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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: music_liker on December 06, 2011, 11:13:38 AM
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I just purchased an Amiga 500 plus for cheap with heaps of extras and the 1084 s monitor.
I am keen to get some music tracking going but I'm having major issues setting the computer up with the monitor, I connect the monitor but no signal. The screeen is whitey/grey when turned on and remains that way when the A500 is turned on. The end of the cable which connects to the monitor is missing pins so this could be the issue but I have tried connecting the monitor via the monochrome output and still no joy. There is a chance i connected the mono output wrong? what should the configuration be to set this up properly? I have also tried using an rca to connect the monochrome output to the standard video input on the AV in of a TV, the TV recognised something was happening but nothing displayed.
I really hope the problem is more monitor than it is console.
Any help would be appreciated big time.
I should also mention that when i turn the power on the power LED lights up but the disk light is not on or flashing? not sure if this is normal?
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When turned on, the Amiga should wait for a floppy disk... The disk drive will click every few seconds (that's just the system checking for a disk insertion)... If you don't hear the floppy drive click, very likely there is something wrong with the computer.
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Thanks heaps for the quick response, when i turn it on, the disk drive (or maybe harddrive) clicks once and the caps lock key flashes but no more clicking after that? oh maaaan, so I probably have a dud?
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I'm not expert but maybe my solved case exposed here could help you :
http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=59748
Bye.
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Thanks heaps for the quick response, when i turn it on, the disk drive (or maybe harddrive) clicks once and the caps lock key flashes but no more clicking after that? oh maaaan, so I probably have a dud?
Possibly. The flashing means something. Count the number of flashes and note them down. One flash is normal.
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Thanks heaps for the quick response, when i turn it on, the disk drive (or maybe harddrive) clicks once and the caps lock key flashes but no more clicking after that? oh maaaan, so I probably have a dud?
Very unlikely to be a hard drive, there is very little space inside the A500 and there is no IDE interface (though one can easily be hacked onto the CPU socket).
Power light should go bright and dim, but not cycle... Try putting a disk in the drive and see if it boots ;)
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thanks b41d3r, I tried holding the 2 mouse buttons on startup but no love. I noticed your problem was with an A1200 Is there perhaps a different method to access the A500 setup menu? I've also noticed that the monitor flashes when the commodore is turned on so they are talking to each other in some way.
gertsy, the caps lock key flashes once, I assume this is a good thing, signs of life even?
@bloodline, yea woops harddrive was a bit of a rookie call by me. Yeah I've tried putting a disk in, but again, no love.
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I don't know if someone else can give you the keys sequence at startup.
As for me, I recall that there was some fuzz on screen when I pressed a key on keyboard of if clicked with mouse buttons. Is it your case ?
If yes, you're probably in the same situation Iwas.
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I've just read on wikipedia that amiga 500 + is running a kickstart 2.0 and should be able to recognize the sequence of keys you clicked.
Sounds strange.
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Hmmm, I didn't notice any fuzz when pressing keys or clicking the mouse, I just tried booting with another random disk and I could hear the disk drive reading it? it almost sounded like the drive did something else when i clicked the mouse but maybe I'm being too optimistic.
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Hmmm, I didn't notice any fuzz when pressing keys or clicking the mouse, I just tried booting with another random disk and I could hear the disk drive reading it? it almost sounded like the drive did something else when i clicked the mouse but maybe I'm being too optimistic.
If the disk was recognised and something loaded, then this is a good thing... What you need to do now is connect the A500 to a TV... I think the monitor is duff (or some setting is off).
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I tried connecting the A500 to a TV via the mono output and the video in (RCA) but nothing, although, I know my TV recognised some type of signal because the green AV logo on the TV screen faded when I turned the A500 on, and returned when the A500 was switched off. It does this with DVD players etc, the only difference is I can SEE the signal from DVD players. I just wanna see this bad-boy work .
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Yes, I think too you should isolate the problem and try the mouse trick with a connection to tv. Hoping that your mouse has no problem !
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I tried the mouse trick with a connection to the TV, i used two different mice which came in the bundle but no result.
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Just to make sure; I'm supposed to hold the two buttons down before I switch the power on then switch the power on while I'm still holding them down? is this right?
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The single flash of the caps lock key is just the keyboard processor telling you that it's ok. That's a good start, but doesn't really mean much more than the keyboard has power. Another thought - are any of the pins shorting out in the monitor cable? Have you tried the RCA connectors without the monitor cable attached? A dodgy monitor cable can cause issues which affect the whole machine... And finally - is it a PAL or NTSC machine? And does your TV support which one it is?
Edit: Yes, hold them down when you turn on the power, this should bring up the early startup menu after about 10 seconds...
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Sorry, what do you mean by 'shorting out'. If by that you mean are any pins touching,then no, but there are a lot of missing pins. Just tried connecting to the TV with the monitor cable unplugged but same result. I'm not atually sure about the PAL or NTSC thing, how do I determine whether the A500 is PAL or NTSC? Thanks so much for your help, its like 2.30 in the morning where I am and all I wanna do is make music on my new toy.
