Problems with G-Rex 4000, any thoughts???

[doctorq]

Hi,

Quite some time ago I bought myself a G-Rex 4000D busboard, as I was planning to have a nice little setup I could have at my parents house.

Anyway, this weekend was the first time I actually got to play around with the G-Rex. Sad thing is though, that the G-Rex doesn't seem to work :-(

This is what I have done; flashed my CSMK3 board with the latest flash from here, and installed the G-Rex busboard in the computer. Installed a Voodoo 3 3000 card, and tried to power up. All the computer did was to blink with the power LED, nothing else happend.

I have done a bit of troubleshooting, but nothing so far has worked. I have tried the G-Rex with two different motherboards (one I use with my Mediator setup and one tested with 2 x CV64/3D and 1 x CV64), tried both a CSMK3 and a CSPPC with both flashes (v1.3 and v2.2), 2 different PSUs, 2 different Voodoo cards (both tested and working); nothing has helped. The only positive experience with the G-Rex is that the zorro ports is working, but the PCI side seems dead :-(

Any experts with some brilliant thoughts?

[x56h34]

You seem to be doing everything right. A few things come to mind that you could check, just as a last resort.

- is the G-rex daughter-board fully plugged in into the motherboard connector?
- is the G-rex daughter-board's small connector fully plugged in into CSMKIII/CSPPC's video card connector?

Using taller spacers (such as the original ones for Escom A4000T units) or custom made ones that are a few mm taller than the regular sized ones will push the CSPPC/MKIII a little better into the Grex and make a better fit. Perhaps that is it...just guessing.

Also, does your Grex daughter-board have a wire that was hand soldered in order to fix a problem with a missing trace on the PCB? IIRC, mine does, which DCE used to fix a missing trace that was never made originally when the PCBs were printed. It will look similar to their solution for Grex 1200 new version, which makes your Grex work with DMA in two slots. :-)

[doctorq]

- is the G-rex daughter-board fully plugged in into the motherboard connector?
- is the G-rex daughter-board's small connector fully plugged in into CSMKIII/CSPPC's video card connector?

Yes, I have installed the G-Rex by firstly install the busboard on the CS boards and then install both cards at one time, so the small connector goes fully into the CS board. The daughterboard has been given a firm push into the socket so it is fully installed (otherwise I'm guessing that the zorro board wouldn't work anyway)

Also, does your Grex daughter-board have a wire that was hand soldered in order to fix a problem with a missing trace on the PCB? IIRC, mine does, which DCE used to fix a missing trace that was never made originally when the PCBs were printed. It will look similar to their solution for Grex 1200 new version, which makes your Grex work with DMA in two slots. :-)

The only wiring that has been done after the board has been produced is a wire, but it seems like it is in order to fix a zorro problem. My backside looks exactly like the one on www.amiga-hardware.com.

[x56h34]

Hmmm...

Have you tried switching Voodoo around in different PCI slots? Have you tried using different simms in your CSPPC/MKIII, just to see if the introduction of Grex to the mix makes them go crazy (try it, you never know)?

If it works, Voodoo 3 should show 31khz display on any VGA monitor, just like on A1200 Grex, shortly after powering up the system. That's the easiest way of knowing that the setup works.

[doctorq]

I have tried two different Voodoo 3 boards in all 4 slots, and all gives the same result, unfortunately.

I have tried switching the ram from my CSPPC to the CSMK3, and it didn't help either. I will try one last time with the ram from my CSMK2, hopefully it will bring it to life.

[x56h34]

In the past I've had experiences such as having a set of four 32mb simms working fine with one CSPPC card and not with the other, but a totally different set of modules worked fine with both...so you never know what a different set of two or four simms may do. :-) It's worth a try.

Furthermore, if you use boardtype tool with CSPPC and MKIII cards you'll see that they also range in logic-firmware revisions, just like BPPC. For example, Phase 5 cards I've seen in revision 1 so far, and DCE made cards all seem to be revision 4. Could this be another reason? Who knows. :-)

[PaSha]

Also, does your Grex daughter-board have a wire that was hand soldered in order to fix a problem with a missing trace on the PCB? IIRC, mine does, which DCE used to fix a missing trace that was never made originally when the PCBs were printed. It will look similar to their solution for Grex 1200 new version, which makes your Grex work with DMA in two slots. :-)

What wire? AFAIK mine has none, and the #2 PCI slot doesn't work (no cards are recognized in the 'ESC' bootup menu).

Any more details? My G-rex is s/n 29 IIRC

-Paul

[x56h34]

Look at the BBOAH picture of Grex 4000D (back) and you will see from the left-hand side there are some wires soldered to the PCB.

I'm not sure if it's detailed enough in order to show exactly what is connected to where, but it's a start.

[doctorq]

A small question; if I understood correctly, the PCIScan program would list all installed PCI cards. Will it display as well, even though it is only an ethernet card that's installed?

Would the ethernet card be seen in the boot menu of the CS board?

[x56h34]

What ever PCI card is inserted, it should show up in the PCI boot menu under the appropriate list name, e.g.:

VGA Display Controller
Network
Sound

Even if you insert an unsupported PCI card, it should still be detected in the PCI boot menu as the correct type.

[doctorq]

x56h34 wrote:
What ever PCI card is inserted, it should show up in the PCI boot menu under the appropriate list name, e.g.:

VGA Display Controller
Network
Sound

Even if you insert an unsupported PCI card, it should still be detected in the PCI boot menu as the correct type.

Bugger, that points towards a dead board I'm afraid :boohoo:

[PaSha]

x56h34 wrote:
Look at the BBOAH picture of Grex 4000D (back) and you will see from the left-hand side there are some wires soldered to the PCB.

Those wires are on the Zorro slots.
Anyways, I did a quick search in the Grex group on groups.yahoo.com, and found some info about one or two Grex4000 owners having received their boards from repairs at DCE with a jumper wire from the interface board to the top PCI slot.

-Paul

[x56h34]

I'll take a look on mine when I get a chance and see what exactly has been "patched". I know that there is some wireing installed, but just can't remember exactly where.

[motorollin]

doctorq wrote:
My backside looks exactly like the one on www.amiga-hardware.com.

I didn't know they had pictures of those on the BBOAH... :lol:

--
moto

[PaSha]

x56h34 wrote:
I'll take a look on mine when I get a chance and see what exactly has been "patched". I know that there is some wireing installed, but just can't remember exactly where.

:pint: cheers

I'll be ripping mine out for a closer look regarding the dead #2 PCI slot soon anyway.