20 May
2004
20 May
'04
6:41 p.m.
On Tue, 18 May 2004 20:05:02 -0700 (PDT)
SHAUN RIPLEY <vax3900(a)yahoo.com> wrote:
I have a SBC with nonvolatile RAM on it. There are
DRAM and EPROM too. I guess the nonvolatile RAM might
be used to hold some important parameters while EPROM
is used to hold program.
Since nonvolatile RAM has limited life, I wonder how
you guys deal with nonvolatile RAM in your old
computers. Reading out the content with a EPROM
programmer is a solution that jumps into my mind.
"Burn" a new nonvolatile RAM and wait for another 10
years? It seems a boring work...
vax, 3900
If you're careful (and preferrably can back up the contents of the
module first) you can sometimes dremel into the top of the module in
such a way that you can tack on an exteral battery. I wouldn't advise
it as a method of 'preserving' the current contents, as it would be very
likely to be blown during a battery replacement, but it's a reasonable
way to continue to use the module. There's a classic reference on how
to do this with SparcStation NVRAM modules, a conversion I do to almost
every old Sparc box I restore.
I'm not sure how to 'read out' the contents since I've never tried, but
they're often the same SRAM/EPROM footprint. Anybody tried reading the
contents with said EPROM programmer?
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