Ata@radc-multics.arpa (John G. Ata) (01/05/89)
Delivery-Date: 3 January 1989 09:51 est
Delivery-By: Ata.SysMaint
Sender: amiga-relay-request at LOUIE.UDEL.EDU
Date: Sunday, 1 January 1989 16:49 est
From: George Robbins <grr at CBMVAX.UUCP>
Subject: Re: A501 clock failure
To: amiga-relay at LOUIE.UDEL.EDU
Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA
In article <8901011415.AA07578@MATH.Tau.Ac.IL> <finkel%TAURUS.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU> writes:
> Help!
>
> The clock module of my A501 has stopped functioning.
...
> Battery Backed up clock not found
....
> I tried using the 'setclock opt reset' but it didn't help.
>
> I opened my A501 unit. The Battery output is 4.12V, and according to
> the schematics it should to be 4.5V. Is this the problem?
> According to the schematics, the battery is also supposed to be NiCad.
> Is it charging while the machine is on? Also, The RAM on the module
> works OK. Only the clock stopped working. What can I do?
> What output should I expect on the test point TP3 on the A501 board?
> I'm an EE student, and I'd like to try and fix it by myself. What is the
> cost of a new 6242 chip? ( If this is the problem )
The voltage you mention is probably OK if measured at the clock chip,
it's a little bit suspect if measured at the battery. You should check
that the battery is charging when the machine is powered up - it is
trickle charged through a resistor.
.
.
.
--
George Robbins - now working for, uucp: {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!grr
but no way officially representing arpa: cbmvax!grr@uunet.uu.net
Commodore, Engineering Department fone: 215-431-9255 (only by moonlite)
Wasn't there a posting a while ago stating that the 1.3 version of
setclock had a deficiency where it would not work sometimes after a
crash with this exact error message? They claimed that using the 1.2
setclock would fix this situation.
John G. Atapnelson@antares.UUCP (Phil Nelson) (01/06/89)
In article <6224@louie.udel.EDU> Ata@radc-multics.arpa (John G. Ata) writes: > In article <8901011415.AA07578@MATH.Tau.Ac.IL> <finkel%TAURUS.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU> writes: > > Help! > > > > The clock module of my A501 has stopped functioning. > ... > > Battery Backed up clock not found > .... > > I tried using the 'setclock opt reset' but it didn't help. About a week ago, after a guru, I noticed the "Battery backed up clock not found" message. I didn't try 'opt reset', although I did try 'opt save', which got me the same err message. The battery voltage on mine was OK (about 4.5V), so I started checking around for the 6242 chip (easier than further troubleshooting, which would have required some careful thought :-). Well, neither the local Amiga dealer or electronics store had the chip, and before I could check any further, The clock started working again (although it did lose about three days). > >Wasn't there a posting a while ago stating that the 1.3 version of >setclock had a deficiency where it would not work sometimes after a >crash with this exact error message? They claimed that using the 1.2 >setclock would fix this situation. > > John G. Ata I don't remember this posting, was it a long time ago? If this happens to me again, I will try the 1.2 setclock, in the meantime, does anyone know more about this? -- Phil Nelson at (but not speaking for) OnTyme:NSC.P/Nelson Tymnet, McDonnell Douglas Network Systems Company Voice:408-922-7508 UUCP:{pyramid|uunet}oliveb!tymix!antares!pnelson LRV:Component Station
andy@cbmvax.UUCP (Andy Finkel) (01/07/89)
In article <318@antares.UUCP> pnelson@antares.UUCP (Phil Nelson) writes: >>Wasn't there a posting a while ago stating that the 1.3 version of >>setclock had a deficiency where it would not work sometimes after a >>crash with this exact error message? They claimed that using the 1.2 >>setclock would fix this situation. >> >> John G. Ata > > >I don't remember this posting, was it a long time ago? If this happens to >me again, I will try the 1.2 setclock, in the meantime, does anyone know >more about this? Setclock 1.3 has improved testing as to whether or not a real time clock exists on the machine. Setclock 1.3 also has the new RESET option, to get the clock out of test mode. Unfortunately, I forgot, and put the code for the reset after the improved validation routines :-( andy -- andy finkel {uunet|rutgers|amiga}!cbmvax!andy Commodore-Amiga, Inc. "Possibly this is a new usage of the word 'compatible' with which I was previously unfamiliar" Any expressed opinions are mine; but feel free to share. I disclaim all responsibilities, all shapes, all sizes, all colors.
