Vintage computer & Year 2094 bug

edited November 2011 in Hardware
Hello everyone,
I just recently installed Windows 98SE on my old 2c4x6h01 computer.

The specs are as follows:
AMD AM486 DX4-S120 Socket 3 Processor
24MB SIMM-72 Memory (Max 64MB - planning to buy 2x 32MB SIMM 72-pin Edo RAM)
WDC WD800JB 80GB Hard Drive: Windows 98SE - Primary Master
LITE-ON DVD RW - Primary Slave
Creative Labs Sound Blaster vibra16x pnp sound card
S3 Trio64 Bahamas 64/Paradise Video Card 2MB VESA
115W Standard AT PSU
Logitech Keyboard connected with a Keyboard PS/2 to AT Keyboard adapter
Acer AL1917W 19" Widescreen LCD Monitor
WinBond W83758P/W83787IF ISA IDE/FDD/Serial/Joystick/Printer Multi-Function Card
No mouse (Getting a PS/2 Mouse to D-Sub 9 adapter soon to hook up my mouse to the system)
No Ethernet Card (planning to get one on Amazon)

Whenever I set the date within the BIOS or on the OS itself to the current date and time, the year goes to 2094 with the correct date (Month and day), and time. The BIOS is: Award BIOS v4.50G, 11/04-94--2c4x6h01-00

Does anyone know where I can find the BIOS upgrade?

Edit: I just realized that the BIOS is not programmable since they are PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory) and cannot have a new BIOS flashed onto the BIOS chip.

Second edit: I found solutions for the year 2094 bug problem: PROBLEM #3 - THE AWARD BIOS v4.50 PROBLEM, HOW TO USE Y2KURE, and
IMPORTANT NOTE: CMOS Setup Utility

Now I don't need a BIOS upgrade, just some parts, such as a network card, a USB Mouse to PS/2 Mouse Adapter and an ATX to AT keyboard adapter.

Third Edit: Just installed my Lite-On DVD Burner, reformatted the 74.5GB partition for the Windows 98SE OS, and reinstalled Windows 98SE on the computer with the installation CD, along with Plus! 98, 3D Space Cadet Pinball from the Plus! 95 CD ROM, and the Y2K patch for the Award BIOS v4.50G.

Fourth Edit: Just installed my keyboard last night, and the mouse needs another adapter... Ugh.

Comments

  • Who makes the board? The board make and model is needed to find a proper BIOS flash image.
  • is this the board?

    I saw some message board post about "2c4x6h01" which said that it was actually an M912 board. So, I don't know, maybe that's it...
  • GDEA73 wrote:
    is this the board?

    I saw some message board post about "2c4x6h01" which said that it was actually an M912 board. So, I don't know, maybe that's it...
    Yes, that's the board. Another thing: the CMOS resets itself after 4 hours of not being on at all, except the clock is always in sync with the Windows 95 OS. I just replaced the old CMOS battery with a new one since the old one died years ago.
  • GDEA73 wrote:
    is this the board?

    I saw some message board post about "2c4x6h01" which said that it was actually an M912 board. So, I don't know, maybe that's it...
    Yes, that's the board. Another thing: the CMOS resets itself after 4 hours of not being on at all, except the clock is always in sync with the Windows 95 OS. I just replaced the old CMOS battery with a new one since the old one died years ago.

    http://oldman.ixbt.com/mb/m912v17%20PC-Chips/specs.htm claims that board has an AMI bios.

    http://www.kva.kursk.ru/bios1/HTML1/wanted.html <-- this guy seems to be looking for it too, might pop him an EMail seeing if he's located it yet.

    Otherwise, you're looking SOL.
  • I looked online for the BIOS upgrade, nothing. There is no way to update the BIOS since the BIOS chip is a read-only chip (Programmable Read-Only Memory) unless you get an EEPROM or EPROM and an EEPROM Reader/Writer Hardware & Software...

    Looks like I'm stuck with the BIOS forever... I'm going to install the Y2K update and the large hard drive update (>32GB) for Windows 98SE. Wish me luck. I'm also going to upgrade the memory from 24MB to 64MB, add a CD-ROM controller card, a modern computer mouse, a modern keyboard, floppy disk drive, a network card (Intel Pro/100 ISA), and an ISA PCMCIA Card with 2x USB 2.0 PCMCIA cards.

    Also, is it possible that I can solder wires to the CMOS battery compartment for the CMOS battery? I noticed the one area is losing the shielding for both the Positive Terminal and possibly the negative terminal. I also cleaned off the case since it had a lot of stains and whatever else and it looks brand-new, but I'm planning to repaint the cover that covers the pereferials (interior) since one side is rusting out.
  • To everyone: my system is up and running, and the Year 2000 bug is resided after I patched up the Operating System to use the Y2Kure patch for the Award BIOS v4.50G.
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