plonka@carroll1.cc.edu (Dave Plonka) (03/09/90)
My Amiga 500 has become very tempermental lately. It just RESETS itself.
very similarly to a CTRL-AMIGA-AMIGA.
Sometimes it will happen 5 times in 10 minutes, other times it has been on
for hours straight with no problems.
It doesn't seem to be related to heat generation, since it is just as
likely to reset just after being turned on as it is hours later.
Also, power load doesn't seem to affect it. I've run w/2 external drives and
AMax w/no immediate problems.
NOW, the important part (hopefully),
When it reboots after the reset, the CAPS-lock light is on, and can't be
shut off. Also the keyboard is disabled.
Sometimes the CAPS-lock light will flash regularly, and continuously.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
--------------------
(I don't have access to another power supply, but if I have reason to
beleive that's the problem, I'll buy a 3rd party one.)
So, is the CAPS-lock light flashing some sort of chip-fault message to me
or what?
Thanks for ANY help.
------------------------------------------------------------------///--------
plonka@carroll1.cc.edu Dave Plonka ///
plonka@carroll1.UUCP ARS: N9HZF \\\/// AMIGA
--------------------------------------------------------------\XX/-----------4225_5105@uwovax.uwo.ca (03/10/90)
In article <1291@carroll1.cc.edu>, plonka@carroll1.cc.edu (Dave Plonka) writes: > My Amiga 500 has become very tempermental lately. It just RESETS itself. > very similarly to a CTRL-AMIGA-AMIGA. > Sometimes it will happen 5 times in 10 minutes, other times it has been on > for hours straight with no problems. It sounds like you need a new power supply. I had the same problem until I got an 200 Watt AT power supply and wired it in. > It doesn't seem to be related to heat generation, since it is just as > likely to reset just after being turned on as it is hours later. > Also, power load doesn't seem to affect it. I've run w/2 external drives and > AMax w/no immediate problems. > Depending on the drives that you have 2 externals and AMAX may be too much for you power supply. Running just the 1010 drive would overheat my power supply. > > So, is the CAPS-lock light flashing some sort of chip-fault message to me > or what? When the caps-lock light flashes the keyboard self test has failed. john
klein@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM (Tony Klein) (03/14/90)
In article <1291@carroll1.cc.edu> plonka@carroll1.cc.edu (Dave Plonka) writes: >My Amiga 500 has become very tempermental lately. It just RESETS itself. >very similarly to a CTRL-AMIGA-AMIGA. Mine too, and its really PISSING ME OFF. >Sometimes it will happen 5 times in 10 minutes, other times it has been on >for hours straight with no problems. >It doesn't seem to be related to heat generation, since it is just as >likely to reset just after being turned on as it is hours later. And it always seems to 'zap' right when a disk is being written..or just BEFORE writing a bunch of edits out to disk..(Murphy's Law?) I have had it to the shop (he 'reseated the chips', the cure-all for A500 problems), I have reseated the chips myself (twice), I have disconnected all the peripherals, it still has random crashes. I have checked the power supply. I eventually discovered that if I leave it on all the time, I get some relief. It says booted for days at a time! But then it crashes... >NOW, the important part (hopefully), >When it reboots after the reset, the CAPS-lock light is on, and can't be >shut off. Also the keyboard is disabled. Sometimes this happens to me, but not very often. I can power cycle to make that one go away. >WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? I'll tell you what it means to me: THE A500 SUCKS. It's far and away the most UNRELIABLE computer I have ever used. It is getting to the point where it is USELESS! Every little 5 MINUTE JOB I wanna do turns into a 2 HOUR MARATHON DISK RECOVERY operation! Followed by crashes DURING disk recovery operations!!! Followed by CRASHES during CRASHES!!! I COULD JUST SCREAM!! AAAHHHHGG!!!!! [Whew. Sorry. I feel better now. Excuse me. Thanks.] [Pause while I unlock the caps and regain my composure.] Despite my wild and dangerous