jwright@atanasoff.cs.iastate.edu (Jim Wright) (01/07/89)
In article <318@antares.UUCP> pnelson@antares.UUCP (Phil Nelson) writes: ->>In article <8901011415.AA07578@MATH.Tau.Ac.IL> <finkel%TAURUS.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU> writes: ->>> The clock module of my A501 has stopped functioning. ->>> Battery Backed up clock not found ->>> I tried using the 'setclock opt reset' but it didn't help. ->About a week ago, after a guru, I noticed the "Battery backed up clock not ->found" message. ->Well, neither the local Amiga dealer or electronics store had the chip, and ->before I could check any further, The clock started working again (although ->it did lose about three days). My 2000 did the same thing. For three days it booted with the clock not found message. On the fourth day it found it, but said it was something like July 1937 (this was in late 88). On the fifth day it restored itself to normal. I know I didn't open the case to try anything, and I don't think I tried much fiddling with the setclock program. (All this with 1.2) What I found most strange was the 1937 part. A lot of computers think time began in (1960|1970|1980). Only the Amiga makes it possible.
bader+@andrew.cmu.edu (Miles Bader) (01/07/89)
jwright@atanasoff.cs.iastate.edu (Jim Wright) writes: > What I found most strange was the 1937 part. A lot of computers think > time began in (1960|1970|1980). Only the Amiga makes it possible. Tops20 (and I think other dec OSes as well), starts time at something truly wierd, like November 7, 1858... -Miles
hugh@censor.UUCP (Hugh Gamble) (01/09/89)
In article <6224@louie.udel.EDU>, Ata@radc-multics.arpa (John G. Ata) writes: > In article <8901011415.AA07578@MATH.Tau.Ac.IL> <finkel%TAURUS.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU> writes: > > Help! > > > > The clock module of my A501 has stopped functioning. > ... > > Battery Backed up clock not found > .... > > I tried using the 'setclock opt reset' but it didn't help. > > > > I opened my A501 unit. The Battery output is 4.12V, and according to > > the schematics it should to be 4.5V. Is this the problem? ... > The voltage you mention is probably OK if measured at the clock chip, > it's a little bit suspect if measured at the battery. You should check > that the battery is charging when the machine is powered up - it is > trickle charged through a resistor. > -- > George Robbins - now working for, uucp: {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!grr > but no way officially representing arpa: cbmvax!grr@uunet.uu.net > Commodore, Engineering Department fone: 215-431-9255 (only by moonlite) > > Wasn't there a posting a while ago stating that the 1.3 version of > setclock had a deficiency where it would not work sometimes after a > crash with this exact error message? They claimed that using the 1.2 > setclock would fix this situation. > > John G. Ata One time the clock on my 2000 was giving the "not found" message consistently through several days of trouble shooting including leaving the machine turned of for a day, "setclock reset" and everything else I could think of. This *might* be a coincidence, because I never reproduced the problem and tried it again, but when I ran the 1.2 "setclock opt save" that fixed the clock and everything has worked fine since. My guess is that the 1.3 setclock reset wasn't clearing whatever strange state the clock chip had gotten into, but the 1.2 setclock did. If you find this or something else specific fixes your problem please post the details. I'm also curious about any details of the conditions surrounding your clocks ceasing to function. In my case, more processes in the machine got sicker and sicker, then the display got *very* strange, the machine didn't reboot very nicely the first time (sorry, don't remember the details.) After that the machine would boot fine, and everything else was OK except for the clock not found messages. I thought that some process had gone really wild trashing memory, and set a test bit in the clock chip in the process. Hope some of this helps.
pl@etana.tut.fi (Pertti Lehtinen) (01/12/89)
As many others I have also had problems with clock. On my A500 problem is that on boot when using rslclock, startup-sequence hangs when it tries to get date. date command shows as time: "(unset)(unset)(unset)". setting date manually lets startup to continue normally. and after setclock realtime clock appears to work. System is still WB1.2. pl@tut.fi ! All opinions expressed above Pertti Lehtinen ! are preliminary and Tampere University of Technology ! in subject to change Software Systems Laboratory ! without any further notice.