A500 floppy boot issue + a500 a3000 a4000 compatibility

[Blatboy]

Hey there.  I wasn't sure if I should post this in hardware or in the new members... I'm a new member with a hardware question....

I was using my a500 till about 1997.  I recently pulled it out (my, that sounds personal) and it worked a couple times... then a few disks didn't boot up... and now the computer refuses to boot up at all via floppy.  I have no hard drive.  I noticed a couple faulty a500's on ebay that had the same issue, so I'm wondering if it's common enough that you would know a solution?   In my research, I found that taking the computer apart and cleaning the drive w/a can duster is a possible solution.  Any other ideas?  Should I just replace the drive?

My a500 did have the ram expansion in it.  I'm sure the battery was bad, but the expansion was in a metal case, and I didn't see any corrosion anywhere.  (the freakin' clock never worked anyway...)

Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

On another note... I'm really enjoying a reunion with my old computers these days.  I'm actually using a commodore 64 in my work right now.  PAID to use a C64?  Man!  I died and went to heaven!

[leofoe]

If the A500 does get to the "Insert floppy" screen, yes then most likely the floppy drive is faulty.

[Generale]

What exactly does it do? How far does it get? Does it just demand the WB disks?

Could you check the surface of your floppies for me? You know.  Pull back the cover and eyeball them. Are there any scuffs, scratches, particles etc?

[Blatboy]

Thanks for the replies! :-D

I checked the disks and they look just fine.

The boot up does make it to the "insert floppy" screen.

Hmmm... seems like the floppy, eh?

I'm going to take it apart and clean it today.  Assuming that doesn't work (I'm such a pessimist!) would it behoove me to replace the floppy or just get a new A500 on ebay?

Thanks again!
w  

[Blatboy]

Me sad.

I went inside my a500 (man, that first view of the innards is great!) and used a spray duster on and through it.  I dusted the rest of the computer too, but to no avail.  

I had recently seen a never used a500 floppy drive on ebay and am kicking myself for not getting it now.  

I'm also considering upgrading to a a3000 or 4000.  Would all my games and programs I used on my 500 (Prowrite, Bars and Pipes) work on a 3000 or 4000?

[Blatboy]

:bump:

[Blatboy]

Ok, so I did a little more research and now I'm learning a little more about the platform.  I see that with the older kickstart 1.3 which my a500 has, my old programs would most likely not be compatible with a a3000 or a4000.  Interesting.  Of course this minor fact does not keep me from WANTING a 3000 or 4000.  

Sorry if I've been bugging you with my very basic questions.  

Being that the a500 floppy drives are so hard to find, I think my best bet is to get another a500 for now to run my software nostalgia trip.  Oh but it's so SAD to not use the very same computer I learned on so many years ago! (I learned C in college using the SAS compiler and I taught myself sequencing with Bars and Pipes on that old a500...)

Then I'll think about a 3000 or 4000 to add to my collection.  (I'm a bit of a vintage computer junkie...)

You have a really great forum here, and I've learned a lot from my lurking.  Man, some of those pictures of your hacks are just amazing!!

I'll be around... that's a threat!

[leofoe]

Blatboy wrote:
Ok, so I did a little more research and now I'm learning a little more about the platform.  I see that with the older kickstart 1.3 which my a500 has, my old programs would most likely not be compatible with a a3000 or a4000.  Interesting.  Of course this minor fact does not keep me from WANTING a 3000 or 4000.

Games work almost always on every A500.

[Amiga4k]

Contact me via email. I have a spare A500 floppy.

[Brian]

There exist "degraders" that fool the computer into a 1.3ROM state where it will play almost any A500 game. Personaly I use Relokick as it's the easiest one to get to work and TUDE as it'll play a few more games... but there exist a handfull more.

[Blatboy]

Amiga4k: I've sent you an email.

Brian: Thanks for the info.  It's been a long time since I've delved into the Amiga world, and I gotta admit it's a little overwhelming right now. So, I really appreciate the help... I'm thinking seriously about getting an a3000 or a4000 soon...  I'll look for Relokick and TUDE when I make that move.

Thanks again!
 8-)