Is this actually possible?

Dastardly · 20 August 2002, 23:36

Not long after I purchased my first A500 I was going through my latest batch of copied games when I inserted a game called SPY Vs SPY. To my horror, after loading said game my beloved new machine died stone cold dead!

I had to return it to the shop I bought it from and they kindly gave me a nice new replacement.
What I wanna know is...Could a game actually physically do this?, or is it just something that would have happened anyway? I had always thought that software couldnt physically damage a machine as its just code.

I never copied THAT game again

th4t1guy · 21 August 2002, 00:44

As far as I know, the only hardware a virus is capable of destroying are monitors and cpus (if overclocking is done through software). The can corrupt flash roms, but they can be reprogrammed with the right equipment.

Overdoc · 21 August 2002, 00:44

Well, apart from doing wild headmovements with the diskdrive that yould kill it, it is IMPOSIBLE to damage Amiga hardware just by software.
That must have been coincidence !

But there indeed was some Commodore PET computers of the first series that could be killed by storing a special value in a certain memory position.
This design bug made computer-history as the so called 'Killer-Poke'.

Drake1009 · 21 August 2002, 01:01

@th4t1guy
Might be reprogrammable with hardware, but it's almost cheaper buying a new board than getting the hardware to reprogram.

Dastardly · 21 August 2002, 01:06

Many women have told me that I gave them a 'Killer-poke' :hoo

th4t1guy · 21 August 2002, 02:15

Quote:

Might be reprogrammable with hardware, but it's almost cheaper buying a new board than getting the hardware to reprogram.

That's absolutely true with flash rom used as a bios. However, flash rom used for data storage on the other hand, can be a completely different story. For example, the cd32 has a flash rom which can be accessed through workbench (using the right programs), and is not required for boot (as far as I know anyways).

Amiga1992 · 21 August 2002, 04:55

I know the PET hada killer poke for tape drives, but not for the computer...

If you turned on and off the drive very fast, it would CATCH FLAMES! This was discussed in another thread

Anyway, I think that was a helluva coincidence... or living proof that piracy does not pay

20 August 2002, 23:36	#1
Dastardly Into the Wonderful Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: England Age: 49 Posts: 2,335	Is this actually possible? Not long after I purchased my first A500 I was going through my latest batch of copied games when I inserted a game called SPY Vs SPY. To my horror, after loading said game my beloved new machine died stone cold dead! I had to return it to the shop I bought it from and they kindly gave me a nice new replacement. What I wanna know is...Could a game actually physically do this?, or is it just something that would have happened anyway? I had always thought that software couldnt physically damage a machine as its just code. I never copied THAT game again

21 August 2002, 00:44	#2
th4t1guy Registered User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Kansas City, MO, USA Posts: 683	As far as I know, the only hardware a virus is capable of destroying are monitors and cpus (if overclocking is done through software). The can corrupt flash roms, but they can be reprogrammed with the right equipment.

21 August 2002, 00:44	#3
Overdoc Commodore Collector Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Austria Age: 53 Posts: 944	Well, apart from doing wild headmovements with the diskdrive that yould kill it, it is IMPOSIBLE to damage Amiga hardware just by software. That must have been coincidence ! But there indeed was some Commodore PET computers of the first series that could be killed by storing a special value in a certain memory position. This design bug made computer-history as the so called 'Killer-Poke'.

21 August 2002, 01:01	#4
Drake1009 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Denmark Posts: 2,284	@th4t1guy Might be reprogrammable with hardware, but it's almost cheaper buying a new board than getting the hardware to reprogram.

21 August 2002, 01:06	#5
Dastardly Into the Wonderful Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: England Age: 49 Posts: 2,335	Many women have told me that I gave them a 'Killer-poke' :hoo

21 August 2002, 04:55	#7
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,645	I know the PET hada killer poke for tape drives, but not for the computer... If you turned on and off the drive very fast, it would CATCH FLAMES! This was discussed in another thread Anyway, I think that was a helluva coincidence... or living proof that piracy does not pay

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