A1200 - lots of graphics but no "other" memory ???

bluecarrot92 · 25 May 2011, 19:02

I just unpacked my A1200. It has been boxed up the last 15 years and I have no clue anymore... I'm thinking of selling it on Ebay.
When I open the workbench it shows 1,746,808 graphics memory but 0 other memory. Zero other memory? Is that normal or is this an indication that something is broken? The programs seem to work.
I have pictures here:
http://amiga1200-ca.blogspot.com
Edit: the images were updated after I got help in the posts further down! (They don't show the problem anymore.)

In the first picture, are there any other hints of anything that's broken? Ram disk 100% full, 0 k free?

Another question: The last picture shows some extension card (trapdoor). Is that additional RAM? Where can I find out about how much memory or RAM this is adding?

Any help would be much appreciated.

thomas · 25 May 2011, 19:06

An A1200 without any expansion has 2 MB graphics memory (a.k.a. chip RAM) and nothing else.

Ram Disk is always 100% full because it grows and shrinks dynamically with its contents.

So everything is fine.

Edit: well, looking at the trapdoor picture, there is obviously something in it. If this is a RAM expansion, then it's not working any more. You should remove it and check if there is a leaking battery on it. If so, cut it off immediately, otherwise the acid can cause irreparable damage to the board.

Retro-Nerd · 25 May 2011, 19:07

You should remove the expansion card and take a photo of it.

bluecarrot92 · 25 May 2011, 19:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retro-Nerd

You should remove the expansion card and take a photo of it.

Good idea. Thanks. Do you think I can just pull it out or do I need to remove the back cover?

Retro-Nerd · 25 May 2011, 19:12

You can remove it with opening the case.

bluecarrot92 · 25 May 2011, 19:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomas

looking at the trapdoor picture, there is obviously something in it. If this is a RAM expansion, then it's not working any more. You should remove it and check if there is a leaking battery on it. If so, cut it off immediately, otherwise the acid can cause irreparable damage to the board.

the battery would be mounted on the extension board?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retro-Nerd

You can remove it with opening the case.

Vielen Dank!

8bitbubsy · 25 May 2011, 19:17

Just get a grip on the board and pull it towards the open gap in there (don't pull up or down), then you can get it out. Take pictures of both the back side (the side we could see in your picture) and the other side. Maybe we can find any damage or faults from the pictures.

fitzsteve · 25 May 2011, 19:30

Sad I know, but I'm pretty sure thats a DKB1202 as it takes a coin battery so there should not be any leakage but the simm(s) could have come loose or it might not be plugged in properly (perhaps it has moved in transit)

Either way you should remove the card and inspect it, check the jumpers are set correctly and refit.

You may also need to clean the contacts between the expansion and motherboard with IPA.

Steve.

bluecarrot92 · 25 May 2011, 19:43

I added a new image:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xenHLV1160.../amiga+002.jpg

The shop that sold me the Amiga installed this extension. I remember them telling me that it's slightly too big? Not really meant to be installed in a 1200?
There always have been connectivity issues, sometimes after moving the Amiga. The routine was to open the trapdoor and push a little to reconnect the card.
However i had problems just pulling it out. Not enough space. Maybe the shop had to remove the floppy drive to fit this in?

Steve was right. DKB1202.

fitzsteve · 25 May 2011, 19:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluecarrot92

I added a new image:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xenHLV1160.../amiga+002.jpg

The shop that sold me the Amiga installed this extension. I remember them telling me that it's slightly too big? Not really meant to be installed in a 1200?
There always have been connectivity issues, sometimes after moving the Amiga. The routine was to open the trapdoor and push a little to reconnect the card.
However i had problems just pulling it out. Not enough space. Maybe the shop had to remove the floppy drive to fit this in?

You wouldn't need to remove the floppy drive, it looks like its already disconnected in your picture though because at the end with the cut out there would be some clearence between the board and case.

Is should really slide out (by pulling away from the Motherboard) and this is easier done with the case open.

Once out, try to remove and refit the Simm and carefully refitting the card.

Hope that helps,

Steve.

bluecarrot92 · 25 May 2011, 19:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by fitzsteve

Sad I know, but I'm pretty sure thats a DKB1202 as it takes a coin battery so there should not be any leakage but the simm(s) could have come loose or it might not be plugged in properly (perhaps it has moved in transit)

Either way you should remove the card and inspect it, check the jumpers are set correctly and refit.