tone, I am not ready to smash my A500 into a little pile of silicon just yet. (soon,...) I would like to figure this out. My latest theory is that the random crashes are related to the monitor 'snapping' problem. I will look into that next, maybe get my monitor fixed, or do it myself if I can find more details. But in the long run, >WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? I see this thread come up every so often, I have talked to a coupla others with this 'random crash' problem, and I think 1) its fairly common, and 2) we are all screwed cause no one can figure it out. It's just some kinda quality control problem. We all bought lemons. Even if a monitor fix makes some difference, I have no faith in this unit. I wanna get rid of it. There is no way I would ever add a hard disk to this crumby thing, so I guess I have to get an A2000 in order to add a HD. I thought the A500 would be a nice cheap way to get an Amiga, but I guess not. It's lousy. [Why is this? Do the boards sag in the case, causing the chips to shift and come loose? Does my pounding on the keys rattle the sockets? Do the vibrations from some speed bump in West Chester keep reverberating through some etherial plane until they ping my machine? Beats me.] >Thanks for ANY help. There is little hope of help, I think we're hosed. > plonka@carroll1.cc.edu Dave Plonka /// > plonka@carroll1.UUCP ARS: N9HZF \\\/// AMIGA -<TK>- ____/| Tony Klein NCR Comten, St.Paul, MN 612-638-7861 () \| klein@stpaul.ncr.com ...uunet!ncrlnk!ncrcce!klein
xrtnt@amarna.gsfc.nasa.gov (Nigel Tzeng) (03/14/90)
In article <1961@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM>, klein@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM (Tony Klein) writes... ^In article <1291@carroll1.cc.edu> plonka@carroll1.cc.edu (Dave Plonka) writes: ^>Thanks for ANY help. [Large amounts of screaming and yelling (very justified screaming and yelling) ^There is little hope of help, I think we're hosed. ^ ^> plonka@carroll1.cc.edu Dave Plonka /// ^> plonka@carroll1.UUCP ARS: N9HZF \\\/// AMIGA ^ ^ -<TK>- ^____/| Tony Klein NCR Comten, St.Paul, MN 612-638-7861 ^ () \| klein@stpaul.ncr.com ...uunet!ncrlnk!ncrcce!klein If the silly thing is still under warranty insist that the motherbard be swapped. Or bitch at the dealer/CBM until they get tired of listening to you and offer to give you a new motherboard for a nominal fee. Yeah...lots of work but I'm not willing to chuck a 600+ dollar CPU into the trash bin. Lemons exist everywhere...I used to sell computers (IBM Clones...but I have seen the light...) that had really bad quality control. People who came in we eventually just swapped the mother boards (evidently there were a few messy traces on some of the runs) and shipped it back to the company. They were otherwise great machines (in terms of bang per buck) and were reliable if you got decent motherboards. We've got a Mac here that insists on being screwed up...blown 2 hard drives controllers so far. You know...my A500 refuses to boot when the temperature is below 60 degrees. Very strange. NT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A| Nigel Tzeng xrtnt@csdr.gsfc.nasa.gov // m| STX Inc. xrtnt@csdr.span.nasa.gov // i| \\ // g| Standard Disclaimer Applies: The opinions expressed are my own. \X/ a| | "Hmmmm." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
jon@sun.acs.udel.edu (Jonathan R Deutsch) (03/15/90)
In article <1961@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM> klein@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM (Tony Klein) writes: >>WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? >I'll tell you what it means to me: THE A500 SUCKS. It's far and away the most >UNRELIABLE computer I have ever used. It is getting to the point where it is >USELESS! Every little 5 MINUTE JOB I wanna do turns into a 2 HOUR MARATHON >DISK RECOVERY operation! Followed by crashes DURING disk recovery >operations!!! Followed by CRASHES during CRASHES!!! I COULD JUST SCREAM!! >2) we are all screwed cause no one can figure it out. It's just some >kinda quality control problem. We all bought lemons. Even if a monitor >fix makes some difference, I have no faith in this unit. I wanna get