A3000 - Cyberstorm MkIII problems

[AmireX]

Seems to me that they changed the whole design

I'm sure they had to for the Dual CPU / 233MHz clock rates.

Apparently the SCSI on the MKIII has to be terminated whether you are using it or not.[/quote]

Dual CPU mean PPC and 060 ? There is an empty PPC place on the card. Unfortunately I have no terminator for UW SCSI. I'm getting more and more crazy :-)

The reason why I try to run the MKIII is that in my A3k are to systems, AOS 3.9 and Amix on an extra hdisk. Amix is running only with 030 CPU and so I wanted to switch of the 060 via software and then reboot to amix. Up to now I had two A3k's running one with Amix, the other one with AOS 3.9. The MkII isn't switchable via software.

If anybody knows a trick how to switch of a CSMKII .. all my problems are solved :-) I tried to make the voltage regulator make switchable. But when you turn it of then the CSMkII is running anyway and takes the needed current via CPU Fast slot (so my theory ..)

One card isn'nt to stop, the other one wont run  :boohoo:

[patrik]

@AmireX:

You could also try remove the motherboard fastmem, I recall some people had issues with that and the accelerator.

I guess it already has been said, but don't forget to set the busclock to external.

If that doesn't help you should check if the fragile solders of the 68060-socket are intact. To do that apply some gentle force on the 68060 with a finger (just a wee bit of force, you should definately not make the board bend!) and power up the computer while still having the finger there and see if it makes a difference.


/Patrik

[AmireX]

Now I changed the power supply .. no success. Then build the card in my second A3k and ... (what do you think .....)

FREEEZE, CRASH,  BLINK    the complete program :-(

I contacted the seller now, hope he can help ..

[alexh]

If you need anyone to test it independantly

If I were you, I would remove EVERYTHING except the accelerator.

Take out all the Zorro cards, all the hard drives, all the motherboard fast ram (as someone here said).

See if you can get it to boot to the KS screen. From there try and get some diagnostics on what version firmware it's got etc.

[AmireX]

alexh wrote:
If you need anyone to test it independantly

If I were you, I would remove EVERYTHING except the accelerator.

Take out all the Zorro cards, all the hard drives, all the motherboard fast ram (as someone here said).

See if you can get it to boot to the KS screen. From there try and get some diagnostics on what version firmware it's got etc.

So I tested the whole time, empty A3k, no FAST MEM, no zorro cards, but the daughter board.

But now -----    TA TA TA   ---

It R U U U U U U U U U U N S   !!  :-)  :-)  :-)

YEEEEEP, I saw a lot of dust on the whole card and the contacts of the fast slot connector were brown under the varnish. So I cleaned first the contacts with spirit, then new varnish. The card runs more often  :-o

Then I cleaned the whole card with distilled water, moved the 060 out and in and then back into the A3k and voila ....

It runs stable now. Thanks to this fantastic forum. I learned a lot and now I know --- FIRST CLEAN THE CARD  :-D

[Effy]

I´m glad it runs now. As you wrote before in a mail "but the card wasn't running the last 2 years. Right ?? I cleaned the whole card and after that the problem was solved. This was a really long trip and now I go to sleep 2 hours." the card has indeed been out of work for a while as the seller has stopped using Amiga and only uses WinUAE on his pc. Sorry you had to go to all the trouble but look at it from the good side : you now have a better buster  :lol:

[Effy]

Just got a mail from AmireX that it still doesn´t work 100% and that it often crashes while running or doesn´t even boot correctly. Now I know for sure that the card has worked 100% in the A4000 Micronik tower where it was removed, together with a Picasso IV and Paloma and Z3 Powerflyer and Highway and so on ...
AmireX wants his money back ... as he writes :"

"Hi Effy,
 
dont know why, but the card isn't working in my two A3k's. I'd tried really everything
but the card and / or the combination A3k and CSMkIII is instable. For a short moment
I thought it runs, but the same evening the trouble begans again. That means in detail:
 
- the A3k does'nt boot, the power LED keeps half bright and nothing more happens
or
- the A3k power LED blinks and later I get a green screen or a Software Failure (GURU)
 
If I turn off the amiga for a while (2 minutes) then it often boots correctly but crash's later
in a sofware failure. Maybe there is a contact problem which depends on temperature of
the card. I invested a lot of work and tested it in 2 A3k's with a lot of combinations (I
removed all cards and the whole FAST MEM (this is really hard work)). I cleaned the
card and tested it with my own SIMM rams to find the problem. Believe me, I really, really
would like to have it work in my A3k and up to now I never had such a trouble with
any expansion card.
 
So let us come together in any way. Your argument could be -- I destroyed the
card while installing it. But maybe it is not working in a A3k or it were destroyed
while dismounting it ?  So my suggestion - you pay back 200 euro and I sent
you back your card completly with rams, manuals, disk and the box. So I
learned never to this again and you can try to sell the card to another one with
the hint "dont know wether it works in a A3k".
 
I have a long experience in electronic and software because of my work, but nobody is
perfect. Maybe you get it to run.
 
Greetings, ReX"

Now what

[AmireX]

Do we have to discuss it here ?

I really need such a CSMkIII because this CS version is turnable off via BootRom Update and this feature I need to run Amix on the same machine (it needs the original 030 processor).

