Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: ceaser on July 07, 2009, 12:44:40 AM
-
I bought this from someone on Ebay via credit card. 280359148235
I'm about to contest the purchase and never use Ebay every again. Let me also mention; please do not post any "send it to our repair center" type stuff in response to this. If you do fine I can't do anything about it. But just understand I'm not sending my hardware to someone else unless I know them personally.
Symptoms: not much, grey screen I guess you could say dark. The Amiga is sending something to the monitor. It flicks on when the Amiga is powered on. It's a Amiga 4000/040 with a case design that looks like a microwave. The guy who sold it to me has a much better camera than me so I suggest you look at that listing # to see what it looks like. Please don't ask me to specify further those pics are better than anything I can get.
Condition it came in: the CPU board was totally loose in there for one. And the floppy drive won't make a sound. It's getting power. I reversed the floppy ribbon just to make sure I got a power light and put it back the right way. This box has the adapter that fixes the bad floppy cable that was shipped with these. That thing is pretty weak it doesn't stay in place very well but it's also not the problem.
Why I expected it to work: In the listing it said it was working. And one of the pictures was showing Workbench 3.0 working. Unfortunately it only has 3.0 roms but I still wanted the box. I totally expected to see workbench come up after the HD loaded. But it's just this nothing grey screen. Also in the listing you'll see many key points that make it sound like he had the maintenence done. The RAM clips are new. The battery is new.
What I've done: I've tried disconnecting everything but the floppy and putting games in there as well as old workbench disks. I've tried both AGA games and regular old games and quite a few bootable workbench 1.3 disks. I do not have a Workbench 3.0 floppy. Trying to make one on my PC right now but have no idea how to. I kind of was under the impression you needed to use WHDLoad along with an Amiga with a HDD to do that. Not sure though. I've put just a CD-ROM on the IDE chain as I know the IDE chain on A4000 sucks and doesn't work correctly with 2 things on the IDE chain. It doesn't do anything when I put a CD in. The drive is off an old PC and works for sure. And the disk spins up in there but NOTHING happens on screen. I ordered IDE fix but haven't got that yet. I wouldn't have ordered it if I knew this thing was dead.
Why?: Why isn't there any of those colors it's supposed to show when an Amiga has hardware problems? This monitor is a Commodore 1960 and I tested it on my PC in VGA modes and it works. It definitely should be showing one of those screens. It's a proper commodore VGA adapter too, the chrome 23 to VGA adapter. The only thing it does at all is the HDD populates and light comes on briefly when you first turn it on, and it responds to control-Amiga-Amiga reboot, but there's nothing to boot. The HDD repopulates and the power light goes on and off though so that's doing something. The seller is super slow with responses. He also I notice has in his listing that it works but also that he doesn't give refunds. So geez I wonder why you wouldn't give a refund but you say it works. I feel that I've bought someone's problem here.
But can I do something? I don't take IC's (I consider any circut on a motherboard to be an integrated circut. I understand that on Amiga they're referred to as custom chips because they handle functions for the CPU.) off motherboards like I've read a lot of people doing. If this thing was truly not completely dead when the guy had it, then I shouldn't have to do anything like that. Also it has this 2 power supply thing. One is this Dataflyer PSU that I don't know why it's there. The other is the regular Amiga 4000 power supply. I've tried all kinds of different hookups. Not hooking up the extra power to the expansion cards (there is a single PX4 connector with 3 wires in it for either full power or maybe only extra power to the Dataflyer expansion card side), hooking it up with the top power supply, hooking it up with the bottom power supply, tried some jumpers I guess there's 1 that switches between NTSC and PAL and another that's supposed to be some RAM switcher but according to info I've found it doesn't do anything.
Despite how I sound I'm not too shabby at fixing computers. Usually there's never a problem I can't fix. But there's something really messed up with this computer. Of course with PC's you just yank the part that's bad out of another PC since there's probably 4 dead ones laying around my house, dead just because I don't have extra HDD's for them. There's just no leakage or anything you can see that would be wrong with this thing, yet it's not working at all.
Please please help. Please no "just send it to our repair center" answers.
-
Power on the Amiga whilst holding down both mouse buttons.
Do you get the startup screen with boot options etc?
-
Here's some advice:
- Post photos it would help.
- what monitors do you have at home? (amiga/pc etc).
- disconnect hard disk. make sure floppy drive is connected properly. make sure ram is well seated in sockets. make sure processor card is firmly pressed. ensure daughter board is firmlly pressed. Then check also no damage to the case. Once you do all this, connect your amiga to 1084 monitor (or 1080). Try booting the Amiga, turn it on and wait up to 1 minute. if you get a screen with disk then you're ok.
if not then post photos of your motherboard, especially battery area.
- HINT: its worth buying A2000. This way you can backup files/disks and have a reliable machine.
- Workbench 3.0 disks, email if you need them.
-
@ceaser
For the processor card, memory, and various cabling to become disconnected during shipping is a 100% guarantee. I would go through the entire system and reseat and reconnect everything, especially the processor and memory for nothing will work if they are not right. If still no joy, then disconnect everything other than the power supply, mainboard, memory, and processor. Report back.......
Note: With just the power supply connected to the mainboard and just the processor and memory seated this will give you the basic connections. If everything is fine at this level you should see the request for workbench disk (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2-fnXIIuRue_00Ay5yJ9VQ?feat=directlink).
(http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2-fnXIIuRue_00Ay5yJ9VQ?feat=directlink)(http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2-fnXIIuRue_00Ay5yJ9VQ?feat=directlink)(http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2-fnXIIuRue_00Ay5yJ9VQ?feat=directlink)(http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2-fnXIIuRue_00Ay5yJ9VQ?feat=directlink)(http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2-fnXIIuRue_00Ay5yJ9VQ?feat=directlink)The Dawg
-
First, get rid of the CD drive. Even if the system was working perfectly, the drive wouldn't do anything. It's not bootable, and right now it's just additional clutter on your IDE bus introducing another variable into your problems.
Pay very close attention to the power LED. It has two brightness levels. It starts dim, and if everything checks out, it should jump to the brighter setting and start the boot process. It should also be accompanied by a little flickery jump on the monitor.
If the power LED never jumps to the brighter setting, that often suggests a loose connection between the CPU card and the motherboard - even if it looks rock solid. Double check it, then triple check it.
(And that board on the back of the floppy drive isn't to correct for a bad cable. It's a dedicated circuit, originally sold with that very drive as a complete high-density floppy package.)
Others here have reported floppy cables as responsible for dead-like symptoms, so try replacing it or omitting it. The latter will introduce a natural delay in booting, so be patient if things still look the same.
There is also the possibility that the machine just simply died before it got to you. I have a 4000 here that was working beautifully one day and was completely toasted the next due to capacitor damage (which I should have seen coming - no battery damage, though!).
Here's a direct link (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280359148235&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.com%3A80%2F%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dp3907.m38.l1313%26_nkw%3D280359148235%26_sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1) to the auction for others to check the photos.
-
I feel that I've bought someone's problem here.
That's exactly what most Amigas are, especially after 15-20 years of floating around.
Think how much more you'll like it when you get it running, though.
-
I have had a dead 4000 with simler problem and it was the BUSTER CHIP not seated properly , so check it. i removed it and put itback in.
-
if he has it listed as working you cant blame him for the shipping damage. If you do end up going that route, I hope you dont rip him off and file a claim and end up keeping the A4000 and the refund. (its happened to me before..theres losers as sellers and buyers)
Do what others have posted to see if its something that needs to be reseated. I hope you know what you're doing and dont screw it up more. (I've had that happen to me also)
-
I had the exact same problem before. I absolutely could not get it running again. The problem started on a very hot day in 1997 when the air conditioning was broken. So I figured something melted and it was hopeless.
So my poor A4000/040 sat in a box for several years. Finally, in 2004 I gave it away FOR FREE to an experienced Amiga guy. He got it running on the very first day! He didn't even swap out any parts! WTH!? He said he just took everything apart, cleaned it thoroughly and put it all back together and it worked.
Then he sold it on Ebay for a zillion $.
-
It looks like it got damaged in transit. The listing and seller look legit. The system is old so please try and be understanding. You got a good deal for it and even the case is rare. I would just keep it and buy another MB, IMHO! It would be worth it. Or you can send it off to Amiga Center in France to fix it. Well worth it. I know you are mad but this stuff happens especially for vintage computer gear. The 4000 is not very stable to begin with. I have had a few 4000's die out of the blue too. I now have like 5 as backups! LOL
I would disassemble it down to the bare MB and reconnect the floppy, PS, memory chips and daughter board and CPU card and see if you get a KS boot screen (purple insert disk screen) Give it about a minute for this screen to show up if there is no IDE device connected.
-
Power on the Amiga whilst holding down both mouse buttons.
Do you get the startup screen with boot options etc?
it's gone white. hmm. that's something vastly different. progress?
-
ceaser: getting them to work after 20 years is the fun part. i would not be so quick to say that you have "purchased someone else's problem". the guy probably shipped it out in perfect working order. however, 4000's are very delicate and shipment companies are not known for their delicate handling of items.
stick with it...you'll get it going again!! :-)
-
ok we're getting some kinda luvin now. White screen then flips green and stays...
-
my A4000D was doing something similar. Turned out there was corrosion around the crystal (I think that's what it's called the 4 Pin DIL connected box on the motherboard) which was causing it to not connect always and I would get a dark gray screen or a black screen with everything cycling but nothing else. So check those, I think they're called crystals, there should be 2 on the motherboard, they are socketed, so carefully pull them out and then put them back in the board in the exact same way you pulled them out, then try to boot the system. It's worth a shot.
Nathan
*edit* Flashing green indicates some sort of chip error doesn't it? When I remove my chip memory my screen flashes green. BTW is that floppy drive listed really rare? Someone here in town just gave me one of those drives today. I put it in my A600 cause the floppy drive is completely toast!
-
@Ceaser,
You can't expect a computer system such as this with all its socketed chips, daughterboards, etc. to NOT come loose in transit. Hell, A500's and A2000's have had to have their Agnus chips reseated after UPS hauled them away from Commodore back in the day!
