Macrosystem Casablanca Classic problem

[orb85750]

I purchase a Casablanca Classic from eBay.  For anyone (everyone?) unfamiliar, it's an Amiga ROM-based 68060 standalone non-linear video editor by Macrosystem.  (Macrosystem is the same company that made the Vlab Motion, Toccata, etc. for Amiga.)  It's in excellent cosmetic condition, but there does not appear to be any trackball/mouse pointer shown on the screen after it boots.  I'm also not able to get my SCART to composite adapter to work at all.  (The S-Video output does work.)  I spoke with Gary McNally, who suggested that it might have a bad motherboard.  Does anyone else know anything about this type of system?  It would be cool to get it up and working.   Thanks.

[davideo]

Are you using the correct type of trackball?

Have you tried re-installing the operating system?

I've never had this problem in all the years that I've owned mine.

And on a personal note - would you PM me how much you paid for it please?

I've got one of these and I'm not sure what it's worth

Dave G :cool:

[Iggy]

As far as I've heard, a standard serial mouse or a serial trackball should be all that's required.

What type of device are you using and are you sure iys functional? The fact that it boots, but does not display a pointer would indicate a problem with the mouse/trackball, not the motherboard.

[orb85750]

Are you using the correct type of trackball?

Have you tried re-installing the operating system?

I've never had this problem in all the years that I've owned mine.

And on a personal note - would you PM me how much you paid for it please?

I've got one of these and I'm not sure what it's worth

Dave G :cool:

Thanks for your reply.  I'm using a ps/2 mouse with a ps/2-to-serial adapter.  I don't seem to have a serial mouse anywhere among my old stuff.  Should I see a mouse pointer on the screen, even if I don't have a mouse plugged in properly?  And what shape/color should I see for the pointer?  I don't have the OS disks (or any other disks), just what is already on the hard drive.  (I'll PM you too.)

[davideo]

Thanks for your reply.  I'm using a ps/2 mouse with a ps/2-to-serial adapter.  I don't seem to have a serial mouse anywhere among my old stuff.  Should I see a mouse pointer on the screen, even if I don't have a mouse plugged in properly?  I don't have the OS disks (or any other disks), just what is already on the hard drive.  (I'll PM you too.)

Without the OS discs you won't be able to reinstall the OS.

Each set of discs is tied by a serial number to the particular machine it was installed on. So even if you could borrow my set they would not install - anti piracy :hammer:

I've never tried a mouse like your setup. I'll boot my machine up without the mouse and see what happens. Have you got a manual for it?

Dave G

Update:

I booted it up without the mouse and no pointer visible. IIRC the pointer starts out in the top left corner so it may not be visible on screen.

I then did something you should never do and plugged my mouse in withthe power on. Mouse pointer shows on screen just below top left corner of screen.

I'm not sure but I thought you could use the keyboard to control the mouse. I'll have a look in my manual.

Dave G

[tone007]

Not all PS/2 mice support serial mode regardless of the PS/2 to serial adapter, so that's one combination you might want to check on another machine with a serial port if you haven't yet.

[orb85750]

Without the OS discs you won't be able to reinstall the OS.

Each set of discs is tied by a serial number to the particular machine it was installed on. So even if you could borrow my set they would not install - anti piracy :hammer:

I've never tried a mouse like your setup. I'll boot my machine up without the mouse and see what happens. Have you got a manual for it?

Dave G

Update:

I booted it up without the mouse and no pointer visible. IIRC the pointer starts out in the top left corner so it may not be visible on screen.

I then did something you should never do and plugged my mouse in withthe power on. Mouse pointer shows on screen just below top left corner of screen.

I'm not sure but I thought you could use the keyboard to control the mouse. I'll have a look in my manual.

Dave G

Many thanks for your help!  That's very useful info.

[orb85750]

Not all PS/2 mice support serial mode regardless of the PS/2 to serial adapter, so that's one combination you might want to check on another machine with a serial port if you haven't yet.

I didn't know that.  I hope that's the problem.  I have no other such serial port machines, so I think I'll try to find/buy a serial mouse rather than use an adapter.   Thank you.

[orb85750]

OK, got it working with a bonafide 2-button serial mouse!  Software version is 2.7.8.  Looking forward to working with it.

[Iggy]

OK, got it working with a bonafide 2-button serial mouse!  Software version is 2.7.8.  Looking forward to working with it.

Cool, keep us up to date on how you do. I'd like to know more about the Casablanca.

[davideo]

OK, got it working with a bonafide 2-button serial mouse!  Software version is 2.7.8.  Looking forward to working with it.

Congrats - I'm sure you'll have fun using it

Dave G :cool:

[orb85750]

Thanks.  I'm still puzzled as to why I cannot get the SCART output to work properly.  I have a simple, cheap adapter (from eBay) that is supposed to convert it to composite video + audio, but nothing works at all.  Given all the other adapter failures I had, I wouldn't doubt if that's the problem here too, but if anyone has any experience with SCART output, please let me know.  (I don't have any SCART devices, so I cannot use it directly.)

[AmigaEd]

Without the OS discs you won't be able to reinstall the OS.

Each set of discs is tied by a serial number to the particular machine it was installed on. So even if you could borrow my set they would not install - anti piracy :hammer:

@orb85750

Based on Dave's comments, if I were you I'd start looking for a way to clone your hard drive. Sounds like it would be a nightmare if the drive was corrupted, lost files, etc.

Regards,
AmigaEd

[orb85750]

@orb85750

Based on Dave's comments, if I were you I'd start looking for a way to clone your hard drive. Sounds like it would be a nightmare if the drive was corrupted, lost files, etc.

Regards,
AmigaEd

You make a very good suggestion.  It is a SCSI hard drive (SCSI-2).  If I can remove it and put it into one of my A2000 machines, do you know if it would be possible to clone it if it's a nonstandard format.  (I think it's nonstandard, but I'm not certain at this early stage.)  I've never used 3 hard drives in an A2000, so I hope that can be done too (the system drive, the Casablanca drive, and the empty drive). Yes, I'll need an exact clone, not a file backup.  I have no clue how to do it, but you're right that it's time for me to start thinking about it.  Thanks.

[odin]

Better get confirmation on whether a Casablanca drive is Amiga readable from a (previous) Casablanca owner before you fry it =).

Either way, hooking it up to a machine running Linux and using the dd command to make a bit-by-bit image of the drive might also be a solution:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dd_%28Unix%29
At your own risk though .

Isn't it possible to add a second drive to the Casablanca itself?