Amiga Maintenance

[Andrew]

As a proud owner of a standard Amiga 600 in pefect condition with an intact warranty seal :) :) I keep hearing about peoples amigas failing (power supplies, disk drives etc) has anyone got any tips on looking after your Amiga?

[Bloodwych]

Put it away in its box and don't use it!

Realistically that's the only way of stopping your Amiga failing.

I filled up the IBM 320Mb HD on my A1200 with loads of great software and then put it and a Microvitec monitor to rest.

In the meantime I'm using emulation to keep me going, and my true A1200 only when I feel overwhelmed by nostalgia.

The fact is the more hours you leave your computer on, the greater chance of mechanical failure from the drives.

However, the greater number times you turn your computer on and off, the more stress you exert on electrical components due to heat expansion and contraction.

Conclusion - don't use it! Or at least use it as little as possible.

[Paul]

Originally posted by Bloodwych
Put it away in its box and don't use it!

Thats what I thought, but my A600 still died.

It was working fine at the time, when I was finished using it I turned it off and put it away in the loft. 8 months later I wanted to use it, so plugged all cables in and connected power pack. When switching on power pack, nothing happened, it was dead:crying

[TikTok]

Personally I would just keep on using your Amiga as you have always done. Obviously you shouldn't treat it like shit, but I can't see much point in leaving it in a cupboard. If you do that, it may as well be broken for all the use it will be. Amigas are meant to be enjoyed IMHO. It might be slightly "risky" to use it, but hey, getting out of bed in the morning is risky. Its a trade off.

Imagine how you would feel if you took your Amiga out of the cupboard one day and it didn't work? You'd be gutted because you left your beloved machine to die a sad, lonely death, not knowing the feeling of having a disk in it's drive and somebody playing with it's joysticks :D.

[Bloodwych]

My only point was that you can't lessen the chance of your Amiga failing without using it less.

How many people do you know that treat stuff like sh*t but it still lasts longer than your pristine well looked after stuff? Loads I'm sure! :)

You can be sensible by adding dust covers, never drinking coffee over it, keeping it away from strong magnets, excessive temp extremes (like a loft paul!), small kids :) and vibration but when they go, they go.

And Paul excluded, they usually go while in use.


Admittedly, I've put my A1200 away for space reasons, and must confess I 'd probably still have it out if that weren’t the case. I simply love it too much and for the reasons TikTok said.

[Overdoc]

I would say do the following:

- Leave the Amiga at a place where temperatur doesn't change much if you don't use it. Better keep it in a room than put it in the cellar or loft.

- Clean off dust after you haven't used it for a long time.

- Don't touch any ports with your fingers.

- Remove old batteries from things like memoryexpansions before they start leaking.

- Buy some small cooling metals and put one on every chip, using temperature-conductive paste ( shit I don't know what that's called in English language )

- Don't put physicaly damaged disks or disks which have been spoiled with liquids into the drive, because they might make the heads dirty or even damage them.

- Also reseat socketed chips from time to time because with heat extraction and contraction they slowly work themselves out of their sockets and afterwards a small electrical flash could kill them if they are not socketed properly.


Ok, I think that's all which came to my mind, although I for myself don't do any maintainance on my A-500. I just use it about every week and when it dies I replace the dead chips - no problem as long as there are enough Amigas around :).
And if a drive failes then in most cases it is just not adjusted properly, which I can usually fix.

[Andrew]

Thanks for the help everyone.

[Haakon]

Bringing this up again since i was curious about how to maintainance my Amiga/C64. Will it die eventually???

Do you think it would be impossible to restore Amiga's f.ex 50 years from now on, when every known chip is dead? Is it unthinkable that some persons have found theirself a niche in the marked, and produced spareparts for both Amiga/C64 (for our sons and daughters with a very special hobby? :cool ).

Since i'am not a technichian i don't know how difficult producing these stuff would be. I guess it was hard in 1985, but maybe very easy in 2035...

Even today you find a lof of persons finding interest in collection old useless stuff. I think it will be prestige to own a real functional 1980-computer 50 years from now, and therefore some smart people start producing processors and chips for both the Spectrum, amiga, c64 etc.etc...and sell them for good prices to the entusiasts...

Am I way to optimistic here? :crazy

(don't say yes, i am thinking of expanding my hardware collection and would like to see it has a purpose in the future...)

[ant512]

Put it away in its box and don't use it!

Yikes, talk about bad advice. If you put an Amiga away and don't use it, the capacitors will eventually die - you have to regularly power it up to keep everything working properly.