The seller looks legit and the screen did have Workbench up. If you are going to own an Amiga system, you MUST NOT be afraid to remove and reseat chips and components. That's common sense 101 when dealing with vintage computers.
Using a very small flat blade screwdriver, you may carefully pry up one end of a chip (I.C.). When you feel the pins have moved up slightly, you may then press down on the chip to reseat it. That "fixes" most chip/socket problems. If not, the more aggressive thing to do is remove the chip completely (working your screwdriver from one end to the other carefully and slowly) and press it back in again. Assuming the legs/pins did not need to be cleaned. Look for oxidation on the pins and if necessary, light sand paper or better yet: a fibreglass brush may be used to clean them up.
The Busters people talk about require a PLCC chip removal tool (if it's not directly soldered to the board that is). Rat Shack sells them for $10 and are a necessity. NEVER try to remove one of those square chips with a regular screwdriver!!
Other scenario is that the capacitors on both the 040 card and audio sections could have been soldered in backwards. + <> - got reversed, causing the caps to blow up and leak their acidic spunk all over the board. VERY common when buying someone else's old Amiga 4000's.
One more thing: be sure to tighten the motherboard down with all the screws AFTER you've determined that the capacitors did not blow up. Good grounding is necessary for our Amiga's to behave properly. Removing the 040 board, observing that all those TINY pins are in alignment and reseating *IT* is also something you're going to have to do...
BTW: Great price you got there! Well, if you can get it to work that is ;-)
-
if he has it listed as working you cant blame him for the shipping damage. If you do end up going that route, I hope you dont rip him off and file a claim and end up keeping the A4000 and the refund. (its happened to me before..theres losers as sellers and buyers)
Do what others have posted to see if its something that needs to be reseated. I hope you know what you're doing and dont screw it up more. (I've had that happen to me also)
Totally disagree. If a seller is advertising that he will be selling and delivering a working system, that is what should be received. If he plans to pack it so poorly that you'll be lucky to get it in less than 30 non working peices, then that's what should be posted in the ebay listing and the price should reflect the fact that you may get a big pile of trash.
However, I would hope too that in a worse case senerio, the buyer would honest and return the equipment while getting a refund and not keep the money and the equipment.
[Rant on]
My first rule after more than 10 years on ebay.... expect a bad experience. It didn't used to be that way, but that's what it's become more and more. In the past year I've had my fill of buyers who complain for discounts and refunds. Seems to be a trend. Once they get the equipment and then say "there's a problem" how can you prove them wrong? I had one buy a laptop with a new drive less than a year old. I packed it in foam, boxed it, wrapped that box in foam, and double boxed it. You would have to drop a piano on it to think about hurting it. The buyer got it, then said the HD wouldn't boot. I found that hard to beleive, but how can I dispute it? I said fine, send the laptop back for a refund. They said "well could you just refund $50 instead and I can get a new HD?". I said fine just to end the painful deal. It would have cost me almost that to get it abck and resell/ship it, and I think some sneaky buyers relize that. This was the second such senario in a month. It's like become ebay discount shopping, get the item, complain, get a discount. Right after those last two transactions, I had one buyer who didn't even communicate at all after wining the bid. The first thing I got was a dispute from ebay. After 15 years of internet and ebay sales without a hitch, suddenly almost every transaction stinks there. Ugh, I'm through with ebay. Craigslist has been far better for me as a buyer and seller and everyone's been happy. You just have to cover all your bases. [Rant off]
Plaz
-
I'm still looking for this other post to reply to but wanted to address this. Amen brother. I can't believe some people think you should buy something as "working" then have it not work. Also there is an advanced lookup on Ebay. When someone's a jerk about responding to questions, or they take days to do so, after you spent $380.69 on a broke old computer, you can do this thing advanced lookup. This guy left a number that wasn't only fake, it was "a single mother of 4 who knew nothing about computers." Thankfully I left a civil message but it was like "Hi my name is Greg I bought a computer from you and it doesn't work. Please call me and left my #." This lady was so confused and wtf about the whole thing. And I had to apologize and look like more of a fool than I already know I am for buying a used weird computer on Ebay.
I know it's old. If I can fix it you bet you this seller's not hearing another word from me. But he IS a jerk!
Oh and do you see how much he sells that it's working and what cool stuff he put in it? I bought a 500+ a month ago that the guy didn't even know if it was working. I gotta do the battery resolder but it wasn't leaking yet at least or close (voltage tests good) and it works. Guy had it in a closet for years and it works. Probably what looks to be a nice beer spill or 2 on it. But he didn't blow it up and say it was the greatest Amiga ever. Like this guy. It is sad what this guy did and I don't care how great of a tech you are, you buy something that says it works, and it doesn't, you got ripped.
-
I have had a dead 4000 with simler problem and it was the BUSTER CHIP not seated properly , so check it. i removed it and put itback in.
this has some merit for sure. i happened to have purchased a bunch of extra ram clips for the 4000, so i put those in instead for the hell of it but nawp not the RAM. there's these cool clips as mentioned in the listing. clicks in much easier than any ram in any PC i've ever worked on i must say. but you gotta take them all out to take the back one out is the only hard part (not really more of a pain). There's still a little mixing and matching I can do but I think all the 72-pin SIMM's are good so reseating was best I could do.
This Buster chip is definitely there. You need something called a chip extractor to remove those things without breaking them, or a needle nose pliers that's not 1000 years old. I think it's was my grandfather's or something. But I'm going to break my Buster chip if I try pulling it out with that. suggestions on how to pull one of those out without a chip extractor? I see 2 sides of the square shaped seating have a little plastic blocker and 2 sides don't, upper right and lower left don't have the little blocker thing. When I barely touch that Buster chip, i get some weird differences in alternating from just black(very dark grey) to whitish green or really bright green(this is when I actually boot up and turn it off again, not flashing to different colors in the same attempt). I tried to inch the Buster chip out with something that wasn't small enough to help at all, and then I got just dark grey. Then I sort of pushed it gently further in and got the bright green or whitish green again. Looks like for sure I'm going to need to get a chip extractor for getting this out. I need something to get in there on both sides and lift it out gently.
my A4000D was doing something similar. Turned out there was corrosion around the crystal (I think that's what it's called the 4 Pin DIL connected box on the motherboard) which was causing it to not connect always and I would get a dark gray screen or a black screen with everything cycling but nothing else. So check those, I think they're called crystals, there should be 2 on the motherboard, they are socketed, so carefully pull them out and then put them back in the board in the exact same way you pulled them out, then try to boot the system. It's worth a shot.
Not too sure what you mean about this. Are they near the power supply connection to the motherboard? At this moment I screwed the HDD back in so maybe I'm not seeing these.
-
suggestions on how to pull one of those out without a chip extractor?
Don't even try. Accidentally damaing the socket is not an unlikely outcome, which will be incredibly annoying/difficult/expensive to repair.
Are they near the power supply connection to the motherboard? At this moment I screwed the HDD back in so maybe I'm not seeing these.
The crystals are underneath the CPU card. I think some machines don't have them, depending on the CPU card installed at the factory.
-
You can't expect a computer system such as this with all its socketed chips, daughterboards, etc. to NOT come loose in transit. Hell, A500's and A2000's have had to have their Agnus chips reseated after UPS hauled them away from Commodore back in the day!
The seller looks legit and the screen did have Workbench up. If you are going to own an Amiga system, you MUST NOT be afraid to remove and reseat chips and components. That's common sense 101 when dealing with vintage computers.
Using a very small flat blade screwdriver, you may carefully pry up one end of a chip (I.C.). When you feel the pins have moved up slightly, you may then press down on the chip to reseat it. That "fixes" most chip/socket problems. If not, the more aggressive thing to do is remove the chip completely (working your screwdriver from one end to the other carefully and slowly) and press it back in again. Assuming the legs/pins did not need to be cleaned. Look for oxidation on the pins and if necessary, light sand paper or better yet: a fibreglass brush may be used to clean them up.
The Busters people talk about require a PLCC chip removal tool (if it's not directly soldered to the board that is). Rat Shack sells them for $10 and are a necessity. NEVER try to remove one of those square chips with a regular screwdriver!!
Other scenario is that the capacitors on both the 040 card and audio sections could have been soldered in backwards. + <> - got reversed, causing the caps to blow up and leak their acidic spunk all over the board. VERY common when buying someone else's old Amiga 4000's.
One more thing: be sure to tighten the motherboard down with all the screws AFTER you've determined that the capacitors did not blow up. Good grounding is necessary for our Amiga's to behave properly. Removing the 040 board, observing that all those TINY pins are in alignment and reseating *IT* is also something you're going to have to do...
-
@Ceaser,
You can't expect a computer system such as this with all its socketed chips, daughterboards, etc. to NOT come loose in transit. Hell, A500's and A2000's have had to have their Agnus chips reseated after UPS hauled them away from Commodore back in the day!
The seller looks legit and the screen did have Workbench up. If you are going to own an Amiga system, you MUST NOT be afraid to remove and reseat chips and components. That's common sense 101 when dealing with vintage computers.
Using a very small flat blade screwdriver, you may carefully pry up one end of a chip (I.C.). When you feel the pins have moved up slightly, you may then press down on the chip to reseat it. That "fixes" most chip/socket problems. If not, the more aggressive thing to do is remove the chip completely (working your screwdriver from one end to the other carefully and slowly) and press it back in again. Assuming the legs/pins did not need to be cleaned. Look for oxidation on the pins and if necessary, light sand paper or better yet: a fibreglass brush may be used to clean them up.
The Busters people talk about require a PLCC chip removal tool (if it's not directly soldered to the board that is). Rat Shack sells them for $10 and are a necessity. NEVER try to remove one of those square chips with a regular screwdriver!!
Other scenario is that the capacitors on both the 040 card and audio sections could have been soldered in backwards. + <> - got reversed, causing the caps to blow up and leak their acidic spunk all over the board. VERY common when buying someone else's old Amiga 4000's.
One more thing: be sure to tighten the motherboard down with all the screws AFTER you've determined that the capacitors did not blow up. Good grounding is necessary for our Amiga's to behave properly. Removing the 040 board, observing that all those TINY pins are in alignment and reseating *IT* is also something you're going to have to do...
