Random resets on A1200

[Gav]

Hi
ok this is kind of annoying so its time to ask about it here then...
ok i have a kitted out A1200(see my sig) and there are times when it just resets out of the blue..For instance i left it on while i went down stairs,i was there for about 15 mins and then i come back and see its reset since i was using ibrowse at that time....There is also times when i switch it on it wont boot my hard drive and goes to the normal amiga boot screen until i switch it off and on again then it will work,sometimes its also fine.

Then times when i use aminet radio after a bit of listening to various music it will reset...So it is annoying,yet there are times when i can sit there for ages and it wont reset,does anyone have any idea why it does this for?
Thanks for any info on this problem.

[blobrana]

Hum,
sounds like a power issue.

i had one computer that sometimes reset itself whenever i was through the house and  i switched on the kitchen light or kettle....
(i changed the power supply... and it was fixed)

[amigakit]

Could be a grounding problem- check that everythings properly grounded and there isn't anything that is shorting. Are you using a plastic Infinitiv tower?

Check the accelerator pass through is connecting properly with the Mediator busboard.  You may want to cable tie each end through the loops provided for extra stability.

Also check that the FastATA is pushed properly into the kickstart sockets and the Gayle adapter is secure (and flush with motherboard).

What keyboard adapter are you using?

Also check that if you are using any Y-power splitters that the pins are fully inserted into the plastic shrouds.

[Karlos]

Ageing hardware, oxidised connectors, frankenstien expansions, unstable power, inadequate shielding, thermal effects on contacts, statically charged dust, hacks, patches and bugs.

They all add up. Sometimes what you need is to strip, clean and rebuild.

-edit-

I was going to suggest that I thought my resets were random until I noticed they only occur when the machine was switched on...

[Gav]

Thanks for the replies,the keyboard adaptor im using is the one that comes with the power tower and i`m using a power tower also..
I think i might just strip it and give it all a good clean and put it back together again,would any over heating cause a reset??


I have a fair bit inside the tower,scsi 2,060,tv card,voodoo 3,sb128,network card,power flyer,zip drive..Maybe i could always buy the round ide cables,but then again it still might not solve the problem.

[Karlos]

@Gav

Yep, as I said, the thermal effects of overheating can cause dodgy contacts long before a chip "fries". For instance, all your accelerator card has to do is warm up enough so that the contact it makes with the trapdoor is less stable (due to expansion).

If your CPU physically overheats, you can expect more severe problems, such as not being able to restart at all for a few minutes.

[amigakit]

No not a clean reset- more like a crash.  Grounding issues can cause a reset though

Check for loose contacts, wires etc.

[Gav]

@Karlos
Well my amiga is in a tower so it wont hit a trapdoor,what about the power flyer??
See the little black cable that connects to the ide header on the motherboard is faulty,it came off and i got it solderd back on..

But for a long time now the HD light on the tower has not worked due to the fauly cable coming undone,could this cause any reset???Also the reset button on my tower no longer resets the computer,not sure the cause of that yet..

[Karlos]

I meant the contact it makes with the trapdoor edge connector, not any "touching the case". Any noisy connections here are likely to cause random instability. The connection between the accelerator card and the motherboard really does need to be good, clean and snug.

[amigakit]

Reset button connects to a two-pin jumper on the Gayle Adapter (part of the FastATA)- check that this is seated correctly.

Check that the Mediator accelerator passthrough is secured.  Follow the advice I have already given in previous post.

[Gav]

Yeah i remember on an old motherboard i had bought off amibench some years back where the expansion header was all scraped?It was nearly silver instead of gold..
So sometimes it wouldnt boot with the 060 due to it hardly connecting and would reset a lot but thats a diffrent story...

Right then tomorrow i will take all the advice above and so what i come up with,cheers for the replies lads...
Gav

[Gav]

@amigakit
Oh yeah i have been meaning to email you but never got around to it,can you get a hold of those pcmcia angle adaptors?just want to use a wireless card in my amiga..
Thanks

[amigakit]

We will have a big consignment of them within the next 4-6 weeks.

[Gav]

Yeah thats the kind of news i was hoping for haha,any idea on price?

[Brass]

My miggy reboots a couple of times at startup but I beleive that its going through lots of config stuff and thats why it happens as the less hardware I have installed the less number of boots required, also warm reset boots back in immediately where as cold reset goes through multiple reboots.




OS 3.9, Mediator 1200sx,Cyberstorm 040/25/PPC 200 + 256Meg of ram. Spider II USB, 100Meg Ethernet, Voodoo PCI5500 64Meg, FastATA Mk III, PCKey 1200, Cocolino Mouse converter, Catweasel MK II aniversery edition & Kylwalda.  :-) I havent put the sound blaster in yet. I love my miggy too even tho Scan conversion is a headache.