Can you revive a zombie Picasso IV card?

[DocSane]

And by zombie, I mean that the firmware seems to have been corrupted such that while the system can detect a card with memory is inserted in the system, it cannot identify itself as a Picasso IV anymore. This lack of ID keeps me from just running the firmware update again. I recall the problem was caused when I booted up the card with the flash RAM chip not inserted all the way. (Don't ask. It happened almost 9 years ago.)

So, anyone know of any way to bring this card back from the dead?

[DocSane]

The manual says, that if your picasso iv is no longer
recognised, this can be resolved by reinstalling the
firmware. You can find it here.
Look for the p4update-files. Version 7.4 is the latest.

I think you must have missed the part where I mentioned that I can't run the firmware update because it keeps telling me "No Picasso IV detected!" when I do. My problem is that the system config DOES see a card in the video slot and that it has memory and a hardware ID, but the Picasso firmware software doesn't recognize the card as a PIV, and so doesn't try to reflash it.

[DocSane]

Nlandas wrote:
Sure I can receive one - send a PM and I'll give you my address. Of course I won't be sending it back.   :lol:

-Nyle

Okay. I'll mail it to you via eBay and you can just pay me a negotiated fee while you keep the board. :-D

[DocSane]

MozzerFan wrote:

If that fails also,
I'm afraid you need a new ROM-chip. As Tahoe wrote, try
to contact Tobias Seiler, aka Mastatabs. He's a former
villagetronic engineer, maybe he can help you out.

Well, I just reinstalled the card into my 4000 and fired it all up, and guess what? Now the system can't even see the board! I find this more than a little mysterious, and now wonder if what I thought was the P IV was not, in fact, my Apollo 4060 card showing up in the expansion board display.

In any case, we can now officially reclassify my zombie as a corpse. I'm not sure what to do next, barring great news from Mr. Seiler. Would anyone be interested in a Picasso IV that doesn't work?

[DocSane]

Tahoe wrote:
Don't give up hope, I had a card JUST like that, didn't do a thing and wasn't recognised. Tobias fixed mine.

Don't get rid of it (yet)

Then I'll be patient and wait for Tobias to answer my PM. Cross your fingers for me. If we're lucky, someone will be able to buy a working P-IV soon.

[DocSane]

amiga_3k wrote:

Maybe a silly question but.... when did the Picasso became unrecognizable? Did you have your Amiga dis-assembled? What kind of Amiga is it in? If you've got an Amiga where you had to seperate the break-out part of the PIV, isn't there something wrong with the flat-cable between the PIV and the break-out part of the PCB?

It became unrecognizable shortly after I booted up my A4000 with the Picasso's flash ROM not seated properly in its socket, and then I pushed it down in there WHILE THE COMPUTER WAS STILL ON. In other words, I'm fairly certain I zapped the poor chip to death.

And no, being that this was in a 4000, the card is still in one piece.

[DocSane]

Flashlab wrote:
Why go through all the trouble if you're gonna sell it anyway? I doubt it would even be worth the hassle and cost when you need to ship the card. Just sell the card broken; I bet there are still people willing to pay for that.

Because, depending on the cost of repairing it, I'm liable to make a hell of a lot more on a working card than on a dead card. Besides, I feel a little guilty about killing it in the first place. It's not like there's a factory making millions of these every year. I just want to see if it's feasible before I give up and sell it for parts.

[DocSane]

Jeff wrote:
Since it's socketed just find someone with an eprom programmer to burn a new Flash Rom for you. It might be an easy fix.

-Jeff

Oddly enough, Tobias just answered my PM and offered to do just this.

[DocSane]

Jeff wrote:
Let us know how it works out.

Good Luck
-Jeff

Cross your fingers for me. Hopefully I can let you guys know within a week.

[DocSane]

Just a quick update. Tobias is mailing me my new flash ROM. With luck, I may have good news to report sometime next week.

[DocSane]

Hi all,

Well, it took Tobias longer to get the new flash ROM to me than I originally expected, but it finally arrived today. I pulled the old ROM and inserted the new one, then installed the card into my 4000. And then I pushed the button...

And got a red expansion board diagnostic screen showing the following:

Board number   Manufacturer   Product   Status
1              2167           24        Defective
1              2167           24        Defective
1              2167           24        Defective

I hit the continue button and booted up. The machine works fine and now sees the card, but when I tried to update the firmware to 7.4, it gave me a flash read/write error:

offs $004000, exp $00, got $00
P4FlashUpdate failed returncode 10

So, the board is no longer dead, but it's not quite alive, either. Any suggestions?

And yes, I've already PM'd Tobias, but he tends to be pretty busy, so I figured I'd pick all of your brains in the meantime.