BTW: Great price you got there! Well, if you can get it to work that is ;-)
This Buster chip was not a soldered down chip. However there were 2 chips under the CPU board, I'm dumb about Amiga I think they're the Kickstart 3.0 ROM's actually, but those definitely would've broke if I tried to jimmy rig them out. So Buster chip was in the type of socket that you can shimmy it out a little with a small flathead and I blew a tiny bit of canned air on it and the socket. Reseating that is what seems to put me from black or very dark grey to the green (I guess meaning RAM error screen). It seems to be key. When I mess with the seating of Buster, it goes black(after of and on again not during because that would be lame to remove during operation) then green when I mess with Buster. I stripped it down to the motherboard all the way. For this chip extractor at Ratt Shatty Shack you are talking about chips like the ROM's under the CPU board only? many of those chips are not socketed and I really don't know what you do to service those in any way. So reseating Buster wasn't a problem. He came out of his socket super easy as soon as I found a small enough flathead not to scratch up and ruin it taking it out. Also I must ask but am pretty sure the processor is not in a ZIF socket on the Amiga CPU boards? I removed the heat sink and again blew some canned air in but was surprised there wasn't a clip or anything I could see to remove the processor itself. I suppose you just replace the CPU board if your CPU goes bad.
But main thing is green is all I'm getting. When I said white in my 1st post I was wrong. I just had the monitor brightness jacked up too high and so it looked white. I gotta close it up for tonight it's just going nowhere since I got the nothing/black to goto green. Reseated RAM. Actually had bought some extra 4000 RAM in case something went wrong. Noticed one of the 72-pin RAM chips was a DIMM and could only be put at the back of the set because it was too wide to fit in any other socket as it would squash too close up against the other clips of RAM, thus preventing them from seating properly. It didn't matter a bit which chips I put in and whether I put 3 72-pin SIMM's in or all five, the DIMM at the back or all SIMM's. Sorry I been to too many computer classes and I just mean the RAM that has chips on both sides is DIMM and the one that has chips on only one side is SIMM. This is all the memory clip I'm talking about here though. Very nice connectors that hold the RAM. Better than any RAM clips I've ever seen on a PC.
It'd be a travesty to not get this box working. I won't rest until I have it working. Unfortunately I must sleep and my brain does burn out from time to time. Let me know should I get Rat Shack's chip extractor for the ROM's under the CPU board and reseat them? I understand you need a chip extractor to get some of these chips out but which ones I'm asking. Also it would seem since your Buster wasn't in the socket type that you can just get the chip out with a tiny flathead, our 4000 boards are probably different. Do any of the other chips without the obvious socket like my Buster was in, come out with the chip extractor? I'm definitely not afraid of taking things apart. I just have to be aware of my level of knowledge and what is worse than having something broken is breaking it worse. Lots of good input thanks. Let me know if you have any further answers.
-
colors on boot: white: cpu failure
grey: could indicate different contact problems or hw failures, basically the machine went through checking hardware but couldnt start the system anyway if i recall right
green: basically faulty chip ram but could be something else too.
the guy says it has been refurbished: good. i tend to believe that the fotos of the unit are fresh so i dont think the motherboard has been chemically damaged and they do not break in transport. i beleve you really have component contact problems.
you say you are getting green when pressing on buster. it could be that buster legs are bent. it might happen if it has been removed before and carlessly reseated. it isnt that difficult to pull this chip but normally pushing it deeper into the socket is enough. i think applyin pressure to buster you bent the whole board a little and the flaky contact should be sought elsewhere.
to eliminate further possible failure sources i would pull the daughterboard and the fast ram. examine the cpu card contacts, assure the jumpers under cpu board are seated correctly (they could got loose or lost, lol), check the roms. reseat the card.
now try to power on again. also you could take the chip ram out to assure that you get green screen on boot, then reseat it.
edit:reason: the seller might have exchanged ram without checking, and a4k are sometimes quite picky about the modules.
-
Don't even try. Accidentally damaing the socket is not an unlikely outcome, which will be incredibly annoying/difficult/expensive to repair.
The crystals are underneath the CPU card. I think some machines don't have them, depending on the CPU card installed at the factory.
All mine has under CPU card is 2 ROM chips which are Kickstart 3.0. They aren't something you'd take out without extractor for sure it'd break. Nothing that LOOKS like you'd call it a crystal. So I don't think I have those.
-
colors on boot: white: cpu failure
grey: could indicate different contact problems or hw failures, basically the machine went through checking hardware but couldnt start the system anyway if i recall right
green: basically faulty chip ram but could be something else too.
you say you are getting green when pressing on buster. it could be that buster legs are bent. it might happen if it has been removed before and carlessly reseated. it isnt that difficult to pull this chip but normally pushing it deeper into the socket is enough. i think applyin pressure to buster you bent the whole board a little and the flaky contact should be sought elsewhere.
to eliminate further possible failure sources i would pull the daughterboard and the fast ram. examine the cpu card contacts, assure the jumpers under cpu board are seated correctly (they could got loose or lost, lol), check the roms. reseat the card.
edit:reason: the seller might have exchanged ram without checking, and a4k are sometimes quite picky about the modules.
That would be a shame if Buster's legs were bent. And it could be true. I really was pretty gentle with that chip though. To clarify I never got white, I had my brightness jacked up too high on the monitor because it was that dark dark grey before. So it's been whole time either the dark grey or the green. And it doesn't seem to make much sense what I do for it to change, just that when I take stuff out or put stuff in, that's when it'll end up alternating colors. But it's only one or the other. I'm going to mess around with those RAM clips a little more since that's almost safe. When I removed buster, I saw that the side I hadn't lifted on had what looked like a little scratch. I don't know why someone would've removed that chip before unless they were having a problem, and if it really was just serviced by a pro last year, it shouldn't look like that. I don't even know what that chip is supposed to do. I'm guessing some memory stuff since agnus in 500's were in those type of sockets and they were memory.
Thanks for the input and let me know if you think of anything else. I said in answer to someone else it would SUCK to not get this computer working. It's a cool computer. And the reason I'm trying to get a hold of the seller is I want him to reveal to me what he knows. I need to ask him what prompted him to get his Amiga serviced and sell it only a year later. If I had that box and it was working I would NOT let it go for $340 (+40 shipping) but as some others have said to me, that's a good price, if I can get it working.:angry:
-
if he has it listed as working you cant blame him for the shipping damage. If you do end up going that route, I hope you dont rip him off and file a claim and end up keeping the A4000 and the refund. (its happened to me before..theres losers as sellers and buyers)
Do what others have posted to see if its something that needs to be reseated. I hope you know what you're doing and dont screw it up more. (I've had that happen to me also)
that's the last thing I want to do!
-
It looks like it got damaged in transit. The listing and seller look legit. The system is old so please try and be understanding. You got a good deal for it and even the case is rare. I would just keep it and buy another MB, IMHO! It would be worth it. Or you can send it off to Amiga Center in France to fix it. Well worth it. I know you are mad but this stuff happens especially for vintage computer gear. The 4000 is not very stable to begin with. I have had a few 4000's die out of the blue too. I now have like 5 as backups! LOL
I would disassemble it down to the bare MB and reconnect the floppy, PS, memory chips and daughter board and CPU card and see if you get a KS boot screen (purple insert disk screen) Give it about a minute for this screen to show up if there is no IDE device connected.
In a perfect world I'd send my Amiga off to the good repair center in France but I just wrecked my vehicle again and was already broke before that. If I can't fix it myself, it won't get fixed, and that'll be a tragedy. Who cares about the seller by the way? He got money for this and it doesn't work until I fix it.
-
In a perfect world I'd send my Amiga off to the good repair center in France but I just wrecked my vehicle again and was already broke before that. If I can't fix it myself, it won't get fixed, and that'll be a tragedy. Who cares about the seller by the way? He got money for this and it doesn't work until I fix it.
My point is unfortunate things do happen and this is not the sellers fault. (unless the packaging was bad and it came physically damaged) Cards do come loose and most people don't think about the cards working loose. It's an honest mistake. The CPU card is not a PCI or Zorro card after all. That High Flyer case and everything else is worth the money you paid so I would rather keep it all as is then send it back for a refund. That's just me though... If you had it insured you could try to get the money back, but I think there has to be PHYSICAL damage or else they won't give you money.
I had a 2000 shipped years ago and it arrived in pieces! UPS issued me a check for the $600 I had it insured for. It did take like 2 months but I finally did get the $ and I bought another NOS A2000.
Good luck I know how you feel.
-
after you spent the money to sent your miggy to any repair center (if only for them to check that it is working ok) it might not be working again when you get it back because something got loose again in transport.
said that i replaced busters dozens of times with no problem, you have to be careful though not to break the socket. you have to look if all legs look even, not bend to the side. the chip itself is not likely to take any damage even if it looks scratched or something.
in most of cases i had problems to get a4ks running (especially them from 96AY) was due to ram. do the banks look good? do they have been replaced too?
as i said take all ram out except chip and remove the daughterboard. a4k can really boot without it. if you are sure it has 3.0 roms it should boot pretty quickly. i dont recall if floppy has to be connected. but if yes it has to be connected right and supplied with current. check if you havnt shifted the connector to a side.
on the other hand if your kickstart roms are 3.1 by any chance, know that then the system waits for some 30 sec for a boot media.
patience is half a way too succeed. keep cool. it will work...
-
Who cares about the seller by the way? He got money for this and it doesn't work until I fix it.
nevermind he's talking to me again. heh
-
@ceaser: just to content you i have always got the 4000s i bought to work except one that was clearly stated to be non working. they not always turned out to be in a physical condition i expected them to be and quite a few didnt fire up on the first try, so i was frequently already blaming the seller, but eventually all of them are in service by now.
