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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: Coolhand on March 29, 2013, 12:30:16 PM

Title: A1200 HD activity light (not CF related?)
Post by: Coolhand on March 29, 2013, 12:30:16 PM
So I had a CF HD in the amiga for a year or so, HD activity LED worked fine with this device.  Installed my ACA1232 last weekend, I'm pretty sure the light was happily blinking away after that.

Then I took the entire thing apart to get at the back of the mobo and remove a couple of capacitors, which went perfectly smoothly and fixed up my timing issues pretty much with the 1232.

After re-assembling and booting I have no power going to the HD LED at all :confused: I've tested it with a multimeter while accessing the drive and nothing so its not the LED itself.

Just wondering if its a side effect of the timing fixes (seems unlikely) have I damaged something else or is there a usual suspect I should look out for. I haven't yet taken the board out again to inspect it but what should I look out for when I do?

Thanks.
Title: Re: A1200 HD activity light (not CF related?)
Post by: bbond007 on March 29, 2013, 03:18:20 PM
Quote from: Coolhand;730707
So I had a CF HD in the amiga for a year or so, HD activity LED worked fine with this device.  Installed my ACA1232 last weekend, I'm pretty sure the light was happily blinking away after that.

Then I took the entire thing apart to get at the back of the mobo and remove a couple of capacitors, which went perfectly smoothly and fixed up my timing issues pretty much with the 1232.

After re-assembling and booting I have no power going to the HD LED at all :confused: I've tested it with a multimeter while accessing the drive and nothing so its not the LED itself.

Just wondering if its a side effect of the timing fixes (seems unlikely) have I damaged something else or is there a usual suspect I should look out for. I haven't yet taken the board out again to inspect it but what should I look out for when I do?

Thanks.


I'm pretty sure that the CF card gives power to the LED.

That is why when you install  fastATA  you run wire to  that pin on the old Ide header.  Maybe try different CF card.
Title: Re: A1200 HD activity light (not CF related?)
Post by: Coolhand on March 29, 2013, 03:34:31 PM
well it worked fine with the exact same cf card and interface for months, one rebuild later it doesn't work... seems like it might be something else to me, either way I don't have a spare card handy to test it out.  do you know what pin that is?

http://www.ntrautanen.fi/computers/hardware/misc/amiga_ide.htm pin 39 then? thats at the upper right if i'm looking at the 1200 from front on presumably?
Title: Re: A1200 HD activity light (not CF related?)
Post by: bbond007 on March 29, 2013, 08:16:31 PM
Quote from: Coolhand;730714
well it worked fine with the exact same cf card and interface for months, one rebuild later it doesn't work... seems like it might be something else to me, either way I don't have a spare card handy to test it out.  do you know what pin that is?

http://www.ntrautanen.fi/computers/hardware/misc/amiga_ide.htm pin 39 then? thats at the upper right if i'm looking at the 1200 from front on presumably?


Well something died,  and it has to be the LED,  MB trace,  or the CF..

That diagram is for 40 pin (Not 44) . As I recall it's 3rd down from the top right. Just check Fast ATA info. Pic 10.

http://www.elbox.com/ma/fa_1200_folder/fast_ata_1200_qig.html
Title: Re: A1200 HD activity light (not CF related?)
Post by: paul1981 on March 29, 2013, 09:42:11 PM
Hope you get it fixed. Does sound like a loose wire to me, or you've connected the activity wire to the wrong pin on the internal IDE.

I'm sure this is not relevant as you specify that you haven't changed any other hardware...but some CF adapters don't drive the HDD access LED, yet others do.

Let me know how your ACA1232 is performing. Mine runs at 11 something mips according to SysSpeed IIRC.
Title: Re: A1200 HD activity light (not CF related?)
Post by: bbond007 on March 30, 2013, 02:42:14 AM
Quote from: paul1981;730739
Hope you get it fixed. Does sound like a loose wire to me, or you've connected the activity wire to the wrong pin on the internal IDE.

I don't think he has a FastATA(activity wire) I was just using that page to show which pin goes to the LED. I think that pin should have continuity with the LED.

I think most likely its a bent/broken pin or the CF card malfunctioned and quit putting out that signal.

My LEDs on my PCMCIA Wifi card quit working for some strange reason. I suspect maybe the card got slightly bent.. I thought my PCMCIA port died.
Title: Re: A1200 HD activity light (not CF related?)
Post by: Coolhand on March 30, 2013, 08:10:13 AM
Quote from: bbond007;730759
I don't think he has a FastATA(activity wire) I was just using that page to show which pin goes to the LED. I think that pin should have continuity with the LED.

I think most likely its a bent/broken pin or the CF card malfunctioned and quit putting out that signal.

My LEDs on my PCMCIA Wifi card quit working for some strange reason. I suspect maybe the card got slightly bent.. I thought my PCMCIA port died.

yeah its just a normal ide err, thing. Before today i'd have thought something like that would fail the entire drive but bbond is correct... Thanks for your help guys, I took the thing back out, and the pins were not aligned properly - none were actually bent or missing and they must have been in their connector slots before but perhaps not making a proper contact. I put it back in, this time it really 'clicked' home (weird for that type of connector - must be the misaligned pins catching on the plastic or something) and the LED light functioned again... So its working but maybe not quite right. next time its apart maybe i'll check that area under the board