Amiga.org is has larger domestic following than EAB which is European, so repairs and parts will be higher due to shipping. This site has a few users that express their daily need for sarcasm and humor, but contains just as many people capable of providing help, repair advice, Amiga parts, and actual repairs as the touted other site.
As noted in the private message sent when I posted my earlier reply, there are answers, parts, and advice readily available (parts may not be free).
Let me run some numbers based on Matt's post:
EAB is global. There are a couple of other Amiga users in Texas who I think are members both here and there, but I don't know how close they are to Houston. Unfortunately, most Amiga repairs these days are either DIY or send-overseas.
Anyway, we can start looking into some of your problems:
1. Graphics card. The first challenge with installing a graphics card is finding one! They're not common these days and tend to be rather expensive. Do you have one already? Cost $100 - $200 USD
2. RAM. What do you have currently? The A3000 motherboard can take 16MB of Fast RAM and 2MB of Chip RAM. Cost <$100 USD for ZIP RAM. To get more, you need a CPU board with RAM slots, which can add up to 128MB more, or a Zorro-slot RAM expansion, which adds 128MB or 256MB. Cost $100 - $125 USD. I think the slot-based expansions require a revision 11 Buster chip. Cost $20 USD
3. There's no room in the A3000 case for a CD drive, so you'll need to put the drive in an external SCSI case and then connect it to the A3000's SCSI port. Cost $50 to 75 USD. Some quick eBay searching shows that these are fairly expensive these days. Maybe check with your university's IT department to see if they might have an old one kicking around? this is the sort of thing you'll want to look for.
4. OS upgrade. Do you have 3.1 or 2.x installed currently? If it's 2.x, you'll also need a new 3.1 Kickstart ROM. Cost <$30 USD.
5. In case you're not aware, the clock batteries in Amigas tend to leak after a long period of time, causing damage to the motherboard. In the 3000, the proximity of a leaky battery to the video circuitry can sometimes cause display problems. Hopefully this isn't your problem, but it's worth checking your battery just to be safe. If you don't have any cards installed in your 3000, it's as simple as popping off the case cover (remember to take antistatic precautions). With the machine facing front and looking at it from the top, the battery is the horizontal barrel shaped thing (usually blue or green, sometimes red) halfway up the board near the left edge. Here is an example. If you see any white powdery stuff near the battery, let us know and we'll advise on removal. Cost to remove ~ nothing; repair to the motherboard if there is damage $200+
6. Not sure what could be going on with your floppy drive, but hopefully it's not too complicated. A good first step would be to try cleaning it. Cost Free I once put a moldy old disk into my drive and it caused all sorts of read-write errors afterward. After a few rounds with the cleaning disk all was well. The old one can be aligned by someone with simple tools; cost likely free. If you do end up replacing the drive, make sure to save the eject button! Since a used A500 drive fits (but has wrong eject button, vide supra) Cost $25 to replace
I'm assuming your power and disk LEDs are no longer lighting? I have the same problem on my 3000 - the little board that contains these LEDs is incredibly fragile and is easily damaged, breaking the circuit. Replacement boards are extremely rare, but the circuit is incredibly simple. It should be possible to bypass the broken traces with some jumper wire. Cost to repair, likely free.
I hope this is a helpful start! If you post a new thread in the Hardware sub forum it should attract some more attention. Hopefully we can get you fixed up!
I know that the A3000 is a sexy beast, but once the case is removed she has vicious teeth ready to draw "First Blood."
Your video issue may not be just reseating the chips as battery damage dissolves the copper traces in this area.
