[comp.sys.amiga.hardware] CMI A500 accelerator problems

isgur2@physics.utoronto.ca (Daryl Scora) (06/04/91)

I recently bought an old (1988) Creative Microsystems Inc. 14MHz processor
accelerator for my Rev 5 A500, and installed a 68881 chip into the socket
available.  It works fine at 7MHz, no acceleration both with and without 
the 68881 enabled, it also appears to software toggle to 14MHz.  However
when at 14MHz it will allow me to close, fronttoback etc the windows that
are open but dies upon doubleclicking an icon, or typing to a console 
window.  It either hangs, (ie. stops reading mouse, keyboard) or gurus 
with a typical guru number B.  Using NoFastMem seems to slows down the 
speed at which the guru happens but does not stop it.  

A more serious problem is that the system will not boot when my A590 hard
disk with 2Meg ram is plugged in, upon powerup the screen goes white and the
power light flashes.  With no floppy in the drive (I have 1.2 ROM's) the 
workbench prompt never appears.  
Adding or removing A501 trapdoor memory expansion has no effect.

Any help would be appreciated, including the current address/phone/email
of CMI as the ones that came with the product no longer work. (or info 
that the company no longer exists)      

      Thanks                            Daryl Scora

isgur2@physics.utoronto.ca
isgur2@utorphys.bitnet  

billc@cryo.rain.com (William J. Coldwell) (06/05/91)

In article <1991Jun3.172141.25089@helios.physics.utoronto.ca> isgur2@physics.utoronto.ca (Daryl Scora) writes:
[PA Problem deleted]

Your PA needs an update to work with DMA devices correctly.

>Any help would be appreciated, including the current address/phone/email
>of CMI as the ones that came with the product no longer work. (or info
>that the company no longer exists)

Contact Mark Hannaford @ DigiFeX (503) 656-8818 to get your update (and
a newer version of the software).

>      Thanks                            Daryl Scora

You're welcome.
--
  William J. Coldwell       Amiga Attitude Adjuster      Cryogenic Software
  3-D Pro | Anim. Station | CA-650 CD-ROM | CMI PA/MPB | Interact AppleTalk
  Nexus HD/Aries | CSA 40/4 Magnum | RAMbrandt | Video Blender | DoubleTalk
  Internet: billc@cryo.rain.com            UUCP: tektronix!percy!cryo!billc

billsey@agora.UUCP (Bill Seymour) (06/06/91)

In article <1991Jun3.172141.25089@helios.physics.utoronto.ca>, Daryl Scora writes:

> I recently bought an old (1988) Creative Microsystems Inc. 14MHz processor
> accelerator for my Rev 5 A500, and installed a 68881 chip into the socket
> available.  It works fine at 7MHz, no acceleration both with and without 
> the 68881 enabled, it also appears to software toggle to 14MHz.  However
> when at 14MHz it will allow me to close, fronttoback etc the windows that
> are open but dies upon doubleclicking an icon, or typing to a console 
> window.  It either hangs, (ie. stops reading mouse, keyboard) or gurus 
> with a typical guru number B.  Using NoFastMem seems to slows down the 
> speed at which the guru happens but does not stop it.  

	Is the problem apparent without the 68881 installed? I'd guess so,
but you never know... :-) Sounds like there's a problem with the E-Clock
generation on your system. That will make several things act flakey, including
double clicking on icons. It's been too long for me to remember what kinds
of suggestions I would make to people who were having PA troubles way
back then. :-(

> A more serious problem is that the system will not boot when my A590 hard
> disk with 2Meg ram is plugged in, upon powerup the screen goes white and the
> power light flashes.  With no floppy in the drive (I have 1.2 ROM's) the 
> workbench prompt never appears.  
> Adding or removing A501 trapdoor memory expansion has no effect.

	This sounds more like a noise or grounding problem. I'm assuming the
socket is solidly plugged in... And that you're not trying to use a 2000 or
1000 version in your 500. If wosre comes to worst, you might try adding extra
ground and power leads onto the board. Supply voltage fluctuations make a 
big difference in terms of the effectiveness of the clock doubler circuit. 
This could also be causeing the shakey E-Clock I think you're seeing. (see
above)

> Any help would be appreciated, including the current address/phone/email
> of CMI as the ones that came with the product no longer work. (or info 
> that the company no longer exists)      

	Although they're not doing direct CMI support, all the old CMI
products have been picked up (except the KickStart Eliminator) by DigiFeX,
in Oregon City, OR. Their phone number is (503) 656-8818. It can be a little
tough getting a warm body, but I believe they do a fairly good job of
responding to messages left on the machine...

>       Thanks                            Daryl Scora
> 
> isgur2@physics.utoronto.ca
> isgur2@utorphys.bitnet  

  -Bill Seymour     nesbbx!billsey@agora.uucp or nesbbx!billsey@agora.rain.com
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