I used to have a programmer and could re-flash the chip. If it's a removable there is a possibility of re-flashing it.
There used to be a website called Bios Man or something (that was at least 15 years ago) where I had ordered a replacement bios chip for a old server that had a bad flash. You could probably even buy a "for parts" of the same device and hope it has a bad PS or something and just swap out the bios chip.
Yeah its the chip reprogrammer I dont have. I've tried contacting several places around here. The worse part is its not in a socket, it has to be desoldered from the board.
Yeah, that makes it a PITA, Many places won't work on something like that. I doubt those old devices have a way to re-flash it without the bios working. Some of the newer motherboards (at least the one I use for my TrueNAS server) has the ability to re-flash itself even from a failed flash with a special USB port/process.
The mobo in my PC, and last PC could do that. Soldering the bios chip to the board is a choice to save money over buying the socket, on what the company views as a planned obsolescence product.
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