Amiga 4000 dead??

Adam · 01 November 2009, 17:37

..

cosmicfrog · 01 November 2009, 17:52

how are you conecting the 4000 to a monitor ?
dose machine have HD with workbench on ?

natively amiga won`t drive a svga monitor without extras

edit ok just checked what a EZVGA is, humm should work with svga monitor
http://bboah.amiga-resistance.info/c...cgi?HARDID=355

reseat all chips check for battery damage, green stuff, wait till some1 with better knowlage posts heheheh

Adam · 01 November 2009, 18:27

Hi, thanks for the reply!!

I have found some motherboard pictures on the net, and it seems that where the battery should be is an empty space, with just a few traces of metal.
The motherboard is all very dusty and fluffy. When I got the machine it was sat in a room without a cover. What do I need connected for it to boot? There is a hard disk attached, and there is a floppy disk drive in a metal cradle thingy, but that doesn't seem to be connected

alexh · 01 November 2009, 19:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam

it seems that where the battery should be is an empty space

That sounds like very good news. It means that the previous owner has removed the battery which can leak and destroy the motherboard. Thing is did they remove it before it was too late?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam

The motherboard is all very dusty and fluffy. When I got the machine it was sat in a room without a cover.

Just buy a can of "Air Duster" from an electronics store like Maplins. Should cost under £5 and you wont use all of it. It will be clean in no time at all and no chance of breaking anything as you might do if you used a cloth.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam

What do I need connected for it to boot?

The PSU (power supply), a 2Mbyte SIMM in the CHIP RAM slot , the daughter (Zorro riser) card, CPU card (A3630 or A3640 usually), 2*Kickstart ROMs, several jumpers in the correct positions.

Take a photo of it with the motherboard exposed, high resolution macro, in focus and we can tell you if any chips are missing, if any jumpers are in the wrong position etc.

You do not need to connect a floppy disk drive or hard drive. If you wait a few moments (under a minute) the screen should display the boot screen.

I imagine that something is missing / has been removed and not replaced correctly.

Adam · 03 November 2009, 08:29

Thanks alexh that is really helpful. Been busy with work to sort out a photo, but will get some air duster on the way home tonight and see if I can get it to boot. I guess I can then upload a photo here?

How will I know if the old battery had leaked? Is it fixable if it has?

alexh · 03 November 2009, 09:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam

I guess I can then upload a photo here?

Or upload to http://imageshack.us and embed a link using the [ IMG ] [ /IMG ] tags

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam

How will I know if the old battery had leaked? Is it fixable if it has?

A green rust over the legs of all the chips, flaking motherboard lacquer etc. but the signs are not indicative of a failure due to batter leakage. My board is a bit rusty but works fine.

You should also look for capacitor leakage in the audio circuits, search this forum for details on this, several guides exist for diagnosing and replacing.

Adam · 03 November 2009, 21:16

Thanks for your help. Here are some pics - quality not great I'm afraid

alexh · 04 November 2009, 00:21

Where?

prowler · 04 November 2009, 00:32

Adam, you've linked to the pages instead of the images!

I'll see if I can link to them here...

Here we go!

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/2548/dscf1141.jpg

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/3367/dscf1137n.jpg

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/1395/dscf1139o.jpg

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/5079/dscf1140p.jpg

rkauer · 04 November 2009, 01:54

That's one of the worst A4000 motherboard I saw in years!

Pretty much all electrolytic capacitors had leaked over the board, including those in the A3640, which is one of the units with reversed capacitors.

Also the battery was leaked over and corroded away tracks in RTC and FAST memory SIMM holders.

I saw just one board with battery damage worst than this, and it is mine now. Mine is gave to me by a guy who try to repair it and render the traces pretty much vanished away by improper ways of eliminating corrosion.

All you can do about it now is send it to Amiga Repair Centre in France or to Antony Hoffmann in New Zealand.

Or clean the accelerator and motherboard in a dishwasher (in ecological wash cycle with pure water only), let it dry in a cupboard for a week and then replace the capacitors on the A3640.

The motherboard (with a lot of faith) can be fixed by one of those Amiga gurus. Pray for this come true!

Otherwise you need to start searching for a motherboard replacement and just fix the accelerator.Amibay is a good place to start!

Graham Humphrey · 04 November 2009, 07:54

And now the images could do with resizing since they're far too big

alexh · 04 November 2009, 09:18

It does look pretty bad, but the layer of grime and dust is making it difficult to see just how bad it is. Need to take another look when you've cleaned it.

