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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: crabfists on April 26, 2005, 10:46:29 AM
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Hello,
I have a DKB 3128 board which I am trying to populate with 128Mb of RAM. I have discovered it is VERY fussy about which RAM it accepts. Some SIMMs do not work at all and some are recognised as less than they really are. (ie 16mb will show up as 4mb). Anyway, I have finally found 4x32mb SIMMs which work seperately (Kingston ktm7318/64), yet it will only recognise a maximum of 64mb if all put in together. If I put 2 sticks in I get 64mb but when I put 2 more in I still get 64mb, instead of 128mb as I would expect.
I have a A3000D with an Ariadne II network card and a Multiface III serial card. I have 16mb of FAST ram (zips) on the motherboard. I dont know what revision my Buster etc is, does this matter?
I have now got 80mb of FAST ram, which is plenty, but being power hungry I want to max it out just for the geek kudos. :-)
Thanks!
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All these stories lately about the DKB and memory problems make me think twice before I buy a DKB for 150 or 200 euro (is what some people ask for it) ... :lol:
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@crabfists
How can the SIMMS work perfectly if they don't work as 128 MB on the DKB? Have you tested them in a different machine, or only in the DKB? I thought mine were working to, but I had to take the 4 x 32 MB memory modules from my CSPPC board and place on the DKB board, and then place the 4 x 32 MB sitting on the DKB board before and plug them into my CSPPC. There all 128 MB is being recognised.
Sounds like your Kingston ram isn't DKB compatible.
@Effy
Hint taken. Why do you think I'm selling the board fully populated?
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doctorq : your offer is an exception because it all works there, but if you buy a DKB without memory or with only 32 and you want to have it fully populated ... :pissed:
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@ effy
I only paid 45 EUR for it so its not big deal. :)
@ doctorq
The SIMMS are (supposedly) identical - all 4 are made by the same manufacturer (Kingston). It would be strange they would not work together but its possible I suppose. What make SIMMS did you get to work in the end?
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@crabfists
Hyundai ram modules. Good deal on your DKB board, in case you get it working 100%, and don't have to pay 200 EURO for finding working SIMMS :-)
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@doctorq
Do you know what the model number is of the Hyundai SIMMs? I presume you bought 4 matching ones? I will try tracking some down to see if they work. If I cant get them to work I will have to manage with 80mb. :-)
Thanks
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Well I had to play around with RAM a lot too to find a set that works fully. The DKB seem to be quite picky.
I made one discovery during my tests back then: I had a set that was only recognised as 64 MB, but when I replaced the last 32MB module by an 16 MB one I got at least the 112 MB that I should have. As I said I had to search quite a while to find a set that adds up to 128 MB, but maybe you can live with "just" 112 MB on the DKB.
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@crabfists
I will have to check when I remove the board from my system, I will get back to you.
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I had one of these boards, fully populated, worked like a charm in my A3000... But when I sold it, the new owner only got access to 64MB of RAM, for some reason... He had an A3000 too.. He only had buster 9, of course, but should that be a factor with this board?
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@ orjan
Could you tell me what config was your A3000 please? Buster rev, mb rev etc?
How do I tell what revision my buster chip is?
Thanks again
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Hi,
Just scanned over this thread so I apologize if someone mentioned this already:
Are you using any double-sided SIMMs? See if it still has amnesia with only single sided ones. I had problems installing one of these a few years back too.
-G
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@crabfists
Whoa... :-)
Lets see now... Kickstart 3.1, Buster 11.. The rest was unupgraded if I remember correctly...
You can look att the Buster chip directly... If it says -11 on the end, its a rev. 11... If it says -9 its a rev. 9... :-)
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@ orjan
Thanks for the info on your system. I will see what my buster revision is tonight. I know I have got Kickstart 3.1 though.
@ glitch
From memory I think I tried some single sided SIMMS but they wouldnt work at all. Are you saying you had better results with single sided SIMMS? Do you know what make/model they were?
I should make a list of known SIMMS to work in this board. Would this be useful?
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As for the single/double sided issue I can let you know that I'm using double sided modules on my DKB board.
@crabfists
The label on my 32 MB modules say HYM532814, and under neath that it says BM-60
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Try it without the Multiface, if that doesn´t work then pull out every zorrocard besides your DKB and try again. :-)
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Hi,
I don't recall whether it worked better with single or double - just a troubleshooting technique I had used in the past. Sorry, the memory isn't what it used to be... pardon the pun.
I'm merely mentioning this as some memory controllers may not be able to understand certain densities of chips - for example you put in a 256MB module (that works anywhere else) and it only registers 64MB.
That, and sometimes if you put a double-sided SIMM at the end of the bank then there are fewer problems.
Good luck!
-G
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@ crabfists
My DKB has accepted any non-EDO SIMM that has been anywhere else in my system. In other words all the SIMMS that I have used succesfully on my MKII board, and all the SIMMS I have used on my PPC board.
I got the board second-hand with two 32mb SIMMS on it, and I just put another two on and put it in my A4KT, no software necessary. Sees 128mb first time. All my working 32mb SIMMS are double-sided. I am looking for a single-sided FPM 32mb SIMM for my PPC card and so far it seems these are very difficult to get hold of. So forget single-sided and use double-sided.
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I have checked my buster revision and I think it is a revision 7. It has 390539-07 written on it.
I have taken out all of the other cards but that does not help.
