A2000 Rebuild Problems.

[nishtek]

I would try the following:
- clean out your powersupply (no dust/dirt)
- take out all the cards, boot workbench 1.3/2.04/3.1 (whichever) off floppy disk.  see if machine crashes with nothing in it.
- if not then add 1 scsi controller.  see if machine
crashes with nothing in it.
- if not crashing then add 2058 card.  see if machine
crashes with nothing in it.
etc.

why do you have 2 2091 controller cards?  you know only one is bootable other has to be disabled wiht jumper J2.  
http://bboah.amiga-resistance.info/cgi-bin/showhardware_en.cgi?HARDID=1161
confirm all your jumpers.  
We have ROM v 7.0 so email if interested (you need it with hard disks > 1 gb, plus it fixes many bugs in previous versions).
"2. The A2058 will not show up on the list of devices, any hints?"
- sounds like misconfigured system, bad jumper settings, or bad memory.
"3. The FDD's generate seemingly random read/writer errors; unreadble block xxx and somesuch. Is there a problem with all three drives, not likely DF0 is brand new from Amigakit."
you're a 3rd person I hear complain about Amigakit drives. could be that they didnt make them properly. anyway this isn't our problem since you bought it off them, they should support you in this problem.  8520 CIA chips might be old, but if they worked fine with another drive then get another floppy drive.  we sold one few weeks ago:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190282050763
and these work fine (we still have a few left) as they all have been tested & converted properly.  :-D
drop an email amiganospamatnishtekcom if interested.
Why bother with buddha?  you got 2091 scsi and thats plenty enough, might be worthwhile investing in a accelerator board  graphics, network card instead.

[nishtek]

try also using high density disk with the hole taped up.  no dsdd disks.

[nishtek]

true, if its not direct purchase from them.  
Try using high density disks, tape up the other hole, and format using amiga os.  you'll find it should work better.
private message send also.  send me back the model or look at the bottom pcb to see whats on it.  that may help me give you more hints.  (i have several drives for sale that have been converted and i can use reliably).
about scsi-3 10 gb drive, thats why you need rom 7.0 :-)
no problem with buddha, just personally, i'd rather get graphics card, accel board. :-D

[nishtek]

The version 7 ROM fixes the following bugs in the 6.6 ROM
- >1GB HD support
- DMA reselection bug fixed
- disconnect/reconnect performance improved a lot
- Sync messages are handled
- Error handling improved
- Sync problems with Seagate/Syquest fixed
- Removable media recognition fixed
- Slow boot jumper now does a 15 second wait plus 300ms scan
http://bboah.amiga-resistance.info/cgi-bin/showhardware_en.cgi?HARDID=1161
try rom first.  the other option would be to get the newer revision scsi chip mentioned here:
http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=38747
currently sold out, but if there's enough interest i may stock up on more inventory.
select the other 2091 to "not bootable".
JP2: Autoboot Enable
AUTO: Set to enable autobooting from the A2091.
DIS: Set to disable autobooting from the A2091.
the hangups could be due to larger hard disk, not properly recognized and not properly prepped (see other suggestions above also).

[nishtek]

i think only one of the 2091 drives (one that you use for booting) should be autoboot on.  the other should be disabled.  (its the jumper below the 4 rows of ram).
http://bboah.amiga-resistance.info/cgi-bin/showhardware_en.cgi?HARDID=973
only 8mb can be autoconfiged, unless you change the jumper.  i assume you're under 8mb ram still?  you should consider buying  ram for 2058 board (i can check things up on that) if you don't plan on getting accelerator.

[nishtek]

if you use disks on one drive, i found they work just as well as on 1011 drive.  I use high density disks (hole taped up) only on the pc converted drive and it works great.:-D
i don't use these disks on 1011 though. (no mixing disks between two drives).

[nishtek]

here's another tip for you.
what software do you use when writing adf? [important question]  write the adf using only the pc converted drive and do not use those disks on the 1011 drive.  use only high density ones, wiht hole patched up.  if you encounter bad disk, simply format using Amiga OS format command, and write the adf again.  I stored my disks for several months and all of them can be read fine. (maybe my luck?)  the pc drive and 1011 drive have different mechanisms.

[nishtek]

get Sysinfo on aminet.
to search for it use http://aminet.net/.
email us if you want an adf image.  Use this tool diagnose how much RAM you have, expansion boards etc.
-------- cleaning the card and/or socket --------
clean the card 2058 and the socket 1 with QD Electronic Cleaner or similar.  This is "precision cleaning solvent that cleans and protects sensitive electronic components and contacts.  Instantly penetrates hard-to-reach areas to safely dissolve dirt, dust, grease, flux and other contaminants on contact"  Use swabs or qtips to delicately remove stubborn soil.  i'd recommend usng this before spraying and after.  it contains methanol, hexane, isohexane, petrolum distillate, and carbon dioxide.  allow time to dry your a2000.
http://www.autobarn.net/elcl45wtoz.html
or buy a head/tape cleaner from radio shack (also in spray can).
--------------------------
ram board - j1 & j2 should be ON as you confirmed, you should have also 2 mb surface mounted chips.  also, be sure the card is clean, not covered in dirt/dust etc.  what revision is your amiga 2000 (6.x is desirable)
Remove the ramboard, do you still get the red screen message ?  if not then the ramboard is defective or needs good cleaning (see above).

Last ensure you remove the battery on yoru A2000, and if its been removed, examine the battery area for "past time" leaks.

[nishtek]

@Iggy_Drougge

Not us.  Anyway re-read the postings.   :-P
We both discovered some disks usage issues, using the same disk in another drive, caused errors (eg disk created in pc converted drive to 1011 or FB354 drive).  And the disk drives come from different sources.

[nishtek]

Transadf is another tool.  it allows verifying anything written. (good for checking disk tracks.)  
Thats exactly my findings as well - once the disks are formatted and done with adf tool they behave themselves on my end as well.  I also found, that data was retained on disks only by using adf tool.  copying files to disk, i found some data loss with some disks.  no idea why.  perils of pc converted drives?
Glad to see your results confirmed with my findings.

[nishtek]

That cleaner should be ok also.

[nishtek]

Sysinfo should see the 2 mb on board of 2058.  are you using kickrom 3.1?  You may want to get the 2058 disk and run some memory checks.  Could be that the memory got zapped or one or more of ram chips are bad.  cleaning the sockets would be a good idea also.  Did you point the problem strictly to 2058 board? (as in no red screen messages with the 2 2091 boards plugged in).