Dead A4000 :-(

nogginthenog · 15 February 2016, 21:48

Hi All,

Today I received an X-Surf 100. Rushed home, popped it in my (powered down!) A4000 and no boot.

Unplugged the X-Surf and still not booting.
Next I unplugged everything possible. Zorro cards, riser, Harddrives, floppy, RAM etc. No joy.

I'm left with an empty A4000 except chip ram and Cyberstorm MkII 68060. CSMKII seems seated OK.

It was working yesterday. I replaced the dodgy power switch (latch problems) with a new one I just bought (I have a pack of 10 if anyone is interested...).

Using composite output (via A520) my TV recognises a signal when I power up but there are no colours. The CSMKII normally does a rainbow flash but I am not seeing this.

I'm measuring +5 and +12 volts on the power connector as well as 24 volts between the +/-12V lines.

The only things I have not tried is:
- Removing the motherboard
- The original 030 card (not 100% sure where it is, perhaps my mothers loft!?).

Help!

nogginthenog · 15 February 2016, 22:14

I have the motherboard out of the case. Still no joy. I think I fried something :-(

ROMs are well seated as is the 060 board.
I think my girl is dead :-(

jaesonk · 15 February 2016, 23:06

Can you get into the CS early boot menu with ESC on power-up?

Some key combos disable certain features. I think holding "S" disables SCSI. Holding "A" disables memory & SCSI.

Find that spare CPU card. Note your CSMK2/A4000 jumper settings before changing stuff.

Hopefully, you didn't kill something with a static discharge. It may occur and go unnoticed at the time.

jaesonk · 15 February 2016, 23:07

Do you have a spare PSU to try with it?

nogginthenog · 15 February 2016, 23:23

Thanks Jason, but I don't think the CSMK2 has that feature.
I think I have a spare AT (not ATX!) power supply. This A4000 used to live in a tower case many years ago.

You could be right about a static discharge. I did ground myself before inserting the new card though (not an anti-static band, I just touched the grounded case).

It's my mothers birthday this weekend. I guess it's a good opportunity to go digging in her loft (I'm missing a A2000 too!).

Thanks.

nogginthenog · 15 February 2016, 23:31

I found the AT power supply. It still has an A4000 power connector! No luck :-(
I think I need to find the 030 board.

jaesonk · 15 February 2016, 23:49

Reseat the SIMMs on the mobo. I've had problems with those.

No missing screws rattling around?

Cracked solder joints in the daughter board socket or CPU socket? Do you have a spare daughter board to try?

Does your A4000 have a Rev9 or Rev11 buster?

ciVic · 16 February 2016, 09:12

Some years ago I destroyed an PCI Gfx card by plugging in the X Surf into my A4000. Don't know if I did something wrong or what happens exactly.

jbenam · 16 February 2016, 10:46

Once I was having a look at two A4000 mobos for a friend and one of the two had a busted Buster (pun intended) which prevented boot.

What I'd do is test with another CPU card first, then replace easily replaceable components (your Buster is probably socketed).

jaesonk · 16 February 2016, 16:58

Use a chip extractor tool to remove Buster, not a screw driver. You don't need a busted Buster socket.

AmigaKit has one that's inexpensive:
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...roducts_id=522

In addition to using an anti-static wrist band:
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...roducts_id=110
Make sure you are working on a anti-static surface. Get an anti-static mat.

nogginthenog · 16 February 2016, 20:38

I'm not giving up yet.

Booting sometimes displays a yellow screen! This means the CPU is alive I think.
Other times I get a black screen.

Removing chip ram gives a green screen (no chip ram). Also suggests the CPU is alive.

I'm guessing my Buster is dead (it's a version 11 BTW).
If I press down on the buster, then switch on I get different results.

I'm going to try to find the original 030 card this weekend (not that I think it will help).

nogginthenog · 16 February 2016, 20:53

jaesonk: The A4000 buster is not socketed. The only socketed chips in my A4000 is the ROMs (which I pressed down of course).

I think I have 2 options:
- Replace the buster. My SMD skills are limited....
- A new A4000 / motherboard.

I might try to heat the traces around the buster. I don't have a hot air soldering iron but I can probably borrow one. Thoughts?

p.s. I replaced my clock battery a long time ago. It's not that.

jaesonk · 17 February 2016, 00:17

Some rev A4000s motherboards had more socket mounts. Count be a cracked solder joint or a bad chip. You might carefully apply some heat but I'd be hesitant.

It could be something near the buster too. Pressing on it might stress a nearby problem joint into contact, or a damaged trace.

Do you have extra SIMMs you can try?

Have you had the A4000 re-capped? AmigaKit does provide that service and could probably check it out further. It'd cost less than a new accelerator card, maybe less than a mobo replacement. Birthday present?

jbenam · 17 February 2016, 11:46

Too bad my A4000 isn't here in London, otherwise I'd gladly offer to troubleshoot your board for you using my known-good components

jaesonk · 17 February 2016, 17:44

Power-Up Self-Test

Test Status - Color Shown - Description Of Error

Passed - Light Gray - Initial hardware configuration tests passed. Initial software tests passed. Final initialization test passed.

