Amiga 4000 Cybervision 64/3D - UNSTABLE

[Pietro75]

Hi, I really need some good advices...

I installed a Cybervsion 64/3D in my Amiga 4000 and the card displays an 800x600 WB with no problem.

The issue is the overall instabitity of my system.

Very often I get random crashes, particularly when dragging windows or swapping from a windows to another.

Recently I noticed that sometimes when I type some characters, the Amiga displays some at random, different from the ones I typed.

When I boot from a disk to play a game I usually have no problems at all and the system is very stable...

I think I have both an issue with the exact configuration of my Cybervision and also with some hardware (I think the capacitorsSS) that are starting to wear off...

Sorry for my English.

Any advice would be very appreciated as I really want to preserve my wonderful machine.

[paul1981]

Hi, I really need some good advices...

I installed a Cybervsion 64/3D in my Amiga 4000 and the card displays an 800x600 WB with no problem.

The issue is the overall instabitity of my system.

Very often I get random crashes, particularly when dragging windows or swapping from a windows to another.

Recently I noticed that sometimes when I type some characters, the Amiga displays some at random, different from the ones I typed.

When I boot from a disk to play a game I usually have no problems at all and the system is very stable...

I think I have both an issue with the exact configuration of my Cybervision and also with some hardware (I think the capacitorsSS) that are starting to wear off...

Sorry for my English.

Any advice would be very appreciated as I really want to preserve my wonderful machine.

Did your problems arise AFTER installing the Cybervision then? Whereby your system was perfectly stable and correctly functioning before hand?

[Pietro75]

Thank you very much for your answer.
 
 The problem of the random characters has started only lately and I think it is hardware-related (something is starting to wear off).
 
 For the Cybervision 64/3d, yes, the system is unstable when I installed the card.
 
 But it's a kind of strange, it crashes when dragging windows, swapping...

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

What version of Workbench do you have installed, what version of Cybergrafix, have you cleaned and reseated everything, pressed down on any socketed chips,  removed any patchs or hacks that could be interfering, could it be heat related, have you flipped your fan around to the right way (so that it's pulling air out of the case - a common problem with 4000's is that they're installed backwards), how's the condition of your caps and battery, etc. etc.

Honestly it sounds like a bad memory chip on the card, to me, but the above list is just a few of the things you could start by checking. Good luck!

[paul1981]

Thank you very much for your answer.
 
 The problem of the random characters has started only lately and I think it is hardware-related (something is starting to wear off).
 
 For the Cybervision 64/3d, yes, the system is unstable when I installed the card.
 
 But it's a kind of strange, it crashes when dragging windows, swapping...

Regarding the strange characters, you ought to really cold boot your system with your Workbench boot floppy and check again to see if the characters act strange at all. If there's no problem then it points to a software issue on your hard disk or possibly even a virus (you should use VirusZ to check (available on aminet). Of course, it could be hardware too. If you suspect hardware then it really would be a good idea to strip the machine down to stock and see how it functions.

[paul1981]

Here are the files required for a full installation of VirusZ. You'll have to download the CPU specific binaries for your CPU as it comes in different flavours for efficiency (although the 68000 version should work on any 680xx CPU):
 

[dschallock]

Hi, I really need some good advices...
Recently I noticed that sometimes when I type some characters, the Amiga displays some at random, different from the ones I typed.

Do the strange characters only happen after the system has been on for a while (and heated up) or right from the start?

[Pietro75]

Do the strange characters only happen after the system has been on for a while (and heated up) or right from the start?

Right from the start the situation is very bad i.e. many random characters, but after 15-20 minutes on it gets better, but still some random characters, this is the reason why I think it might be hardware-related.
 
 The CPU gets very very hot, and I decided to leave the case opened. Do you think the situation would improve by adding a CPU fan?

[guest11527]

Right from the start the situation is very bad i.e. many random characters, but after 15-20 minutes on it gets better, but still some random characters, this is the reason why I think it might be hardware-related.

This is most likely hardware related, but without checking the hardware, it will be hard to analyze as there could be a couple of reasons for the problems you observed.

If characters flip, then this indicates that something is wrong with the communication with the RAM, i.e. some bits flip while either reading from RAM or while writing data to the RAM.

So that could either be a problem with the RAM, or it could be a problem with the bus drives, or a problem of the CPU, or a problem with the power supply.

If I had to guess, I would probably believe the latter is the most likely reason because chips only age slowly, whereas the power supply is under permanent stress given the amount of current it has to supply. The capacitors in it age more quickly than the rest of the board.

 The CPU gets very very hot, and I decided to leave the case opened. Do you think the situation would improve by adding a CPU fan?

It might. So if you like, add the fan, try again. But don't be disappointed if it does not. There are several things you may need to try.

[Pietro75]

Little update....

The character issue seems to have been solved by pressing all the chips in their sockets.

I also tried to disconnect the Cybervision and never had a single crash, so it really seems that it is causing the problem.

I think it has to do with its configuration because the crashes usually happen while dragging or swapping windows.

Any idea?

Jumpers?

[matt3k]

It has been many years since I played with cyber vision, but I remember having many issues with older versions make sure you patch to the latest version.