Testing A4000

IvanEBC · 21 June 2016, 17:30

Hi Guys

I recently got back my original A4000 (See other exciting post).

It didn't initially boot, but to get it to boot i left it running on power for about 24 hours and it started to work. 2 days later, she suddenly stopped. It turns on, but the harddrive would basically not boot (it spins up).
After reading other suggestions - i removed the battery, gave it a good clean and again, she booted up, no battery ... but looking good.

Got a Gotek yesterday, installed it and again, looking good, played a few test ADFs i had.

Today was moving day though - off my workbench and into a nice comfy desk. All the screws back in, did that and voila - not working again.
Though this time, i got a bad block on workbench during bootup and then it froze 5 secs into workbench being loaded.
Rebooted and got same again, then third time, no more harddrive boot at all though still spinning up. Back to the blank screen like the 2 other previous failures.

Now i was under the impression from my vague 25 year ago memory that if you simply unplugged the harddrive, the Amiga would boot just just an A500, to the "insert disk" screen. So i unplugged the IDE and power, but that didn't happen, it just stays blank on the screen. So while the HDD gave me an error, it seems unlikely that it is causing the error.

Part of this question is, can i disconnect the hardive to save wear and tear and should i expect to get an insert disk prompt when the Amiga 4000 is working? or are they rigged to look for a HDD?

The CTRL + A + A will still reboot the system (can only tell when HDD is connected).

I'm about 25 years behind the time so i'm looking for suggestions or posts that might help me as this is a very large forum to look through with such generic search terms.

amiman99 · 21 June 2016, 17:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by IvanEBC

Part of this question is, can i disconnect the hardive to save wear and tear and should i expect to get an insert disk prompt when the Amiga 4000 is working? or are they rigged to look for a HDD?
.

Yes, it should go back to insert disk screen. If it does not shows up, try to boot with bootable floppy disk in.

There was a problem with some slow spinning HDs that would prevent A4000 from seeing the HD. The trick for that was to cut the 1st pin on IDE ribbon cable (red) and see if it works. Use your spare cable to try.
When you do tat, boot the amiga and then ctrl a a to reboot and it may see the hd.

Daedalus · 21 June 2016, 18:01

What version of Kickstart is in it? The 3.1 Kickstart has an extended delay to allow for slow hard drives. This causes a very long delay when there's nothing connected to the hard drive port, during which the screen will just be black. Try leaving it for over a minute to see if you still don't get the purple insert floppy screen. You should also get the floppy drive clicking when that screen is showing.

@amiman99
If the kickstart screen doesn't show up, I'm confused as to what a bootable floppy might do...

dirkies · 21 June 2016, 18:01

without a (IDE) hdd attached, it should take 20s or so before the insert disk screen appears I believe (kick 3.1). Did you really wait that long when you see a blank screen when powering on without HDD ?

IvanEBC · 21 June 2016, 18:04

OK, all tests to get this to live is being done WITHOUT a hard drive power or IDE connected - though still connected on the motherboard end.

Plugged in the original Amiga Internal drive. Drive light comes on and STAYS on, this is no matter if i turn on with or without a floppy inserted. Tried the middle of the floppy cable and the END of the cable that has a few cables twisted. Same result, solid floppy light.

dirkies · 21 June 2016, 18:08

try to connect an external floppy and NO internal floppy. If still the same some chip seems toast or bad trace at least.

IvanEBC · 21 June 2016, 18:14

OK, i';; cover most replies here with a basic sentence.

When i turned on the machine - i usually waited up to 5 minutes, earlier tonight - sometimes over an hour. This is how i got the Amiga to work initially so i've got into the habit of repeating how i got it to work first time and by waiting (like an old engine needing to warm up)

I've did try this with no floppy only briefly as i wasn't sure if i would get any life if i had disconnected everything, so i started connecting floppies again.
I do have an external here, i guess i can try that but it isn't looking good.

EDIT: I don't hear a clicking sound of the floppy waiting for a disk - though i do get a flash on the screen and an initial floppy sound as it powers on.

dirkies · 21 June 2016, 18:17

an external floppy drive eliminates the possibility of a bad cable as a led staying on looks like that (I had it too with an incompatible drive once).

Or did the gotek fry something (?) Ignore if you had this already before the gotek.

You are sure you never (dis)connected something while the machine was on?

IvanEBC · 21 June 2016, 18:34

No Internals connected via power or cables

External connected.
Makes an initial "turn on sound" but no constant clicking and the light is OFF all the time, even if a disk is inserted. Turning it on with disk inserted does same thing.
Only thing different is the drive light stays OFF the whole time regardless if a disk exists or not.

I never connect or disconnect anything with power on.

This looks like a sad day, very disheartening

IvanEBC · 21 June 2016, 18:46

It's 2am here. I'll go to bed now as it feels like i've been with a dying patient all night. If anyone else has anything else to add or try, i appreciate your time and to those who have had suggestions so far, and i'll check out here in the morning.

Thank you.

fitzsteve · 21 June 2016, 19:04

Just skim reading but this machine most likely needs to be serviced with new capacitors to include the CPU board and PSU.

nogginthenog · 21 June 2016, 19:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by IvanEBC

Plugged in the original Amiga Internal drive. Drive light comes on and STAYS on, this is no matter if i turn on with or without a floppy inserted. Tried the middle of the floppy cable and the END of the cable that has a few cables twisted. Same result, solid floppy light.

A solid light on the floppy drive can mean you plugged in the floppy cable the wrong way around. It's easy to do - I've done it a few times.

Make sure pin 1 on the motherboard is connected to pin 1 on the floppy.

DarrenHD · 21 June 2016, 22:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by fitzsteve

Just skim reading but this machine most likely needs to be serviced with new capacitors to include the CPU board and PSU.

