Apollo 1240 problems, I think...

fitzsteve · 09 June 2010, 16:07

Hi All!

I'm back from being away for a few weeks and switched on my A1200T today only for it not to boot. So I tried again and a third time then it booted into workbench only to hang after a minute or so.

When I tried to power on again it did not boot, the HDD LED stayed on constant. After a few resets I got back into workbench but again it hung.

Due to the HDD light staying on I thought the problem was the FastATA so I stripped everything out and moved the roms to the Mobo and powered up where I was greated with the 3.1 rom screen, good

So I added the apollo and nothing but a black screen.

Hmm. So I removed the Apollo added a HDD with WB3.1 and she booted up fine.

Added the Apollo and no boot, just a black screen and the HDD LED stays on. This time I am using just a 4 way buffered IDE by the way since the FastATA was stripped out.

Also my Mediator is still plugged in since this how the mobo is powered, I thought it may be the pass through but it boots fine with my 030 accelerator so I'm thinking the Apollo is clapping out.

I've tried to clean the connectors but that didn't help.

Any idea's?

Steve.

PS. I have a spare Mobo, so I'm going to try the apollo on that without the mediator attached (will report back.)

Edit: Just tried on the spare mobo, the same, black screen

Also tried other Simms in the Apollo, same result. Guessing it needs a repair.

I was intending to get it upgraded to an 060 so I guess the repair could be carried out at the same time. I'll contact Stan again who I was going to get to upgrade it (if your reading I'll send you an Email or PM)

FOL · 09 June 2010, 17:20

Try cleaning the edge connector and mediator connector with toothbrush.

fitzsteve · 09 June 2010, 17:31

Thanks Fol, I tried that with no luck.

I have however setup a working system with my 030 card and the mediator, I've got the voodoo working as well.

Steve.

daxb · 09 June 2010, 18:11

How looks the battery?

Zetr0 · 09 June 2010, 18:27

@Fitzsteve

It could be memory, have you tried changing it all out? I have an absolute crap load of 4's, 8's and 16's!

It could be the Oscilator, have you checked how that is seated, I think I have another 50mhz XTAL if you wanna try it.

Hmm, its strange as to how it was running so well =(

fitzsteve · 09 June 2010, 19:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by daxb

How looks the battery?

Battery has been replaced with the coin type.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zetr0

@Fitzsteve

It could be memory, have you tried changing it all out? I have an absolute crap load of 4's, 8's and 16's!

It could be the Oscilator, have you checked how that is seated, I think I have another 50mhz XTAL if you wanna try it.

Hmm, its strange as to how it was running so well =(

I've tried several sticks of ram, same results. I have lots of Ram here.

How easy is the oscilator to replace?

When I sent Stan the scans for him to make sure it could be upgraded he said there was evidence of some accumulator leakage (whatever that means)

Its a shame as you say its been great but I guess I can get it fixed at the same time as its upgraded

I've set my tower up with the 030 for now with one of Bloodwyches Classic Workbench packs (P96) its as fast with the 030 as OS3.9 was with the 040

And the RTG is working well with that config.

Steve.

cosmicfrog · 10 June 2010, 12:25

according to a quick search

# Capacitor, in electrical engineering, also known by the obsolete term accumulator

ekk bloody capacitors, now hope you get it sorted ok

fitzsteve · 10 June 2010, 12:33

Thanks Mr Frog, I think I'm going to send it to Stan to look at and upgrade.

Steve.

JACK98 · 10 June 2010, 17:01

Cant believe that the caps leak on that.oh great

.is there any place or person that does cap replacements?.

cosmicfrog · 10 June 2010, 17:43

just checking but have you tried different power supplies

Zetr0 · 10 June 2010, 17:44

btw guys,

With the exception of solid state caps, ALL capacitors leak, its just a mater of time -

Just to let you know an Accumilator also referes to a rechargable battery -

That 040 that Steve got from me, I got it last year from a chap on here, (racks brain to think who... ) obviously someone had cleaned up / repaired the original battery mess as I noticed PCB protectorant and the replacement battery on the rear.

but it was running fine - my friend r0jaws and yorkie4 tested if for a good while then it was in my A1200D running and testing some WHDLoad games,

then I added the 72pin socket and tested it for a couple of days.... it showed up an ATX psu to be a sucky pile of crap, and once I plumbed in a beefed up one it worked fine... damn freaky...

I wonder if the XTal has settled in the socket to much and is not making contact.

moral of the story.... next time you go on vacation.... take the Amiga with you... you wont like them when they are angry!

@steve

To replace the XTal is as easy as pulling it out with one's fingeres and putting a new one in with ones fingers... simple as that.

some time the legs DONT touch the pin-socket correctly so gently remove the XTal and just - ever-so-slighty - bend the legs - the-meirest-smidge outward and replace... make sure the oritentation is correct... the SHARP edge is pin 1

With the bottom of the Card facing you and the Memory socket above and the MACH-13x chip to the bottle left - The XTal should be orientated so that Pin 1 (the sharp edge / black spot) be aligned to the bottom left

I know your sending the card of to Stan, but if theres owt I can do to help just let me know.

fitzsteve · 10 June 2010, 18:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by cosmicfrog

just checking but have you tried different power supplies

Yeah I also tried on my spare mobo using an Amigakit-Amiga ATX PSU

@Zetr0 I might give your suggestion a try but fear with my fat fingers I could make things worse lol.

