Instructions For Flashing Pc Video Cards, Series 3, Eg. Radeon 9800 Pro Options Menu

[sprinter]

Read this thread for flashing Radeon 7000 - 9100 cards and this thread for cards such as the 9200.

Series 3: Radeon cards such as the Radeon 9800 Pro AGP.

Characteristics of these cards: They are AGP 2X/4X and 8X cards, (many use the universal AGP design). Because they are AGP 8X compatible card, with some computer/card combinations, taping AGP connectors is required. They also have the limitation of a maximum of 64K of ROM data (which is recognize by at least the PC flashers).

Note: make sure you do the research on whether a card is flashable to the Mac before buying it. Use the instructions at your own risk.

Look at the different flashing methods below to find one that's suitable for you before following the steps.



Flashing on Mac OS 9 (blindly) (if you have a either Cube or you have an AGP tower Mac but don't have a Mac PCI video card, and have no other computer):

1. Go to the page of ATIccelerator I and download the latest version.

2. Find a reduced ROM file for your card that has been enlarged to 128K. I recommend not to use a reduced ROM file, not enlarged to 128K, using this method.

3. On OS X, mount the ATIccelerator I disk image, copy the ATI Multi Dumper and ATI Multi Flasher (with confirmation) from the ATIcclerator package and put them into a folder where you can easily access to them from OS 9.

4. Run ATIccelerator, go to the Misc menu and choose to put Mac ROM into the flasher. Select the reduced Mac ROM file that has been enlarged to 128K and put it into the ATI Multi Flasher (with confirmation) that was copied from the ATIccelerator package.

5. Switch the Mac to OS 9, put the ATI Multi Dumper into the "Startup Items" folder. Shutdown the Mac.

6. Open up the Mac. Take the working video card out and install the PC Radeon AGP video card. Turn on the computer. If you don't hear the Mac booting at all (no chime), shut it down, go to step 7. If you heard the chime but no disk activity and the OS does not load, use the steps for the PC. If the Mac boots properly, go to step 8.

7. Take the Radeon AGP card out of the Mac, get some sticky tape, cut two small strips of sticky tape and tape connectors #3 and #11 (counting from the right on the BACK of the card with the AGP connectors pointing downward). Install the card in the Mac, turn the Mac on.

8. If your Mac is booting properly, wait for the sounds indicating OS 9 has booted completely and wait for the sound of ATI Multi Dumper launching.

9. Turn the Mac off. Put the working video card back into the Mac, start it up and look in the "Startup Items" folder and you should see that a PC Radeon ROM file and a text output file for the PC Radeon card were saved there (if your working video card is an ATI card, its ROM file and another text output file were also saved there). Take the ATI Multi Dumper, the PC Radeon ROM file, the text output file (and any file relating to your working video card) out of the "Startup Items" folder. Keep the PC Radeon ROM file in a safe place.

10. Put the ATI Multi Flasher (with confirmation), which you already put the reduced Radeon Mac ROM file, enlarged to 128K, in with ATIccelerator), into the "Startup Items" folder. Shutdown the Mac, take the working video card out and put the PC Radeon card in. Start up the Mac and listen for the sound of the ATI Multi Flasher launching. After the flasher is launched, hold Command and press the full-stop (period) button and wait for about 10 seconds.

11. Shutdown the Mac. Connect the monitor to the flashed Radeon AGP card, start up the Mac and you should see whether the card works or not. If it doesn't work with OS 9, it may work with OS X. If the card doesn't work, it may mean that the Mac flasher does not support the ROM chip on your card - use a PC. If the card works, it is safe to run the ATI October 2004 ROM update, which update the ROM to a newer (full) version, if the ROM chip on your card is 128K, and update the ATI ROM Xtender to version 1.2. (Don't run the ATI Sept 2004 ROM update as it will try to flash a full Mac ROM file into the card even if the ROM chip on the card is 64K, and the flashing process will stops at 50%, and so you will have to flash it again).

Note: Unless you have enlarged a PC Radeon ROM file to 128K (by dumping it using a PC flasher or the Mac flasher, not by adding zeros by hand), don't ever try to flash a PC Radeon ROM file into a Radeon card on the Mac as it could result in a serious problem -- use a PC to do it. ATIccelerator I requires Java Runtime Environment 1.4. Java RE 1.4 is part of OS X 10.3. OS X 10.2.6 - 10.2.8 users need to install the Java 1.4.1 update.



Flashing on Mac OS X (using an AGP tower Mac and you have Mac PCI video card):

1. Go to the page of ATIccelerator I and download the latest version.

2. Find a a reduced ROM file for your card that has been enlarged to 128K.

3. Mount the ATIccelerator disk image, hold down the Option key and drag the "Flasher & dumper" folder out to the desktop to make a copy of it there.

4. Run ATIccelerator I, go to the Misc menu and choose to put a Mac ROM into the flasher. Select the full Mac Radeon ROM file and put it in the ATI Multi Flasher (with confirmation) copied to the folder on the desktop. Shutdown the Mac.

