Amiga fails to boot, then after awhile works fine?

[part12studios]

Hi there,

So I had a scare the other day.  I go to turn my amiga on again (been off for several months) and it would just kick up check floppy with one click and then nothing..  so i open it up thinking of isolating issues.. removed accelerator.. backup clock hard drive..  

It's an Amiga 1200 with a 1232 accelerator, clock backup, 4gb microdrive.  I have a us power supply and a euro one.  I'm in the US so I favor the US one of course but i have a 220v converter box as well.  

eventually i got it to boot from a wb 3.1 boot disk..  and then it booted the hd. which before wouldn't boot alone..  then after a few times it seemed like it now will boot from hd again..  

Maybe the Amiga just needed to warm up a bit?  to be turned on but stuck in that locked up state?  Now it seems to be 100% again with everything plugged in etc..  

Any insight would be appreciated.  Maybe there is something I can do to service it before it becomes a bigger problem?  

Thanks,
Caleb

[kirk_m]

Have you had the capacitors replaced yet?

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Replace caps, clean and tighten any connectors, press down on any socketed chips, yadda yadda.  I've had a few scares like that, usually it's good to turn them on once every week or so just to "shake out the cobwebs", lol.  

[paul1981]

Turn on your Amigas at least once every two or three months in order to maintain capacitor health.

[Pat the Cat]

Most of these problems are just dirt in the floppy, connections for cables, chips etc.

Older they get, more grimy they get.

Hard drives are sealed, but motors can need a little time to adjust if off for a while. Sometimes tere's a humidity sensor on the circuit board, keeps it off until it's warmed up and dried off a little bit.

Capacitors are usually pretty good for 20 years, can last longer. Depends how the machine has been run, and how corroded they get.

When electricals, electronics, mechanicals etc get dirtier, they not only corrode more, they heat up more. Speeds up the whole ageing process.

[part12studios]

Ah ok cool thanks everyone!  Sorry had email trouble and didn't see the replies till just now.  Yea since that scare I've turned it on a few times and its' booted well.  I'll definitely make sure to use it more often and help keep it lively.

Thanks!
Caleb

[matt3k]

Glad you got it working reliably.

Caps and HD need to be used regularly.  

Enjoy!

Hi there,

So I had a scare the other day.  I go to turn my amiga on again (been off for several months) and it would just kick up check floppy with one click and then nothing..  so i open it up thinking of isolating issues.. removed accelerator.. backup clock hard drive..  

It's an Amiga 1200 with a 1232 accelerator, clock backup, 4gb microdrive.  I have a us power supply and a euro one.  I'm in the US so I favor the US one of course but i have a 220v converter box as well.  

eventually i got it to boot from a wb 3.1 boot disk..  and then it booted the hd. which before wouldn't boot alone..  then after a few times it seemed like it now will boot from hd again..  

Maybe the Amiga just needed to warm up a bit?  to be turned on but stuck in that locked up state?  Now it seems to be 100% again with everything plugged in etc..  

Any insight would be appreciated.  Maybe there is something I can do to service it before it becomes a bigger problem?  

Thanks,
Caleb

[part12studios]

I am very fortunate my amigas have been forgiving.  my main one from back in the day was stored for years at a time between usages and it's always come around but yea i've noticed a few times where I can see now that it needed to warm up.  

Thanks!
Caleb

[QuikSanz]

Recap it anyway. The quality of them it that model are not good at all.

[part12studios]

cool i'll look into it for sure.  i know there are some services on ebay that do it.

[QuikSanz]

Depending on where you live, in UK you have Amigakit, in the US you have 2 recommendable places California and I believe Michigan, in Aus you have I think 2 also, 1 east and 1 west.

[part12studios]

I'm on the east coast of the United States so the guy in Michigan looks solid for me.  Price is reasonable.  Toughest thing for me is removing the board from the casing.. sounds a little scary.

[QuikSanz]

I'm on the east coast of the United States so the guy in Michigan looks solid for me.  Price is reasonable.  Toughest thing for me is removing the board from the casing.. sounds a little scary.

Charles knows his way around 68k computers although he may not have as much testing stuff for as many models as Acill, he has great reviews and his reputation is as well.

As far as disassembly goes try a big bog box, lol.

[darkage]

Last month I powered up my A1200 after not doing so for 2 years.   It didnt boot with different shades gray, etc  and never reaching the Amiga boot screen.   Had to remove and re-seat the Kickstart ROMs 2 times to get going.    

I think I will replace sockets with high quality machined sockets.

I dont think there is a obvious answer for your situation, you will need to go through a check list, crossing off possible options one by one. .  recapping is a excellent first step.

[Acill]

Are you in the US? Id be happy to recap it for you. My rate is $58 plus return shipping.