A601 1/2 meg expansion question. - Page 4

squidbass · 05 April 2010, 09:42

Hi Zetro - with the A601 disconnected I ge the 1Mb Chip ram....with it connected I get ~1.5Mb according to showconfig...

squidbass

FOL · 05 April 2010, 12:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by squidbass

Hi Zetro - with the A601 disconnected I ge the 1Mb Chip ram....with it connected I get ~1.5Mb according to showconfig...

squidbass

You got a HDD connected?

I fell into the trap of forgetting about HDD buffers and that was zapping rest of memory.

Jope · 05 April 2010, 13:33

Showconfig will show the actual size of that block of memory, no matter if some of it has been allocated.

squidbass · 05 April 2010, 14:09

I have got a 2Gb cf card in there but I'm sure showconfig is right...

squidbass · 05 April 2010, 15:50

Here's a pic of this rev 2.0 A601 anyway....

Zetr0 · 05 April 2010, 16:10

I cannot see any obvious faults.

Although I think one of those chips has been replaced, its a little off-line... just a little (me and my OCD i tell ya lol)

I would be inclinded to get the hot air out - de-solder both chips and put some new ones on, see if that cures the problem.

squidbass · 05 April 2010, 16:15

I would if I had a hot air station :-( But the two RAM chips do look slightly off centre and there are a few marks that suggest they may have been replaced at some point...also there's a spot where a resistor looks like it's been removed (just to the bottom left of the jumpers)

squid

Zetr0 · 05 April 2010, 19:15

In regards to the restistor, I noticed this too, however after checking BBoAH i dont think its anything that one needs to worry about.

I would offer to help chap, but my plate it full at the moment, if you still have this issue in a couple of weeks then I might be able to help replace those chips for you.

Before any of that though, one must quadruple check the obvious, like the connector, if the Chip(s) or components have a solder fault etc.

squidbass · 05 April 2010, 19:57

Yes I shall check the A600 side a bit more thoroughly tomorrow...thanks for the offer btw...i'm hopefully in line for your 8mb card (somewhere near the back arf!)...seriously though thanks for the offer but I know your time is valuable...

squid

Charlie · 05 April 2010, 19:59

Hi squidbass,
Just a thought. My 'hot air station' is a baking tin + a craft embossing hot air gun 'borrowed' from my wife.

For small components it works well enough - I've reworked some simms and replaced a few surface-mount CPU's with sockets using one. Cheep, too.

squidbass · 05 April 2010, 20:04

Hi Charlie - that's a neat idea - I suppose I should investigate buying one of ebay...

squidbass

rkauer · 05 April 2010, 20:50

Nah, real men uses paint strippers to make electronics.

Merlin · 05 April 2010, 23:22

Rkauer's right - Black & Decker paint stripper guns FTW!!

Zetr0 · 05 April 2010, 23:29

LOL,

Hot air is hot air, as long as you can control it, all is good.

Practice is what it takes, so if you do go down this route pratice on some dead PC mobo's, I would also suggest you buy some FLUX,

for removing (hot-air rework) I use Copperlite Plumbers flux from Wilkinsons, its a paste flux and can take a lot of heat (most liquid fluxes vaporise before you get enough heat on it)- just remember to clean the board VERY WELL before continuing.

for soldering components I would recommend a good 0.022 pitch silver bearing solder and a good variable soldering iron set too about 320c

laydown some good quality liquid no-clean flux and then just tack on the IC's.

once tacked just heat the pad and leg and just touch the solder to the leg, flux and capiliart action will do the rest.. again... practice practice and more practice =)

with a little practice each day one can get very good VERY quickly.

heres a recent Minimig repair job I done recently (pitich is smaller but essentially the same thing)

Before

After

FOL · 05 April 2010, 23:46

LOL!!!!
Nice, lets break out the wifes hairdryers,

.

john1979 · 14 February 2013, 18:57

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but this is the only one about this problem!

I also recently acquired an A601 off everybodies favourite ebay seller

And workbench is only reporting 1.5mb available.

I've tried the jumpers in every configuration possible, but avail and showconfig always report 1.5mb installed.

I'd like to open this thing up so I can take a picture for you guys but the thing seems sealed shut with solder on all the tabs. What's a good way to get it open? I don't have any special soldering tools, just cheap old hand iron.

john1979 · 14 February 2013, 19:40

Right managed to get it open with the soldering iron while gently levering. Eventually the tabs popped. I took a couple of hi-res photos.

http://www.primebrand.co.uk/IMG_0958.JPG

http://www.primebrand.co.uk/IMG_0959.JPG

Any ideas what the problem could be?

cpiac64 · 14 February 2013, 20:55

test with sysinfo or floppy with wb, more utility use much ram

kipper2k · 14 February 2013, 21:03

the jumpers on BBOAH show different locations for this card...

http://www.bboah.com/index.php?actio...highlight=a601

try setting them the same as the one in the link

john1979 · 14 February 2013, 21:17

Thanks kipper, still no joy. I spent half an hour trying all the possible configurations, including no jumpers at all.

@cpiac64
I'm using classic wb2.1 green alien edition. It has sysinfo which always reports 1.5mb in the memory section. I've also booted from a WB disk and the situation is the same.

Could be a failed RAM chip then?

05 April 2010, 15:50	#65
squidbass Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Southport The Last Resort Posts: 202	Here's a pic of this rev 2.0 A601 anyway.... Attached Thumbnails

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05 April 2010, 09:42	#61
squidbass Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Southport The Last Resort Posts: 202	Hi Zetro - with the A601 disconnected I ge the 1Mb Chip ram....with it connected I get ~1.5Mb according to showconfig... squidbass

05 April 2010, 13:33	#63
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,880	Showconfig will show the actual size of that block of memory, no matter if some of it has been allocated.

