PCMCIA 2Mb RAM card broken

[paul1981]

PCMCIA RAM in an A1200 actually slows down the machine as it is 16-bit RAM, so in all honesty those cards are more suitable to an A600 and will actually speed up an A600 slightly.
Have you tried loading the PrepCard program (on the Extras Disk I think) and preparing as System RAM? It will also recognise the card if it is working correctly. If you can't get to that stage I think there's a switch on that card and a battery? Fiddle around with it and see if anything changes.
Also, being as though the card slot has taken impact it is well worth removing the card, getting a powerful torch and having a good look for bent pins inside the slot.
Another thing, remember the Amiga Early Startup Control (hold down both mouse buttons before booting) and see if anything shows up in there regarding the card (CC0 is the card slot boot device when 'prepared as disk' mode instead of RAM). It's been a while since used these things.

My advice would be to get anything other than another PCMCIA card. Standalone trapdoor RAM cards for A1200's are a rip-off on the 2nd hand market, in which case you'd be smart to buy the ACA1221ec which is a accelerated 020 card with plenty of RAM for traditional software and WHDLoad (if you're into that sort of thing). 

[paul1981]

OK, I've just had a look at the card slot with my HD video Android mobile phone using the Magnifier app with the light turned on, but I'm not sure what I'm looking for, so I can't tell if any of the pins are damaged.

I can't see any kind of switch on the PCMCIA card either.

The A1200 won't boot up with the card inserted. AFAIK I'm not allowed to insert the card with the A1200 turned on, so how could I use Prepcard? 

I can't check what the Early Startup menu says at the moment, because I haven't got my A1200 set up.

I've already said that price is a big factor in getting this sorted out. I want to run some WHDload software. I care that the PCMCIA card worked, not about any speed factor, which I didn't actually notice. The cheapest accelerator card I can find on eBay at the moment costs about £103, which is a lot more than £45 or £55.

I think I may just have to buy a new Raspberry Pi, which would enable me to emulate Amigas without seeing Linux or Windows in the background instead, although I think it's nice to have genuine Amiga hardware.

I seem to remember my PCMCIA card having a battery and a write protect switch - it was very small and on the end. You can insert the card with the power on and see if PrepCard recognises it. Even though my card wasn't damaged, I remember having to Prep as RAM again after replacing the battery or something or it didn't work...I can't remember. But yes, you can insert and remove cards with the power on just like you can in a laptop computer.

As for the pins in the A1200, just see if any look out of position (bent), although from what you say it does sound like your card has fallen apart and is the likely culprit.

The ACA1221ec isn't expensive, and is vastly worth the extra £60. Besides, those reclaimed PCMCIA cards should only be fetching around £5 IMHO.

[paul1981]

http://hol.abime.net/hol_search.php?&N_hd=yes&af=0-9&tri=S_gamename&order=ASC&limitstart=&af=

Have a look at those games, they should be HD installable without WHDLoad. As for Colonization, I can't help you with your particular problem. I wonder if anyone here knows?