[comp.sys.amiga.hardware] 68020 MEMORY ERROR

jeffg@comspec.uucp (Jeff Goebel) (05/27/91)

I have a friend who recently bought a 68020 board I had been using for a few
years.  On my system it worked, but on HIS, he gets a "Memory Configuration
Error" when he does a reboot holding the two mouse buttons.

Oh - Forgot to mention.  It's the COMMODORE 68020 board, so a reboot while
holding the mouse buttons brings up the 68000 or 68020 menu.  When he gets
the error here, it still seems to work, but not as well as it should.

When he operates in 68000 mode, programs which USED to work no longer do
100%.  A few games screw up etc.  He blames me.  I don't have an answer.

Do you?

-- 
Jeff Goebel.
Comspec Staff.  I am obligated to point out that my messages are the views
and opinions of myself, and not those of Comspec, or my bosses in particular.
Comspec:  (416) 633-5605    PCPN BBS: (416) 633-0185

jsanchez@polari.UUCP (jim sanchez) (05/28/91)

What I suspect is happening is the same thing I get with my A2620 and
that is an "Out of Configuration Memory" which is caused by the ROMS on
the card not being the latest version.  I suspect that you expanded the
memory on the A2620 card from 2 MB to 4 Mb because I think that you do
not see the error with 2 Mb.  I got this from somebody at Commodore when
I mentioned the problem about a year ago.  They claimed and I believe them
that this error does not affect ANYTHING else.  What you have to be sure
of is that if you want to boot up in 68000 mode that you cycle the power
so that everything is flushed from memory.  Anything else and you can
have problems.
Cheers
Jim Sanchez
-- 
Jim Sanchez jim@hls.com
Hughes LAN Systems - Bellevue, WA (206)646-4999

1013734@hydra.maths.unsw.OZ.AU (05/28/91)

In article <1991May27.132900.28266@comspec.uucp> jeffg@comspec.uucp (Jeff Goebel) writes:
>I have a friend who recently bought a 68020 board I had been using for a few
>years.  On my system it worked, but on HIS, he gets a "Memory Configuration
>Error" when he does a reboot holding the two mouse buttons.
>
Well, well, well, I have had almost exactly the same problem. I sold my 68020
board out of my A2500 to a friend of mine. When he holds the buttons down
he gets "Out of Autoconfig memory space" or something like that. I can't
remember exactly what it was.

The A2620 (With 2 Meg of Fast RAM) works perfectly on my system with A2090A
hard drive controler in slot 1 (closest to the CPU slot). His system has an
A2091 in slot 1. I thought that the problem might be due to the fact that the
2 Meg of Fast RAM tries to Autoconfig into the same memory area as the A2091,
but I could be wrong.

>Oh - Forgot to mention.  It's the COMMODORE 68020 board, so a reboot while
>holding the mouse buttons brings up the 68000 or 68020 menu.  When he gets
>the error here, it still seems to work, but not as well as it should.
>
>When he operates in 68000 mode, programs which USED to work no longer do
>100%.  A few games screw up etc.  He blames me.  I don't have an answer.
>

I didn't do any extensive checking of the system performance, but at a glance
everything seems to work OK. (BTW: Some stuff doesn't work with the A2620 or
A2630 in place, even if you switch back to 68000 mode. Titanics music trax #1
and the new Enigma demo seem to be a few examples.)

>Do you?

I have no answers. I think that Dave Haynie might be able to answer our
questions, since he is the guy who designed the A2620. (I think he did, looking
at the circuit diagrams for it.) Then again, it may be a software fault in the
ROMs and someone else could be responsible.

Any comments Dave?

				Peter Urbanec.

			 1013734@hydra.maths.unsw.oz.au
			s1013734@spectrum.cs.unsw.oz.au

		---- The only sin is stupidity. ----

daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) (05/30/91)

In article <1991May27.132900.28266@comspec.uucp> jeffg@comspec.uucp (Jeff Goebel) writes:
>I have a friend who recently bought a 68020 board I had been using for a few
>years.  On my system it worked, but on HIS, he gets a "Memory Configuration
>Error" when he does a reboot holding the two mouse buttons.

It sounds like he may need a ROM update to prevent that.  Some of the code in
the ROMs was rather naieve about autoconfiguration way back then.  

