Multiple brain boxes for one machine

[Busch1999]

So I have an IGT G20, currently with an AVP 3.0M brain box/computer installed. I see there is a listing online for two chips and a hard drive with family 20 games on it. I really like some of the family 20 games at the casino and would love to play them on a machine at home. I don't want to install it into my current brain box and lose my games i currently have. Would it be possible to buy another AVP brain box, install it in that, and swap out the entire computer when i want to play different game sets? Like one machine but two computers to switch out? I understand it isn't as elegant as getting another machine, and it definitely wouldn't be a case where i would be switching them out very often obviously. Just curious if anyone has done this before. I attached a picture of what is included in the listing.

[sccarlso]

Yep, it's no problem at all.  I have a Fam14 box with the E4690 video card and 4GB, and a Fam20 box with the E4690 video card and 8GB of RAM as Fam20 can address 8GB while Fam14 can only address 4GB since it's a 32bit OS.

Anytime you switch boxes though.  You'll just have to clear the NVRAM and Safe Storage on the machine and setup the machine and game options again.

The same ekey7 works on both fam14 and fam20, but fam20 has a different diag key.  If you don't have a fam20 diag, you're pretty stuck.  It's as essential as the ekey.  So make sure you have a Fam20 diag key as well.

You can do the same thing with SSD drives on a Fam14 box.  If you have one SSD drive loaded with a set of games, put in a new one and load the OS and different games.  Now you can swap between the SSD drives and all you need to do is clear the NVRAM and Safe Storage when you swap the SSD's.  Then just setup the machine and game options again.  But you don't have to reload the OS or the games again when you swap back and forth.

[Busch1999]

Awesome, thank you for the info. That helps so much. Will i have to worry about batteries going dead in one brain box when it isn't installed?

[sccarlso]

Maybe, but really doesn't matter.  I don't on mine and haven't had a problem and it's been about a year now.

The batteries are cheap, and before you swap in a new brainbox you have to clear the NVRAM and SafeStorage memory that the batteries keep alive anyway.  lol

If you wanted to be tight on batteries, you could simply remove the batteries from the PCI card in the brainbox that's not in the machine.

Then just put them back in before putting the idle brainbox back in your machine. 

But they do last quite a long time, I'd just get a 10 pack of CR2450's for $7 from Amazon and keep them on hand.  They're only expensive if you buy them locally for $5 each or something.

[Solsurvivor]

There's a thread titled "2 660 CPUs for one game", dated 14 June 2023, which talks about switching out completely configured brainboxes in G23 V2.  In that thread, the writers propose also switching out the two small 8-pin 25256E EPROMs on the backplane with the brainbox.  The two EPROMs configured with a specific brainbox would then follow that respective brainbox with a replacement installation.  The writers indicated that Switching out the EPROMs with its corresponding brainbox would alleviate having to reconfigure the games loaded in the replacement brainbox, which would make for a relatively painless brainbox switch-out.

I haven't tried this yet, but have the parts ordered.  Would anyone who has tried this please let us know your process and results and opinion. thanks.

[Tilt]

I have and it works.  Make sure you put them in the correct order.  Label them T (top), B (bottom) or 1 & 2, or anything you want so you know where they belong.  Then you can swap the CPU and the two EEPROMs and it will boot the CPU installed with all the game settings intact.  I put the EEPROMs in a 8 pin socket and then plug the socket with the EEPROM installed into the backplane.  It makes it easier to remove and install and if you break a pin it will be on the socket, not the EEPROM.

[sccarlso]

If it's faster for you, why not.

But I can swap brainboxes, clear, and reconfigure in about 10 minutes.  If you've done it enough it goes pretty quick.   

So just personal preference, but I'd rather not risk breaking a pin or something even though it's unlikely, normal swap procedure isn't a big task for me.

[Solsurvivor]

Tilt, I bought the EPROM cradles (per your recommendation) from Digikey .  Still waiting on the EPROMs (China) and the extra 660 brainbox (GET T) to be delivered.

[Tilt]

I think you'll be happy with it.  Post back here if you have any problems getting it running once you get everything.

[Solsurvivor]

Finally, everything was delivered; i.e. the 660 brainbox from Get.t, the EEPROM cradles from Digikey, and EEPROMS from China.  I labeled and installed a new set of cradled EEPROMS and connected the "new" 660 brainbox.  It wouldn't activate the Diagnostic key or EKey.  The BB fan came on but the BB didn't do anything.  The keyboard lit up  and the internal yellow handed control board lit up.  The screens were dead.  I reconnected everything inside and outside of the 660 BB. No change.  There's a sticker on the face of 660 BB indicating that it was tested 10 July 2025.

I re-installed the original EEPROMS on the backplane, reconnected my 625 BB with the e4690 video card and powered on my G23 to play Double Diamond Deluxe for more frustration.

[Tilt]

Check the CMOS and PCI card batteries in the 660.  Also reseat the PCI/video card and then retry it.  Hopefully Get-T didn't send you a bad box.

[Solsurvivor]

Thank you for those suggestions.  I checked the batteries. The two PCI batteries each registered 3.0 V, so I left them installed, the CMOS battery registered 2.7, so I replaced it with a new battery.  I reseated the video card.  Did all of this before installing and reconnecting the 660 BB.

I just now opened up the BB again. Put a set of fresh batteries in the PCI card and reseated it.  I had also replaced the SSD with a Kingston 240 GB SSD. Same SSD that I put into the 625 BB. Reseated the SSD, the two RAM sticks and checked all connections.  I'll try re-installing the 660 tomorrow and see if I can get it to boot off of the diagnostic key.

[Tilt]

Ok.  Hopefully that will get it to boot.

[Solsurvivor]

Discovered that Boot 1 Chip and Boot 2 Chip are missing.  Although stated as "complete" on their website, the 660 brainbox they shipped wasn't. 

Fresh batteries throughout, and every connection and card re-seated (multiple times). 

[Tilt]

That will do it.  Check with RB, he may have a set for sale.

[Solsurvivor]

Already ordered yesterday from him.   

[Solsurvivor]

UPDATE:

G.E.T.T.  has indicated that they will ship the two boot chips to me.  They normally don't ship the brainboxes with the boot chips due to jurisdictional issues.  My bad for not re-confirming with them prior to shipping that I am in Texas.     Now, I know.

I will eventually end up with two sets of the boot chips, but that's not a bad thing.  Plus, I want to support RB and G.E.T.T as they are both great vendors and service providers, and they certainly add value to our "community".

[Solsurvivor]

The Boot Chip thing is working itself out.  I've received one set of the chips (TY RB) and they're easily installed.  Changing out the EEPROMS with the brainbox proved more difficult given the backplane location and my old, fat fingers.  I managed to mangle a few Chinese EEPROM sets, luckily preserving the integrity of the original set, which I re-installed.  And...some of them didn't work. 

i like the idea of powering down, replacing a matched set of EEPROMS with a brainbox, and just repowering.  I'm just not crafty enough to mess with the EEPROMS during a switch-out.  On the other hand, I  can attempt to reconfigure software after a brainbox swap without doing any unrepairable harm. Besides, it spreads the EKey cost across many more applications.

[Tilt]

That's why I recommend putting in the EEPROMs in their own 8 pin socket.  It makes them much easier to remove with your fat fingers and if you bend/break a pin it's just on a socket that is cheap and easy to replace. 

[Solsurvivor]

I cradled each of the little EEPROMs, and still managed to drop and/or bend an assembly.  As I mentioned, I'd prefer to switch out a set of cradled EEPROMs matched with a brainbox, but it just wasn't working for me.  I appreciate your recommendations and your expertise.