst1]

Only downside: The fan is loud!

Replace it