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Sorry, what do you mean by 'shorting out'. If by that you mean are any pins touching,then no, but there are a lot of missing pins. Just tried connecting to the TV with the monitor cable unplugged but same result. I'm not atually sure about the PAL or NTSC thing, how do I determine whether the A500 is PAL or NTSC? Thanks so much for your help, its like 2.30 in the morning where I am and all I wanna do is make music on my new toy.
I think even if the Computer is the wrong signal type (NTSC or PAL), it should still give some kind of image on a TV...
The single RCA video output is a Composite output, make sure the TV can take that type of signal.
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Okay, shorting out basically means pins touching, and sometimes wires can fray internally and touch. This can prevent an Amiga from booting, or cause other issues like disabling the video output. But if you've tried it without that then that's not the issue. Yeah, maybe you should get an image if it's the wrong type, but some LCDs will just refuse to sync and therefore show nothing. I don't know an easy way of telling whether an Amiga is NTSC or PAL without looking at its output... I'm not sure where you are in the world, but I'm gonna guess Australia / New Zealand? It should be a PAL one to work with your TV system.
Was this machine sold to you as working? When was it last used? Does the A500+ have an on-board battery which might be leaking, or was it just the A500?
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I think even if the Computer is the wrong signal type (NTSC or PAL), it should still give some kind of image on a TV...
The single RCA video output is a Composite output, make sure the TV can take that type of signal.
Okay thanks, I'll do some research on my T.V. it's not particularly common but i guess you can find out about anything on the interwebs.
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Okay, shorting out basically means pins touching, and sometimes wires can fray internally and touch. This can prevent an Amiga from booting, or cause other issues like disabling the video output. But if you've tried it without that then that's not the issue. Yeah, maybe you should get an image if it's the wrong type, but some LCDs will just refuse to sync and therefore show nothing. I don't know an easy way of telling whether an Amiga is NTSC or PAL without looking at its output... I'm not sure where you are in the world, but I'm gonna guess Australia / New Zealand? It should be a PAL one to work with your TV system.
Was this machine sold to you as working? When was it last used? Does the A500+ have an on-board battery which might be leaking, or was it just the A500?
Yup, I'm in New Zealand so hopefully my Amiga output is PAL? I admit that I bought the Amiga as is. I think it was their old family computer and he had no idea how to set it up or test it. It is an A500+, so maybe it has a leaking battery? I certainly hope not, how do I find out?
Perhaps my eagerness to get involved with Amiga's has caused me to spend 70 bucks on a dud but I really really don't wanna give up on this.
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I think my TV does support composite input, it's the standard yellow connection for video and red/white connection for audio setup. I believe that's usually for receiving composite signal from the likes of DVD players etc?
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I think my TV does support composite input, it's the standard yellow connection for video and red/white connection for audio setup. I believe that's usually for receiving composite signal from the likes of DVD players etc?
That does all sound correct... Have you plugged it all up, turned it on and then left it for a minute or so? I don't know but, perhaps some capacitors have dried out and could take time to charge or something, I'm grasping at straws here... I think the TV connection is where you should start though :)
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No I haven't tried that but I definitely will, I'm all for straw clutching. I was just reading about the a500+ battery and now I'm really nervous about it having eaten away at the mobo.
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No I haven't tried that but I definitely will, I'm all for straw clutching. I was just reading about the a500+ battery and now I'm really nervous about it having eaten away at the mobo.
The leaking battery is a very real possibility... But let's not go there until we have exhausted all other options :)
That said, it is easy enough to pop open the case and look for any signs of damage :)
-edit- just thought, the ROM chips could be loose... Might be an idea to pop the case and check the chips ;)
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Yep, it might be time to pop the cover off that machine and have a (careful) snoop around. If it's been sitting in an attic for years without being turned on, the battery could've started leaking, but it's easy to see if that's the case when you open it up. Capacitors can also fail after a few years, and dead capacitors usually don't do that much damage, but are sometimes hard to spot because they often look like working ones. And, as Bloodline suggested, while you're at it, reseat the ROMs and any other chips in there which might've come loose.
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Bah! I guess music_liker has passed out or gone to sleep... And this thread was just getting exciting! :)
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I'm betting the 500 is knackered not the 1084.
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Dang! I fell asleep, How do I go about popping the hood on this thing and what sorta things am I looking out for? I can't believe I crashed out, it was about four in the morning though ha.
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So I opened the computer up today and looked round, all the chips/ram seem to be in place. I removed the battery as it had started to leak, there was a bit of blue crust around where the battery was. I have taken a few (not very good) photos of the slight corrosion crust on the mobo which I will upload soon. Other than that I don't know what to look for
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So I opened the computer up today and looked round, all the chips/ram seem to be in place. I removed the battery as it had started to leak, there was a bit of blue crust around where the battery was. I have taken a few (not very good) photos of the slight corrosion crust on the mobo which I will upload soon. Other than that I don't know what to look for
While the lid is off, gently push down on the tops of the chips to make sure they are actually seated in their sockets, oh and get the battery out ASAP!
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Any updates?