A2000 Rebuild Problems.

[mchaggis]

Hi all,

I have an Amiga 2000, in the following config.

2 * A2091 SCSI cards both with 2MB RAM.
1 * A2058 RAM Board.
1* Lyra KB adapter.

I am experiencing the following problems with the A2000.

1. The machine resets intermittantly during use, sometimes not even when i'm using the keyboard or anywhere near it. Is the old machine haunted? Or possibly shorting out?

2. The A2058 will not show up on the list of devices, any hints?

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.

I was going to redress the intermittant reboot problem by stripping and reseating everything, including physical motherboard mountings. Any other suggestions?

Is there known problems with the IDE (read equiv) controller on A2000's that I should look at?

Should I get a priest in to exorcise the old A2000? Who knows what happened to the previous owner???

Maybe the PSU is stuffed?

Any suggestions appreciated. As once it's stable I'm going to order a Buddha controller.

Cheers!

[EdFlux]

Check your RTC battery, a leaking one can wreak havok on an A2000 board. I would say the PSU is quite possessed, there is one on eBay  right now that might be demon-free. BTW, the Buddha IDE is a great investment, beats my GVP combo ATM. Good luck, gotta love these machines of steel, they have a different allure then your typical A500.

[mchaggis]

The RTC has already been removed by the previous ghost.

[EdFlux]

But was is a Holy Ghost?  :angel:

[mchaggis]

Nope, he was just an old Scotsman.

[AmigaPixel]

I wouldn't rule out memory either, I had Workbench freezing problems until I replaced my memory. The odd part was I could keep working in what ever app I was using as long as i did not return to Workbench after 5 minutes of running the machine.  :-?  :-)

[CLS2086]

Same here too !
1st : replace all caps in PSU
2nd : replace all caps on the mobo
3rd : désoxydate all chips on supports.

[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.

[mchaggis]

Hi,

The 'new' DFO drive from Amigakit was with the machine when I bought it; hadn't been installed by the previous owner, but was definately new/unused. So not being the direct purchaser from AmigaKit, it's not really there problem.

Interestingly enough, the external 1011 works alot more reliably than either of the internal drives. Does this offer any more clues?

Yes I am interested in some v7 ROMs for the A2091, and am only using two A2091's to increase the amount of available RAM, i don't intend to run both cards with drives on them.

Your v7 ROM's will come in handy, as I'm using a SCSI-III 10GB drive; and the A2091 miss reported it's size, but the machine isn't stable enough at the moment to give it a thorough test.

The Buddha was on the shopping list, because it allows me to attach IDE devices, including a CF card to replace the machanical HDD. I use a CF in my A1200; it's a very nice solution.

[mchaggis]

I've had a closer look at one of the A2091's.

It uses the following two ROM chips:
- 3900722-02V6.6

So that doesn't explain why the 10GB drive was mis-reported; or *must* it be the v7 ROMS?

[mchaggis]

I'm just using standard PC floppy disks with the hole tapped up; this used to work fine ages ago?

[mchaggis]

The A2058 has no socketed RAM at all; only the board mounted stuff.

J1 and J2 are both closed.

[CLS2086]

Interestingly enough, the external 1011 works alot more reliably than either of the internal drives. Does this offer any more clues?

That's normal/
Older driver got true "DD" head which are "larger" and have a better trackability than "HD" ones.

[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