So it makes no sense for me to buy this card for 249 euro to try 3 days get it to run (my home was a big battle field, 2 opened A3k's and a lot of screws and cards and chips ...) and then sent it back to you for 200 euro and donate you 49 euro for playing with a supsect CSMkIII. I have a lot of other hobbies

I could sell it on eBay as a working card (as you say) but I have 100% positive rating ...

[Framiga]

@Effy

you should refund the buyer at 100%.

You know perfectly that this things could happens with CS.

I've "quite" lost a friend, for a similar problem.

The board ALWAYS "works" to the seller home! sometimes its not 100% true.

Sorry but this is my thought.

[x56h34]

There is a lot of reasons why this CSMKIII may be a perfectly working card, however not exactly with this user's A3000 system.

I strongly suggest that the following criteria is matched:

- 3.1 roms installed (I think this is not a compromise with A3000)
- No devices installed on the motherboard SCSI
- INT2 hack is installed and verified to be working
- CSMKIII has proper memory installed (matching pairs must be used...it's best to simply get 128MB in terms of four matching 32MB 60ns simms)
- If you use SCSI devices on CSMKIII SCSI, the chain must be properly terminated (however I wouldn't install any SCSI devices on it until you manage to safely boot the system to the KS3.1 screen)
- No ram on the A3000 motherboard other than 2MB chip ram
- Check if A3000 clock jumpers are set according to the CSMKIII manual.

[AmireX]

x56h34 wrote:
There is a lot of reasons why this CSMKIII may be a perfectly working card, however not exactly with this user's A3000 system.

I strongly suggest that the following criteria is matched:

- 3.1 roms installed (I think this is not a compromise with A3000)

YES

- No devices installed on the motherboard SCSI

I removed everything except the daugtherboard. Complete FAST MEM, tried 2 different power supplies.

- INT2 hack is installed and verified to be working

Installed

- CSMKIII has proper memory installed (matching pairs must be used...it's best to simply get 128MB in terms of four matching 32MB 60ns simms)

Tried 128 MB and 64 MB with 2/4 pairs

- If you use SCSI devices on CSMKIII SCSI, the chain must be properly terminated (however I wouldn't install any SCSI devices on it until you manage to safely boot the system to the KS3.1 screen)

Not used.

- No ram on the A3000 motherboard other than 2MB chip ram

Done.

- Check if A3000 clock jumpers are set according to the CSMKIII manual.

Checked.

I think I'm getting an expert now :-)

[Tahoe]

It just won't work, had the same thing here with a CyberstormPPC.

My A4000 the light remained dim, no matter what I tried it just wouldn't boot.

Upgraded the machine to Kick 3.1 and Buster 11, still no go. Even went as far as sending the card back to the seller but with him it worked, both in his 4000 and 1200 tower with Micronik Z3 board.

Eventually got it back and in the meantime got myself another 4000 and it worked straight away, no problems whatsoever.... Seems these cards are a little picky in which machine they run....

[Effy]

AmireX : "- If you use SCSI devices on CSMKIII SCSI, the chain must be properly terminated (however I wouldn't install any SCSI devices on it until you manage to safely boot the system to the KS3.1 screen)

Not used."

In other words the scsi is not terminated

There were spaces in the package to mount the card in the processor slot, have you used them

Have you pushed the card hard enough into the processor slot

The 128 Mb memory was working when the card was in the tower, so that can not be the problem ...

You also wrote "Then I cleaned the whole card with distilled water, moved the 060 out and in and then back into the A3k and voila ...." but I learned that water on a pcb board is never good, or is it Have you removed the 060 processor like you wrote

[AmireX]

Effy wrote:
AmireX : "- If you use SCSI devices on CSMKIII SCSI, the chain must be properly terminated (however I wouldn't install any SCSI devices on it until you manage to safely boot the system to the KS3.1 screen)

Not used."

In other words the scsi is not terminated

There are no SCSI devices on the controller !! And to terminate an empty controller makes no sense.

There were spaces in the package to mount the card in the processor slot, have you used them

Have you pushed the card hard enough into the processor slot

I pushed it and the spaces worked well with my old Cyberstorm card.

And YES I moved the 060 few millimeters in an out with a plastic tool to recontact it. After I cleaned the card with DISTILLED water I used a fan to make it dry again. And it worked for a while after that.

What is your message Effy ? Your card is perfect, but you wont get it back ? I have destroyed the card while mounting ?

The card didn't work from the beginning. All I have done was  trying to get it to run. It dont make me happy to built in and out a stupid cpu card.


I think I lost my money ..

Anybody needs a perfect Cyberstorm MkIII with 128 MB RAM ?? (Maybe the card isn't working out of Belgium.)

Good luck with my money - Effy.

[Framiga]

@AmireX

try this before to "shoot" him :-D

Insert the 060 fully again and during the boot (if the system doesn't boot) press a little bit, onto the 060 with a finger.

If the system will boot, the problem is the usual crap unsoldered pin/s of the 060 socket.

About the intermittent freeze/crashes during the normal use, its more difficult.

I have managed to fix the 060 socket problem, with the right tools and much, much patience :-(

[AmireX]

@Framiga

Thank you .. I moved the 060 a little and hoped it helped but I didn't press it at while bootup.

I will try it :-)