As for the latest post, I'm sure people will eventually emulate the original hardware perfectly, either in software or hardware (see nearly-perfect Commodore 64 DTV stick). There will be no real reason to keep the old computers around.

[keropi]

I personally will keep using my amiga, until she dies. and if she dies, I'll buy another one... that's why I got it at first place: because emulation was not good enough for me... I was and still am a PC user. This is the 1st amiga I ever owned, and surely don't intend to keep it unused... nothing beats the real machine... as for my advice : Use a UPS or some other means of protecting the machine from electrical disturbances... and keep it clean...

[Haakon]

Is the C64 DTV Stick Emulating?

[Haakon]

I personally will keep using my amiga, until she dies. and if she dies, I'll buy another one... that's why I got it at first place: because emulation was not good enough for me... I was and still am a PC user. This is the 1st amiga I ever owned, and surely don't intend to keep it unused... nothing beats the real machine... as for my advice : Use a UPS or some other means of protecting the machine from electrical disturbances... and keep it clean...

And when there are no longer anymore Amiga's to buy? (which are still working)...

[DopPie]

Look; we shall all have to face it. Nothing lasts for ever.

- Put it away in a box and never use it;
The capicitors will die. So will all the transistors.
Plastic housed components are not perfectly air tight. Through time even the silicon will simply rust away.

- Keep using it and have fun;
If not already happened the machine will yellow and die because of wear.

Since the second option is most fun I would keep on using them machines while they are still around. At least you can still have some fun while the machine takes it's inevitable path to destruction.

And when there are no more around? That won't be anytime soon. But when the time comes you can use the , by then perfect, emulator or find yourself a new hobby. There is so much more to do :)

[wlcina]

yes, doppie is right capacitors will die very soon if are not used! Use Amiga as much as possible ;-)

[ant512]

Is the C64 DTV Stick Emulating?

It's a re-implementation of the original hardware on a single chip, with various quirks, inaccuracies and enhancements. Essentially, it is a hardware emulation.

[keropi]

And when there are no longer anymore Amiga's to buy? (which are still working)...

With that sense, what's the point of having a real amiga? it's the same as not having one, since you will be not using it in order to save it... for when?
Its like those miserable people that have milions of money, but are not spending it, they save it for god knows when, and eventually die because of the low quality life they live.....

[Haakon]

hehehe...good example...Nah, i still hoping for my theory. I'll use my Amiga(s) till the end, and hope someone in the future show up with necessary parts i can replace the old one's with...

[Bamiga2002]

I'll use my Amiga as long as it blows up :guru
I'm no fan of the Amiga-emulators, even if they are in well-programmed state...well, i might consider emulating when there's no Amiga's left anymore :crying

[keropi]

or perhaps someone builds a classic amiga alternative..... like with the c-one...

[Haakon]

yes, doppie is right capacitors will die very soon if are not used! Use Amiga as much as possible ;-)

Some has told me that the turn ON process is quite a hard process for the computers, and the most ideal would be (if that is possible) to have it turned ON the whole time. Any thoughts here?

[wlcina]

It is a hard process, if you have computer turned on, I recommends to have a climatized desktop (case) and temperature should be stable all the time. Also dust is a problem, when you computer is turned on, it work as dust magnet - so you need climatization with a very good dust filter ;-)

[Akira]

Yeah, I wouldnt risk my Amiga powered on all the time. I rather turn it on and off seldom than doing this. However if you are going to use it every day, it's best to leave it on. Otherwise it isn't.

[lloyd]

Never, have I seen silicon rust. Steel and iron, yes - but never silicon. Electrolytic capacitors do need regular charging to re-fprm the insulating layer between the plates yes, but silicon is extremely stable especially when the silicon part (the wafer or chip) is hermetically sealed inside a cast resin block.

Besides wear and tear, the major destructive force for anything electronic is static electricity. So if you don't "zap" your Miggy, she'll probably work properly for years.

Maybe now is a good time to buy up Amigas on Ebay so that you can be sure of a good source of spare parts. Call me a sad bastard if you like, but I've got at least 25 Sinclair ZX Spectrums here in various states of repair - just for spare parts etc. I know for certain that, should I live another 50 years, I will still have a working Spectrum - so long as we don't have a nuclear war of course...... :)

[TheAmigaMan]

As a proud owner of a standard Amiga 600 in pefect condition with an intact warranty seal :) :) I keep hearing about peoples amigas failing (power supplies, disk drives etc) has anyone got any tips on looking after your Amiga?