rid of >it. > Well, I sympathize with your situation, but, just let it be known that I know of 15 people who have A500's and have had NO PROBLEMS whatsoever. With this is mind, it's hard to acknowledge the fact that we 'all' bought lemons. I, for some bizarre reason, CAN believe that there ARE lemons out there. But there can't be THAT many, because by now the A500 would have been labled as a useless computer. So, before we all go making sweeping generalizations ("THE A500 SUCKS"), lets just gather some stats and see what the REAL deal is. (IMHO, I *betcha* it's a power-oriented problem you're having) (and, I really don't think that the monitor jolts have anything to do with it) X-------------------+--------------+-----------------------X | | |\ | jon@sun.acs.udel.edu | "For my 2 cents, | | \|on |/eutsch | \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ | I'd pay a dollar" | X------+--------------------+--------------------+---------X
usenet@cps3xx.UUCP (Usenet file owner) (03/15/90)
In article <9097@sun.acs.udel.edu> jon@sun.acs.udel.edu (Jonathan R Deutsch) writes: >In article <1961@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM> klein@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM (Tony Klein) writes: >>I'll tell you what it means to me: THE A500 SUCKS. It's far and away the most [... the woes of a 500 owner left out ...] >Well, I sympathize with your situation, but, just let it be known that >I know of 15 people who have A500's and have had NO PROBLEMS whatsoever. >With this is mind, it's hard to acknowledge the fact that we 'all' bought >lemons. I, for some bizarre reason, CAN believe that there ARE lemons out >there. But there can't be THAT many, because by now the A500 would have >been labled as a useless computer. >So, before we all go making sweeping generalizations ("THE A500 SUCKS"), >lets just gather some stats and see what the REAL deal is. I have found that if you buy a computer, in general, within a year you will be able to tell for sure if it is a lemon or a good one. This is the case from nearly ANY computer company. In general I would suggest to anyone buying a computer to shy away from anything with less than a 1 year warranty. By the way, don't ask me if I own a machine with a 9 month warranty, I think you know I do! :-) >(IMHO, I *betcha* it's a power-oriented problem you're having) >(and, I really don't think that the monitor jolts have anything to do with it) Sounds about right to me. > | | |\ | jon@sun.acs.udel.edu | "For my 2 cents, | > | \|on |/eutsch | \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ | I'd pay a dollar" | ______\ Chris Dailey, Amiga Enthusiast / from/ dailey@cpsin1.cps.msu.edu / /\ \ \ \ \ / \/
consp13@bingsunm.cc.binghamton.edu (Marcus Cannava) (03/15/90)
On 9-Mar-90, plonka@carrol1.cc.edu writes.. > > My Amiga 500 has become very tempermental lately. It just RESETS itself. > very similarly to a CTRL-AMIGA-AMIGA. > Sometimes it will happen 5 times in 10 minutes, other times it has been on > for hours straight with no problems. > It doesn't seem to be related to heat generation, since it is just as > likely to reset just after being turned on as it is hours later. > Also, power load doesn't seem to affect it. I've run w/2 external drives and > AMax w/no immediate problems. > I had this VERY SAME PROBLEM myself, and, because nobody seemed to know what was actually going on, I wound up wasting $400 in needless repairs and part replacements. It turns out that the power supply for some A500's becomes weak in its later years, and begins to give unreliable performance. It is unrelated to heat, load, or system configuration -- but randomly, the computer will reset. I brought my Amiga to a dealer on Long Island, NY, and got ripped off like you would not believe: They replaced 4 chips, then decided to replace the motherboard, then the keyboard, then the disk drive. After all this replacing (and money gone), it STILL didn't work, and they refused to give me a refund or even perform any further tests for no charge. If I knew who to register a complaint with, I would -- Commodore should be informed of this company's disreputable practices. (They are, The Byte Shop, in Merrick, Long