Using Two DKB3128 RAM boards on A4000T

X-ray · 23 August 2008, 19:45

I am on a bit of a memory mission and I have two DXB3128 boards in my A4000T. Each has 128mb on board. I also have a Cyberstorm PPC/060 with 128 on board and I have 16mb on the mobo. I should have a total of 400, but I don't.

The most I can get is 372. It's not a board problem, because if I use only one of them at a time, I can see all 128mb on that board. It isn't a slot problem because I can use either DKB board in any slot. If I use two boards, then there are some combinations that it doesn't like and there will be a red zorro diagnostic screen on bootup, listing that board as defective.

As I have it now, it can show 372mb with both boards in place, but the last SIMM removed from one of the boards. If I put the fourth SIMM in, then the memory from that board vanishes and my total is only 272mb.

Running OS3.9 with no other Zorro cards installed. Jumper positions on the cards are correct.

So, what gives?

Zetr0 · 23 August 2008, 22:56

@X-Ray

i am unsure here, but isn't there a limmitation to Zorro3 Memory Addressing space?

heres some Z3 low down

Toni Wilen · 23 August 2008, 23:06

Post for example output of ShowConfig or any utility that shows base addresses and size of autoconfig cards.

X-ray · 23 August 2008, 23:26

I will try to get this info, Toni.

X-ray · 23 August 2008, 23:28

Zetr0, I thought it was more than what I am seeing now.
Also: I just tried with the Picasso IV inserted also, and the maximum doesn't change, it is still 372.

X-ray · 24 August 2008, 00:42

Sorry, I could only get a pic, got no floppy to hand, no usb or compact flash connected, no CD.

davideo · 24 August 2008, 01:07

Apologies for sticking my nose in but you haven't got 16Meg on your motherboard!!

It looks to only be 8MB.

Dave G

X-ray · 24 August 2008, 01:15

Hmmm, I'll have to check that...I have been changing SIMMs all day, could be that I didn't put one back.

davideo · 24 August 2008, 01:25

Even so that still doesn't explain why the rest has gone walkabout

Dave G

rkauer · 24 August 2008, 04:02

From what I see, the 96Mb on your accelerator suddenly becomes 32Mb(!), look in the info!

alexh · 24 August 2008, 07:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkauer

From what I see, the 96Mb on your accelerator suddenly becomes 32Mb(!), look in the info!

The only 32Mbytes I see has VillageTronic (gfx card?) next to it.

Toni Wilen · 24 August 2008, 09:58

Two 128M boards:

1: 0x400000-0x45ffffff 96M (it should be to 0x47ffffff = 128M)
2: 0x480000-0x4ffffffff 128M (this is ok)

0x46000000-0x47ffffff is not added to memory map for some reason. I am quite sure the RAM is really there but autoconfig decided not to map it.. Odd.

This can't autoconfig hardware problem because 96M Zorro board is not possible (closest are 64M or 128M) and there is free address space available.

alphonsus · 24 August 2008, 10:44

@Zetr0:
IIRC, ZorroIII memoryspace is limited to 4Gb minus a small amount of I/O, chipset and ROM address space reserved just beyond the upper end of the ZorroII address space.

@X-ray:
are you using mapROM or equivalent (as you only have 127.5Mb on one board?)

@ everyone:
Power problems?

X-ray · 24 August 2008, 11:51

@ Toni and Alphonsus

I did some more tests last night (with the last SIMM removed from the 2nd DKB board) as was the case when I took that pic, and I was able to fill all 363mb of RAM with files. There were no errors.

As soon as I put the 4th SIMM in, that whole board's RAM goes awol.

Yes, I am running MAProm

Maybe I should put the last SIMM in and do showconfig again?

As for power: I have a spare PSU (I am using new old stock AT at the moment, not original Amiga PSU). I can try with original.
The thing is, the situation is the same whether I have the PIV in or not: if it was power, wouldn't the problem be worse if I added the PIV?

X-ray · 24 August 2008, 12:53

OK, gents, small update:

1) Tried the original Miggy PSU, still got 372mb RAm (I have the full 16 on the mobo now)
2) Took the fully populated DKB out, added the fourth SIMM to the 2nd DKB, put it in the slot where the 1st one was, and got this from showconfig:

Curiouser and curiouser...

By the way, if I add the second fully populated board, the output is as follows:

If I then take one SIMM out, it is like this:

Toni Wilen · 24 August 2008, 13:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by X-ray

By the way, if I add the second fully populated board, the output is as follows:

Interesting. Both boards are properly detected but second board wasn't added to free memory list..

Really weird, perhaps some rare bug in expansion.library.

X-ray · 24 August 2008, 19:55

Did this library change from 3.1 to 3.9?
Maybe I can try a 3.1 boot?

X-ray · 25 August 2008, 23:58

I am expecting a 3rd DKB board, and I'll update you dudes when that one arrives.

alexh · 26 August 2008, 11:05

Now we know where all those boards are!

X-ray · 06 September 2008, 16:37

Update:

Tried 3 DKB3128 boards, and the same thing happens (I can't have more than one of them fully loaded).

The curious thing is: I can have all three of them loaded with 96mb of RAM, and that RAM is recognised just fine.

So it looks like it is not an upper RAM limit on the Zorro bus, it is a problem with how 128mb RAM is recognised per 'slot'

Will do more testing, it is very strange.