If you buy a high quality Amiga to begin with, it should last you for at least 20 to 30 years of good use. The lower quality Amiga computers will not last as long. Also keep this in mind, "Thru-Hole" motherboards last much longer and are higher quality then "SMT" motherboards. If you want to keep and actually use your real Amiga computer for the next 30+ years, my advice to you, is to stock up on spare parts. That's what I did. I have a whole huge closet full of spare parts, drives, keyboards, mice, chips, etc. for my Amiga computers. I also have at least 2 of each Amiga model, one to use and one stored away as a backup. :D

[Haakon]

Well, a 1987-amiga is close to being 20 years. I would actually guess a lot longer, if you are good at doing some maintainance. My A500 has gotten a rough treatment the last 8-10 years, beeing transfered a lot from cold to warm rooms and was even stored about 5 years in a house with no electricity. Never turned on those years. The temperature inside the room was probably below zero at the winter, and +20 degrees at the summer.

But it still works like a dream :)

[TheAmigaMan]

Well, a 1987-amiga is close to being 20 years. I would actually guess a lot longer, if you are good at doing some maintainance. My A500 has gotten a rough treatment the last 8-10 years, beeing transfered a lot from cold to warm rooms and was even stored about 5 years in a house with no electricity. Never turned on those years. The temperature inside the room was probably below zero at the winter, and +20 degrees at the summer.

But it still works like a dream :)

That is because the Amiga 500 has the higher quality "Thru-Hole" motherboard. ;)

[ant512]

That is because the Amiga 500 has the higher quality "Thru-Hole" motherboard. ;)

You are DoomMaster, and I claim my five pounds.

[TheAmigaMan]

You are DoomMaster, and I claim my five pounds.

Who the heck is this DoomMaster that everyone keeps talking about?! :shocked

[DopPie]

Wasn't paying attention to this thread but more about, what I called, silicon rusting.

True silicon does not rust. My beetle rusts as it is it's primairy occupation.

However I was told silicon in plastic housing is able to oxidize (did I spell that correctly) or something. At least it can react to air reaching the silicon. Problems can occur when electricity goes through paths that are slightly damaged. The current wears the path out while it goes throug it and in time it will give. You can compare it to bad wiring. The wire suddenly gives. So can the (rusted/oxidized/dameged by air) silicon.

Anyway that is what they (IC designers) told me. I have never seen an oxidized IC under my microscope. I have seen ESD damaged IC's. Spectacular damages (in a microscopic perspective). Anyway ceramic housings seem to be better for durability.

This is what I know about it. When I have some unidentified tasks to do at work I will look into this some more because I'm sure this silicon oxidizing thing was told to me so I better check if its for real.

Any IC expers on this board (not including any doommaster alter ego) that know something about this?

[bippym]

Who the heck is this DoomMaster that everyone keeps talking about?! :shocked

You really are a sad, sad, individual!

Every account you have created we know about you fool !!!!

Jeesh!!

Anyway silence is golden so please be quiet :)

[Haakon]

To keep the topic a bit more on track:

Anyone got any tips on how you can get a severed yellowed A500 getting its old colours back?

[Sune Salminen]

Sit next to it and smoke unlit cigarettes for 15 years?

[Akira]

Who the heck is this DoomMaster that everyone keeps talking about?! :shocked
I will have my own Amiga site up soon[...] It will be hosted by the famous DoomMaster himself.[...]BYE EVERYONE. :D
Reference: http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=183329&postcount=15

Please:
GO AWAY. GET A LIFE. YOU NEED PSYCHOLOGICAL HELP. YOU SAD SICK FUCK-O. STOP RUBBING YOUR LAME AMIGA FIVE HUNDRED AGAINST YOUR BALLS AND LOCK YOURSELF UP IN A LONEY BIN BECAUSE YOU NEED IT.

[Haakon]

he-he-he...guess this topic is meaningless. Care to inform us newbies about the doommaster/the amigaman?

[Akira]

he's just one of the most pathetic trolls the Internet has ever seen.

[manicx]

Well, just to return to the topic, all you can do is use your Amiga as much as you can and find a good engineer in case you have problems. If you have a problem, just go there and ask to fix it. If the Amiga board is dead because a custom chip broke. Buy a new mobo, refurbish and use.