You've been given some good advice though.

Adam · 04 November 2009, 09:41

Oh, thanks for everyone's advice, and sorry for the images. I do everything at 100 miles per hour in the week as am busy with work.

It sounds as if I have no hope? This place in France, where is it - I go to France quite a lot and speak a bit of French so may be able to stop there on my next visit. That's assuming it is worth it economically. I quite like the idea of getting an A4000 working, but obviously if it is going to cost a fortune to get it repaired it may not be worth it.

Oh, I don't have a dishwasher. I wash dishes the 'old-fashioned way'.

alexh · 04 November 2009, 09:43

Try the Air Duster first if the grime is not stuck on.

http://www.amigacenter.com/Homer.html
BOULET JEAN-JACQUES
12 RUE DE LA BERGERIE
LES VERGERS BAT A1
71490 COUCHES
FRANCE

As for "no hope" do not bin it. Someone on the forum with more time and experience would buy it with the intention of repairing it.

Jope · 04 November 2009, 09:48

You can contact me, if you're looking for a new home for the A4000.

rkauer · 04 November 2009, 19:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam

It sounds as if I have no hope? This place in France, where is it - I go to France quite a lot and speak a bit of French so may be able to stop there on my next visit. That's assuming it is worth it economically. I quite like the idea of getting an A4000 working, but obviously if it is going to cost a fortune to get it repaired it may not be worth it.

The Centre is near Paris, BTW. Not a fortune, but top service like the guy do is not cheap. Will not cost more than a replacement 4000 board without shipment if you deliver and grab the board yourself

Quote:

Oh, I don't have a dishwasher. I wash dishes the 'old-fashioned way'.

Plain water and a soft scrub can clean the motherboard.

If the capacitor leakage don't go away with plain water then try some detergent, but then you need lots of water to remove any remaining residue of soap.

After that you need to use plain isopropyl alcohol to remove all the remaining residues and neutralize the acid and base chemicals, then leave the boards dry in a vented cupboard for at least half a week before start to replacing the capacitors.

But for the pictures the battery area is badly corroded and you certainly need SMD chips replaced, traces remade and maybe even traces underneath the SIMM sockets.

cosmicfrog · 05 November 2009, 11:11

wow that some dirty pw0n you`ve got there

theres always hope

Adam · 06 November 2009, 08:59

Thanks for the advice. I will try giving it a clean with the air duster at the weekend.

I will consider taking the motherboard to that guy next time I'm in France, as he is not too far from where my parents live. Unfortunately I have neither the time or the knowledge or patience to go about stripping the motherboard and replacing capacitors.

In the meantime, if I did want to look for a replacement (I am still not sure if I want to get bitten by the bug of collecting old Amiga hardware!) is there anything specific I should look for? I was reading in my lunchbreak yesterday about different types of motherboard on that amiga-hardware site. For example, is there anything bad about the A4000-CR model??

alexh · 06 November 2009, 10:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam

For example, is there anything bad about the A4000-CR model??

They are rare and can cost upto 1.5x the price of an A4000 RevB

01 November 2009, 17:37	#1
Adam Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Maidstone, England Age: 45 Posts: 12	Amiga 4000 dead?? .. Last edited by Adam; 02 May 2011 at 10:52. Reason: Resolved

03 November 2009, 21:16	#7
Adam Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Maidstone, England Age: 45 Posts: 12	Images Thanks for your help. Here are some pics - quality not great I'm afraid

04 November 2009, 00:32	#9
prowler Global Moderator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sidcup, England Posts: 10,300	Adam, you've linked to the pages instead of the images! I'll see if I can link to them here... Here we go! http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/2548/dscf1141.jpg http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/3367/dscf1137n.jpg http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/1395/dscf1139o.jpg http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/5079/dscf1140p.jpg Last edited by Jope; 04 November 2009 at 08:17. Reason: Please leave huge images as links next time. Thanks! -Jope

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01 November 2009, 17:52	#2
cosmicfrog The 1 who ribbits Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: leek, Staffs, UK Age: 56 Posts: 3,557	how are you conecting the 4000 to a monitor ? dose machine have HD with workbench on ? natively amiga won`t drive a svga monitor without extras edit ok just checked what a EZVGA is, humm should work with svga monitor http://bboah.amiga-resistance.info/c...cgi?HARDID=355 reseat all chips check for battery damage, green stuff, wait till some1 with better knowlage posts heheheh