Island, NY) Anyway. I purchased a used/like-new power supply from a wonderful dealer here in Binghamton, and it worked like a charm. > > NOW, the important part (hopefully), > When it reboots after the reset, the CAPS-lock light is on, and can't be > shut off. Also the keyboard is disabled. > Sometimes the CAPS-lock light will flash regularly, and continuously. > > WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? > This, according to the wonderful (ahem) people at the Byte Shop, is an indication that the keyboard failed power-up diagnostics. SUMMARY: Get a new power supply, don't replace parts on your A500. You'll be happy. \marc 'I do not fear computers.. I fear the lack of them' -- I. Asimov RNM
grx1042@uoft02.utoledo.edu (Steve Snodgrass) (03/15/90)
In article <1961@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM>, klein@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM (Tony Klein) writes: > I have had it to the shop (he 'reseated the chips', the cure-all for A500 > problems), I have reseated the chips myself (twice), I have disconnected > all the peripherals, it still has random crashes. I have checked the power > .... > I'll tell you what it means to me: THE A500 SUCKS. It's far and away the most > UNRELIABLE computer I have ever used. It is getting to the point where it is > .... > with this 'random crash' problem, and I think 1) its fairly common, and > 2) we are all screwed cause no one can figure it out. It's just some > kinda quality control problem. We all bought lemons. Even if a monitor > .... > guess I have to get an A2000 in order to add a HD. I thought the A500 > would be a nice cheap way to get an Amiga, but I guess not. It's lousy. Please don't generalize your problem to the whole A500 community. My A500 is a few years old and almost never crashes (except when I'm programming!!). Obviously, if you have this problem, then there is something wrong with your computer (or something you are running). But this does not mean all A500s are the same way. There are a lot of pleased A500 owners out here. /\=======================================================================/\ \/ Reality: Steve Snodgrass |"Volts embodied intent, and Amps were the \/ /\ -^-^- Cyberspace -^-^- | runners who carried out those intentions, /\ \/ GRX1042@uoft02.utoledo.edu| against the Ohms." -Gregory Benford, ToL \/ /\ GRX1042@uoft02.BITNET | Sleep is a luxury, spare time a myth. -me /\ \/ uoft02::GRX1042 (DECnet) | Recumbent Amigas - the only way to hack. \/
plonka@carroll1.cc.edu (Dave Plonka) (03/15/90)
In article <1961@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM> klein@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM (Tony Klein) writes: >In article <1291@carroll1.cc.edu> plonka@carroll1.cc.edu (Dave Plonka) writes: >>My Amiga 500 has become very tempermental lately. It just RESETS itself. >>very similarly to a CTRL-AMIGA-AMIGA. >Mine too, and its really PISSING ME OFF. > [stuff deleted] >>WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? >I'll tell you what it means to me: THE A500 SUCKS. BULL!! I fixed mine. I just got a $50 XT power supply, and wired it up, now everything's fine! (It's the PS that sucks.) (BTW, thanks to those who wrote me email suggesting solutions.) [stuff deleted] >>Thanks for ANY help. >There is little hope of help, I think we're hosed. I think not, mine's running fine, and has been for days now. Apparently, the secret to fixing a 500 is to replace the power supply first, no matter how unlikely the symptoms seem to lead to that conclusion. I would definitely suggest you DO NOT take it in for repair. It seems they always want to check the chips and give you a big bill. surprise. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------///-------- plonka@carroll1.cc.edu Dave Plonka /// uunet!marque!carroll1!plonka ARS: N9HZF \\\/// AMIGA --------------------------------------------------------------\XX/-----------
JKT100@psuvm.psu.edu (JKT) (03/15/90)