Thanks for your offers of help

Thanks,

Steve.

cosmicfrog · 10 June 2010, 19:00

crystal is easy to take out, its only 4 pins

fitzsteve · 10 June 2010, 19:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by cosmicfrog

crystal is easy to take out, its only 4 pins

You're right it was really easy.

@Zetr0, I tried as suggested. No luck, I'll send the card off for the upgrade & repair, and when it gets back I'll have a super fast Miggy... Just a bit earlier then planned.

Also I got it set back up as it was yesterday, much better results with the decent hard drive

And I've back it up this time...

Steve.

Zetr0 · 10 June 2010, 20:50

@Steve

I hate to see people struggle, especially when they have but in so much effort into their builds.

Come what may my friend, if you need help just gimmie a buzz or a pm =)

fitzsteve · 10 June 2010, 21:07

@Zetr0

Thanks again for all your help, but don't worry I wouldn't call it a struggle, I appreciate this kit is 20+ years old so cannot expect it all to be without any issues.

Since I've had the apollo its been worked pretty hard to be honest.

I've had a fair amount of luck with my purchases and I guess you have to take the rough with the smooth.

Right now I still have a kick ass tower all up and running, ok its only an 030 but based on WB3.1 (I'm running CWB P96 modified & setup for the Voodoo GFX) its almost as fast as the 040 was running OS3.9

Plus I still have my A600/Apollo 630 which is still running fine

And to be honest when I just want a few games the latter is the one I go to every time, the little 1084 screen and the old skool Joystick, ahh the fun of those old games like Swiv, Silkworm

My desktop A1200 however is not happy with me at all since its now had its accelerator and hard drive stolen and still has a broken FDD!

Steve.

Loedown · 10 June 2010, 21:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zetr0

Just to let you know an Accumulator also referes to a rechargable battery

It sits along side Register X & Y in a 6502

Zetr0 · 11 June 2010, 01:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loedown

It sits along side Register X & Y in a 6502

LOL awesome!

fitzsteve · 15 June 2010, 23:38

Little update:

I sent my Apollo 1240 off to Stan today, hopefully the fault is not serious. Assuming he can fix it will come back a full fat 060 @ 80mhz

Steve.

prowler · 15 June 2010, 23:44

Good luck with that upgrade, Steve!

And I'm not a little envious.

09 June 2010, 16:07	#1
fitzsteve Professional slacker! Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Kent, UK Age: 44 Posts: 6,683	Apollo 1240 problems, I think... Hi All! I'm back from being away for a few weeks and switched on my A1200T today only for it not to boot. So I tried again and a third time then it booted into workbench only to hang after a minute or so. When I tried to power on again it did not boot, the HDD LED stayed on constant. After a few resets I got back into workbench but again it hung. Due to the HDD light staying on I thought the problem was the FastATA so I stripped everything out and moved the roms to the Mobo and powered up where I was greated with the 3.1 rom screen, good So I added the apollo and nothing but a black screen. Hmm. So I removed the Apollo added a HDD with WB3.1 and she booted up fine. Added the Apollo and no boot, just a black screen and the HDD LED stays on. This time I am using just a 4 way buffered IDE by the way since the FastATA was stripped out. Also my Mediator is still plugged in since this how the mobo is powered, I thought it may be the pass through but it boots fine with my 030 accelerator so I'm thinking the Apollo is clapping out. I've tried to clean the connectors but that didn't help. Any idea's? Steve. PS. I have a spare Mobo, so I'm going to try the apollo on that without the mediator attached (will report back.) Edit: Just tried on the spare mobo, the same, black screen Also tried other Simms in the Apollo, same result. Guessing it needs a repair. I was intending to get it upgraded to an 060 so I guess the repair could be carried out at the same time. I'll contact Stan again who I was going to get to upgrade it (if your reading I'll send you an Email or PM) Last edited by fitzsteve; 09 June 2010 at 16:15.

10 June 2010, 17:01	#9
JACK98 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: N/A Posts: 420	Cant believe that the caps leak on that.oh great .is there any place or person that does cap replacements?. Last edited by JACK98; 05 November 2015 at 18:17.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Apollo 1260 to a 1240 problems	Kitch	support.Hardware	26	15 December 2012 07:17
Yet another Apollo 1240 problem	DC33	support.Hardware	15	15 October 2011 03:31
Apollo 1240@25mhz	Rogueraven	support.Hardware	7	12 February 2010 23:31
For Sale Apollo 1240	twizzle	MarketPlace	24	08 November 2009 19:33
Apollo 1240	DDNI	support.Hardware	34	20 June 2006 20:29

09 June 2010, 17:20	#2
FOL PSPUAE DEV Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Wales / UK Age: 45 Posts: 5,999	Try cleaning the edge connector and mediator connector with toothbrush.

