fusion forty problems

[pyrre]

I have a fusion forty that is malfunctioning. It boots up and shows the kickstart screen. sometimes it even loads WB...
However the times i have it to load WB and run sysinfo on it it is slower than a standard A500...
At first it runs "great" but it rapidly gets slower til it crashes...

Could this be a worn out crystal, or a damaged CPU/card?

[Damion]

I would try cleaning any contacts, and checking the PSU.

[pyrre]

I would try cleaning any contacts, and checking the PSU.

MotherBoard of A2000 has just been cleaned up... Vas corroded from battery leakage. No contacts or circuits are broken, as I can see...
PSU is standard A2000 PSU. and it provides the correct voltage...

The fusion gets progressively slower after bootup.
But the psu shows the same volts. (minor changes)

[Damion]

Ah, bummer.

I'm guessing you fooled with the card's boot options, and have latest ROMs? Will it goof off if you run the system straight from floppy (no HD attached)?

Hope you get it sorted.

[pyrre]

I'm guessing you fooled with the card's boot options, and have latest ROMs? Will it goof off if you run the system straight from floppy (no HD attached)?

The Fusion forty does not have HDD controller...

[alenppc]

pyrre wrote:

At first it runs "great" but it rapidly gets slower til it crashes...

This sounds like the 68040 is overheating. Check that the CPU heatsink is attached properly and that the fan works. Also check the onboard RAM. If you don't have enough of it, the CPU will start using Zorro-II RAM thus slowing down to an A500 speed.

I think the maximum you can have on the card is 32 Mb. Also check that you have the latest plug-n-go Roms (v3.4).

[pyrre]

Check that the CPU heatsink is attached properly and that the fan works.

Heatsink is is properly seated and the fan is working. No dust in the sink as well... Have wacumed it...

Also check the onboard RAM.

Four megs is installed. Have tried both upper and lower banks. Same result. Four megs should be sufficient to boot the system properly. Hower. the ram is not identified and mounted correct. They do not show up, no matter upper or lower bank...
I still have no answer to whether it is autoconfiguring.

Also check that you have the latest plug-n-go Roms (v3.4).

All four plug-n-go roms are 3.4
Swapping sockets; will that make any difference?
Or are all the same?


My best guess is that the crystal is dying....

[Miked]

I'm not sure if this will help, but from what I've read, the Fusion Forty may have some compatibility problems with the Gary chip on older revision Amiga 2000 motherboards.  

Quoted from a review of the Fusion Forty:


"I had to do the following before I could get the
Fusion Forty to work correctly.

   1.  Replace the CMOS Gary chip with a new Commodore-manufactured one."



In addition, the Ram does not autoconfigure.

Quote:

"Note that this RAM does not autoconfigure.  According to RCS, they don't autoconfigure the RAM for two reasons:  so that they can overcome the Amiga 2000's 8 meg
limit, and (they claim) autoconfiguring the RAM would make it slower."


I hope some of this is helpful.

[pyrre]

Thanx Miked, it may help. That means i am for the look for a newer Gary chip....

[pyrre]

 :bump:

[TjLaZer]

I have one and it indeed does autoconfig the memory.  I have 32mb on mine.  Make sure you have the correct 68040.library for it.  I would also clean all contacts and reseat the PNG Roms.

[pyrre]

I have one and it indeed does autoconfig the memory. I have 32mb on mine.

That is good to hear. Because i gen no ram added at all. there are four simms installed and the seller told me it is four or eight megs in total of four simms. Have tried them in upper and lower bank to no result.

Make sure you have the correct 68040.library for it.

If i would get as far as the WB screen it would be nice. Loading the WB gets increasingly slow. Till everything hangs. Cooling is great, fan is running and all the powers are as it should.

I would also clean all contacts and reseat the PNG Roms.

Have reseated all the chips on the card. one by one.....


My question is still: could it be a malfunctioning crystal oscillator?

[rkauer]

 Crystals don't act this way. They simply work (or not).

 My guess is you have a bad thermal contact between the CPU and the heatsink.

 For the memory issue, try (in a CLI):

 "addmem" (no quotes)

[Miked]

I have never owned this board but from all the reading I have done about the Fusion Forty, it seems RCS had two board designs.  And, it seems, the initial board design was the one that had a multitude of problems.  Can anyone confirm this?

[J-Golden]

I had a FF years and yeas ago.  I remember it coming with software that had to be installed to activate the memory and get the accel. working right.

On the note of the system slowing down, that is a CLASSIC example of something overheating.  If the fan is running and clean, I throw my hat in on the checking of the thermal paste.

Also, I noticed on the web page at the BBoAH it says that the 4 meg min. needs to be in the slots AWAY from the back plate.

And on that note, memory was diversified back then so make sure you have 8x30 SIMMs, NOT 9x30.  If you are not sure, just count the # of mem. chips on each SIMM.  8=8 9=9

I have long since sold the FF but I remember who I sold it to so I'll e-mail him to see if he still has it and the disks...

Best of Luck!

J. Golden