[Fenrir]

My Amiga 500 1.2 has been treated like a nightmare since 1988, when I bought it. The eject spring failed after 5-6 years and I kept ejecting the disks pressing the failed button to lift the disk and using a pencil to take them out.
I brought it around my friends' houses, and even abroad. It's been below zero more than one time (here it's impossibile to keep mobile things frost-free - something always happen sooner or later ;P like the warming failing or carrying it from a house to another.
It's yellow, but it still WORKS like a dream even today, when I use it to play games that don't work on my A4000.

The secret is probably to never really take it away. Don't spill anything on it, and clean the innards with a small vacuum once in a while to remore ash, dust, hair, skin scabs and so on. Avoid power failures while on, and play it once in a while and I'm sure it won't die for a long time.

Haakon, for the yellow-ish things... you can use wood polish spray and a soft cotton tissue. I use it and it's nearly white. Ok not white like when I bought it - that kind of yellowing can't be avoided - but the stark yellow can be cleaned a bit.

Good luck!

[MarlboroMan]

I think its a good idea to dismount the amiga from time to time and put all plastic parts in a bucket full of water with some household cleaning agent. You have to remove every single key from the keyboard which will take quite some time. Ive read somewhere that some kind of whitener could be added to the water but i never tried it (dunno if the keys are blank afterwards o_O)

I also dismount the shielding plate and the mainboard and clean it with the vacuum cleaner (be carefull not to scratch it, best thing is to use the brushes that come with the vacuum cleaner).

I do this no more than once a year (maybe if youre smoking you should do it more often).

[DopPie]

I tried a heap of things to get my amiga white again. No cure. I simply bought a "new" one from vesalia and keep it clear from any sunlight. As for my yellow amiga; I aquired an new keyboard and I guess I shall have to paint the case white.

If anybody find a chemical to turn the Amiga white again (without it melting or getting brittle) I'm all ears.

[Fenrir]

I don't think it's possible, that kind of yellow does penetrate inside the plastic and I think it's the plastic that is... like.. "oxydizing" just because of the air around it.
Anyway I like that yellow colour, it says "I'm old and I still freakin' rox". If it were to turn milk-white again.. I don't know if I'd like it.

[MarlboroMan]

The fact that the plastic is turning yellow even if you dont smoke, says clearly that they used a cheap plastic.

Im a screenprinter and at work were printing mainly on 2 plastics: PVC and polystyrene. Polystyrene is the cheaper one which will trun yellow just from the sun whereas PVC stays white much longer. (And you can clean PVC with solvents, if you try to clean polystyrene with it, it will melt as the amiga case does).

But i dont think you can blame commodore for using cheap plastics: Nearly all PCs and consoles are made of polystyrene or similar.

So apparently the only thing you can do is not to smoke and keep your amiga away from the sun, but it WILL turn yellow sooner or later. :(

[DopPie]

Will turn yellow sooner or later? Perhaps. But you come about white commodore build A1200's once in awhile. So keeping them out of sunlight seems to help conservation quite a bit. I missed out on a great deal last week. Bright white '92 commodore build A1200. Had been sitting in a box for over 10 years and no yellowing. That means sun would be the mayor factor, followed by use ofcourse. But air? Really? I sure hope not. I think yellow amiga's look filthy. BTW My A600 has seen some sunlight and is just slightly yellowed. I wonder how much hours sun are needed to really see the effects.

[MarlboroMan]

Yeah youre right with the sun or to be more precise its UV radiation. The air itself wont turn it yellow, but i *guess* any lightsource contains *minor* parts of UV light, so it *might* turn yellow just from the lamp in your room (but reeaaallllyyyyyyy slow ofcourse). But thats splitting hairs. Before it will turn yellow from your lamp it will go boom in any other way.

[DopPie]

Turning yellow from the lamp will be OK I guess. Since it goes so slow I'll be old before that machine reaches filthy stages.

Anyway keep on looking for that killer chemical (oops FBI logged this message now) to turn the machine (including keys) white again.

[MarlboroMan]

What if you put some kind of uv blocking and dirt resisting clear-lacquer on a brand new white amiga? Dunno if such a lacquer exists but if it does, it wouldnt get yellow that fast.

[DopPie]

I know there is some sort of plastics-polish around that adds anti static. It is meant for outdoor plastics. I'm gonna try that on my super yellow A1200. Wont be good for the keys I think. Í will probably polish off the letter print. And if the yellowing is too deep I think this will not work at all :(

[Fenrir]

when plastics oxydize there's not much to do I think. It's like wood turning brown, or leather getting stained :d