-
nevermind he's talking to me again. heh
Yes I got a hold of him again now. He's a former Commodore store owner he states. So hopefully he knows what to do. I was getting green screen error but now getting white. going to try to reseat the cpu card more gently maybe it's in too far. i guess white is cpu problem. messed up. dark grey seems to come often enough too. it has 2 psu's and they wire together in a very strange way. the secret was to plug in the main one before you plug in the additional "dataflyer" psu. then they sync and both turn on only when you push the power button. it seems to like having those both hooked up like that. and if you plug in the additional psu before the main, it'll grey screen and the additional stays on. no switches on the back of course :)
so yeah i'll get it going. the hardest problem is to find out what's broken. if it's the motherboard then it wouldn't be showing these error report screens, common sense would dictate. so there's a chance. what choice do i have? there's lots of computers under my stairs that are pieces of crap and they'd work if i wasted a good HDD on them. But this computer is actually cool.
-
it looks white when the brightness is up high. it's really the green. almost sure of it. so i'm going to bed now. done 4 tonight
-
the cpu card should go all the way in. sometimes i hear the contacts oxydate and should be cleaned otherwise causing problems like that. never did it myself and do not think that it is frequent.
it is a very strange box you got there, looks a little homemade so the technical solution might not be perfect. why dont you diconnect all that second psu stuff in the first place. i really dont get what this is for anyway.
-
The colour codes are AFAIK not hardware codes. A white (i.e. nothing) screen is the default colour which comes up and the CPU (running the Kickstart ROM) changes it.
They are built into code within the Kickstart ROM.
If you are getting colour codes other than white then your CPU is working and so is (some of) the Kickstart ROM.
-
Green Screen indicates a problem with Chip Ram.
-
This may be of some help to you.
http://home.arcor.de/r69/amiga/A4k-HW3.html
-
This may be of some help to you.
http://home.arcor.de/r69/amiga/A4k-HW3.html
The guy who sold it to me thinks it's the U261 RAM clip that's bad. That's the first one in the sequence, so If you had all the RAM in you have to take them all out before you can get at the U261. He's had the clips upgraded so it snaps firmly in place with metal clips but it IS consistently doing a green screen. A few times I got the light grey like it's going to use the HDD to boot to workbench (3.0 is what's on it), but it doesn't. Maybe it almost gets past the chip RAM test and then just has enough time to go green before crashing. That page is great though. I'm going to use it as a reference thanks.
-
it is a very strange box you got there, looks a little homemade so the technical solution might not be perfect. why dont you diconnect all that second psu stuff in the first place. i really dont get what this is for anyway.
It sure looks homemade but I think it was actually sold like this! It's the A4000/040 as opposed to the more commonly seen(I guess, none of these computers besides maybe the A500 is common) A4000/030. It doesn't sound like this one is any more dependable unfortunately. I guess A4000 is a really cool but really unstable computer. But yeah the big high case is because there are 2 daughterboards (see ebay listing # at very beginning for pics if you haven't already), 1 is 3 ISA and one weird I think it's called "graphics express" slot or something. then it has another daughterboard that plugs into the top of the 1st one that is 4x Zorro III slots! It has extra metal props and stuff to keep the case from stressing on the top of the 2 daughterboards too much as well as another strut in there between the 2 daughterboards. I don't like having this thing open at all because you have to actually remove some of these important support struts to have it open. There's nothing really supporting the top daughterboard with the Zorro III slots ATM it's only anchored by the slot it goes into in the bottom daughterboard, which I think is also a Zorro III slot but not sure. The bottom daughterboard is also the thing actually labelled as the "highflyer expansion card." Like the case says. This was sold as a productivity workstation and they sold very few of them. I don't remember which site I was looking at but it was showing figures of how many of each Amiga sold. I think they sold a few thousand of these and I don't know how many they made. It's not an everyday computer though.
-
@ceaser
Open the claim, call your visa if you don't get money back. The machine should work, even if shipped and packaged properly. If you get it fixed you can always close the claim.
is this the auction #: 170350466586??? from photos you can see battery leakage.
if not pls post auction #.
Just because some dude ran a Commodore dealership means nothing to me. I've seen plenty of those guys and some of them are "as clueless as a blonde".
-
ceaser: and after your visa chargeback, be sure to return his Amiga too.
-
The guy who sold it to me thinks it's the U261 RAM clip that's bad. That's the first one in the sequence, so If you had all the RAM in you have to take them all out before you can get at the U261. He's had the clips upgraded so it snaps firmly in place with metal clips but it IS consistently doing a green screen. A few times I got the light grey like it's going to use the HDD to boot to workbench (3.0 is what's on it), but it doesn't. Maybe it almost gets past the chip RAM test and then just has enough time to go green before crashing. That page is great though. I'm going to use it as a reference thanks.
@ceaser,
Have you broke the machine down to just the power supply connected to the mainboard, processor, and memory (testings one bank with a different stick each time)? This will give you a base configuration to start your problem solving. The Chips on the mainboard could have come loose during transport, especially if the computer was not properly packaged, so reseat them if necessary. I have been there and done that and each time I have found the problem at the processor and the memory level, and never found a chip problem on a recently functioning computer. Thats just bad luck if it happen to you.
The Dawg
-
@ceaser: the first clip you talking of is chip ram. if you already reseated it the other thing is you could try to replace it with some other 2meg module. now and then i had too look really hard for one that works.
otherwise just give it back then and get a regular a4k. from my experience they are very dependable.
-
ok we're getting some kinda luvin now. White screen then flips green and stays...
This is a chip RAM problem (usually). Try re-seating the chip RAM simm. May be that simple. It may seem like a big job, but I would take all of the cards out, clean the connections and re-install. Same with SIMMs and any socketed chips.
Hope it comes to life for you. I'd bet there's a good chance though...
-
@ceaser
Open the claim, call your visa if you don't get money back. The machine should work, even if shipped and packaged properly. If you get it fixed you can always close the claim.
is this the auction #: 170350466586??? from photos you can see battery leakage.
if not pls post auction #.
Just because some dude ran a Commodore dealership means nothing to me. I've seen plenty of those guys and some of them are "as clueless as a blonde".
Nope that isn't the auction. It's at the very very beginning of this post the auction number. I'm still not at all made up on wanting rid of this and there's lots of chance it could work so nobody get too concerned about anything plz. If I can't fix the box I don't want to keep the box. I know it's a cool box if I can, but yes of course.
-
have you gutted it and just hooked up the bare necessities as stated earlier in this thread? man, i hope it works... looks like a very nice system.
-
I'm at pretty much every time I turn it on I get a white screen now. If you hadn't read back at that post the seller and I are talking now again. Here's what he says:
"When it turns white that means it passed all the tests and it is ready for boot. You should see the following sequence, dark grey the hardware test passed next comes the light grey the software (kickstart) passed and then the white what I already mentioned it is ready to boot. So try the following motherboard with daughterboard the original chip RAM and only the chip RAM and no keyboard mouse floppy or hard drive attached, keep unplugged for minute or two and then try to boot see if you can get up to the boot screen where it is requesting the workbench. Let me know."
Unfortunately I don't get any workbench insert disk screen. I had it stripped down to the motherboard without daughterboards, the one with 3x ISA + 1x video toaster (called something else) slot and the other with the 4 zorro III slots. For those who haven't been following this they stack on top of each other and some extra chassis holds them up. Last night I had nothing at all hooked up including no keyboard or mouse or floppy or ide (there's a 540 MB HDD in there) and it was giving me green. I have right now all RAM clips back in and floppy and IDE HDD hooked up and daughterboards back in and I get white and it doesn't change. left it on for some time now to check that. another really weird thing about this computer (maybe not to an amiga tech) is it has 2 psus, and they inter-connect correctly if they're on the same dedicated circut. If I turn on main Amiga 4000 PSU then quick plug in to the other spot on the electrical outlet (w/out surge protector or anything) it magically turns on both power supplies when I press power! monitor using is a commodore 1960 if you didn't see that part. it's got a real weird power hookup where it hooks to the back of the computer. The computer only does the dark grey color if you don't hook up the second psu it seems. The colors on the cables on the second PSU are more standard and they go with the colors of the fan on the case and the daughterboard. Complicated description isn't it? Sorry bout that. Really all I have is a crappy phone camera look at very top of post and read auction number and look up for the good pictures. I think about the 7th post down on page one guy made direct links to the pictures that the guy took of the inside and out of the computer.
So white screen right now. Daughter cards both in and psu's both hooked up. All ram in, chip + 4 fast RAM modules. CPU card seated as well as possibly can be and IDE + floppy are hooked up, as well as keyboard and mouse. no purple floppy insert screen achieved and no sound from floppy drive.
-
have you gutted it and just hooked up the bare necessities as stated earlier in this thread? man, i hope it works... looks like a very nice system.
i really appreciate the enthusiasm! i'm really dying to fix this too and i don't think there's any soldering required. i think it's close to working. if it were a pc i'd put it under the stairs and give it up for now but it isn't. i have an Amiga 1000 under there waiting there that works. it'll get some service finally probably after this thing is working. i just know if i can't figure it out i'll be sending it to Jean in France and spending tons more money before I know it!
I don't know why I didn't think of this before. I have an extra A4000 power supply. So I'm now using this to be a dedicated power supply to my Commodore 1960 that has the weird power cable. DUH! So maybe just maybe things will test different if I repeat the tests tomorrow, like stripping down to just the motherboard and chip, then just motherboard and daughterboards and chip and going on and on. But that could've made a big impact on the results. Not to mention this monitor originated from Germany and I'm in the USA. The A4000 was able to send correct power to it but I don't know maybe it was because it was eating up 220V and thus sucking power from the A4000. The 2 PSU thing is quite strange to me as well. If anyone has any other suggestions still let me know but this might have been key. I'm not sure if the monitor has an internal switch that makes it work on 120V, but maybe it does, so maybe this wasn't impacting anything.
-
You will get this working and your hard work will be worth the effort.
-
have you tried to run the system only with the 4zorro slot daughterboard? this is the original one. the other is pretty much useless anyway (i dont think there is much need for isa slots in amiga except for par dps or pc bridgeboards)
also check the mb jumpers (especially these):
J100: CLK90 Clock Source
1-2 Closed: Internal (68020/68030)
2-3 Closed: External (68040)
J104: CPU Clock Source
1-2 Closed: Internal
2-3 Closed: External
both have to be external for 040 i believe.
for reference:
http://www.wonkity.com/~wblock/a4000hard/main.html
in the end it could be faulty kickstart rom too, alltough quite unbelievable, i had once or twice such an issue. if everything else fails you could try to replace these.
