a600 won't start - little help?

[d8thstar]

after 12+ years in storage, i decided to pull out my a600 so i could start using my miracle piano teaching system. unfortunately, the system won't start up.

i opened her up to make sure everything was seated and plugged in properly but still, nothing. i even tried removing the hard drive to see if i could boot up off the WB floppy but no luck.

if anyone has any suggestions for me, i'd be very grateful.

if you require more info to help me diagnose, just let me know what you need and i'll respond promptly.

kindest regards,

tony

[TheCorfiot]

Hi Tony

Few Questions to help diagnose the problem

1) Does the Power light or any lights come on.

2) Any display on the screen at all, Colours or cycling.

If the answer to the above is No, then I would suggest testing the PSU (check your fuse??), or try another PSU

Good luck

TC

[DH]

How could you be so cruel to that poor Amiga 600

Where was it stored for those 12+ years.

Is there any voltage coming out of the PSU

Welcome to EAB

[d8thstar]

thanks for the quick replies! just ran downstairs to get answers to your questions:

1. machine definately is getting power. the caps lock light is on steadily. no other lights come on. i hear the HD whir briefly and then nothing.

2. i don't see and cycling. the screen does appear to change to a dark green color but i can't be sure as it's a very old monitor so colors may not be accurate.

trust me, i feel bad for the girl, i've treated her horribly these last 12 years but i want to make it up to her now it's been in the garage, packed away into a neo geo system carrying case. i treat all my stuff pretty well so it wasn't stacked away under anything.

i thought of buying a new HD but if it isn't booting up off floppy (with HD removed), then there must be something else wrong.

i'm tempted to get an a1200 (which i used to have) from amigakit but want to exhaust all possibilities on the 600 first.

sincerely appreciate your help folks, tony

[DH]

If it's been in the garage did you allow it to acclimatise first before powering her up, condensation can kill your beloved electronics. Of course it may be quite hot where you are at the moment

Edit: Hmmmm. Quite warm today where you are.

[Fingerlickin_B]

Does it have a memory expansion card installed?

Maybe try removing that & starting up.

Green means memory problems doesn't it folks?

PZ.

[TheCorfiot]

Green points to Agnus, It's worth carrying out a visual inspection of the legs of the IC's to see if any corrosion has occoured

Oh and Fingers advice is your first point of call, remove the RAM expansion if present, There's usually a battery inside & that may have leaked away & done some damage.

BTW when removing the RAM expansion, check your Mobo's edge connector is clean too.

TC

[d8thstar]

wouldn't have that problem where i live. my garage is setup as a play room, arcade machines, pool table, etc. and the humidity in the air is on par with the rooms in the house.

and nope, no memory expansion installed.

i hope it's something easily fixed but i'm having my doubts. i'd still appreciate any suggestions until we pronounce her dead but i will start another thread to take suggestions for a replacement.

many thanks, t

[d8thstar]

i'll crack her open again tomorrow. any links to where agnus is on the board?

[TheCorfiot]

Originally Posted by d8thstar

i'll crack her open again tomorrow. any links to where agnus is on the board?

Check out the BBoAH bt following the link

http://bboah.amiga-resistance.info/index_e.html

AGNUS is a square surface mount chip with numbering 8375

It's a good idea to inspect the whole board.

Ah ... A thought just occoured... Try powering up with the Keyboard disconnected, just gently tug the ribbon cable out. This is very common on A600's.
If my suspicion is right..... you maybe lucky.

TC

[Fingerlickin_B]

Originally Posted by TheCorfiot

Green points to Agnus

Doh, I should have known that...I even mentioned it very recently in one of my own threads (corroded A2000)...can I just blame the beers?

PZ.

[TheCorfiot]

Originally Posted by Fingerlickin_B

Doh, I should have known that...I even mentioned it very recently in one of my own threads (corroded A2000)...can I just blame the beers?

PZ.

For you of course fingers my good friend

[AlfaRomeo]

My A600 has a similar problem, when power up only CapsLock and power light works and a change from light gray to dark gray colors in monitor (or the opposite, I don´t remember now). But this has happened once before after a prolonged storage and when I test the A600 with another PSU he worked ok so I stored it again and 2 months ago I powered it again and he has same problem, as now I have only one PSU I can´t test it with another PSU to see, but I suspect that the problem is that he does´t like this PSU though it works with my A1200

[d8thstar]

wow, i got folks all over the world helping me on this; how i miss the amiga scene

alfaromeo, my portuguese brother! my folks are from fial and pico.

it being 4:23 AM here in california, time for me to call it a night. i'll try your suggestions tomorrow and report back. wish me luck and you all have a good day/night.

[alexh]

Originally Posted by d8thstar

the screen does appear to change to a dark green color

You sure it's not Yellow? A600's yellow screen a lot if the trapdoor RAM is loose. Remove it (if you have any) and see if that helps.

[AlfaRomeo]

Originally Posted by d8thstar

alfaromeo, my portuguese brother! my folks are from fial and pico.

I never been in the Azores, Portuguese islands where belong Faial and Pico but everyone says they are beautiful, it is worth visiting

Good luck with your A600

[d8thstar]

i went back in '88 with my folks (their first time back in 20 years) when i graduated high school. i call them the atlantic hawaiin islands. not plush with dense forests but the weather was beautiful and the people couldnt be nicer.

[Merlin]

I would also make sure that the kickstart chip is correctly seated in the socket, I have also seen failure to start up happen because of this.

[rkauer]

Also check the voltage levels coming the PSU, specially the 5V rail, since it power the whole motherboard and HD (if it is a 2.5" laptop sized).

I second the ROM coming loose, BTW. Just pry it gently with a flat screwdriver and press it down again into the socket (be careful to not bend the chip legs!).

[DH]

Don't forget, keep yourself earthed to prevent ESD (Electro Static Discharge) I've seen too many IC's fried this way 'n' I'm not joking. Even when handling anything within the case follow the same procedure

Use of a ESD Wristband is 100% advice and I always use one when doing a bit of computer DIY, TV DIY or anything electronic DIY