In article <3149@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu>, consp13@bingsunm.cc.binghamton.edu (Marcus Cannava) says: > > I brought my Amiga to a dealer on Long Island, NY, and got ripped off >like you would not believe: They replaced 4 chips, then decided to replace the >motherboard, then the keyboard, then the disk drive. After all this replacing >(and money gone), it STILL didn't work, and they refused to give me a refund >or even perform any further tests for no charge. > If I knew who to register a complaint with, I would If you call Commodore customer support at (215( 436-4200, you can ask the support rep. you get to register an official complaint. They have special forms for this, and the complaint will be forwarded to the regional manager for that particular center's area. Kurt Kurt -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- || Kurt Tappe (814) 862-8630 || "This town needs an enema." || || 600 E. Pollock Rd., #5705 || - Joker, "Batman" || || State College, PA 16801 --------------------------------------|| || jkt100@psuvm.bitnet or jkt100@psuvm.psu.edu || || or jkt100%psuvm.bitnet@psuvax1 QLink: KurtTappe || ----------------------------------------------------------------------
stefan@hercule.cs.concordia.ca (BUCHHOLZ stefan) (03/15/90)
Machines that do weird things like resets tend to be infected by viruses, to you two guys pirate software? Are you gamers? No flames please... A guy came into the lab yesterday, said he had an A500, wanted to do an 8-hr video. Anyhow, the firts 5 disks we popped into a drive proved to be infected by the SCA, and Byte Bandit (I think Byte Bandit was winning the war :)), anyhow : A500 OWNERS: FLOPPIES ARE MORE OFTENLY INFECTED THEN HD'S! IF YOU ARE GOING TO PIRATE GAMES, PROTECT YOURSELF. Tt's like safe-sex, clean needles, etc... LePew PS: The Net has not pitty for software pirates. ******************************************************************************* Stefan Buchholz * Concordia University Computer Science * a.k.a Stefy LePew stefan@doyle.cs.concordia.ca > MITE AVsita Multimedia lab system support << ******************************************************************************
xrtnt@amarna.gsfc.nasa.gov (Nigel Tzeng) (03/16/90)
In article <1931@clyde.concordia.ca>, stefan@hercule.cs.concordia.ca (BUCHHOLZ stefan) writes... ^ ^Machines that do weird things like resets tend to be infected by viruses, ^to you two guys pirate software? Are you gamers? No flames please... ^ ^ A guy came into the lab yesterday, said he had an A500, wanted to ^do an 8-hr video. Anyhow, the firts 5 disks we popped into a drive proved to be ^infected by the SCA, and Byte Bandit (I think Byte Bandit was winning the war :)), anyhow : A500 OWNERS: FLOPPIES ARE MORE OFTENLY INFECTED THEN HD'S! ^ ^ IF YOU ARE GOING TO PIRATE GAMES, PROTECT YOURSELF. Tt's like safe-sex, clean ^needles, etc... ^ ^ LePew ^PS: The Net has not pitty for software pirates. ^ ^******************************************************************************* ^Stefan Buchholz * Concordia University Computer Science * a.k.a Stefy LePew ^stefan@doyle.cs.concordia.ca > MITE AVsita Multimedia lab system support << ^****************************************************************************** Excuse me? It seems a little rude to be accusing people with hardware problems of pirating software...the A500 does seem to have a history of flaky behavior when the power supply isn't up to snuff. The flame is justified. IMHO: If you are pirating games you deserve any virus you manage to pick up. NT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A| Nigel Tzeng xrtnt@csdr.gsfc.nasa.gov // m| STX Inc. xrtnt@csdr.span.nasa.gov // i| \\ // g| Standard Disclaimer Applies: The opinions expressed are my own. \X/ a| | "Hmmmm." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
casebolt%esdc.span@fedex.msfc.nasa.gov (03/17/90)
From: FEDEX::"amiga-relay-request@louie.udel.edu" 14-MAR-1990 14:30:55.78
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From: Tony Klein <klein@ncrcce.stpaul.ncr.com>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: A500 resets itself
Message-ID: <1961@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM>
Date: 13 Mar 90 21:08:48 GMT
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In article <1291@carroll1.cc.edu> plonka@carroll1.cc.edu (Dave Plonka) writes:
>My Amiga 500 has become very tempermental lately. It just RESETS itself.
