Strange A500 Problem

ch40s_engineer · 19 June 2017, 08:25

Hi guys,

I've got a strange Problem with my freshly restored A500. Before working on the Amiga, I tested itself and the RAM expansion with SWIV and played a few minutes, which worked just fine. After my work (cleaning, bleaching and putting the buttons and display of the Gotek-Drive to the top of the Amiga) i wanted to play a bit and discovered that only a bunch of games/demos actually work. "State of the art" for example runs exactly 10 seconds and then crashes. Most of the games i tried will work until the titlescreen and then crash.

I already removed the RAM expansion and exchanged it with another one...but without any luck. The behaviour is rather strange as for example the rotating star in the background of "flashtro" cracks will stop rotating (?!) and the game will crash shortly after the cracktro. sometimes it gives me a Guru, sometimes it will reboot.

Are there any diagnosis programs to narrow down the cause?
Is it possible that a chip does not sit correctly in its socket or is loosened?
Any other ideas?

Best, Chris

Daedalus · 19 June 2017, 09:38

It sounds like something has been upset by the cleaning - perhaps it is crashing when it reaches a certain area of RAM or custom chip register. Are you sure liquid didn't get into the Amiga maybe? A loose chip might be the case, or damage to a RAM chip. Have a very careful look over the board for any debris that might be shorting out some lines somewhere, particularly in the RAM area.

Keirf's SysTest is an ADF that can be downloaded here and can test your RAM for you. Might be worth a look.

ch40s_engineer · 19 June 2017, 09:48

thanks for the answer. I was very careful cleaning the electronics and due to my profession I am experienced at this.

I will take a closer look and test the provided software! will report back as soon as I had the chance.

€dit: it might very well be that most programs didn't work before cleaning...sviw worked before and still works. unfortunately I did only test this prior to cleaning :/

best, Chris

ch40s_engineer · 20 June 2017, 19:10

alright, it was a software fault all along. as soon as I swap a usb stick between both amigas, it totally gets f***ed up. I noticed when I wanted to use the usb stick back in my good amiga and I had the same error. the data on the stick gets corrupted and only a low level format will get it working again. as soon as I use an usb stick exclusively on one amiga, I'm fine. if I swap them, I will get the described error. can someone explain this?

19 June 2017, 08:25	#1
ch40s_engineer Registered User Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Cologne Posts: 74	Strange A500 Problem Hi guys, I've got a strange Problem with my freshly restored A500. Before working on the Amiga, I tested itself and the RAM expansion with SWIV and played a few minutes, which worked just fine. After my work (cleaning, bleaching and putting the buttons and display of the Gotek-Drive to the top of the Amiga) i wanted to play a bit and discovered that only a bunch of games/demos actually work. "State of the art" for example runs exactly 10 seconds and then crashes. Most of the games i tried will work until the titlescreen and then crash. I already removed the RAM expansion and exchanged it with another one...but without any luck. The behaviour is rather strange as for example the rotating star in the background of "flashtro" cracks will stop rotating (?!) and the game will crash shortly after the cracktro. sometimes it gives me a Guru, sometimes it will reboot. Are there any diagnosis programs to narrow down the cause? Is it possible that a chip does not sit correctly in its socket or is loosened? Any other ideas? Best, Chris

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19 June 2017, 09:38	#2
Daedalus Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Dublin, then Glasgow Posts: 6,343	It sounds like something has been upset by the cleaning - perhaps it is crashing when it reaches a certain area of RAM or custom chip register. Are you sure liquid didn't get into the Amiga maybe? A loose chip might be the case, or damage to a RAM chip. Have a very careful look over the board for any debris that might be shorting out some lines somewhere, particularly in the RAM area. Keirf's SysTest is an ADF that can be downloaded here and can test your RAM for you. Might be worth a look.

19 June 2017, 09:48	#3
ch40s_engineer Registered User Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Cologne Posts: 74	thanks for the answer. I was very careful cleaning the electronics and due to my profession I am experienced at this. I will take a closer look and test the provided software! will report back as soon as I had the chance. €dit: it might very well be that most programs didn't work before cleaning...sviw worked before and still works. unfortunately I did only test this prior to cleaning :/ best, Chris

20 June 2017, 19:10	#4
ch40s_engineer Registered User Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Cologne Posts: 74	alright, it was a software fault all along. as soon as I swap a usb stick between both amigas, it totally gets f***ed up. I noticed when I wanted to use the usb stick back in my good amiga and I had the same error. the data on the stick gets corrupted and only a low level format will get it working again. as soon as I use an usb stick exclusively on one amiga, I'm fine. if I swap them, I will get the described error. can someone explain this?

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