Old BIOS Question Set A: Floppy Drive as Parallel Interface??

[getslideways]

Ok I have a weird one here and I am hoping someone on here may be able to point me in the right direction

First off, this is a commercial arcade game video table running an Asus P5N73-CM motherboard. Its old and outdated but have been trying to restore it so people can play it when they come over.

The problem is that when I picked it up the CMOS Battery was dead, so all the original BIOS defaults were wiped. Here is the issue, the game uses a touch interface but the interface runs off what would normally be the A: Floppy drive. As it sits the computer is expecting an A: 3.5" Floppy to be installed, but that is not the case. You can see the board plugged into the spot below via the ribbon cable:



Here is the board on its own:



I have never had a setup like this, so I am hoping someone can provide me with some guidance as to how to set the BIOS to inform the computer that what is plugged should be seen as a Parallel Port and not a 3.5" floppy. The hardware is all correct, and an expert familiar with these specific machines told me this is just a BIOS configuration issue due to the original CMOS battery going dead, and that I "have a simple bios setup problem. The "floppy" connection on the motherboard is actually a parallel interface."

Thanks guys and gals!

Any help would be appreciated. I can provide additional info if needed, just feel free to ask!

 

[Mr.Scott]

This is a Pokerkard machine isn't it.
Contact Spitfiremods (267) 424-3564 or email [email protected]
He has a PDF for the re-setup.

 

[getslideways]

This is a Pokerkard machine isn't it.
Contact Spitfiremods (267) 424-3564 or email [email protected]
He has a PDF for the re-setup.

Bingo-Boingo!

Unfortunately the PDF instructions from Spitfire are $100.00, and regrettably that's well out of my price range for this project at the present time. I completely understand charging for services, as knowledge and time aren't free. People have to make a living, so I completely get it. Its just above my budget at the moment so I was looking into other options to see if I couldn't find a way to make it work.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[Mr.Scott]

Had no idea he was charging for them. Niche market. I guess he can get away with it.

It won't be just one setting. It'll be a combination of more than one.

 

[getslideways]

Had no idea he was charging for them. Niche market. I guess he can get away with it.

It won't be just one setting. It'll be a combination of more than one.

Supply and demand I suppose. Any guesses on where to even start. There can only be so many combinations right?... right? haha I have only ever used the BIOS for overclocking, so this is completely new territory for me.

Just out of curiosity, how did you know my inquiry was related to a Pokerkard unit lol

 

[Mr.Scott]

Just out of curiosity, how did you know my inquiry was related to a Pokerkard unit lol

Googled the Novamax card to see what it's function was.

I would start with disabling 'Legacy Diskette A'.

 

[bob4933]

This is a Pokerkard machine isn't it.
Contact Spitfiremods (267) 424-3564 or email [email protected]
He has a PDF for the re-setup.

You're scary sometimes.

Googled the Novamax card to see what it's function was.

I would start with disabling 'Legacy Diskette A'.

Significantly less scary

 

[getslideways]

I'll see if I can upload photos later, but it looks like I may have found it after talking with a family friend who used to work in the game industry:

Bios Settings

Legacy A Drive: Default (3.5") Change to "NONE"

Plug and Play: Default: (NO) Change to "YES"

PORT INTERFACE: Default: (ECP) Change to "SPP"

Thats looks to have done it. Now it loads right into the game. Its late so I haven't gone too much further to test everything, but just wanted to share the info so others in the future would have it.

 

[Mr.Scott]

Outstanding. Good you found it quickly. It would have taken me longer to figure it out.