Failed - Red - ROM Error: Make sure ROMs are seated properly.

Failed - Green - Chip RAM Error: Make sure Agnus is seated, and check Chip RAM SIMMs for proper seating.

Failed - Blue - This is not an "official" error color. It may have existed in very old (pre-1.0) versions of the system software, but doesn't any longer. Blue screens may be produced by a system,failure, but are not really error codes.

Failed - Yellow - Processor detected error before software,trapped it.

Failed - Purple - Not an "official" color, but may be caused by bad ROMs.

Keyboard Self-Test

Number Of Caps Lock Blinks Description Of Error

One - Keyboard ROM failed.

Two - Keyboard RAM failed.

Three - Watchdog timer failed.

Four - Short detected in keyboard.

hese · 17 February 2016, 18:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by nogginthenog

Booting sometimes displays a yellow screen! This means the CPU is alive I think.
Other times I get a black screen.

I'm guessing my Buster is dead (it's a version 11 BTW).
If I press down on the buster, then switch on I get different results.

Bad contact with Buster chip gives yellow screen. When you get varying results when Buster is pressed down, it indicates broken solder joints on the Buster chip. Get a soldering iron and apply some fresh solder or flux to the pins.

jbenam · 17 February 2016, 18:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by hese

Bad contact with Buster chip gives yellow screen. When you get varying results when Buster is pressed down, it indicates broken solder joints on the Buster chip. Get a soldering iron and apply some fresh solder or flux to the pins.

I had an A4000 with a dead Buster and all it'd give was black screen. It also had other problems on the RAM side of things, but after placing a good Buster it switched over to Green screen as expected.

Looks like when it comes to troubleshooting Amigas it's truly black magic

hese · 18 February 2016, 08:41

Dead Buster may give black screen but contact problem with a working Buster will give yellow screen.

jbenam · 18 February 2016, 10:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by hese

Dead Buster may give black screen but contact problem with a working Buster will give yellow screen.

Whoops, right, misread your post

nogginthenog · 20 February 2016, 21:01

The saga continues.

I found my 030 card today and installed it. After a short delay (no floppy drive) the Kickstart screen shows!
Oh no, my 060 died :-( So I replaced the 060, powered up and after a short delay... the Kickstart screen shows!

I'm picking up a cpu-less replacement A4000 tomorrow (already paid for it). Oh well, at least I have a spare.

Maybe I have a dodgy connection somewhere? Or did the nanobots repair my Amiga over the last few days?
I'm going to leave it on for a few hours to see if it's heat related.

15 February 2016, 21:48	#1
nogginthenog Amigan Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: London Posts: 1,309	Dead A4000 :-( Hi All, Today I received an X-Surf 100. Rushed home, popped it in my (powered down!) A4000 and no boot. Unplugged the X-Surf and still not booting. Next I unplugged everything possible. Zorro cards, riser, Harddrives, floppy, RAM etc. No joy. I'm left with an empty A4000 except chip ram and Cyberstorm MkII 68060. CSMKII seems seated OK. It was working yesterday. I replaced the dodgy power switch (latch problems) with a new one I just bought (I have a pack of 10 if anyone is interested...). Using composite output (via A520) my TV recognises a signal when I power up but there are no colours. The CSMKII normally does a rainbow flash but I am not seeing this. I'm measuring +5 and +12 volts on the power connector as well as 24 volts between the +/-12V lines. The only things I have not tried is: - Removing the motherboard - The original 030 card (not 100% sure where it is, perhaps my mothers loft!?). Help!

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15 February 2016, 22:14	#2
nogginthenog Amigan Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: London Posts: 1,309	I have the motherboard out of the case. Still no joy. I think I fried something :-( ROMs are well seated as is the 060 board. I think my girl is dead :-(

15 February 2016, 23:06	#3
jaesonk Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Pennsylvania / USA Posts: 247	Can you get into the CS early boot menu with ESC on power-up? Some key combos disable certain features. I think holding "S" disables SCSI. Holding "A" disables memory & SCSI. Find that spare CPU card. Note your CSMK2/A4000 jumper settings before changing stuff. Hopefully, you didn't kill something with a static discharge. It may occur and go unnoticed at the time.

15 February 2016, 23:07	#4
jaesonk Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Pennsylvania / USA Posts: 247	Do you have a spare PSU to try with it?

15 February 2016, 23:23	#5
nogginthenog Amigan Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: London Posts: 1,309	Thanks Jason, but I don't think the CSMK2 has that feature. I think I have a spare AT (not ATX!) power supply. This A4000 used to live in a tower case many years ago. You could be right about a static discharge. I did ground myself before inserting the new card though (not an anti-static band, I just touched the grounded case). It's my mothers birthday this weekend. I guess it's a good opportunity to go digging in her loft (I'm missing a A2000 too!). Thanks.