Agreed with Fitzsteve. Re-cap it, check for battery damage, double check all cables, get a new hard drive...

IvanEBC · 22 June 2016, 06:06

Anybody know anyone in Adelaide, Australia who can recap and service?

I have already ordered a CF HDD from Amikit a week ago.

21 June 2016, 17:30	#1
IvanEBC Registered User Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Adelaide / Australia Posts: 565	Testing A4000 Hi Guys I recently got back my original A4000 (See other exciting post). It didn't initially boot, but to get it to boot i left it running on power for about 24 hours and it started to work. 2 days later, she suddenly stopped. It turns on, but the harddrive would basically not boot (it spins up). After reading other suggestions - i removed the battery, gave it a good clean and again, she booted up, no battery ... but looking good. Got a Gotek yesterday, installed it and again, looking good, played a few test ADFs i had. Today was moving day though - off my workbench and into a nice comfy desk. All the screws back in, did that and voila - not working again. Though this time, i got a bad block on workbench during bootup and then it froze 5 secs into workbench being loaded. Rebooted and got same again, then third time, no more harddrive boot at all though still spinning up. Back to the blank screen like the 2 other previous failures. Now i was under the impression from my vague 25 year ago memory that if you simply unplugged the harddrive, the Amiga would boot just just an A500, to the "insert disk" screen. So i unplugged the IDE and power, but that didn't happen, it just stays blank on the screen. So while the HDD gave me an error, it seems unlikely that it is causing the error. Part of this question is, can i disconnect the hardive to save wear and tear and should i expect to get an insert disk prompt when the Amiga 4000 is working? or are they rigged to look for a HDD? The CTRL + A + A will still reboot the system (can only tell when HDD is connected). I'm about 25 years behind the time so i'm looking for suggestions or posts that might help me as this is a very large forum to look through with such generic search terms.

21 June 2016, 18:14	#7
IvanEBC Registered User Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Adelaide / Australia Posts: 565	OK, i';; cover most replies here with a basic sentence. When i turned on the machine - i usually waited up to 5 minutes, earlier tonight - sometimes over an hour. This is how i got the Amiga to work initially so i've got into the habit of repeating how i got it to work first time and by waiting (like an old engine needing to warm up) I've did try this with no floppy only briefly as i wasn't sure if i would get any life if i had disconnected everything, so i started connecting floppies again. I do have an external here, i guess i can try that but it isn't looking good. EDIT: I don't hear a clicking sound of the floppy waiting for a disk - though i do get a flash on the screen and an initial floppy sound as it powers on. Last edited by IvanEBC; 21 June 2016 at 18:18. Reason: More info provided

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21 June 2016, 18:01	#3
Daedalus Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Dublin, then Glasgow Posts: 6,334	What version of Kickstart is in it? The 3.1 Kickstart has an extended delay to allow for slow hard drives. This causes a very long delay when there's nothing connected to the hard drive port, during which the screen will just be black. Try leaving it for over a minute to see if you still don't get the purple insert floppy screen. You should also get the floppy drive clicking when that screen is showing. @amiman99 If the kickstart screen doesn't show up, I'm confused as to what a bootable floppy might do...

21 June 2016, 18:01	#4
dirkies Zone Friend Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Belgium Age: 51 Posts: 1,296	without a (IDE) hdd attached, it should take 20s or so before the insert disk screen appears I believe (kick 3.1). Did you really wait that long when you see a blank screen when powering on without HDD ?

21 June 2016, 18:04	#5
IvanEBC Registered User Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Adelaide / Australia Posts: 565	OK, all tests to get this to live is being done WITHOUT a hard drive power or IDE connected - though still connected on the motherboard end. Plugged in the original Amiga Internal drive. Drive light comes on and STAYS on, this is no matter if i turn on with or without a floppy inserted. Tried the middle of the floppy cable and the END of the cable that has a few cables twisted. Same result, solid floppy light.

21 June 2016, 18:08	#6
dirkies Zone Friend Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Belgium Age: 51 Posts: 1,296	try to connect an external floppy and NO internal floppy. If still the same some chip seems toast or bad trace at least.

21 June 2016, 18:17	#8
dirkies Zone Friend Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Belgium Age: 51 Posts: 1,296	an external floppy drive eliminates the possibility of a bad cable as a led staying on looks like that (I had it too with an incompatible drive once). Or did the gotek fry something (?) Ignore if you had this already before the gotek. You are sure you never (dis)connected something while the machine was on?

21 June 2016, 18:34	#9
IvanEBC Registered User Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Adelaide / Australia Posts: 565	No Internals connected via power or cables External connected. Makes an initial "turn on sound" but no constant clicking and the light is OFF all the time, even if a disk is inserted. Turning it on with disk inserted does same thing. Only thing different is the drive light stays OFF the whole time regardless if a disk exists or not. I never connect or disconnect anything with power on. This looks like a sad day, very disheartening

21 June 2016, 18:46	#10
IvanEBC Registered User Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Adelaide / Australia Posts: 565	It's 2am here. I'll go to bed now as it feels like i've been with a dying patient all night. If anyone else has anything else to add or try, i appreciate your time and to those who have had suggestions so far, and i'll check out here in the morning. Thank you.

21 June 2016, 19:04	#11
fitzsteve Professional slacker! Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Kent, UK Age: 44 Posts: 6,683	Just skim reading but this machine most likely needs to be serviced with new capacitors to include the CPU board and PSU.

22 June 2016, 06:06	#14
IvanEBC Registered User Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Adelaide / Australia Posts: 565	Anybody know anyone in Adelaide, Australia who can recap and service? I have already ordered a CF HDD from Amikit a week ago.

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