05 April 2010, 14:09	#64
squidbass Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Southport The Last Resort Posts: 202	I have got a 2Gb cf card in there but I'm sure showconfig is right...

05 April 2010, 16:10	#66
Zetr0 Ya' like it Retr0? Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 49 Posts: 9,768	I cannot see any obvious faults. Although I think one of those chips has been replaced, its a little off-line... just a little (me and my OCD i tell ya lol) I would be inclinded to get the hot air out - de-solder both chips and put some new ones on, see if that cures the problem.

05 April 2010, 16:15	#67
squidbass Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Southport The Last Resort Posts: 202	I would if I had a hot air station :-( But the two RAM chips do look slightly off centre and there are a few marks that suggest they may have been replaced at some point...also there's a spot where a resistor looks like it's been removed (just to the bottom left of the jumpers) squid

05 April 2010, 19:15	#68
Zetr0 Ya' like it Retr0? Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 49 Posts: 9,768	In regards to the restistor, I noticed this too, however after checking BBoAH i dont think its anything that one needs to worry about. I would offer to help chap, but my plate it full at the moment, if you still have this issue in a couple of weeks then I might be able to help replace those chips for you. Before any of that though, one must quadruple check the obvious, like the connector, if the Chip(s) or components have a solder fault etc.

05 April 2010, 19:57	#69
squidbass Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Southport The Last Resort Posts: 202	Yes I shall check the A600 side a bit more thoroughly tomorrow...thanks for the offer btw...i'm hopefully in line for your 8mb card (somewhere near the back arf!)...seriously though thanks for the offer but I know your time is valuable... squid

05 April 2010, 19:59	#70
Charlie . . Mouse . . Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Nowhere Age: 55 Posts: 1,792	Hi squidbass, Just a thought. My 'hot air station' is a baking tin + a craft embossing hot air gun 'borrowed' from my wife. For small components it works well enough - I've reworked some simms and replaced a few surface-mount CPU's with sockets using one. Cheep, too.

05 April 2010, 20:04	#71
squidbass Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Southport The Last Resort Posts: 202	Hi Charlie - that's a neat idea - I suppose I should investigate buying one of ebay... squidbass

05 April 2010, 20:50	#72
rkauer I hate potatos and shirts Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Sao Leopoldo / Brazil Age: 58 Posts: 3,482	Nah, real men uses paint strippers to make electronics.

05 April 2010, 23:22	#73
Merlin AmiBay MegaMod Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Manchester, UK Age: 62 Posts: 1,163	Rkauer's right - Black & Decker paint stripper guns FTW!!

05 April 2010, 23:29	#74
Zetr0 Ya' like it Retr0? Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 49 Posts: 9,768	LOL, Hot air is hot air, as long as you can control it, all is good. Practice is what it takes, so if you do go down this route pratice on some dead PC mobo's, I would also suggest you buy some FLUX, for removing (hot-air rework) I use Copperlite Plumbers flux from Wilkinsons, its a paste flux and can take a lot of heat (most liquid fluxes vaporise before you get enough heat on it)- just remember to clean the board VERY WELL before continuing. for soldering components I would recommend a good 0.022 pitch silver bearing solder and a good variable soldering iron set too about 320c laydown some good quality liquid no-clean flux and then just tack on the IC's. once tacked just heat the pad and leg and just touch the solder to the leg, flux and capiliart action will do the rest.. again... practice practice and more practice =) with a little practice each day one can get very good VERY quickly. heres a recent Minimig repair job I done recently (pitich is smaller but essentially the same thing) Before After

05 April 2010, 23:46	#75
FOL PSPUAE DEV Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Wales / UK Age: 45 Posts: 6,023	LOL!!!! Nice, lets break out the wifes hairdryers, .

14 February 2013, 18:57	#76
john1979 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: UK Age: 44 Posts: 748	Sorry to resurrect an old thread but this is the only one about this problem! I also recently acquired an A601 off everybodies favourite ebay seller And workbench is only reporting 1.5mb available. I've tried the jumpers in every configuration possible, but avail and showconfig always report 1.5mb installed. I'd like to open this thing up so I can take a picture for you guys but the thing seems sealed shut with solder on all the tabs. What's a good way to get it open? I don't have any special soldering tools, just cheap old hand iron.

14 February 2013, 19:40	#77
john1979 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: UK Age: 44 Posts: 748	Right managed to get it open with the soldering iron while gently levering. Eventually the tabs popped. I took a couple of hi-res photos. http://www.primebrand.co.uk/IMG_0958.JPG http://www.primebrand.co.uk/IMG_0959.JPG Any ideas what the problem could be?

14 February 2013, 20:55	#78
cpiac64 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Italy Posts: 1,136	test with sysinfo or floppy with wb, more utility use much ram

14 February 2013, 21:03	#79
kipper2k Registered User Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Thunder Bay, Canada Posts: 4,323	the jumpers on BBOAH show different locations for this card... http://www.bboah.com/index.php?actio...highlight=a601 try setting them the same as the one in the link

14 February 2013, 21:17	#80
john1979 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: UK Age: 44 Posts: 748	Thanks kipper, still no joy. I spent half an hour trying all the possible configurations, including no jumpers at all. @cpiac64 I'm using classic wb2.1 green alien edition. It has sysinfo which always reports 1.5mb in the memory section. I've also booted from a WB disk and the situation is the same. Could be a failed RAM chip then?

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