-
The daughterboard needs to be inserted for the a4k to work btw.
Best of luck to you.
-
have you tried to run the system only with the 4zorro slot daughterboard? this is the original one. the other is pretty much useless anyway (i dont think there is much need for isa slots in amiga except for par dps or pc bridgeboards)
also check the mb jumpers (especially these):
J100: CLK90 Clock Source
1-2 Closed: Internal (68020/68030)
2-3 Closed: External (68040)
J104: CPU Clock Source
1-2 Closed: Internal
2-3 Closed: External
both have to be external for 040 i believe.
for reference:
http://www.wonkity.com/~wblock/a4000hard/main.html
in the end it could be faulty kickstart rom too, alltough quite unbelievable, i had once or twice such an issue. if everything else fails you could try to replace these.
I'd suggest sliding all the jumpers up and down a bit as well, even if they are in the correct position.
-
The daughterboard needs to be inserted for the a4k to work btw.
Best of luck to you.
right this has the highflyer daughterboard that is the one that's attached to the motherboard and it has 3x inactive ISA slots + 1 toaster slot (forgot what it's called but it's for video toaster 4000) then another daughter board with 4x Zorro slots that's the original one. but this one came shipped with both daughterboards. you mean they both have to be in it for it to work for sure? or just the main zorro card one? It effects the whole power scheme and everything the highflyer expansion card even has it's own connector for that second power supply. does seem like nothing happens when using just the zorro daughter card
after putting back in the highflyer expansion card, chassis and daughtercard: you need both those cards for it to white screen. don't know what help that is though. all those jumpers were in the right place. i just want a purple insert disk screen already seem to be getting no closer to figuring this out!
-
I rule I fixed it!
-
I rule I fixed it!
Don't keep us in the dark, tell us what you did to get it working.
-
The daughterboard needs to be inserted for the a4k to work btw.
Best of luck to you.
That's false information. An A4000 without a daughterboard will work without problems.
Glad to see the machine running again though.
-
dismantled every piece (see ebay listing # at very beginning of post for actual GOOD pictures) about 20-30 times. in the end man i wish i knew. i took out the buster chip, all ram, cpu card, HDD and ide cable, floppy and ribbon, highflyer expansion daughter card + zorro daughterboard. eventually I guess it was highflyer expansion in and daughter card out then turned on while holding both mouse buttons. then realized oops i forgot to put the zorro daughtercard back in, did that turned on again with no mouse buttons and boom it was floppy insert. put in heimdall 2 aga version (for amiga 1200 it says on it LoL) and it booted.
i got a problem that i know is going to be easy still. it's just kinda lame but i don't know anything about amiga so... why is my mouse click registering but not any movement?? i tried 2 mice :/
i m still dum
*chip only with floppy and only highflyer card, then turn on + 2 mouse buttons held, then turned off and inserted the other daughterboard (zorro one) and boom insert disk screen finally appeared. turned off, then proceeded to put the ide HDD back on there and boom, workbench 3.0. time to grab some 3.1 roms now :) and a bunch of other stuff for it
-
now this is beyond me. while i believe to recall issue like that i know no solution anymore. hope it is not a motherboard failure in the end. but good to hear it is booting.
-
An A3000 without daughterboard will 100% not work. Donno about A4000.
-
dismantled every piece (see ebay listing # at very beginning of post for actual GOOD pictures) about 20-30 times. in the end man i wish i knew. i took out the buster chip, all ram, cpu card, HDD and ide cable, floppy and ribbon, highflyer expansion daughter card + zorro daughterboard. eventually I guess it was highflyer expansion in and daughter card out then turned on while holding both mouse buttons. then realized oops i forgot to put the zorro daughtercard back in, did that turned on again with no mouse buttons and boom it was floppy insert. put in heimdall 2 aga version (for amiga 1200 it says on it LoL) and it booted.
i got a problem that i know is going to be easy still. it's just kinda lame but i don't know anything about amiga so... why is my mouse click registering but not any movement?? i tried 2 mice :/
i m still dum
*chip only with floppy and only highflyer card, then turn on + 2 mouse buttons held, then turned off and inserted the other daughterboard (zorro one) and boom insert disk screen finally appeared. turned off, then proceeded to put the ide HDD back on there and boom, workbench 3.0. time to grab some 3.1 roms now :) and a bunch of other stuff for it
Glad you got some life to show from your machine. :) As Doctorq pointed out to you testing can be conducted without the daughterboard in place, to include the highflyer card. You want to get that base configuration working, if not then you would know the problem would have been at the mainboard level.
As for the mouse make sure you have in plugged in the correct port.
The Dawg
-
As for the mouse make sure you have in plugged in the correct port.
The Dawg
It's in the right port for the mouse. Not sure what I have to do to make it work I tried input and pointer in preferences in workbench and they didn't seem to do anything.
-
It's in the right port for the mouse. Not sure what I have to do to make it work I tried input and pointer in preferences in workbench and they didn't seem to do anything.
If it's registering clicks, but not movement, assuming you've not got two duff mice, I would suggest plugging it into the other port, just to be sure. It may be that the positions pointed out on the box are incorrect...
Input and Pointer won't make any difference to what you want to do unless the mouse is plugged into the right port/working.
-
If it's registering clicks, but not movement, assuming you've not got two duff mice, I would suggest plugging it into the other port, just to be sure. It may be that the positions pointed out on the box are incorrect...
nope the positions aren't marked wrong. it doesn't register clicks when i plug it into the joystick port. it's real unlikely that the mouse ports are broken, because this is one of the things the guy had replaced, the mouse & joystick port were redone by a pro and they're nice metal ones. RAM clips were the same done pretty professionally. i just gotta goto bed i know this is going to end up being something easy.
-
Try cleaning the ball/innards (if it's a mechanical mouse) also make sure you're using a decent mousemat.
-
ceaser, leander bight be right, clean your mouse but since you have tested two of them i am a little troubled. mouse not working can be a consequence of electrolyte corrosion of the motherboard. the question is if electrolytic caps have been exchanged too while rework and if the board has been cleaned.
-
If mouse buttons and caps lock LED work, but mouse movements and keyboard input are not recognised and the Amiga otherwise looks ok, then it could be that it's just the keyboard lock which is locked. Use the key to unlock it or disconnect it from the motherboard.
-
the key lock on the front is in the locked position, and i don't have a key! and i've tried every single possible tool in there and nothing will make anything budge. there's no option anywhere to disable this thing. i'm screwed. the amiga is disabled and noone sells those keys.
-
Just pull the cable from the lock off the motherboard, and that will do it.
Gaz
-
I can't believe none of us thought of that. It's often times the simplest thing, isn't it?
All hail Thomas! lol
But the question is: Where'd the key go? lol The computer was shown working. Did the seller forget to include
the key? Or is it inside the case where it shorted something? Hope not ;-) But at the same time, hope that
the key conundrum is all that's wrong with your set up!
-
Use the key to unlock it or disconnect it from the motherboard.
disconnect_the_lock_from_the_motherboard!! in other words: pull the cable. omg..
edit: oh i see others were faster:D
yes, none thought of that cause none has that jey anymore. only recently i replaced the lock witha new one to be able to switch denebs flash manually.
-
removing the jumper doesn't unlock the keyboard. i don't know why. yes i heard this from a bunch of other people or read from a bunch of posts on this and other forums
-
While I doubt it will help, the A4000 lock will open with the vast majority of keys (all?) for modern removable hard drive bays which have cheap crappy locks.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130317037142
Why the feck they have keys I dunno cos they are not a security measure cos they are all the same.
-
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130317037142
Why the feck they have keys I dunno cos they are not a security measure cos they are all the same.
The "lock" is pretty much just to stop you hauling the drive out at some random time...
My removable caddy lets you lock the key in place in the lock, so you don't lose it. Top security there. :)
-
While I doubt it will help, the A4000 lock will open with the vast majority of keys (all?) for modern removable hard drive bays which have cheap crappy locks.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130317037142
Why the feck they have keys I dunno cos they are not a security measure cos they are all the same.
i think that's the key size. so far everyone has told me to just remove the jumper for the key from the motherboard but it's behaving still the same, like this thing is locked.
-
gaaahhh!!!! I cant take it! WE WANT A WORKING A4K!!! LOL So close! :)
-
yes played pinball illusions AGA version on it today since that game happens to not detect mouse. so close so close :|
-
barely any of my a4ks (and i have a few) has the wire from the lock even attached to motherboard. i cant recall mouse not working in such a case.
-
that's how this seller is talking too. like he doesn't know wtf. also if you read the auction, and he DID have mouse and joystick ports replaced. They're replacements and they look like they were properly soldered on and attached. But damn I'm thinking if there's a jumper or a resistor that controls those, there's something messed up with it. I have to find the info needed to replace mouse & joystick ports and look at it so I can diagnose. I'm pretty sure that's what we're dealing with since yes, keyboard jumper just disconnected should do it. Also again let me state I have a good, not tank, Amiga mouse along with the one that came with this 4000 so I know it's not the mouse. I don't know what it needs. There is a couple weird jumpers on the A4000. This one I won't mention because I forgot and it's not the one but this one, CN404 is near the back and by the audio and video outputs and has no jumper on it. But J975 is right by the mouse and joystick ports and has no connection to it and looking kind of like a place for some sort of power connection but I don't know. Doesn' look like you're just supposed to stick jumpers there. CN975 and CN976 are the mouse and joystick ports respectively. And there isn't anything that looks like a resistor or and jumper spot near them really, besides the PAL/NTSC jumper. My monitor is a Commodore 1960, so it can handle either just fine and I keep the jumper on NTSC. I've tried seeing if that effects it anyway but it doesn't as you'd think. It's just the only jumper close to the mouse so I tried it. Nothing doing here though. It's like either more likely mouse port is bad, even though it is this nice replaced one perhaps has come loose (CN975 and maybe CN976 too for joystick), or, this A4000/040 highflyer model happens to have the key hardwired to those in some way other amigas don't. And you need to maybe solder a resistor in to hack around it or something. That sounds too crazy to be true but it's anything worth thinking about right now. It plays and loads games and apps so it's not like I can turn back now!