>very similarly to a CTRL-AMIGA-AMIGA.
Mine too, and its really PISSING ME OFF.
>Sometimes it will happen 5 times in 10 minutes, other times it has been on
>for hours straight with no problems.
>It doesn't seem to be related to heat generation, since it is just as
>likely to reset just after being turned on as it is hours later.
And it always seems to 'zap' right when a disk is being written..or just
BEFORE writing a bunch of edits out to disk..(Murphy's Law?)
I have had it to the shop (he 'reseated the chips', the cure-all for A500
problems), I have reseated the chips myself (twice), I have disconnected
all the peripherals, it still has random crashes. I have checked the power
supply. I eventually discovered that if I leave it on all the time, I get
some relief. It says booted for days at a time! But then it crashes...
[Whew. Sorry. I feel better now. Excuse me. Thanks.]
[Pause while I unlock the caps and regain my composure.]
Despite my wild and dangerous tone, I am not ready to smash my A500 into a
little pile of silicon just yet. (soon,...) I would like to figure this out.
My latest theory is that the random crashes are related to the monitor
'snapping' problem. I will look into that next, maybe get my monitor fixed,
or do it myself if I can find more details.
But in the long run,
>WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
I see this thread come up every so often, I have talked to a coupla others
with this 'random crash' problem, and I think 1) its fairly common, and
2) we are all screwed cause no one can figure it out. It's just some
kinda quality control problem. We all bought lemons. Even if a monitor
fix makes some difference, I have no faith in this unit. I wanna get rid of
it.
There is no way I would ever add a hard disk to this crumby thing, so I
guess I have to get an A2000 in order to add a HD. I thought the A500
would be a nice cheap way to get an Amiga, but I guess not. It's lousy.
[Why is this? Do the boards sag in the case, causing the chips to shift
and come loose? Does my pounding on the keys rattle the sockets? Do the
vibrations from some speed bump in West Chester keep reverberating through
some etherial plane until they ping my machine? Beats me.]
>Thanks for ANY help.
There is little hope of help, I think we're hosed.
I don't own an amiga 500 but a friend does. He was having problems with the
Video being distorted and random crashes..... I worked on his Amiga 500 and
found the following problems that may have something to do with yours...
There is an RF shield soldered to the back of the main board. Insulating the
RF shield from the board is a thin film of a mylar type plastic sheet. He too
had been reseating chips on the board. I noticed that ALL of the chip leads were
too long and some were sticking thru the plastic sheet and shorting at random
to the back of the RF shield. I cut the leads off as short as possible. I also
found a few COLD solder joints. I touched them up as well. I also found the
disk drive unit was touching the edge of the keyboard. The plastic sheet had
also been punctured by the sharp edge on the disk drive case.
If you know anything about soldering open the case and give it a shot. I do
suggest that you do this after the warranty has expired. Look for anything
possible that may short out. These shorts will definitely cause strange and
random problems. My friend has not had any more problems with his A500 since
my repair job...
Hope this helps... Let me know what you find... I would like to keep track
of various problems with the A500 since several friends own one and I may
just have to help out again...
