Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!bbn!bbn.com!denbeste From: denbeste@bbn.com (Steven Den Beste) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Problems with A1000 expansion devices Message-ID: <43231@bbn.COM> Date: 25 Jul 89 02:58:36 GMT References: <20192@louie.udel.EDU> <2895@bucsb.UUCP> Sender: news@bbn.COM Reply-To: denbeste@BBN.COM (Steven Den Beste) Organization: Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc., Cambridge MA Lines: 75 In article <2895@bucsb.UUCP> bear@bucsb.bu.edu (Blair M. Burtan) writes: >Well, I have the same problems with a lengthy history. Here's the >scenario: I've had my 1000 with a Starboard 2Meg and a Microbotics >20 meg harddrive for about a year running on DOS 1.2 with no problems. Given that the hard-drive can't cause the central CPU troubles, my system is essentially the same: A1000, Starboard 2Meg, Microbotics SCSI and an ST277N. Until just recently I also had a Michigan Software Insider 1M board. >Ever since I upgraded to 1.3, I've experienced frequent crashes to >the point of having to re-insert Kickstart. When I say frequent, >I mean several times a day. This was unacceptable. During the crash, >the hard drive light would be lit. The lead me to believe that there I've been using 1.3 with the Starboard SCSI module for about two monthx. The SCSI module is new - before that I used a C-Ltd SCSI for several months before that. I didn't have any more grounding than Michigan Software recommended, which is to say that I didn't have the full grounding mod. I saw no (repeat NO) untoward gurus. Every time I've had a guru it was obviously the result of a badly written program. >was an incompatibility between the controller and 1.3. I called >Microbotics and they told me to check/ground the PALS. First, the >Texas Instruments PALs are supposed to be the good ones. Next ground >the chips with some heavy wire (not wire-wrap wire). There are several >articles on teh subject. The end result. Nothing. No change. Three weeks ago I bought a 68020 board, and in order to get it to work I had to install the real grounding mod. It now works flawlessly with the Microbotics, Kickstart 1.3 and the Starboard RAM. No problems. No gurus unless I deserve them. >Grumble, grumble, grumble. So, I broke down and bought the 1.3 >kickstart eliminator. Unfortunately that's curing the symptom rather >than the disease. Well, as it turned out. I had a really old version >of Supraboot. The new version helped a great deal. But not entirely. I haven't got any idea what "Supraboot" is. I certainly don't use it. Isn't that a software package for the Supradrive? Why are you using Supra's software with Microbotic's board? Why don't you switch to the right software? I'll bet dollars to donuts that this is your problem. I use the real Microbotics driver software, and after a bit of problems getting it up to speed, it works fine. If you have problems getting the speed up, mail me and I'll send you extremely detailed instructions on how to get it to work correctly. >And now I hear that there are problems with SetPatch leaving the >writeable control store open to attack. Oh, and by the way, GOMF 3.0 >gets fried as well. It can't catch this type of crash. > So, does anyone have the same problem? And can we throw our 1.3 >disks at CBM until they do something about it? Let's hear some >feedback. OK, here's the feedback. There is nothing wrong with 1.3. It works perfectly well with my A1000 and a Microbotics SCSI interface. The problem is only with your system. (And I'm getting damned sick of everyone who has a cockpit error blaming the design engineers.) Suggestions: 1. Toss "Supraboot" down a dark hole and use legitimate software. The fact that your problem improved but didn't go away when you changed versions of it really should have told you something. 2. Look again at your grounding mod and see if you really did it correctly. Here's the instructions I worked from: The chips to wire are "J", "K", "L" and "N" on the daughter board. Looking at the front of the Amiga, at the non-component side of the daughter board, the ground leads are the upper left (that is, the left pin furthest from you). Tie those four together and hook it to a decent ground. I'm using a lug on one of the screws which connect to the ground plane on the mother board. Steven C. Den Beste, BBN Communications Corp., Cambridge MA denbeste@bbn.com(ARPA/CSNET/UUCP) harvard!bbn.com!denbeste(UUCP)