-
*chip only with floppy and only highflyer card, then turn on + 2 mouse buttons held, then turned off and inserted the other daughterboard (zorro one) and boom insert disk screen finally appeared. turned off, then proceeded to put the ide HDD back on there and boom, workbench 3.0. time to grab some 3.1 roms now :) and a bunch of other stuff for it
the real hardware issue was just that the cpu mainboard wasn't seated properly. it came off during shipping and it's on weird plastic pegs that are meant to be easy for it to pull off i think because it gets unseated easily. so to make it totally clear, the real thing that fixed this box was just making sure the cpu card was VERY perfectly seated. it went out again and i went for the kind of hard to reach cpu card this time. had to remove the HDD to get at it properly. you can't seat it right just sticking your fingers in without removing the HDD which is directly behind it. there's not enough room. still problems. I really did find this aligator clip that's the right exact size and it turns and clicks perfect into lock and unlock. and everyone is saying you can disconnect the key. so it's got to be something wrong somewhere on the motherboard. it says missing some stuff when workbench starts up but that's nothing to do with this because the mouse doesn't work in games either.
-
seller says:
"I’m getting pretty sure there is the problem with the keylock control if the U975 functioning properly as the keylock controls the U205 74HC4066 keyboard control chip and the U131 logic chip and that U131 chip is sending a signal enable or disable to the pin 6 on U975 the that controls the mouse port, only I have to see the schematics and the chip layout to determined the correct action regarding the keylock configuration. As I remember in one position the key is grounding the pin 11 on U131 in other position it release the ground and then there is +5V flow. I’m pretty sure that the CN200 keylock connections middle pin is the ground and the two other ones are +5V so the pin 1 and 3 are the +5V it doesn’t matter if the cable is connected to the pin 1 and 2 or 2 and 3."
and
"If the buttons works on mice that’s means you have the +5V on port and the fuse is ok it is the FB975 (located just behind the port 2) it protects mouse ports the axis control is done by the shift register chip 74HCT166 U975. Try to press done this chip and as you holding at done try to move the mouse check is there any changes."
It sounds like he knows how to fix it but it's too bad if one of those chips is that corroded. it can happen though. i do not know anymore right now. tried pushing down on that U975 chip while booting but that didn't do anything. any suggestions on what cleaner to use that won't ruin circut boards? i have this stuff from radio shack that's god awful. everything you try to clean with it it just gunks up and they call it, electronic cleaner. but i don't think it's actually safe on any electronics I know of.
-
seller says:
tried pushing down on that U975 chip while booting but that didn't do anything. any suggestions on what cleaner to use that won't ruin circut boards? i have this stuff from radio shack that's god awful. everything you try to clean with it it just gunks up and they call it, electronic cleaner. but i don't think it's actually safe on any electronics I know of.
The only thing I use on Circuit boards, is pretty much the ONLY thing to use, is Isopropyl Alcohol. That stuff that evaporates in seconds..
And no, you cannot drink it....
-
Have you checked over your stuff with an oscilloscope or at the very least a logic probe?
-
I have neither of those tools. That would be cool if I did. But all I do know, is contacts in that middle left region of this A4000 motherboard look a bit worn. All I have is a Volt/Ohm meter that's kind of cheap and I think that's only really for testing power supplies.
Battery was replaced soon enough and right by battery is ok looking.
-
I have neither of those tools. That would be cool if I did. But all I do know, is contacts in that middle left region of this A4000 motherboard look a bit worn. All I have is a Volt/Ohm meter that's kind of cheap and I think that's only really for testing power supplies.
Battery was replaced soon enough and right by battery is ok looking.
The U177 chip, whatever that one does, has one of it's feet melted off. It happens to be the chip right by the battery. Maybe this guy didn't catch the battery replace in time. Also the leads on the one I mentioned in the above post looks like crap. New motherboard rev. B is what I need. e-mail/pm if you got one. I got buster chip part #390539-11, which is the later one I think. So as long as you got the rev. B with the socket for the buster that's what I need. And one that works of course.
-
On Ebay, sombody is selling two Amiga 4000 motherboard. One is $79 and the other is $59.
Barney
Disregard this: the ebay auction says that the memory does not register.
-
The U177 chip, whatever that one does, has one of it's feet melted off. It happens to be the chip right by the battery. Maybe this guy didn't catch the battery replace in time. Also the leads on the one I mentioned in the above post looks like crap. New motherboard rev. B is what I need. e-mail/pm if you got one. I got buster chip part #390539-11, which is the later one I think. So as long as you got the rev. B with the socket for the buster that's what I need. And one that works of course.
(http://koft.net/pix/A4000_03a.png)
it's a 74HCT174, you should have no problem finding one. Digikey has one for a dollar.
-
On Ebay, sombody is selling two Amiga 4000 motherboard. One is $79 and the other is $59.
Barney
Disregard this: the ebay auction says that the memory does not register.
totally man I saw those. They are very shady. Both of em he ripped the battery out. I'm going to buy myself some Weller solder gear this afternoon at the computer store because I know if this thing is going to actually get fixed I'm going to have to do it myself the old fashioned way. I see this guy has a wiring diagram in next post :) Haven't looked at it yet. Looking forward to it though. Too bad. This guy took care of his motherboard. But I may not have to worry because he may have another A4000 motherboard he's willing to send me. I have a feeling he doesn't have a spare but he'll probably take it out of his 4000 and send it. But I just don't want him to have to. I mean I'll push him to send one if he has it but I'd be so satisfied if I resolder it myself. If it's fried chip (this U175 or whatever), then that sucks because I'm pretty sure I'm not going to just find that chip somewhere. It all adds up to needing a new motherboard unless there's really just a contact issue that needs a little metal to keep it going through. You gotta be so careful. This case is cool but what is REALLY cool is that Highflyer Expansion card has a Video Toaster slot in it, and the regular daughterboard, which sits above the Highflyer on this Miggy, only has the 4 Zorro III slots as normal A4000 has. So whatever happens I have to keep this Highflyer Card and the case because otherwise, you can't fit both daughterboards in there. We'll keep everyone posted.
-
(http://koft.net/pix/A4000_03a.png)
it's a 74HCT174, you should have no problem finding one. Digikey has one for a dollar.
Oh yeah!? That's what I needed is someone to say what you just said. I'm not a PCB expert I just can do this type of work when I have to. So it's sort of a common chip I guess then. I thought it was something like the Lisa or Super Buster where it's an Amiga exclusive. This advice is VERY helpful for what I'm attempting this afternoon. Thank you!
-
FC74HCT166T is the identifier on the chip below that it says 323820D and KS59310PBY
I don't nee that other one I guess because that just controls the RTC. I also need a new IDE connector to solder to the motherboard. Looking for both these things at the site. Cannot find the FC74HCT166T chip.
-
Incase (no pun intended) there are some folks that have yet to see this behemoth. Here is an ad out of Video Toaster User. Febuary 96
(http://www.rcfreas.com/files/Highflyer.jpg)
AmigaDave has one of these units. (saw it at AmiWest 2008)
-
FC74HCT166T is the identifier on the chip below that it says 323820D and KS59310PBY
I don't nee that other one I guess because that just controls the RTC. I also need a new IDE connector to solder to the motherboard. Looking for both these things at the site. Cannot find the FC74HCT166T chip.
Is it a DIP chip? See this:
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=296-2099-5-ND
For the IDE connector, see this: (could somebody double check that to make sure it's the right one?)
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=MHB40K-ND
-
Is it a DIP chip? See this:
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=296-2099-5-ND
For the IDE connector, see this: (could somebody double check that to make sure it's the right one?)
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=MHB40K-ND
yes those are the ones! good job finding them. it cross references with what's on the chip. and that's the type of ide connector i'd solder in if I have to. Because the floppy and IDE connectors are so close together though it might be a tight squeeze. Still that's basically the part i was looking for.
Thanks
-
Maybe someone has mention this before but..
Also check the CIA 8520 chips.
The CIA A handles mouse and joystick ,keyboard signals.
http://www.natami.net/dev/Hardware_Manual_guide/node012E.html
They are the first I check if an Amiga goes crazy .
These chips has given me some strange errors over the years :madashell:
If they are socketed, try to switch them.
Happy hunting :)
-
Maybe someone has mention this before but..
Also check the CIA 8520 chips.
The CIA A handles mouse and joystick ,keyboard signals.
http://www.natami.net/dev/Hardware_Manual_guide/node012E.html
They are the first I check if an Amiga goes crazy .
These chips has given me some strange errors over the years :madashell:
If they are socketed, try to switch them.
Happy hunting :)
Any idea how this chip you mention is notated on the motherboard (i.e. Uxxx)?
I bought a replacement for U175 which is a FC74HC166T, and it's exact part number is CD74HCT166E. But it cross referenced with the exact # listed above there. DigiKey.com is where I got it thanks to another poster a page or 2 back (the big schematic posts you'll see looking back). These chips are cheap and if I get the right ones I can pay this shop to get them soldered in cheap probably. I really suck at soldering and am only really able to solder wires or resistors into place. Also I bought a better IDE interface because I'm sick of having to worry about it breaking every time I hook that part of it back up. It's a grey one with the guides on the sides so you don't have to shine a flashlight and take 2 full minutes hooking it up. Of course that would require desoldering the old one and getting it out first.
Which notation on the motherboard is this chip given that you are suggesting may be causing the trouble?
-
The chips should say 8520 on them, I believe.
-
If my memory serves me right it's U300 and U350.
They are located in right top corner(under the powersupply) if looked at the front of the computer. They are the same chip and place side by side.
They are surfacemounted from the factory , but I always solderes sockets when they where broken. Easier to replace :biglaugh:
Hope this help's :)
-
I almost wish someone could make a run of NEW replacement motherboards -my recent Amiga 4000 purchase is behaving about the same as yours.
I hereby admit extremely poor judgment in spending significant money without verifying full functionality first.