Richard Casebolt
Senior Computer Engineering Specialist
Boeing Computer Support Services
Building 4653 rm 19
Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama 35812
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> plonka@carroll1.cc.edu Dave Plonka ///
> plonka@carroll1.UUCP ARS: N9HZF \\\/// AMIGA
-<TK>-
____/| Tony Klein NCR Comten, St.Paul, MN 612-638-7861
() \| klein@stpaul.ncr.com ...uunet!ncrlnk!ncrcce!kleinconsp13@bingsunm.cc.binghamton.edu (Marcus Cannava) (03/18/90)
On March 15, 1990, Stefan Buchholz writes... > > Machines that do weird things like resets tend to be infected by viruses, > to you two guys pirate software? Are you gamers? No flames please... > No flames. But I find that too many people tend to blame strange problems on viruses. "Gee, I was writing this program, and it just doesn't work, maybe I have a virus.." "Gee, I was using this disk, and I placed it on a magnet, then I rebooted. It's gone. I think I had a virus.." (A tad exaggerated, but I think you get the point..) I think it is general knowledge these days that the A500's power supply is, in kind words, a lemon. My problems were cured by a new one. I did not (and do not) have any of the known, detectable viruses. Don't be too quick to blame all unexplained system problems on a virus. As a consultant, I see this happen waaaaay too often. \marc ======== 'I do not fear computers.. I fear the lack of them' -- I. Asimov RNM
sparks@corpane.UUCP (John Sparks) (03/20/90)
casebolt%esdc.span@fedex.msfc.nasa.gov writes: >In article <1291@carroll1.cc.edu> plonka@carroll1.cc.edu (Dave Plonka) writes: >>My Amiga 500 has become very tempermental lately. It just RESETS itself. > mine too. My brother's did this. It was the power supply plug. Seems that it works its way loose after a while and becomes just loose enough to reset the machine. Sometimes it would be just borderline enough so that the workbench hand would show up, but it wouldn't boot a floppy. It would start loading, then reset back to the hand. Wiggle the plug and see if you can force it to reset. [the plug that plugs into the Amiga, not the end that plugs into the wall] -- John Sparks | D.I.S.K. 24hrs 1200bps. Accessable via Starlink (Louisville KY) sparks@corpane.UUCP <><><><><><><><><><><> D.I.S.K. ph:502/968-5401 thru -5406 A virtuous life is its own punishment.
mikeeb@sco.COM (Michael E. Bays) (03/20/90)
first of all this guys mail is HILARIOUS!!! thnx it really made my day. anyway i guess ill throw my experience into the ring. with two problems. i only did some of the technical work on these so your on your own if you blow up your computer attempting them, personnally i have my own amiga/guru do the scary stuff. monitors: i have a 1084. seems that the big hot (capcitor) i think thats what it is, its the thing that lives behind the heat sink, tends to ionized its solder connecting to the motherboard. i could see it arc periodicly when i opened it up and observed it hot. so i just resoldered that bit, that fixed all monitor snaping. motherboard: i hate that damn fat agness chip. ive heard several people say that this worked for them and i know it worked for me. i had a vairety of problems---- anyway before reseating the chip make sure all the contact points are clean. THEN make sure that all the contacts are coming out the same distance ie: i had one contact point that was bent in about 2 millimeters further than the others once i did this wala! disks: dirty disk heads cause the weirdest problems. i always clean them before proceding with other trouble shooting. luck me In article <1961@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM> klein@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM (Tony Klein) writes: >In article <1291@carroll1.cc.edu> plonka@carroll1.cc.edu (Dave Plonka) writes: >>My Amiga 500 has become very tempermental lately. It just RESETS itself. >>very similarly to a CTRL-AMIGA-AMIGA. >Mine too, and its really PISSING ME OFF. > >>Sometimes it will happen 5 times in 10 minutes, other times it has been on >>for hours straight with no problems. >>It doesn't seem to be related to heat generation, since it is just as >>likely to reset just after being turned on as it is hours later. >And it always seems to 'zap' right when a disk is being written..or just >BEFORE writing a bunch of edits out to disk..