--- layout: page title: COMPAQ DeskPro 386 ROMs permalink: /devices/pcx86/rom/compaq/deskpro386/ --- COMPAQ DeskPro 386 ROMs --- The oldest COMPAQ DeskPro 386 ROM I have is a Rev J.4 ROM from a "Version 2" motherboard designed in 1987 and released in 1988. [Compaq DeskPro 386 System Board Version 2](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/archive.pcjs.org/pubs/pc/reference/compaq/images/Compaq_DeskPro_386-16_System_Board_V2.jpg) Thanks to folks on the [Vintage Computer](http://www.vintage-computer.com/) forums, I also have a Rev N.1 ROM from 1989. However, I'm still on the lookout for any "Version 1" motherboards from 1986, so that I can obtain dumps of COMPAQ's ROMs for their earliest 80386-based systems. ### System ROM Locations on COMPAQ DESKPRO 386 System Board Version 2 (Assembly No. 000558-001) U13 (EVEN) U15 (ODD) ### System ROM Revisions Rev Even ROM # Odd ROM # Size Date --- ---------- ---------- ---- ---- E 108285-001 108284-001 F 108328-001 108327-001 G 108328-002 108327-002 H.8 113270-008 113269-008 J.4 109592-001 109591-001 32Kb 1988-01-28 (from a 386/16 motherboard) K.2 109592-003 109591-003 32Kb 1988-05-10 (from a 386/25 motherboard) M.1 109592-004 109591-004 N.1 109592-005 109591-005 32Kb 1989-04-14 [1988-01-28.json](1988-01-28/1988-01-28.json) was created with the following [FileDump](/modules/filedump/) command: cd 1988-01-28 filedump --file=109592-001.hex --merge=109591-001.hex --output=1988-01-28.json For a more human-readable dump, use the `--comments` option: filedump --file=109592-001.hex --merge=109591-001.hex --output=1988-01-28.dump --comments And for those who want a binary file, the FileDump API can be used to recreate binary data from JSON data: http://localhost:8088/api/v1/dump?file=http://localhost:8088/devices/pcx86/rom/compaq/deskpro386/1988-01-28/1988-01-28.json&format=rom Similarly, [1989-04-14.json](1989-04-14/1989-04-14.json) was generated by first creating **1989-04-14.rom** from the two 16Kb BIN files provided by [Al Kossow](http://www.vintage-computer.com/vcforum/member.php?2256-Al-Kossow): cd 1989-04-14 filedump --file=archive/109592-005.U11.bin --merge=archive/109591-005.U13.bin --output=archive/1989-04-14.rom --format=rom filedump --file=archive/1989-04-14.rom --output=1989-04-14.json Dumping the ROMs --- The *.hex* files for the 1988-01-28 DeskPro ROM were produced by running [eeprom_read](http://github.com/phooky/PROM/blob/master/tools/eeprom_read/eeprom_read.pde) on a [chipKIT Uno32](http://www.digilentinc.com/Products/Detail.cfm?NavPath=2,892,893&Prod=CHIPKIT-UNO32) Arduino-compatible prototyping board, and capturing the serial port output on my MacBook Pro -- as outlined in "[Stick a Straw in Its Brain and Suck: How to Read a ROM](http://www.nycresistor.com/2012/07/07/stick-a-straw-in-its-brain-and-suck-how-to-read-a-rom/)" by [NYC Resistor](http://www.nycresistor.com/) contributor [phooky](http://www.nycresistor.com/author/phooky/). The DeskPro 386 ROMs were P27128A-2 chips, so I wired my Uno32 based on this [27128A](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/archive.pcjs.org/pubs/pc/datasheets/27128A.pdf) datasheet -- the closest match I could find online. ![Compaq DeskPro 386 System ROM Version 2](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/archive.pcjs.org/pubs/pc/reference/compaq/images/Compaq_DeskPro_386-16_System_ROM_V2_Breadboard.jpg) On my first dump attempt, every ROM address returned 0xFF. After looking at the 27128A datasheet more closely, I noticed the DEVICE OPERATION table indicated that, for a READ operation, /CE and /OE pins should be connected to INPUT LOW VOLTAGE, while the /PGM should be connected to INPUT HIGH VOLTAGE. So I wired pin 27 (/PGM) to +5V instead of GND, and the dump worked perfectly. The NYC Resistor article implied that every *active low* pin should be connected to GND, but apparently there are exceptions to that general rule. Recreating ROM Source Code --- In the current directory, an original ROM can be regenerated from the JSON-encoded file: cd 1988-01-28 node ../../../../../../modules/filedump/bin/filedump --file=1988-01-28.json --output=1988-01-28.rom --format=rom The ROM can then be fed into NDISASM, the disassembler included with NASM: ndisasm -o0x8000 -se105h -se05ah -se6ffh -sf025h -sf8aah 1988-01-28.rom > 1988-01-28.asm The `-o0x8000` argument is required to "org" the file at the proper starting address, but the `-s` arguments are optional; they simply establish a few sync points within the ROM image that save a little cleanup effort, by preventing disassembly in the middle of instructions. Next, the PCjs [TextOut](/modules/textout/) command, with the *--nasm* option, prepares the code for reassembly: node ../../../../../../modules/textout/bin/textout --file=1988-01-28.asm --nasm > temp.asm mv temp.asm 1988-01-28.asm The result, [1988-01-28.asm](1988-01-28/1988-01-28.asm), after a small amount of manual cleanup, can now be successfully reassembled: nasm -f bin 1988-01-28.asm -l 1988-01-28.lst -o 1988-01-28.rom However, it does NOT produce a binary identical to the original ROM, in part because of instruction ambiguities (ie, instructions that can be assembled multiple ways). It's possible the reassembled ROM may still work, but more research is required. One interesting section of the COMPAQ DeskPro ROM is this string at offset 0xE002: db 'AUTHORS CAB93GLB93RWS93DJC93NPB(C)Copyright COMPAQ Computer Corporation 1982,83,84,85,86' which appears to list the initials of 5 authors: **CAB**, **GLB**, **RWS**, **DJC**, and **NPB**. The meaning of the "93" sequences is unknown; they may have simply been a form of obfuscation.