-
The question I would ask would be how much it would cost to make a run of these boards? On top of that whom would we have to contact company-wise to do so? I'm with everyone else here when it comes to A4000 motherboards. When I took mine to be repaired by Ed Jeffries, he worked on it, and thought it was fixed, but it didn't work. He ended up replacing the motherboard for me. There can't be many of these boards left. I would try to chip in for something like this if it was possible to do another run on the boards.
-
Do you want the pcb or a fully populated board with all the trimmings?
If it's a single layer it's easier to copy.
I guess the only one who would care is our "friend" Amiga.Inc ?
Due to their naming rights..??...
And I hear they are very easy to contact :lol:
:)
-
The seller says that because I posted the Amiga I bought from him on this forum and his friend told him, he doesn't have to help me. I got the computer on June 22nd and didn't post here until July 6th. There aren't any working motherboards for the Amiga 4000 on Ebay right now and I just bought a new Amiga 4000 for $575. Thanks to whoever told this guy I posted!
-
Ceaser, and the rest of you: Let's KILL this people's bussines. They basically RIP US OFF: an old A4000 souldn't be more than 50$, it's prehistoric technology, damnit!!!
DON'T BUY OLD HARDWARE: it's basically old and it's bound to fail in a very shot time. It's just stupid! And there's people getting a lot of momeny for it: FUCK THEM, DON¡T BUY.
If you want Amiga, go NEW hardware without bastards like the one that sold you taht Amiga 4000. It goes like this:
-Do you want classic amiga for chipset games? GO MINIMIG NOW.
-Do you want WB apps on OS4/MOS? GO SAM NOW.
There's NO NEED FOR OLD HARDWARE. Avoid being ripped off. Just be smart.
-
@ceaser: what a lame excuse of him (the seller):(
-
The seller should be banned from EBay. He has ripped you off by selling broken hardware.
Most buyers are stupid too though. This is 1993 hardware people. *ALL* Amiga 4000 need repairs. The battery needs to be replaced and also ALL the electrolytic capacitors because they are mostly gone too.
If you buy an Amiga 4000 please keep in mind that it needs at least the above fixes to keep it happy and running. It should affect your bidding price.
Most A4000 need work on the electrolytic capacitors because they used some bad ones and because the Amiga 4000 design makes it run quite hot in there which shortens the life span of those capacitors. Though I suspect that the next few years also Amiga 1200 computers will get problems related to capacitors.
-
The seller says that because I posted the Amiga I bought from him on this forum and his friend told him, he doesn't have to help me.
This is not a legal argument. You can post to any forum you like about whatever you like, but if the terms and conditions of the sale and the insurance you have with your purchase are valid then you CAN make a claim against the seller regardless.
Don't give him any room to manoeuvre. Keep up at him and your credit card company / pay pal, ebay or whatever you paid with.
I just bought a new Amiga 4000 for $575.
Seems a lot. The price of "bare bones" A4000 EC030's has been dropping in the UK. They are averaging about £155 ($248)
Thanks to whoever told this guy I posted!
I'm pretty sure it was google. Doubt this guy has any friends.
-
*ALL* Amiga 4000 need repairs.
I would question this statement. Non of mine need repairs, nor have they been repaired in the past. While I think you have to prepare for the worst, they don't !*ALL*! need repairs.
The battery needs to be replaced
Removed, not necessarily replaced. I would say most A4000's that are still working have already had their batteries removed.
and also ALL the electrolytic capacitors because they are mostly gone too.
I checked mine, all are fine. No bulging, no leaking.
-
Google's my friend :-) I agree with AlexH, he's just trying to fob you off. It doens't matter who you tell, your rights aren't affected. Mind you, it's probably courteous to try and sort it out with someone in private before telling the world about it, because at the end of the day, it could well have been working when he shipped it. But if you want to claim for it, you're no less entitled to do so just because you posted it on a forum.
Personally, if I sold something as working and it was DOA, I'd expect a chargeback; however, I'd also expect to get the broken item back because there's a change I might get it repaired, rather than the buyer just keeping his money and my item. But hey, that's not the real world any more, is it? *sigh*
-
They don't have to bulge or leak. They just dry out and don't perform their job anymore.
If you have capacitors with green writing on it then believe me, they are broken.
I have replaced the capacitors on 11 Amiga 4000 motherboards now and not a single one had green capacitors that were OK. Some didn't even look like they had leaked but snapped right off after applying some preasure because the pins had corroded underneath the capacitor.
So in short. ALL Amiga 4000 need repairs.
-
ALL Amiga 4000 need repairs.
What about one that's just been repaired?
If it ain't broke, don't fix it I say. You may be correct in saying "ALL Amiga 4000 will need repairs," but if it's currently working, changing parts wouldn't be considered a repair, but preventive maintenance.
As for this thread, it has chronicled ceaser's complete disassembly of the machine in what could be considered amateurish attempts at repair. I wouldn't expect the seller to take responsibility for a machine that was pulled apart and poked at by someone who may or may not be qualified to do so, not that this seller had taken any responsibility in the first place. No guarantee means no guarantee.
-
They don't have to bulge or leak. They just dry out and don't perform their job anymore. If you have capacitors with green writing on it then believe me, they are broken.
Not sure I do believe you. However you have empirical evidence I don't, other than I have two working A4000's that have never had a repair and do not visually look like they need a repair. (Watch them break tomorrow :))
I have replaced the capacitors on 11 Amiga 4000 motherboards now
Who are you? And how come people are sending you their motherboards?
-
from what was discussed over and over on german a1k.org forum by aware people *all* a4ks will need cap replacement session some time soon. there even is a video instruction how to do it, unfortunately in german as well. just to admit, i have had one flaky board refurbished but for the rest i still didnt move my a**. since all is working for the time being. my bad.
-
As for this thread, it has chronicled ceaser's complete disassembly of the machine in what could be considered amateurish attempts at repair. I wouldn't expect the seller to take responsibility for a machine that was pulled apart and poked at by someone who may or may not be qualified to do so, not that this seller had taken any responsibility in the first place. No guarantee means no guarantee.
You're stuck up aren't you? I didn't take anything apart until it was definite that it wasn't working. This motherboard was crapped out when I got it. That's just it. I don't repair motherboards. I don't desolder and replace chips on them. I just did the basics. Maybe you fix computers in an "amateurish" fashion. WTF does that even mean?
I took $100 back from this loser of a seller because I wanted the case and the Highflyer expansion card and the Amtrade HD floppy drive. He sold it as "working" and per Ebay rules, that means it was supposed to be "working" when I got it. This chip didn't just suddenly stop working in the 2-3 days while it was in shipping. He was stupid to sell it as "working." You should always sell old hardware "as-is." This guy wouldn't talk to me and I waited about 18 days before I posted about it on a forum. I put the auction number because I don't have a good digital camera and there were good pictures on the auction.
I didn't get the option to get my money back and keep his computer. That isn't how it works. I only had the option to haggle for a long time or a short time for a partial refund. And no broken computer is worth a lot of money.
-
They don't have to bulge or leak. They just dry out and don't perform their job anymore.
Caught this comment and a reply where AlexH was kinda getting upset at the prospect of his
Miggy's needing repair someday (it's inevitable anyway), but as an electronics repair guy for
the last 30 years - I can confirm that PulsatingQuasar's above statement is factual. It's
actually more rare (and a serviceman's dream) that there *is* physical evidence that a
component has failed. Makes our job that much easier and it's usually never
"easy"! :-(
And yeah, it's total BS that some ratfink talked to the seller about this and his response
of no longer obligated to help. Totally counterproductive. Wasn't it something like 18 days
before he had actually heard from the seller? Weird. In any event, I do agree though and
this has been mentioned before - there are too many unprofessional sellers on ePay, but
at the same time, probably just as many clueless buyers that have more dollars than cents.
Not saying this is the case at all. Just seems the people with money spend it a little more
foolishly than those who know exactly what they are buying. Hence the (often) outrageous
prices old computer stuff goes for on ePay - where "buyers" from a specialised forum such
as this would never pay those rates. Just an observation.
-
Hey I wasn't going to ever goto this post again because I thought I had fixed my problem. I bought a motherboard and as soon as I get it all closed up and working again, it started a little tiny bit yesterday, but now there's this HUGE ear ringing audio interference. I tried turning off electronics next to it and stuff yesterday and it stopped but just like anything broken it got worse. Irony is that the guy who's motherboard I couldn't get the key lock problem fixed on (without me trying to solder in a chip that might not have even been the right chip) had actually had his audio connectors replaced.
So this is a different motherboard. Battery has been removed by myself. It was exploded when I got it. And please don't tell me "oh the battery suddenly just releaked junk that wasn't there and it broke your sound." Give me constructive advice on how to a) get those audio connectors off the other motherboard and solder them onto this one. b) how to ground the audio connectors from this motherboard or SOMETHING so they stop getting interference from everything within 20 ft (maybe an unprofessional style fix that's worked for someone in the past without me having to completely resolder the new audio connectors on, but I know no matter what that's what I'll end up doing because it's looking like Amiga audio cards are hard to find. At least I don't see one up at Fleabay, and I guess you already have to know specific models to buy from amibay, kind of. I don't even know the brand of someone who makes one).
Man my luck really sucks.
http://amiga.serveftp.net/audio_repair.html
Is this what I actually have to do???
See it's both of them so it looks like that means some capacitor needs replacement maybe. Maybe the audio jacks are just fine.
hey this says it happens regularly only on these boards and i got a A4000 rev. B not D or T
"A common fault exists with "classic" Amiga motherboards based on surface mount device (SMD) technology.
These are the A600, A1200, CD32, A4000D and A4000T."
that other motherboard was rev. C that i was working on before
from that link just above
-
Sound's like you're in over your head.
I've been "messing about" with electronics for 30 odd years and a surface mount motherboard with "issues" is one of those jobs I'd give myself a 10% chance of solving. If I cant solve it in the first hour of testing and observation I probably cant fix it.
I suggest taking it to a electronic engineer/repairer and saving yourself the headache.