(Murphy's Law?) > >I have had it to the shop (he 'reseated the chips', the cure-all for A500 >problems), I have reseated the chips myself (twice), I have disconnected >all the peripherals, it still has random crashes. I have checked the power >supply. I eventually discovered that if I leave it on all the time, I get >some relief. It says booted for days at a time! But then it crashes... > >>NOW, the important part (hopefully), >>When it reboots after the reset, the CAPS-lock light is on, and can't be >>shut off. Also the keyboard is disabled. >Sometimes this happens to me, but not very often. I can power cycle to make >that one go away. > >>WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? >I'll tell you what it means to me: THE A500 SUCKS. It's far and away the most >UNRELIABLE computer I have ever used. It is getting to the point where it is >USELESS! Every little 5 MINUTE JOB I wanna do turns into a 2 HOUR MARATHON >DISK RECOVERY operation! Followed by crashes DURING disk recovery >operations!!! Followed by CRASHES during CRASHES!!! I COULD JUST SCREAM!! >AAAHHHHGG!!!!! > >[Whew. Sorry. I feel better now. Excuse me. Thanks.] >[Pause while I unlock the caps and regain my composure.] > >Despite my wild and dangerous tone, I am not ready to smash my A500 into a >little pile of silicon just yet. (soon,...) I would like to figure this out. > >My latest theory is that the random crashes are related to the monitor >'snapping' problem. I will look into that next, maybe get my monitor fixed, >or do it myself if I can find more details. >. -- //-n-\\ Michael E. Bays _____---=======---_____ The Santa Cruz Operation ====____\ /.. ..\ /____==== (...!uunet!sco!mikeeb) // ---\__O__/--- \\ \_\ /_/
usenet@cps3xx.UUCP (Usenet file owner) (03/23/90)
In article <1931@clyde.concordia.ca> stefan@hercule.CS.Concordia.CA (BUCHHOLZ stefan) writes: > >Machines that do weird things like resets tend to be infected by viruses, >to you two guys pirate software? Are you gamers? No flames please... [.. 'a guy I know had a virus' story ..] > IF YOU ARE GOING TO PIRATE GAMES, PROTECT YOURSELF. Tt's like safe-sex, clean >needles, etc... > > LePew >PS: The Net has not pitty for software pirates. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I'm sorry, but I resent that inuendo! I got my first virus from the store that I bought my Amiga from! My original copy of WB was bad, so they recopied theirs for me and it had a virus! It took a friend and VirusX to get rid of it for me! I've picked up two other viruses from PD stuff (which is most of what I have). And have you ever gone to a user group meeting? Remember there are many sources for viruses other than pirating! Assuming anyone with a virus is a pirate is like assuming anyone that has AIDS is homosexual! It's just rediculous and has little to do with reality! >Stefan Buchholz * Concordia University Computer Science * a.k.a Stefy LePew >stefan@doyle.cs.concordia.ca > MITE AVsita Multimedia lab system support << >****************************************************************************** /\ from / \_________________________________ / /\ Chris Dailey, Amiga Enthusiast / \ \ \___dailey@cpsin1.cps.msu.edu___/ \ / \/
akcs.clemon@wcbcs (Craig Lemon) (03/26/90)
>I'll tell you what it means to me: THE A500 SUCKS. It's far and away the most >UNRELIABLE computer I have ever used. It is getting to the point where it is >USELESS! Every little 5 MINUTE JOB I wanna do turns into a 2 HOUR MARATHON >DISK RECOVERY operation! Followed by crashes DURING disk recovery >operations!!! Followed by CRASHES during CRASHES!!! I COULD JUST SCREAM!! >AAAHHHHGG!!!!! Oh yeah! Try using a A2088 Bridgecard REV 2 sometime. It's taken me 2 weeks to get that thing working again after a truck drove by. Reseating the card, chips, everything. It boils down to a reset-wigle-try again-wiggle type thing. Pain in the butt. -- _ Craig Lemon // |_| Kitchener, Ontario \X/ | | M I G A Amiga 2000 -- 2400 bps -- AmigaUUCP 1.03D ..!watmath!xenitec!wcbcs!lemsys!clemon ..!watmath!xenitec!wcbcs!{_clemon|AKCS.clemon} ^^ Not Reliable Yet "Yes, it's my real name!!"