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Add onboard sound to Gateway Mailman and Hitman#5139

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OBattler merged 10 commits into
86Box:masterfrom
MaxwellS04:Machines_Jan13
Feb 17, 2025
Merged

Add onboard sound to Gateway Mailman and Hitman#5139
OBattler merged 10 commits into
86Box:masterfrom
MaxwellS04:Machines_Jan13

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@MaxwellS04

@MaxwellS04 MaxwellS04 commented Jan 13, 2025

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Summary

Title says at all.

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Provide links to datasheets or other documentation that helped you implement this pull request.

@MaxwellS04 MaxwellS04 mentioned this pull request Jan 13, 2025
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@MaxwellS04 MaxwellS04 changed the title Machine additions & changes (Jan 13) Machine changes (Jan 13) Jan 13, 2025
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I had to remove two machines because I tested it, and it's not working.
This pull request now only adds the onboard sound to four machines.

@MaxwellS04 MaxwellS04 changed the title Machine changes (Jan 13) Add onboard sound to four machines Jan 14, 2025
@richardg867

richardg867 commented Jan 16, 2025

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The VS440FX CS4236B was not implemented for one reason: we haven't been able to confirm how the configuration/PnP ROM is implemented in real hardware; whether it uses an external EEPROM like a discrete card, or Crystal's RAM loading mechanism (which we know through a TriGem board that at least someone used) through a theoretical BIOS code path we haven't been able to reach. If the existence of an EEPROM is confirmed, I can write a software tool to dump it.

I advise against adding it, or the Mailman family ViBRA, until the configuration method for each board is confirmed and verified to be working in the BIOS. We know the VS440FX is supposed to have an onboard audio toggle only, while the Mailman family's options remain unconfirmed due to a lack of documentation.

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Further reverse engineering of the VS440FX BIOS and detailed pictures of a PR440FX board (no EEPROM present) have confirmed that Intel uses the Crystal RAM loading mechanism, supporting both CS4232 (mentioned in an early TPS revision) and CS4236. Investigation still in progress.

@MaxwellS04 MaxwellS04 changed the title Add onboard sound to four machines Add onboard sound to Gateway Hitman Jan 17, 2025
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The VS440FX CS4236B was not implemented for one reason: we haven't been able to confirm how the configuration/PnP ROM is implemented in real hardware; whether it uses an external EEPROM like a discrete card, or Crystal's RAM loading mechanism (which we know through a TriGem board that at least someone used) through a theoretical BIOS code path we haven't been able to reach. If the existence of an EEPROM is confirmed, I can write a software tool to dump it.

I advise against adding it, or the Mailman family ViBRA, until the configuration method for each board is confirmed and verified to be working in the BIOS. We know the VS440FX is supposed to have an onboard audio toggle only, while the Mailman family's options remain unconfirmed due to a lack of documentation.

Thank you for your clarification. This is now corrected.

@richardg867

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Actually, you can add the ViBRA to both the Mailman and Hitman for now. I'm working on the Crystal for the other boards myself.

@MaxwellS04 MaxwellS04 changed the title Add onboard sound to Gateway Hitman Add onboard sound to Gateway Mailman and Hitman Jan 17, 2025
@OBattler OBattler merged commit 601efe1 into 86Box:master Feb 17, 2025
@MaxwellS04 MaxwellS04 deleted the Machines_Jan13 branch February 17, 2025 15:54
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4 participants