09 June 2010, 17:31	#3
fitzsteve Professional slacker! Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Kent, UK Age: 44 Posts: 6,683	Thanks Fol, I tried that with no luck. I have however setup a working system with my 030 card and the mediator, I've got the voodoo working as well. Steve.

09 June 2010, 18:11	#4
daxb Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Germany Posts: 3,303	How looks the battery?

09 June 2010, 18:27	#5
Zetr0 Ya' like it Retr0? Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 49 Posts: 9,768	@Fitzsteve It could be memory, have you tried changing it all out? I have an absolute crap load of 4's, 8's and 16's! It could be the Oscilator, have you checked how that is seated, I think I have another 50mhz XTAL if you wanna try it. Hmm, its strange as to how it was running so well =(

10 June 2010, 12:25	#7
cosmicfrog The 1 who ribbits Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: leek, Staffs, UK Age: 56 Posts: 3,557	according to a quick search # Capacitor, in electrical engineering, also known by the obsolete term accumulator ekk bloody capacitors, now hope you get it sorted ok

10 June 2010, 12:33	#8
fitzsteve Professional slacker! Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Kent, UK Age: 44 Posts: 6,683	Thanks Mr Frog, I think I'm going to send it to Stan to look at and upgrade. Steve.

10 June 2010, 17:43	#10
cosmicfrog The 1 who ribbits Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: leek, Staffs, UK Age: 56 Posts: 3,557	just checking but have you tried different power supplies

10 June 2010, 17:44	#11
Zetr0 Ya' like it Retr0? Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 49 Posts: 9,768	btw guys, With the exception of solid state caps, ALL capacitors leak, its just a mater of time - Just to let you know an Accumilator also referes to a rechargable battery - That 040 that Steve got from me, I got it last year from a chap on here, (racks brain to think who... ) obviously someone had cleaned up / repaired the original battery mess as I noticed PCB protectorant and the replacement battery on the rear. but it was running fine - my friend r0jaws and yorkie4 tested if for a good while then it was in my A1200D running and testing some WHDLoad games, then I added the 72pin socket and tested it for a couple of days.... it showed up an ATX psu to be a sucky pile of crap, and once I plumbed in a beefed up one it worked fine... damn freaky... I wonder if the XTal has settled in the socket to much and is not making contact. moral of the story.... next time you go on vacation.... take the Amiga with you... you wont like them when they are angry! @steve To replace the XTal is as easy as pulling it out with one's fingeres and putting a new one in with ones fingers... simple as that. some time the legs DONT touch the pin-socket correctly so gently remove the XTal and just - ever-so-slighty - bend the legs - the-meirest-smidge outward and replace... make sure the oritentation is correct... the SHARP edge is pin 1 With the bottom of the Card facing you and the Memory socket above and the MACH-13x chip to the bottle left - The XTal should be orientated so that Pin 1 (the sharp edge / black spot) be aligned to the bottom left I know your sending the card of to Stan, but if theres owt I can do to help just let me know.

10 June 2010, 19:00	#13
cosmicfrog The 1 who ribbits Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: leek, Staffs, UK Age: 56 Posts: 3,557	crystal is easy to take out, its only 4 pins

10 June 2010, 20:50	#15
Zetr0 Ya' like it Retr0? Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 49 Posts: 9,768	@Steve I hate to see people struggle, especially when they have but in so much effort into their builds. Come what may my friend, if you need help just gimmie a buzz or a pm =)

10 June 2010, 21:07	#16
fitzsteve Professional slacker! Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Kent, UK Age: 44 Posts: 6,683	@Zetr0 Thanks again for all your help, but don't worry I wouldn't call it a struggle, I appreciate this kit is 20+ years old so cannot expect it all to be without any issues. Since I've had the apollo its been worked pretty hard to be honest. I've had a fair amount of luck with my purchases and I guess you have to take the rough with the smooth. Right now I still have a kick ass tower all up and running, ok its only an 030 but based on WB3.1 (I'm running CWB P96 modified & setup for the Voodoo GFX) its almost as fast as the 040 was running OS3.9 Plus I still have my A600/Apollo 630 which is still running fine And to be honest when I just want a few games the latter is the one I go to every time, the little 1084 screen and the old skool Joystick, ahh the fun of those old games like Swiv, Silkworm My desktop A1200 however is not happy with me at all since its now had its accelerator and hard drive stolen and still has a broken FDD! Steve.

15 June 2010, 23:38	#19
fitzsteve Professional slacker! Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Kent, UK Age: 44 Posts: 6,683	Little update: I sent my Apollo 1240 off to Stan today, hopefully the fault is not serious. Assuming he can fix it will come back a full fat 060 @ 80mhz Steve.

15 June 2010, 23:44	#20
prowler Global Moderator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sidcup, England Posts: 10,300	Good luck with that upgrade, Steve! And I'm not a little envious.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)