You may also need to clean the contacts between the expansion and motherboard with IPA.

Steve.

I don't know how to do any of these steps. I'm thinking of getting a new coin battery as a first step. Would that make sense?

Lord Aga · 25 May 2011, 19:54

Could also be a problem with a memory module. Mine needed a bit od reseating when I changed the 4MB for a 8MB one.

fitzsteve · 25 May 2011, 19:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluecarrot92

I don't know how to do any of these steps. I'm thinking of getting a new coin battery as a first step. Would that make sense?

No, if the battery was flat it would just not keep the time, the board would still work. As I say it appears to not be plugged in at all in your picture, perhaps come loose in transit. Try sliding it back onto the Motherboard connector. Its quite tight to fit so be careful. You may need to lift the motherboard sheild a bit in case that is getting in the way.

Steve.

bluecarrot92 · 25 May 2011, 20:03

After opening the back I had tried to pull the card out. That's why it's unplugged.
Thanks for the battery tip. It must be something else then. How would I do the thing with the simms? I don't even know what they are.

8bitbubsy · 25 May 2011, 20:06

Now you've pulled the card out as much as you can, now it's time to pull the card upwards/downwards to get it out. This is 100% normal, the card is not too big and it is made for an Amiga 1200.

DDNI · 25 May 2011, 20:23

One of the lugs that holds the SIMM in doesn't look to be fully seated...

Also J4 (Jumper 4 ) looks set to Disable?

fitzsteve · 25 May 2011, 20:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by DDNI

One of the lugs that holds the SIMM in doesn't look to be fully seated...

Also J4 (Jumper 4 ) looks set to Disable?

Well spotted - he does indeed have it disabled I just checked on my DKB1202, that explains it lol.

Swap the jumper round, make sure the memory chip is well seated and refit.

Then as long as the card is functional you should see your extra Ram

Also you have all three Jumper 1-2-3 set to off which means 8mb, if you only have 4mb ram you need to change those to J1 off and J2-3 on

Jumper settings are printed on the board.

Steve.

bluecarrot92 · 25 May 2011, 20:58

I actually just plugged it back in.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gWWbjbVbf8...1600/amiga.jpg
Success! Thanks guys!
So, with the DKB1202, is it normal to sometimes jiggle loose? If I offer the A1200 on Ebay is that something I should mention?
Also, how well can the A1200 be expected to survive shipping? I wonder if it wouldn't be best to sell it locally (with pick-up). If I can find a buyer in my area.

desiv · 25 May 2011, 21:04

You can always find a buyer for an A1200.. ;-), especially one with a memory expansion already.
I wouldn't bother mentioning the card slipping loose, as that's always something that can happen.. Unless it's so loose it falls off when you tip it on it's side.. ;-)
If it's easy to replace the card (slide it back in without taking the whole case off), I might remove the card for shipping tho, to be nice/safe..
My A1200 had a hard drive flopping loose that I probably would have preferred been stabilized or removed for shipping..

desiv

bluecarrot92 · 25 May 2011, 21:04

Would it be correct to say that my A1200 comes with a DKB1202 RAM extension card with 8 MB? http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gWWbjbVbf8...1600/amiga.jpg

25 May 2011, 19:02	#1
bluecarrot92 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Berkeley, USA Posts: 18	A1200 - lots of graphics but no "other" memory ??? I just unpacked my A1200. It has been boxed up the last 15 years and I have no clue anymore... I'm thinking of selling it on Ebay. When I open the workbench it shows 1,746,808 graphics memory but 0 other memory. Zero other memory? Is that normal or is this an indication that something is broken? The programs seem to work. I have pictures here: http://amiga1200-ca.blogspot.com Edit: the images were updated after I got help in the posts further down! (They don't show the problem anymore.) In the first picture, are there any other hints of anything that's broken? Ram disk 100% full, 0 k free? Another question: The last picture shows some extension card (trapdoor). Is that additional RAM? Where can I find out about how much memory or RAM this is adding? Any help would be much appreciated. Last edited by bluecarrot92; 25 May 2011 at 22:06.

