Does your Amiga need to warm up to work Properly?

[caliban_6]

This may seem to be an odd question but does anyone else's Amiga have to run for a couple of hours before everything works correctly?

My sound doesn't work until my Amiga has been on for an hour, and some games don't work unless the computer has warmed up.  Anyone else have that problem?  Is there something that needs to be replaced?

Let me know,


Jeremy Hastings

[Brian]

My old A4000T had a thing about cold. If it was started and the temp was below freezing or just about it wouldn't boot up when I turned on the power, instead it would have to sit there in it's none booting state for a about a min and then I softresetted it and then it would bootup.

Anyway, have you checked any battery for leakage?

[Cryten]

My old A4000T had a thing about cold. If it was started and the temp was below freezing or just about it wouldn't boot up when I turned on the power, instead it would have to sit there in it's none booting state for a about a min and then I softresetted it and then it would bootup.

I've had and actually have that problem aswell, but I've so far been spared of worse problems than that. I think my problems began when I installed a SCSI disc... Anyway, we're not supposed to talk about my problems, and I don't think that's the same problem as is mentioned in the original post.

[caliban_6]

The battery was leaking and I had it removed and the motherboard cleaned.  The local electrician said that it might have damaged the lines to the last two simm banks but he can repair those.  Does the lack of battery have anything to do with the cold start issue, or is it just a matter of age?  Makes me think of my old BMW 320i ... it had over 200,000 miles on it and everyone used to say, old beamers just burn oil ... is that the case here?

[Crusher]

Sounds to me that one or more chips has to be cleaned.  :-)

[Doppie1200]

Only my Amiga with the high quality radio tube paula has to work up

[amiwalker]

Yep, I had this problem too!!!

But, after re-seating chips and cleaning connections on the individual zorro cards and dauterboard (A3000), all is working just fine!

Just the other day I commented about how stable my A3000D s to my son.

I think some of my problem was related to the SCSI circuitry, but I am not absoloutly certain.

Good luck!

[leirbag28]

My CD32/SX32 pro did this also

I replaced the PSU cable and its working much better.......what a relief

[ChaosLord]

No.  My Amigas work perfectly, immediately.

[ltstanfo]

Old AMIGAs 101
or
"How To Care and Feed Your Aging AMIGA"

Almost all of the "Classic" (I prefer the term "original") AMIGAs are at least 10 years or older now.  When they were first designed and produced, I am sure that no one ever intended that they still be in use so many years later (reference the consumer computer market as a guide).

Much of the technology for producing motherboards in the late 1980s and early 1990s called for socketed chips which has since given way to surface mount (for good reason in many cases).  Over time (and with repeated heating and cooling) these socketed chips have a way of "working up" from their originally secured locations.  It may be the smallest fraction of a millimeter but this is all that it can take for a bad connection to that chip.  Many AMIGA users have found it useful to periodically open up the computer and reseat the old socketed chips.  In many cases, this is as simple as using a finger or thumb to press the chip back into place (CAUTION! Be sure your AMIGA is turned off and unplugged. Also be sure to protect your AMIGA from electrostatic discharge (ESD) as this will damage the aging components on the motherboard).  Other users prefer to actually remove the socketed chips and re-install them using an appropriate chip pulling tool (careful not to bend pins upon extraction or insertion).

Another (far more serious) problem is leaking batteries.  Is there any "blue / green fuzz" on or around the battery on your motherboard? If there is, YOUR BATTERY IS LEAKING AND DAMAGING YOUR MOTHERBOARD!  Clean it up now!  Remove the battery!  You do not need to replace the battery to continue using your AMIGA!  You just won't have any clock / date functions saved while the machine is powered off so you will need to reset the date / calander each time you boot up if you so desire.

Finally, examine the motherboard for signs of capacitor or resister damage.  The damaged components may actually have a "burned" look to them or they may not.  If you do locate some bad caps or resistors, have a friend who is handy with a soldering iron replace the defective components with like items (they may be hard to find).

There was a great little analysis tool for the AMIGA a few years back called "The Advanced AMIGA Analyzer".  If you can locate one of these, BUY IT!  It uses both hardware and software to run a series of tests on your computer that will be invaluable to you in helping to keep your computer running reliabley.

One last item...CLEAN CONDITIONED POWER!  Is your AMIGA plugged into a wall outlet?  BAD!!!!! BAD!! BAD!!  There is no such thing as "clean" power coming from the utility company anywhere in the world!  There are just varying degrees of power spikes and lows.  Get a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) for your aging AMIGA today!  The AMIGA, like all other computers is far more sensitive to power changes than other consumer electronic items.  It doesn't take much to cause your faithful AMIGA to either shut down, "brown out" or "fry itself" when the electicity coming out of the wall is acting up.  Given the age of your computer and the scarcity of available spares, do you really want to take a chance?

If you find this post useful, I will be happy to post more tips for caring for your AMIGA.  Good day.

Regards,
ltstanfo

[Framiga]

The battery was leaking and I had it removed and the motherboard cleaned. The local electrician said that it might have damaged the lines to the last two simm banks but he can repair those. Does the lack of battery have anything to do with the cold start issue, or is it just a matter of age?

you can bet about the battery problem!

Probably a trace (or more) went partially corroded by the acid and they conduct only when the themperature raise.

Let your technician make the job (if your not able)

Good luck :-)

[jlariv8957]

I remember a strange thing i had years ago

I had a hard disk witch only started after beeing warmed
when he was cold he made the same noise as dead hard drives.
was running for years !