-
I am, but guess what. I pulled out a speaker wire to do the old grounding trick, put a wire from a hardware screw on the case to a screw on a big power supply beneath the computer desk. It buzzed still pretty bad. So I loosed the screw on the opposite side to put another speaker wire to a different place to ground. The loosening of those 2 case screws caused it to stop buzzing. Not just a little. I mean it's back to normal. I assume this is going to need a full workup on all caps that deal with the sound if I want it back to original but instead I got what I wanted maybe... If it stays working. I'm going to look for a really nice Amiga Zorro sound card and buy that and not use the regular Lisa chip audio again.
The battle with this odd machine is won again for now.
-
For too long now we've had to put up with being ripped off on ebay with lowlife sellers flogging 15-20 year old hardware that barely works :madashell: or arrives dead, I mean some people wanting over 250 quid for A1200 are u out of your mind????
The best way to go is the Minimig or Sam 440 way. I for one will never use ebay or Erip off as call it to buy any more amiga hardware:furious:
-
The best way is to ask questions before you buy, and not expect a postal or courier service to deliver 15yo electronics mixed with metal intact. The other option is not to buy, or only use pickup. then you can also test it on site..
Gertsy (Bed time..goodnight, there's only "7 minutes to midnight")
-
hi m8
I have there same problem but my power led is flickering and im getting a grey screen
-
@Ceaser,
If you are going to own an Amiga system, you MUST NOT be afraid to remove and reseat chips and components. That's common sense 101 when dealing with vintage computers.
Using a very small flat blade screwdriver, you may carefully pry up one end of a chip (I.C.). When you feel the pins have moved up slightly, you may then press down on the chip to reseat it. That "fixes" most chip/socket problems. If not, the more aggressive thing to do is remove the chip completely (working your screwdriver from one end to the other carefully and slowly) and press it back in again.
Save 2600 though you are a long time amigan and vintage collector I dont think this is good advice at all especially for a noob.
1. If you are NOT comfortable working on your vintage machine yourself Please DO NOT do so and get an expert who can. Preferbly a dealer or former service tech.
2. DO NOT use a "screwdriver" on ANY chip extraction if you can help it. Use the proper tool. (an ic chip puller) Not sure why he recommended using a plcc pullern (which is correct for socketed PLCC chips - even though this Can be done with a screwdriver if you are foolish) and not recommending an ic puller instead of a screwdriver for the other chips..
-
Not sure why he recommended using a plcc pullern (which is correct for socketed PLCC chips - even though this Can be done with a screwdriver if you are foolish) and not recommending an ic puller instead of a screwdriver for the other chips..
If you are careful you can get away with a screwdriver on a DIP chip a couple of times before the legs bend so much they break. Then you end up soldering new legs on or replacing the chip. It's not that hard to fix your mistake.
With PLCC it's different. The force you put on the socket causes it to crack and replacing a PLCC socket on a board is a very long and boring task. That is speaking from experience when I was young and thought that a PLCC puller was too expensive and a screwdriver would do :-)
-
I had the exact same problem before. I absolutely could not get it running again. The problem started on a very hot day in 1997 when the air conditioning was broken. So I figured something melted and it was hopeless.
So my poor A4000/040 sat in a box for several years. Finally, in 2004 I gave it away FOR FREE to an experienced Amiga guy. He got it running on the very first day! He didn't even swap out any parts! WTH!? He said he just took everything apart, cleaned it thoroughly and put it all back together and it worked.
Then he sold it on Ebay for a zillion $.
Not to hijack this guys thread BUT:
you quote this ridiculous story on many message boards every few years and get it wrong 90% of the time. that guy was ME! :rolleyes:
the 4k you sent had rat piss(or cat piss) and droppings in it. It had cap leaks that ate a trace on the 3640 that i repaired,and battery leakage as well as audio circuit problems.broken simm connectors i had to replace. I sent your items asap and you took many months to send me the 4000. I didnt get it free, i traded you working parts for a sight unseen amiga 4000 and even tossed in a new amiga mouse because you had whined your current mouse was bad.
the only part you got right was i did get it working in a day,but it did need lotsa parts(caps,coin cell battery,massive cleaning etc) and work to fix it.
I still have the 4000 here today and i did not sell it on ebay and make a zillion $$.
I'm sorry you have sour grapes,but there was a fair deal done here-i sent what you asked for quickly and you sent what i took a chance on (many months later.) You forgot to mention the rat terds and pee in the thing and battery damage and broken simm connectors but you didnt hear me whining about it since i took it sight unseen.
Mech
-
Speaking as someone who repairs computers a lot, I feel it fair to also point out that there are 24 hours in a day. Just because someone gets it working within a day doesn't mean they didn't do much work, or that it was easy. In a day you can do a heck of a lot to repair a machine, and that includes the necessary blood sacrifice.
So if Mechy got it working in a day then that's a good thing, not a bad thing, and well done Mechy, I say!
-
Ceaser, and the rest of you: Let's KILL this people's bussines. They basically RIP US OFF: an old A4000 souldn't be more than 50$, it's prehistoric technology, damnit!!!
DON'T BUY OLD HARDWARE: it's basically old and it's bound to fail in a very shot time. It's just stupid! And there's people getting a lot of momeny for it: **** THEM, DON¡T BUY.
If you want Amiga, go NEW hardware without bastards like the one that sold you taht Amiga 4000. It goes like this:
-Do you want classic amiga for chipset games? GO MINIMIG NOW.
-Do you want WB apps on OS4/MOS? GO SAM NOW.
There's NO NEED FOR OLD HARDWARE. Avoid being ripped off. Just be smart.
I hate to say this but you sir,are a idiot.
Its ignorant people like you that cause the problems. Common sense dictates when you deal with old stuff problems can arise. The smart thing to do is realize that old stuff can break. Do your research before you buy.
Buying a used amiga is like buying a old car. You have to expect some things may not be up to par and its buyer beware. that 4000 could of been working when sent,but died on the way. capacitor leaks can be just as bad as battery leaks. its possible the jostling finally broke contact on a old corroded trace on the board where a cap leaked. i've seen this many times where a board works one minute and dead the next.
That being said a board thats been refurbished with new caps,coin cell and simm connectors/psu caps/fan will run another 20 years in most cases if taken care of.
the 4000 is the most reliable of them all because its mostly surface mount and doesn't suffer from tarnished sockets like the 500,2000,3000.
who are you to dictate what someone wants. This guy may want to stick a video toaster in a machine for nostalgia sake,none of which solutions you suggest can do.
Mech
-
Hey I wasn't going to ever goto this post again because I thought I had fixed my problem. I bought a motherboard and as soon as I get it all closed up and working again, it started a little tiny bit yesterday, but now there's this HUGE ear ringing audio interference. I tried turning off electronics next to it and stuff yesterday and it stopped but just like anything broken it got worse. Irony is that the guy who's motherboard I couldn't get the key lock problem fixed on (without me trying to solder in a chip that might not have even been the right chip) had actually had his audio connectors replaced.
So this is a different motherboard. Battery has been removed by myself. It was exploded when I got it. And please don't tell me "oh the battery suddenly just releaked junk that wasn't there and it broke your sound." Give me constructive advice on how to a) get those audio connectors off the other motherboard and solder them onto this one. b) how to ground the audio connectors from this motherboard or SOMETHING so they stop getting interference from everything within 20 ft (maybe an unprofessional style fix that's worked for someone in the past without me having to completely resolder the new audio connectors on, but I know no matter what that's what I'll end up doing because it's looking like Amiga audio cards are hard to find. At least I don't see one up at Fleabay, and I guess you already have to know specific models to buy from amibay, kind of. I don't even know the brand of someone who makes one).
Man my luck really sucks.
http://amiga.serveftp.net/audio_repair.html
Is this what I actually have to do???
See it's both of them so it looks like that means some capacitor needs replacement maybe. Maybe the audio jacks are just fine.
hey this says it happens regularly only on these boards and i got a A4000 rev. B not D or T
"A common fault exists with "classic" Amiga motherboards based on surface mount device (SMD) technology.
These are the A600, A1200, CD32, A4000D and A4000T."
that other motherboard was rev. C that i was working on before
from that link just above
Ceasar,
No offense but i recommend you stop here, you don't know what you are doing and are making things worse from what i read.
the audio jacks are not the problem, you probably have bad/leaking caps in the audio circuit. its known that the 2 caps should have been NPO caps and that commodore used regular caps. This may of caused them to fail and leak prematurely. that being said if you dont clean and neutralize the cap leakages before attempting repairs the conductive electrolyte is still there to cause shorting and other troubles.
I would offer you a motherboard i completely re-did but the things you are doing to these boards you have makes me wonder if its a bad idea.
Its guesswork but i think i could of got the original board up and running in a few hrs i suspect if the battery damage wasn't too severe.
Mech
-
I doubt he needs it, he stopped posting in this thread in 2009. His A4000 probably hit the trash bin in early 2010.
-
I doubt he needs it, he stopped posting in this thread in 2009. His A4000 probably hit the trash bin in early 2010.
i should of looked at the date,figures someone replied to a old post is why it popped back up
-
Not to hijack this guys thread BUT:
you quote this ridiculous story on many message boards every few years and get it wrong 90% of the time. that guy was ME! :rolleyes:
the 4k you sent had rat piss(or cat piss) and droppings in it. It had cap leaks that ate a trace on the 3640 that i repaired,and battery leakage as well as audio circuit problems.broken simm connectors i had to replace. I sent your items asap and you took many months to send me the 4000. I didnt get it free, i traded you working parts for a sight unseen amiga 4000 and even tossed in a new amiga mouse because you had whined your current mouse was bad.
the only part you got right was i did get it working in a day,but it did need lotsa parts(caps,coin cell battery,massive cleaning etc) and work to fix it.
I still have the 4000 here today and i did not sell it on ebay and make a zillion $$.
I'm sorry you have sour grapes,but there was a fair deal done here-i sent what you asked for quickly and you sent what i took a chance on (many months later.) You forgot to mention the rat terds and pee in the thing and battery damage and broken simm connectors but you didnt hear me whining about it since i took it sight unseen.
Mech
rat s h i t and pee in the a4000 wtf???... people that disrespect the amiga this way should not be allowed to own one in the first place...
-
i didnt realise i replied to a old post here,but yes, it was stored in a shed he told me.
Please ignore all this it was old news.
mech