25 May 2011, 19:43	#9
bluecarrot92 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Berkeley, USA Posts: 18	I added a new image: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xenHLV1160.../amiga+002.jpg The shop that sold me the Amiga installed this extension. I remember them telling me that it's slightly too big? Not really meant to be installed in a 1200? There always have been connectivity issues, sometimes after moving the Amiga. The routine was to open the trapdoor and push a little to reconnect the card. However i had problems just pulling it out. Not enough space. Maybe the shop had to remove the floppy drive to fit this in? Steve was right. DKB1202. Last edited by TCD; 25 May 2011 at 19:53. Reason: Back to back posts merged. Use the edit function.

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25 May 2011, 19:06	#2
thomas Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Germany Posts: 6,892	An A1200 without any expansion has 2 MB graphics memory (a.k.a. chip RAM) and nothing else. Ram Disk is always 100% full because it grows and shrinks dynamically with its contents. So everything is fine. Edit: well, looking at the trapdoor picture, there is obviously something in it. If this is a RAM expansion, then it's not working any more. You should remove it and check if there is a leaking battery on it. If so, cut it off immediately, otherwise the acid can cause irreparable damage to the board.

25 May 2011, 19:07	#3
Retro-Nerd Missile Command Champion Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Germany Age: 51 Posts: 12,402	You should remove the expansion card and take a photo of it.

25 May 2011, 19:12	#5
Retro-Nerd Missile Command Champion Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Germany Age: 51 Posts: 12,402	You can remove it with opening the case.

25 May 2011, 19:17	#7
8bitbubsy Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Norway Posts: 1,661	Just get a grip on the board and pull it towards the open gap in there (don't pull up or down), then you can get it out. Take pictures of both the back side (the side we could see in your picture) and the other side. Maybe we can find any damage or faults from the pictures.

25 May 2011, 19:30	#8
fitzsteve Professional slacker! Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Kent, UK Age: 43 Posts: 6,681	Sad I know, but I'm pretty sure thats a DKB1202 as it takes a coin battery so there should not be any leakage but the simm(s) could have come loose or it might not be plugged in properly (perhaps it has moved in transit) Either way you should remove the card and inspect it, check the jumpers are set correctly and refit. You may also need to clean the contacts between the expansion and motherboard with IPA. Steve.

25 May 2011, 19:54	#12
Lord Aga MI clan prevails Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Belgrade, Serbia Posts: 1,424	Could also be a problem with a memory module. Mine needed a bit od reseating when I changed the 4MB for a 8MB one.

25 May 2011, 20:03	#14
bluecarrot92 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Berkeley, USA Posts: 18	After opening the back I had tried to pull the card out. That's why it's unplugged. Thanks for the battery tip. It must be something else then. How would I do the thing with the simms? I don't even know what they are.

25 May 2011, 20:06	#15
8bitbubsy Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Norway Posts: 1,661	Now you've pulled the card out as much as you can, now it's time to pull the card upwards/downwards to get it out. This is 100% normal, the card is not too big and it is made for an Amiga 1200.

25 May 2011, 20:23	#16
DDNI Targ Explorer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 5,409	One of the lugs that holds the SIMM in doesn't look to be fully seated... Also J4 (Jumper 4 ) looks set to Disable?

25 May 2011, 20:58	#18
bluecarrot92 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Berkeley, USA Posts: 18	I actually just plugged it back in. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gWWbjbVbf8...1600/amiga.jpg Success! Thanks guys! So, with the DKB1202, is it normal to sometimes jiggle loose? If I offer the A1200 on Ebay is that something I should mention? Also, how well can the A1200 be expected to survive shipping? I wonder if it wouldn't be best to sell it locally (with pick-up). If I can find a buyer in my area.

25 May 2011, 21:04	#19
desiv Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Salem, OR Posts: 1,706	You can always find a buyer for an A1200.. ;-), especially one with a memory expansion already. I wouldn't bother mentioning the card slipping loose, as that's always something that can happen.. Unless it's so loose it falls off when you tip it on it's side.. ;-) If it's easy to replace the card (slide it back in without taking the whole case off), I might remove the card for shipping tho, to be nice/safe.. My A1200 had a hard drive flopping loose that I probably would have preferred been stabilized or removed for shipping.. desiv

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