Picasso II/A4000 problem

Yod@ · 03 July 2005, 10:32

Hi guys,
Wondered if someone might be able to give me any hints/advice with a problem I'm having - I recently acquired an A4000T with a scandoubler card, a 2Mb Picasso II card, and 28MHz 040 Warp Engine accelerator.

I've tried a couple of versions of Picasso96 (v2.0 and v1.25) and now also the original Picasso II drivers from VillageTronic but I can't get the Picasso96 drivers to see the card at all (the Picasso II drivers give a strange result - I can get the P2 screenmodes to show up, but if I select one of them I just get a black screen on the monitor).

If I type ShowConfig, the card is listed correctly - hardware manufacturer ID of 2167 and Product ID of 11 and 12.

When I'm installing the Picasso96 drivers, it can obviously see the card since it automatically puts a checkmark by the PicassoII option in the list of available drivers to install, and the rest of the install appears to go as normal.

However, when I run the Picasso96Mode tool (even after rebooting), it won't let me attach any video modes to the board. If I go up to the menu to select a card to attach modes to, the only thing listed there is "No Board".

Can anyone give me any hints? The only thing I wondered about was the memory configuration of the Amiga ; the memory doesn't seem to be in a contiguous block, there are 2 or 3 simms of FastRAM located on the main A4000 motherboard, and 3 simms installed on the Warp Engine accelerator.
Is it possible that having the memory spread over different locations is somehow causing my Picasso II problem?

I should probably point out that I'm using a standard PC VGA monitor - although I'm not sure if that would make a difference or not. The scandoubler is connected to the input of the Picasso II, the monitor connected to the Picasso's output. So long as I don't select a Picasso II screenmode using the original Picasso II drivers, everything else works fine.

Would really appreciate some help, I've already wasted hours trying to get this working!

lopos2000 · 03 July 2005, 10:59

@Yod
I had the same problem. To install the Picasso96 software you have to uninstall Picasso II software manualy. Than you have to reboot. Install Picasso96 software. Reboot. Than you can select your PicassoII card in the Picasso96 prefs.
hope that will help you.

Yod@ · 03 July 2005, 12:59

Thanks for the quick reply.
I did try to clean out the Picasso II and Picasso96 stuff before I started, but I'll try it again.

I forgot to mention that it's an A4000 with 3.0 roms, I've tried it with both Workbench 3.0 and also OS3.9 (using the 3.1 roms with a romkicker) - same results on both drives. I might have a go with a fresh install of Workbench.

Yod@ · 03 July 2005, 21:32

I think I found the problem. I was given the machine a few days ago, and it was occasionally acting up. Earlier today it died completely and would only display a black screen.

I opened it up, and the battery has been leaking and corroded the motherboard. Whoever had the machine before me obviously hadn't used it in a long time. I've cleaned the board and resoldered up some of the damaged traces, but it's still dead.

Oh well. At least it didn't cost me anything. Anybody got an A4000 board they want to sell me?

Yod@ · 04 July 2005, 15:08

Ok, I've cleaned up some more of the board and changed a faulty capacitor, and now I randomly get a black screen, a yellow screen, or a purple screen.

Anybody got any ideas?

lopos2000 · 04 July 2005, 15:41

@Yod
Here is a good web site about A4000.
Lots of info about Amiga faults and how to cure them.

Good luck with your repair.

03 July 2005, 10:32	#1
Yod@ Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Bangor, N. Ireland Age: 47 Posts: 74	Picasso II/A4000 problem now corroded board problem Hi guys, Wondered if someone might be able to give me any hints/advice with a problem I'm having - I recently acquired an A4000T with a scandoubler card, a 2Mb Picasso II card, and 28MHz 040 Warp Engine accelerator. I've tried a couple of versions of Picasso96 (v2.0 and v1.25) and now also the original Picasso II drivers from VillageTronic but I can't get the Picasso96 drivers to see the card at all (the Picasso II drivers give a strange result - I can get the P2 screenmodes to show up, but if I select one of them I just get a black screen on the monitor). If I type ShowConfig, the card is listed correctly - hardware manufacturer ID of 2167 and Product ID of 11 and 12. When I'm installing the Picasso96 drivers, it can obviously see the card since it automatically puts a checkmark by the PicassoII option in the list of available drivers to install, and the rest of the install appears to go as normal. However, when I run the Picasso96Mode tool (even after rebooting), it won't let me attach any video modes to the board. If I go up to the menu to select a card to attach modes to, the only thing listed there is "No Board". Can anyone give me any hints? The only thing I wondered about was the memory configuration of the Amiga ; the memory doesn't seem to be in a contiguous block, there are 2 or 3 simms of FastRAM located on the main A4000 motherboard, and 3 simms installed on the Warp Engine accelerator. Is it possible that having the memory spread over different locations is somehow causing my Picasso II problem? I should probably point out that I'm using a standard PC VGA monitor - although I'm not sure if that would make a difference or not. The scandoubler is connected to the input of the Picasso II, the monitor connected to the Picasso's output. So long as I don't select a Picasso II screenmode using the original Picasso II drivers, everything else works fine. Would really appreciate some help, I've already wasted hours trying to get this working! Last edited by Yod@; 04 July 2005 at 15:06.

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03 July 2005, 10:59	#2
lopos2000 Zone Friend Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Cider is best In The West Posts: 1,238	@Yod I had the same problem. To install the Picasso96 software you have to uninstall Picasso II software manualy. Than you have to reboot. Install Picasso96 software. Reboot. Than you can select your PicassoII card in the Picasso96 prefs. hope that will help you.

03 July 2005, 12:59	#3
Yod@ Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Bangor, N. Ireland Age: 47 Posts: 74	Thanks for the quick reply. I did try to clean out the Picasso II and Picasso96 stuff before I started, but I'll try it again. I forgot to mention that it's an A4000 with 3.0 roms, I've tried it with both Workbench 3.0 and also OS3.9 (using the 3.1 roms with a romkicker) - same results on both drives. I might have a go with a fresh install of Workbench.

03 July 2005, 21:32	#4
Yod@ Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Bangor, N. Ireland Age: 47 Posts: 74	I think I found the problem. I was given the machine a few days ago, and it was occasionally acting up. Earlier today it died completely and would only display a black screen. I opened it up, and the battery has been leaking and corroded the motherboard. Whoever had the machine before me obviously hadn't used it in a long time. I've cleaned the board and resoldered up some of the damaged traces, but it's still dead. Oh well. At least it didn't cost me anything. Anybody got an A4000 board they want to sell me?

04 July 2005, 15:08	#5
Yod@ Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Bangor, N. Ireland Age: 47 Posts: 74	Ok, I've cleaned up some more of the board and changed a faulty capacitor, and now I randomly get a black screen, a yellow screen, or a purple screen. Anybody got any ideas?

04 July 2005, 15:41	#6
lopos2000 Zone Friend Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Cider is best In The West Posts: 1,238	@Yod Here is a good web site about A4000. Lots of info about Amiga faults and how to cure them. Good luck with your repair.

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