23 August 2008, 19:45	#1
X-ray Angry Kid Fan Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: London Posts: 230	Using Two DKB3128 RAM boards on A4000T I am on a bit of a memory mission and I have two DXB3128 boards in my A4000T. Each has 128mb on board. I also have a Cyberstorm PPC/060 with 128 on board and I have 16mb on the mobo. I should have a total of 400, but I don't. The most I can get is 372. It's not a board problem, because if I use only one of them at a time, I can see all 128mb on that board. It isn't a slot problem because I can use either DKB board in any slot. If I use two boards, then there are some combinations that it doesn't like and there will be a red zorro diagnostic screen on bootup, listing that board as defective. As I have it now, it can show 372mb with both boards in place, but the last SIMM removed from one of the boards. If I put the fourth SIMM in, then the memory from that board vanishes and my total is only 272mb. Running OS3.9 with no other Zorro cards installed. Jumper positions on the cards are correct. So, what gives?

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23 August 2008, 22:56	#2
Zetr0 Ya' like it Retr0? Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: United Kingdom Age: 49 Posts: 9,768	@X-Ray i am unsure here, but isn't there a limmitation to Zorro3 Memory Addressing space? heres some Z3 low down

23 August 2008, 23:06	#3
Toni Wilen WinUAE developer Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Hämeenlinna/Finland Age: 49 Posts: 26,557	Post for example output of ShowConfig or any utility that shows base addresses and size of autoconfig cards.

23 August 2008, 23:26	#4
X-ray Angry Kid Fan Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: London Posts: 230	I will try to get this info, Toni.

23 August 2008, 23:28	#5
X-ray Angry Kid Fan Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: London Posts: 230	Zetr0, I thought it was more than what I am seeing now. Also: I just tried with the Picasso IV inserted also, and the maximum doesn't change, it is still 372.

24 August 2008, 00:42	#6
X-ray Angry Kid Fan Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: London Posts: 230	Sorry, I could only get a pic, got no floppy to hand, no usb or compact flash connected, no CD.

24 August 2008, 01:07	#7
davideo Amiga Tomcat Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Boston Lincs Posts: 1,501	Apologies for sticking my nose in but you haven't got 16Meg on your motherboard!! It looks to only be 8MB. Dave G

24 August 2008, 01:15	#8
X-ray Angry Kid Fan Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: London Posts: 230	Hmmm, I'll have to check that...I have been changing SIMMs all day, could be that I didn't put one back.

24 August 2008, 01:25	#9
davideo Amiga Tomcat Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Boston Lincs Posts: 1,501	Even so that still doesn't explain why the rest has gone walkabout Dave G

24 August 2008, 04:02	#10
rkauer I hate potatos and shirts Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Sao Leopoldo / Brazil Age: 58 Posts: 3,482	From what I see, the 96Mb on your accelerator suddenly becomes 32Mb(!), look in the info!

24 August 2008, 09:58	#12
Toni Wilen WinUAE developer Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Hämeenlinna/Finland Age: 49 Posts: 26,557	Two 128M boards: 1: 0x400000-0x45ffffff 96M (it should be to 0x47ffffff = 128M) 2: 0x480000-0x4ffffffff 128M (this is ok) 0x46000000-0x47ffffff is not added to memory map for some reason. I am quite sure the RAM is really there but autoconfig decided not to map it.. Odd. This can't autoconfig hardware problem because 96M Zorro board is not possible (closest are 64M or 128M) and there is free address space available.

24 August 2008, 10:44	#13
alphonsus Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: UK Age: 50 Posts: 181	@Zetr0: IIRC, ZorroIII memoryspace is limited to 4Gb minus a small amount of I/O, chipset and ROM address space reserved just beyond the upper end of the ZorroII address space. @X-ray: are you using mapROM or equivalent (as you only have 127.5Mb on one board?) @ everyone: Power problems?

24 August 2008, 11:51	#14
X-ray Angry Kid Fan Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: London Posts: 230	@ Toni and Alphonsus I did some more tests last night (with the last SIMM removed from the 2nd DKB board) as was the case when I took that pic, and I was able to fill all 363mb of RAM with files. There were no errors. As soon as I put the 4th SIMM in, that whole board's RAM goes awol. Yes, I am running MAProm Maybe I should put the last SIMM in and do showconfig again? As for power: I have a spare PSU (I am using new old stock AT at the moment, not original Amiga PSU). I can try with original. The thing is, the situation is the same whether I have the PIV in or not: if it was power, wouldn't the problem be worse if I added the PIV?

24 August 2008, 12:53	#15
X-ray Angry Kid Fan Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: London Posts: 230	OK, gents, small update: 1) Tried the original Miggy PSU, still got 372mb RAm (I have the full 16 on the mobo now) 2) Took the fully populated DKB out, added the fourth SIMM to the 2nd DKB, put it in the slot where the 1st one was, and got this from showconfig: Curiouser and curiouser... By the way, if I add the second fully populated board, the output is as follows: If I then take one SIMM out, it is like this:

24 August 2008, 19:55	#17
X-ray Angry Kid Fan Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: London Posts: 230	Did this library change from 3.1 to 3.9? Maybe I can try a 3.1 boot?

25 August 2008, 23:58	#18
X-ray Angry Kid Fan Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: London Posts: 230	I am expecting a 3rd DKB board, and I'll update you dudes when that one arrives.

26 August 2008, 11:05	#19
alexh Thalion Webshrine Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oxford Posts: 14,452	Now we know where all those boards are!

06 September 2008, 16:37	#20
X-ray Angry Kid Fan Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: London Posts: 230	Update: Tried 3 DKB3128 boards, and the same thing happens (I can't have more than one of them fully loaded). The curious thing is: I can have all three of them loaded with 96mb of RAM, and that RAM is recognised just fine. So it looks like it is not an upper RAM limit on the Zorro bus, it is a problem with how 128mb RAM is recognised per 'slot' Will do more testing, it is very strange.

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