A4000 beginners questions

JACK98 · 11 December 2009, 19:10

I have recently acquired an A4000,an 030 model im aware these had the dreaded battery leak problems but i removed it before anything could happen,anyways i have some simple questions-

1-The ram section parts are worn,so what do people use to hold them in,cable ties,elastic bands,or can you replace the simm slots easily?

2-Adding cd drive,how would you go about adding cd drive,is it straight forward or an 4 way adaptor be used?

regards

alexh · 11 December 2009, 20:14

I used blue-tac to hold my SIMMS in place. You could pay to have someone replace the SIMM sockets but I would not go out of your way to do it unless something else needs urgent attention (like capacitors need replacing). Save your money for something more exciting, like a cheap A3640 accelerator.

To use a CD-Drive you would need some way of getting the drivers onto the hard drive. Once that is done it is just a matter of connecting it to the IDE ribbon.

1) You ideally need a half depth CD/DVD drive as there is very little room for a full sized one.

2) Do you really want a CD/DVD drive? Unless you want to play original CD32 games you could consider something else. Something much easier to install and more flexible. An IDE->CF panel adapter. You just plop it in an empty slot on the back of the A4000 to use a Compact Flash card as a second hard drive. It is not hot-swappable but with the right filesystem drivers you can format the card in Windows and with USB card reader quickly and easily transfer files between the PC and Amiga.

Just make sure you get a nice long IDE cable which can reach both the internal hard drive and across to the back panel. There is a nice little notch cut in the daughter card to thread IDE/SCSI ribbon cables through.

davideo · 12 December 2009, 00:53

@Jack98

Have you tested out the sound to see if the capacitors need replacing?

If they do and you don't fancy doing it yourself Amigakit can do it for you and replace the sim holders at the same time.

I've got the backplane conversion on my 4000D as described by alexh. Allows easy copying of stuff from your PC to Amiga

Works a treat and dead cheap from Japan.

The 4000D is a bit tight for space for a CD/DVD drive but it can be done. Mine's connected to the SCSI connection on my warp engine.

You don't need a 4 way adapator on the IDE if you are only connecting two devices to it. But you would if you are going to connect more than 2 devices.

Dave G

JACK98 · 13 December 2009, 01:55

thanks for the replies guys,bluetack worked a treat.@davideo-tested sound working fine.looking board itself no sign of any dreaded leaks either.so im going well so far

JACK98 · 22 December 2009, 19:40

Well,looks like im starting to hear the dreaded static/crackling noise now.is there guide to show what capacitors to look and replace and where new ones can be bought online.Or does amigakit carry out that sort of repair?

regards

Dreamcast270mhz · 22 December 2009, 20:09

amikit can do it, and they can get rid of those bad SIMM slots with new ones, and fit you with a non-leaking rtc battery

JACK98 · 22 December 2009, 20:31

Loss of sound now

Dreamcast270mhz · 22 December 2009, 20:36

If you replace the caps, you'll have full sound again.

Chain · 22 December 2009, 20:43

and it will look sexy

prowler · 22 December 2009, 21:15

Hey Jack,

Have a look at this!
http://amiga.serveftp.net/audio_repair.html

11 December 2009, 19:10	#1
JACK98 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: N/A Posts: 420	A4000 beginners questions I have recently acquired an A4000,an 030 model im aware these had the dreaded battery leak problems but i removed it before anything could happen,anyways i have some simple questions- 1-The ram section parts are worn,so what do people use to hold them in,cable ties,elastic bands,or can you replace the simm slots easily? 2-Adding cd drive,how would you go about adding cd drive,is it straight forward or an 4 way adaptor be used? regards Last edited by JACK98; 11 December 2009 at 19:39.

13 December 2009, 01:55	#4
JACK98 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: N/A Posts: 420	thanks for the replies guys,bluetack worked a treat.@davideo-tested sound working fine.looking board itself no sign of any dreaded leaks either.so im going well so far Last edited by JACK98; 15 November 2013 at 18:19.

22 December 2009, 19:40	#5
JACK98 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: N/A Posts: 420	Well,looks like im starting to hear the dreaded static/crackling noise now.is there guide to show what capacitors to look and replace and where new ones can be bought online.Or does amigakit carry out that sort of repair? regards Last edited by JACK98; 05 November 2015 at 18:46.

22 December 2009, 20:31	#7
JACK98 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: N/A Posts: 420	Loss of sound now Last edited by JACK98; 05 November 2015 at 18:46.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
A4000 Haul With Questions!	wXR	Hardware pics	4	26 December 2010 20:17
A4000 questions	bebek	Hardware mods	34	10 October 2010 01:09
Magic workbench beginners questions	JACK98	support.Apps	11	06 February 2009 13:25
Amiga A4000 Questions	mfletcher	support.Hardware	8	29 April 2008 10:51
A4000 chip memory and other questions	T_hairy_bootson	support.Hardware	23	09 August 2006 17:58

11 December 2009, 20:14	#2
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,525	I used blue-tac to hold my SIMMS in place. You could pay to have someone replace the SIMM sockets but I would not go out of your way to do it unless something else needs urgent attention (like capacitors need replacing). Save your money for something more exciting, like a cheap A3640 accelerator. To use a CD-Drive you would need some way of getting the drivers onto the hard drive. Once that is done it is just a matter of connecting it to the IDE ribbon. 1) You ideally need a half depth CD/DVD drive as there is very little room for a full sized one. 2) Do you really want a CD/DVD drive? Unless you want to play original CD32 games you could consider something else. Something much easier to install and more flexible. An IDE->CF panel adapter. You just plop it in an empty slot on the back of the A4000 to use a Compact Flash card as a second hard drive. It is not hot-swappable but with the right filesystem drivers you can format the card in Windows and with USB card reader quickly and easily transfer files between the PC and Amiga. Just make sure you get a nice long IDE cable which can reach both the internal hard drive and across to the back panel. There is a nice little notch cut in the daughter card to thread IDE/SCSI ribbon cables through.

12 December 2009, 00:53	#3
davideo Amiga Tomcat Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Boston Lincs Posts: 1,502	@Jack98 Have you tested out the sound to see if the capacitors need replacing? If they do and you don't fancy doing it yourself Amigakit can do it for you and replace the sim holders at the same time. I've got the backplane conversion on my 4000D as described by alexh. Allows easy copying of stuff from your PC to Amiga Works a treat and dead cheap from Japan. The 4000D is a bit tight for space for a CD/DVD drive but it can be done. Mine's connected to the SCSI connection on my warp engine. You don't need a 4 way adapator on the IDE if you are only connecting two devices to it. But you would if you are going to connect more than 2 devices. Dave G

22 December 2009, 20:09	#6
Dreamcast270mhz Die Copyright holders!!! Join Date: May 2009 Location: White Stone, Virginia, USA Posts: 84	amikit can do it, and they can get rid of those bad SIMM slots with new ones, and fit you with a non-leaking rtc battery

22 December 2009, 20:36	#8
Dreamcast270mhz Die Copyright holders!!! Join Date: May 2009 Location: White Stone, Virginia, USA Posts: 84	If you replace the caps, you'll have full sound again.

22 December 2009, 20:43	#9
Chain A-Collector, repairments Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Czech Rep. Age: 50 Posts: 1,536	and it will look sexy

22 December 2009, 21:15	#10
prowler Global Moderator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sidcup, England Posts: 10,300	Hey Jack, Have a look at this! http://amiga.serveftp.net/audio_repair.html

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