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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: Generale on February 15, 2005, 12:49:04 PM

Title: does anyone know this memory card?
Post by: Generale on February 15, 2005, 12:49:04 PM
Hi there.
I have a memory card with a battery backed up clock that was in my Salvos A500.

The computer can't detect the RAM and the battery backed up clock only works sometimes, which I'm pretty sure is a ratted battery.

Does the card need some sort of RAM driver? I just think it's odd that the a500 completely fails to acknowledge its existence, even if the RAM were bad.

Here's some links to pics of it:

 pic of it (http://members.dodo.com.au/~izabellion/small1.jpg)
..and the other side (http://members.dodo.com.au/~izabellion/small2.jpg)
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks for putting up with my incessant questions. But after all, if a person doesn't ask questions, they don't learn.
Title: Re: does anyone know this memory card?
Post by: Orjan on February 15, 2005, 12:59:28 PM

http://www.amiga-hardware.com/showhardware.cgi?HARDID=1103

Seems stock to me... Perhaps its broken?
Title: Re: does anyone know this memory card?
Post by: Generale on February 15, 2005, 01:13:02 PM
Thanks Orjan. You found in seconds that which I could not find! Probably is...not that there's much to get broken on it.
Title: Re: does anyone know this memory card?
Post by: Azryl on February 16, 2005, 12:32:52 AM
Generale, JP1 in your pic is open, have you closed this jumper and tried the card?

Az
Title: Re: does anyone know this memory card?
Post by: Plaz on February 16, 2005, 12:51:56 AM
I see the battery seems to be leaking. I would cut that off immediatly if it is. One of the memory chips could be having a problem. Have you tried removing them from the sockets and reinstalling them. This works on old chips many times. Normally a driver isn't needed for a card like that. That connection at capacitor C2 doesn't look good, but it shouldn't interfer with reading the memory.

Plaz
Title: Re: does anyone know this memory card?
Post by: Generale on February 16, 2005, 02:13:23 AM
Yeah, I should remove the battery.

The connection on c2 does look bad, but it has 0 resistence, so that's okay.

with the jumper closed, I get a colour code on startup sometimes. Don't remember what it is. Sorry. I'll set up the ami next chance I get to find out. Actually I might try it in my other a500.

reseating the chips doesn't help either I'm afraid.

If it is a bad chip, would the amiga let me get away with removing 2 at a time to narrow it down? I wouldn't remove 1 of course because they are 256x8 chips.

Oh, while I think of it, Are the chips on these cards SRAM or DRAM? Just asking because I don't know how amigas deal with external memory. And if it is DRAM, what refresh type is it?