5. Open up your Mac. Install the PC Radeon AGP video card into the Mac, along with a working Mac PCI video card. Attach the monitor to the Mac PCI video card and turn on the Mac and wait for OS X to finish loading. If the Mac doesn't boot at all (no chime), shut it down, go to step 6. If you heard the chime but no disk activity and the OS does not load, use the steps for the PC. If it is booting properly, go to step 7.

6. Take the Radeon AGP card out of the Mac, get some sticky tape, cut two small strips of sticky tape and tape connectors #3 and #11 (counting from the right on the BACK of the card with the AGP connectors pointing downward). Install the card in the Mac, turn the Mac on.

7. After the OS X finished loading, run the "Run Me First" program copied from the ATIccelerator I package. This program will load the ATIUTEXT.kext file.

8. Run the ATI Multi Dumper and it should produce a PC ROM file and a text output file for the PC video card you are trying to flash. Keep the PC ROM file in a safe place.

9. Run ATI Multi Flasher (with confirmation), which you already put the reduced Mac Radeon ROM file, enlarged to 128K, in with ATIccelerator, read the dialog box to make sure you are flashing the right card. The flashing process should reach 100%. (If you use a reduced ROM file, not enlarged to 128K, and if the flashing process stops at something like 82%, DON'T RESTART OR SHUTDOWN THE COMPUTER, try to flash a full ROM file into the card immediately, which will stop at 50%. Find a reduced ROM file, enlarged to 128K, to flash the card). If you have the "ERROR Programming Devices" window popping up, this means that the Mac flasher does not support the ROM chip on your card - use a PC.

10. Shutdown the Mac. Take the Mac PCI video card out. Connect the monitor to the flashed Radeon AGP card, start up the Mac and you should see whether the card works. If it doesn't work with OS 9, it may work with OS X. It is safe to run the ATI October 2004 ROM update, which update the ROM to a newer (or full) version, if the ROM chip on your card is 128K, and update the ATI ROM Xtender to version 1.2. (Don't run the ATI Sept 2004 ROM update as it will try to flash a full Mac ROM file into the card even if the ROM chip on the card is 64K, and the flashing process will stops at 50%, and so you will have to flash it again).

Note: Unless you have enlarged a PC Radeon ROM file to 128K (by dumping it using a PC flasher or the Mac flasher, not by adding zeros by hand), don't ever try to flash a PC Radeon ROM file into a Radeon card on the Mac as it could result in a serious problem -- use a PC to do it. ATIccelerator I requires Java Runtime Environment 1.4. Java RE 1.4 is part of OS X 10.3. OS X 10.2.6 - 10.2.8 users need to install the Java 1.4.1 update.



Flashing on Mac OS X using VNC (you have a Cube or an AGP tower Mac but don't have Mac PCI video card, and you have another Mac or have a PC (desktop or laptop). You need some networking knowledge.):

1. Go to the page of ATIccelerator I and download the latest version.

2. Find a a reduced ROM file for your card that has been enlarged to 128K.

3. Download OSXvnc 1.4, which is a Virtual Network Computing (VNC) server. Find a VNC client for your OS (OS X and 9 versions are available on Versiontracker.com). A compatible client for Windows and other OSes are available here. Set auto-login, put OSXvnc in the "Login Items" (i.e. startup items). (Launch OSXvnc and test connecting to your Mac from another computer. Proceed if you have got it to work.)

4. Mount the ATIccelerator disk image, hold down the Option key and drag the "Flasher & dumper" folder out to the desktop to make a copy of it there.

5. Run ATIccelerator I, go to the Misc menu and choose to put a Mac ROM into the flasher. Select the full Mac Radeon ROM file and put it in the ATI Multi Flasher (with confirmation) copied to the folder on the desktop. Shutdown the Mac.

6. Open up your Mac. Install the PC Radeon AGP video card into the Mac. Attach the monitor to the AGP video card and turn on the Mac, you will not see anything but wait for the sounds to indicate that OS X has finished loading. Once OS X completely loaded, press Return twice to start the VNC server. If the Mac doesn't boot at all (no chime), shut it down, go to step 7. If you heard the chime but no disk activity and the OS does not load, use the steps for the PC. If it is booting properly, go to step 8.

7. Take the Radeon AGP card out of the Mac, get some sticky tape, cut two small strips of sticky tape and tape connectors #3 and #11 (counting from the right on the BACK of the card with the AGP connectors pointing downward). Install the card in the Mac, turn the Mac on. Once OS X completely loaded, press Return to launch OSXvnc.

8. Connect to your Mac from another Mac or a PC via VNC.

9. Run the "Run Me First" program copied from the ATIccelerator I package. This program will load the ATIUTEXT.kext file.

10. Run the ATI Multi Dumper and it should produce a PC ROM file and a text output file for the PC video card you are trying to flash. Keep the PC ROM file in a safe place.