I have also found 2 SIMMS which are exactly the same as doctorq has used in his 3128 (Hyundai HYM532814 BM-60). These show up fine if put in alone but if I add any more SIMMS only 64mb shows up as before.
This looks like I need to get a Buster rev 11? I cant see what else it can be. Or I am being really unlucky with the RAM I am trying.
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Have you tried just 3 32MB Modules or 3 32MB and one 16 MB in bank 4 like I suggested ?
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Hi Lemmink,
Sorry, yeah I tried that but I still only got the 64mb. Nice suggestion though.
Thanks
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I had the same problem!
GET "FAST PAGE SIMMS" not "EDO"
All will be fine.
The documentation says that EDO will work, but it didn't for me. So I installed Fast Page type and volia!!
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@amiwalker
Did you have the exact same problem then? You could only get 64mb with 4x32mb SIMMS? Do you mind me asking your amiga model and configuration (ie buster revision etc)?
Thanks!
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A3000D, WarpEngine 040 with 64M on board
DKB3128 with 128M on board
Still using motherboard SCSI (couldn't get the W.E. to work)
Chips - Buster 11 DMAC-2 RAMSEY 4
HDD - 4.5G and 1.1G
X-SurfII
Spectrum 28/24 Gfx card (using CGX 4.2 sw)
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@amiwalker
WarpEngine uses a driver called "warpdrive.device"?
Check in Devs:NSDPatch.cfg, if it is patched.
# WarpEngine
DEVICE warpdrive.device DEVICETYPE NSDEVTYPE_TRACKDISK COMMANDS 1-15,20-23,28 VERSION 40 REVISION 66
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Thanks Amiwalker.
As for your WarpEngine problem, have you done the INT2 modification on your 3000 motherboard? I thought the warpengine SCSI only works when this modification has been performed?
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Yes I did the int2 mod myself. Still could not get the WE SCSI to boot any Drive attached to it. All that would show up was the hand with the floppy.
I basicly gave up on it and continue to use the motherboard SCSI.
I thought it might also have something to do wth only having DMAC-02 instead of DMAC-04.
BTW try to get a DMAC-04!!!!! Good luck!!! I have heen looking for some time now and no one wants or has one to sell to me.
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I too have a DKB3128. I too have double sided 16 chip Kingston KTM7318/64 EDO SIMMS and like you I also only get 64Mbytes of RAM.
(Nice to know someone else has the same problem and my DKB3128 isnt screwed!)
I tried a mix and match of SIMMS to try and get above the 64Mbytes but no luck (BTW: You need the software installed to mix and match SIMMS)
I have an Amiga 4000, buster 11 etc.
I contacted the Creator of the DKB3128 "Dean Brown" and he assured me that everything should work.
I keep meaning to try and get some Fast-Page-Mode (FPM) Simms instead of EDO see if they are any better.
It's definately these SIMMS I fear. I payed £8 each for my SIMMS so I didnt want to replace them straight away.
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@Alexh
That's interesting. So it can't be the buster revision then if you've got rev. 11 and you still only get 64mb? Like yourself I am going to try and get some FPM SIMMS too, but they are not as easy to get hold of. A quick search on ebay reveals quite a lot of auctions in the USA for FPM SIMMS but not many in the UK.
So, you actually contacted the maker of the board himself? How did you find him? I heard when they made the board they couldn't test with many (or any) 128mb SIMM sets because they were so expensive at the time.
I will report back if I manage to find some FPM SIMMS that work. Perhaps you could do the same?
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So, you actually contacted the maker of the board himself? How did you find him?
His name is all over USENET (http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?q=dean+brown+dkb3128&hl=en) as the creator of the DKB3128 board and worked at DKB, he is (was) employed recently at Amiga Inc. which is where I emailed him.
It is unlikely that I will be able to get any FPM simms in the near future, but I would like to know if you make them work.
You can contact me through my webpage Thalion Webshrine (http://thalion.amiga.tm)
P.S. My Ebay name is also alexh so if you see me bidding on some FPM simms please dont out bid ;-)
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Take note that there may be some Zorro address conflicts depending on the which zorro socket the board is placed in conjunction with the other boards attached.
My A3000D has the following config
Top
DKB3128
Empty
Spectrum 28/24
X-SurfII
Bottom
Hope this info is useful for someone!
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I thought about that... took all my other cards (cept my gfx card) and moved the DKB3128 around... no help and I cut my fingers several times getting the board in and out :bigcry:
I am almost positive that it's these SIMMS, the fact we both have identical ones and we are both seeing 64Mb.
However it couldnt hurt to try moving your DKB3128 around BEFORE buying some FPM SIMMS
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Just a little update. I have finally managed to find some RAM that works in this DKB3128! After trying lots of different types of RAM the ones that worked were FPM (Fast Page RAM).
They were Toshiba. I bought them from eBay and the auction said they were Part number THM3680G0BSG-60. Yet, I cannot see this printed on the actual SIMMS themselves.
* 8Mx36= 32 mb
* Fast Page [non-EDO]
* 60 ns
* parity
* 9 chips on each side
* 2k refresh
* gold leads
This was the auction. Don't know if he's got any more.
Auction URL (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6764567079&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1)
Anyway, I've now got 148,309,944 bytes of RAM. I am very happy. :-P
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I also has some issues, this card is indeed fussy with SIMMs. I did manage to get some SimpleTech EDO 32MB SIMMs working in it though! Just try until you get a pair of 4 working... Or FPM to be sure.