15 February 2016, 23:31	#6
nogginthenog Amigan Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: London Posts: 1,309	I found the AT power supply. It still has an A4000 power connector! No luck :-( I think I need to find the 030 board.

15 February 2016, 23:49	#7
jaesonk Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Pennsylvania / USA Posts: 247	Reseat the SIMMs on the mobo. I've had problems with those. No missing screws rattling around? Cracked solder joints in the daughter board socket or CPU socket? Do you have a spare daughter board to try? Does your A4000 have a Rev9 or Rev11 buster?

16 February 2016, 09:12	#8
ciVic Registered User Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Germany Posts: 39	Some years ago I destroyed an PCI Gfx card by plugging in the X Surf into my A4000. Don't know if I did something wrong or what happens exactly.

16 February 2016, 10:46	#9
jbenam Italian Amiga Zealot Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Italy Age: 36 Posts: 1,910	Once I was having a look at two A4000 mobos for a friend and one of the two had a busted Buster (pun intended) which prevented boot. What I'd do is test with another CPU card first, then replace easily replaceable components (your Buster is probably socketed).

16 February 2016, 16:58	#10
jaesonk Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Pennsylvania / USA Posts: 247	Use a chip extractor tool to remove Buster, not a screw driver. You don't need a busted Buster socket. AmigaKit has one that's inexpensive: http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...roducts_id=522 In addition to using an anti-static wrist band: http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...roducts_id=110 Make sure you are working on a anti-static surface. Get an anti-static mat.

16 February 2016, 20:38	#11
nogginthenog Amigan Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: London Posts: 1,309	I'm not giving up yet. Booting sometimes displays a yellow screen! This means the CPU is alive I think. Other times I get a black screen. Removing chip ram gives a green screen (no chip ram). Also suggests the CPU is alive. I'm guessing my Buster is dead (it's a version 11 BTW). If I press down on the buster, then switch on I get different results. I'm going to try to find the original 030 card this weekend (not that I think it will help).

16 February 2016, 20:53	#12
nogginthenog Amigan Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: London Posts: 1,309	jaesonk: The A4000 buster is not socketed. The only socketed chips in my A4000 is the ROMs (which I pressed down of course). I think I have 2 options: - Replace the buster. My SMD skills are limited.... - A new A4000 / motherboard. I might try to heat the traces around the buster. I don't have a hot air soldering iron but I can probably borrow one. Thoughts? p.s. I replaced my clock battery a long time ago. It's not that.

17 February 2016, 00:17	#13
jaesonk Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Pennsylvania / USA Posts: 247	Some rev A4000s motherboards had more socket mounts. Count be a cracked solder joint or a bad chip. You might carefully apply some heat but I'd be hesitant. It could be something near the buster too. Pressing on it might stress a nearby problem joint into contact, or a damaged trace. Do you have extra SIMMs you can try? Have you had the A4000 re-capped? AmigaKit does provide that service and could probably check it out further. It'd cost less than a new accelerator card, maybe less than a mobo replacement. Birthday present?

17 February 2016, 11:46	#14
jbenam Italian Amiga Zealot Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Italy Age: 36 Posts: 1,910	Too bad my A4000 isn't here in London, otherwise I'd gladly offer to troubleshoot your board for you using my known-good components

17 February 2016, 17:44	#15
jaesonk Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Pennsylvania / USA Posts: 247	Power-Up Self-Test Test Status - Color Shown - Description Of Error Passed - Light Gray - Initial hardware configuration tests passed. Initial software tests passed. Final initialization test passed. Failed - Red - ROM Error: Make sure ROMs are seated properly. Failed - Green - Chip RAM Error: Make sure Agnus is seated, and check Chip RAM SIMMs for proper seating. Failed - Blue - This is not an "official" error color. It may have existed in very old (pre-1.0) versions of the system software, but doesn't any longer. Blue screens may be produced by a system,failure, but are not really error codes. Failed - Yellow - Processor detected error before software,trapped it. Failed - Purple - Not an "official" color, but may be caused by bad ROMs. Keyboard Self-Test Number Of Caps Lock Blinks Description Of Error One - Keyboard ROM failed. Two - Keyboard RAM failed. Three - Watchdog timer failed. Four - Short detected in keyboard.

18 February 2016, 08:41	#18
hese Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Somewhere Posts: 223	Dead Buster may give black screen but contact problem with a working Buster will give yellow screen.

20 February 2016, 21:01	#20
nogginthenog Amigan Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: London Posts: 1,309	The saga continues. I found my 030 card today and installed it. After a short delay (no floppy drive) the Kickstart screen shows! Oh no, my 060 died :-( So I replaced the 060, powered up and after a short delay... the Kickstart screen shows! I'm picking up a cpu-less replacement A4000 tomorrow (already paid for it). Oh well, at least I have a spare. Maybe I have a dodgy connection somewhere? Or did the nanobots repair my Amiga over the last few days? I'm going to leave it on for a few hours to see if it's heat related.

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