>When he gets the error here, it still seems to work, but not as well as it 
>should.

>When he operates in 68000 mode, programs which USED to work no longer do
>100%.  A few games screw up etc.  He blames me.  I don't have an answer.

The errors reported by the A26x0 ROMs shouldn't have any bearing on the 
system's operation under AmigaOS.  Unless the software is coming up wrong,
you're either running on a 68000 or you're not, there's no in-between, as
you seem to be implying here.  One word of advice -- don't power up the OS
with the 68020 in charge, then switch to 68000 with a keyboard reset and
expect everything to work correctly.  The Amiga OS will build an Exec up with
the 68020 considered as the host CPU.  When you do a keyboard reset, you'll
more that likely be doing a warm boot, Exec isn't rebuilt, and you fire up
the 68000 with the OS still thinking it's on a 68020.  That could cause a few
things to fail.
-- 
Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests"
   {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh      PLINK: hazy     BIX: hazy
      "That's me in the corner, that's me in the spotlight" -R.E.M.
#! rnews 1722
Relay-Version: version B 2.10.3 4.3bsd-beta 6/6/85; site cbmvax.com

consp03@bingsuns.cc.binghamton.edu (Kriston J. Rehberg) (06/04/91)

Well, the memory on the 2620 gets tested when you reboot.  Does that help?

Kris


+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Kriston J. Rehberg, Student Consultant, SUNY Binghamton Computer Services    |
|consp03@BINGSUNS.CC.BINGHAMTON.EDU               +---------------------------+
|consp03@BINGVAXU.CC.BINGHAMTON.EDU               |Opinions expressed here are|
|CONSP03@BINGVAXA.CC.BINGHAMTON.EDU               |my own and do not represent|
|CONSP03@BINGVMB.CC.BINGHAMTON.EDU                |those of this organization |
+-----> Only Amiga makes it possible! <-----------+--------------------- ;-b -+

carolyn@cbmvax.commodore.com (Carolyn Scheppner - CATS) (06/08/91)

In article <1991May27.132900.28266@comspec.uucp> jeffg@comspec.uucp (Jeff Goebel) writes:
>I have a friend who recently bought a 68020 board I had been using for a few
>years.  On my system it worked, but on HIS, he gets a "Memory Configuration
>Error" when he does a reboot holding the two mouse buttons.
>
>Oh - Forgot to mention.  It's the COMMODORE 68020 board, so a reboot while
>holding the mouse buttons brings up the 68000 or 68020 menu.  When he gets
>the error here, it still seems to work, but not as well as it should.
>
>When he operates in 68000 mode, programs which USED to work no longer do
>100%.  A few games screw up etc.  He blames me.  I don't have an answer.
>
>Do you?

You're in Canada, right ?

Does your friend happen to have an early German A2000 ?
ie. - no monochrome composite output port on the back ?

I know that these were sold in Europe and Canada where
A2000's were available earlier.

If he does have an early German A2000, I believe the 68000 processor
must be removed to use the Commodore 68020 or 68030 card.

(and you therefore can't boot into 68000 mode).

-- 
==========================================================================
 Carolyn Scheppner -- Tech. Mgr. CATS - Commodore Amiga Technical Support
 PHONE 215-431-9180 {uunet,rutgers}!cbmvax!carolyn  carolyn@commodore.com

 Programmers do it a little bit better.
==========================================================================

jsanchez@polari.UUCP (jim sanchez) (06/09/91)

I don't want to contradict Carolyn but I have the same experience with
my 2620 and I talked to Dave H. about it.  He says (and I believe) that
the problem with the error message is that the version of ROMS is not
current and they have a problem with autoconfig memory.  It does NOT cause
any problems however.  The problem with compabitility is because switching
from 68020 to 68000 modes with a warm reboot really is not kosher.  If
you want to do this for game/etc compatibility you MUST power the machine
down and cold boot into 68000 mode.  You can go to 68020 mode with a
warm boot however.
Hope this is useful.
Jim Sanchez jim@hls.com
Hughes LAN Systems - Bellevue, WA (206)646-4999
-- 
Jim Sanchez jim@hls.com
Hughes LAN Systems - Bellevue, WA (206)646-4999