01 November 2009, 18:27	#3
Adam Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Maidstone, England Age: 45 Posts: 12	Hi, thanks for the reply!! I have found some motherboard pictures on the net, and it seems that where the battery should be is an empty space, with just a few traces of metal. The motherboard is all very dusty and fluffy. When I got the machine it was sat in a room without a cover. What do I need connected for it to boot? There is a hard disk attached, and there is a floppy disk drive in a metal cradle thingy, but that doesn't seem to be connected

03 November 2009, 08:29	#5
Adam Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Maidstone, England Age: 45 Posts: 12	Thanks alexh that is really helpful. Been busy with work to sort out a photo, but will get some air duster on the way home tonight and see if I can get it to boot. I guess I can then upload a photo here? How will I know if the old battery had leaked? Is it fixable if it has?

04 November 2009, 00:21	#8
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,342	Where?

04 November 2009, 01:54	#10
rkauer I hate potatos and shirts Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Sao Leopoldo / Brazil Age: 58 Posts: 3,482	That's one of the worst A4000 motherboard I saw in years! Pretty much all electrolytic capacitors had leaked over the board, including those in the A3640, which is one of the units with reversed capacitors. Also the battery was leaked over and corroded away tracks in RTC and FAST memory SIMM holders. I saw just one board with battery damage worst than this, and it is mine now. Mine is gave to me by a guy who try to repair it and render the traces pretty much vanished away by improper ways of eliminating corrosion. All you can do about it now is send it to Amiga Repair Centre in France or to Antony Hoffmann in New Zealand. Or clean the accelerator and motherboard in a dishwasher (in ecological wash cycle with pure water only), let it dry in a cupboard for a week and then replace the capacitors on the A3640. The motherboard (with a lot of faith) can be fixed by one of those Amiga gurus. Pray for this come true! Otherwise you need to start searching for a motherboard replacement and just fix the accelerator.Amibay is a good place to start!

04 November 2009, 07:54	#11
Graham Humphrey Moderator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Norwich, Norfolk, UK Age: 37 Posts: 11,167	And now the images could do with resizing since they're far too big

04 November 2009, 09:18	#12
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,342	It does look pretty bad, but the layer of grime and dust is making it difficult to see just how bad it is. Need to take another look when you've cleaned it. You've been given some good advice though.

04 November 2009, 09:41	#13
Adam Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Maidstone, England Age: 45 Posts: 12	Oh, thanks for everyone's advice, and sorry for the images. I do everything at 100 miles per hour in the week as am busy with work. It sounds as if I have no hope? This place in France, where is it - I go to France quite a lot and speak a bit of French so may be able to stop there on my next visit. That's assuming it is worth it economically. I quite like the idea of getting an A4000 working, but obviously if it is going to cost a fortune to get it repaired it may not be worth it. Oh, I don't have a dishwasher. I wash dishes the 'old-fashioned way'.

04 November 2009, 09:43	#14
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,342	Try the Air Duster first if the grime is not stuck on. http://www.amigacenter.com/Homer.html BOULET JEAN-JACQUES 12 RUE DE LA BERGERIE LES VERGERS BAT A1 71490 COUCHES FRANCE As for "no hope" do not bin it. Someone on the forum with more time and experience would buy it with the intention of repairing it.

04 November 2009, 09:48	#15
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,861	You can contact me, if you're looking for a new home for the A4000.

05 November 2009, 11:11	#17
cosmicfrog The 1 who ribbits Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: leek, Staffs, UK Age: 56 Posts: 3,557	wow that some dirty pw0n you`ve got there theres always hope

06 November 2009, 08:59	#18
Adam Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Maidstone, England Age: 45 Posts: 12	Thanks for the advice. I will try giving it a clean with the air duster at the weekend. I will consider taking the motherboard to that guy next time I'm in France, as he is not too far from where my parents live. Unfortunately I have neither the time or the knowledge or patience to go about stripping the motherboard and replacing capacitors. In the meantime, if I did want to look for a replacement (I am still not sure if I want to get bitten by the bug of collecting old Amiga hardware!) is there anything specific I should look for? I was reading in my lunchbreak yesterday about different types of motherboard on that amiga-hardware site. For example, is there anything bad about the A4000-CR model??

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