11. Run ATI Multi Flasher (with confirmation), which you already put the reduced Mac Radeon ROM file, enlarged to 128K, in with ATIccelerator, read the dialog box to make sure you are flashing the right card. The flashing process should reach 100%. (If you use a reduced ROM file, not enlarged to 128K, and if the flashing process stops at something like 82%, DON'T RESTART OR SHUTDOWN THE COMPUTER, try to flash a full ROM file into the card immediately, which will stop at 50%. Find a reduced ROM file, enlarged to 128K, to flash the card). If you have the "ERROR Programming Devices" window popping up, this means that the Mac flasher does not support the ROM chip on your card - use a PC.

12. Press the restart button on the Mac and you should see whether the card works. If it doesn't work with OS 9, it may work with OS X. It is safe to run the ATI October 2004 ROM update, which update the ROM to a newer (or full) version, if the ROM chip on your card is 128K, and update the ATI ROM Xtender to version 1.2. (Don't run the ATI Sept 2004 ROM update as it will try to flash a full Mac ROM file into the card even if the ROM chip on the card is 64K, and the flashing process will stops at 50%, and so you will have to flash it again).

Note: Unless you have enlarged a PC Radeon ROM file to 128K (by dumping it using a PC flasher or the Mac flasher, not by adding zeros by hand), don't ever try to flash a PC Radeon ROM file into a Radeon card on the Mac as it could result in a serious problem -- use a PC to do it. ATIccelerator I requires Java Runtime Environment 1.4. Java RE 1.4 is part of OS X 10.3. OS X 10.2.6 - 10.2.8 users need to install the Java 1.4.1 update.



Flashing on a PC (using a PC with an AGP slot and you cannot flash the card on the Mac. Assume you use Windows 2000 or XP and cannot boot into DOS and assume you have a PC PCI video card and no onboard video):

1. Use a PC to download a Windows ME boot disk (link 1, link 2, link 3). Double-click it to create a boot floppy. Go to http://www.techpowerup.com/bios/ and download a late version of Flashrom and Atiflash. Create a folder at the root directory of the hard drive (the name of the folder should have 8 characters or less) and extract all the files from Flashrom and Atiflash into that folder. Find a reduced Mac ROM file for your card. The reduced ROM file can be not enlarged or enlarged to 128K. A reduced v114 ROM file for the 9800 Pro is available in this package. Give the ROM file a name you want but the name needs to have 8 characters or less and put it in that folder too.

2. Shutdown the PC, take out the AGP card (and don't install the Radeon AGP card to be flash yet), install the PC PCI video card and connect the monitor to it. Turn on the PC, hold down the "Del" key as the PC starts booting. In the BIOS, look for the option to select booting the computer from a PCI video card first (on my PC it is on the left side under "Integrated Peripherals". Select that option and save. Shutdown the PC as it start re-booting. Note: if you taped the AGP connectors of the PC Radeon card to be flash, remove the tapes and install it in the AGP slot. It is important that when you put the card in the PC, the AGP connectors should not be tape at all or the card may get damage.

3. Put the Windows ME startup disk in the drive and turn the PC on.

4. Select booting using option 2 from the list. When the PC completed booting with the Windows ME boot floppy. Navigate to the folder you created and where you put the Flashrom, Atiflash files and the reduced Mac ROM file in. Essential commands in DOS are "c:" to go to the C drive, "dir" to list the files and folders, "cd myfolder" to go to a folder called "myfolder" and "cd \" to go to the root directory (all without the double quotes).

5. Run "flashrom -i" and notice the location of your PC Radeon AGP card (probably either 0 or 1). Save the PC ROM on the card to a file with a command like "flashrom -s 0 radeonpc.rom" (replace the 0 with the location of your card and change the file name to whatever you want). Flash the reduced Mac ROM file into the card by typing something like "flashrom -p 0 radmacr.rom -f" (replace the 0 with the location of your card and replace the file name with the name of your Mac ROM file. If flashing using the "-p" command with Flashrom doesn't work, try the "-pm" with Flashrom and try those two commands with Atiflash.

6. Install the flashed Radeon AGP card into your Mac. Turn on the Mac. If you don't hear the Mac booting at all (no chime or no disk activity), shut it down, go to step 7. If the Mac boots properly, go to step 8.

7. Take the Radeon AGP card out of the Mac, get some sticky tape, cut two small strips of sticky tape and tape connectors #3 and #11 (counting from the right on the BACK of the card with the AGP connectors pointing downward). Install the card in the Mac, turn the Mac on.

8. If the card doesn't work with OS 9, it may work with OS X. Run the ATI October 2004 ROM update. If your card has a 128K ROM chip, it will update your card to a newer (or full) version. It also install the ATI ROM Xtender to version 1.2. (Don't run the ATI Sept 2004 ROM update as it will try to flash a full Mac ROM file into the card even if it has a 64K ROM chip. If the card has a 64K ROM chip, the flashing process will stops at 50%, and so you will have to flash it on a PC again).

This post has been edited by sprinter: Jan 3 2005, 03:39 PM