Path: utzoo!censor!hugh
From: hugh@censor.UUCP (Hugh Gamble)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: 1.3 setclock bug?
Summary: your prob = battery, mine != battery
Keywords: AmigaDos 1.3 bugs setclock
Message-ID: <124@censor.UUCP>
Date: 18 Nov 88 21:18:12 GMT
References: <120@censor.UUCP> <17154@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
Organization: Bell Canada, Business Development, Toronto
Lines: 65

In article <17154@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>, johnf@light.ssl.berkeley.edu (John Flanagan) writes:
> In article <120@censor.UUCP> hugh@censor.UUCP (Hugh Gamble) writes:
> >I think I've run into a bug in 1.3 setclock, here's the story:
> ><...>
> >When my startup sequence got to the setclock line I got a
> >message something like "Battery Backed up Clock not found"
> >I tried a cold boot, same thing.  Everything else was working
> >fine though.
> 
> 	I have just had a similar problem.  For the past week or so setclock
> has occasionally failed with "Battery Backed up Clock not found".
> Sometimes manually setting the time appeared to fixed it, sometimes rebooting
> seemed to help.  Finally last night it failed and stayed that way.
> Suspecting 1.3, I rebooted with my old 1.2 setup, and the setclock
> still failed (albeit with a differently worded error message, but to
...
> 	I read the spec sheet which came with the Microbotics
> board, and it states that the first time the board is used, it may
> have to be left in a powered-up computer for a few hours while the NiCad 
> battery charges up.  Since my computer has been off more than usual in
> the past few weeks, I decided to leave it on over night to see whether
> the NiCad would charge up.  Just before I left for work this morning,
> I tried setclock, and it worked!
> 
> 	So, assuming Commodore also put a NiCad in the A2000, I would 
> suggest trying to leave your Amiga on for a few hours to try to recharge it.
> Also, you mention that you measured the battery output to be 4V.  I
> don't know, but I suspect that it should put out 5V when at full charge.
> 
> --John Flanagan
>   johnf@sag4.ssl.berkeley.edu

Your problem does sound like a battery problem, mine didn't.
My 2000 is less than 4 months old,
somthing went with a sudden WHOMP when my system crashed,
I leave it running most of the time so the battery should
be fully charged,
I got the clock not found message consistently until running
the 1.2 setclock load once, then the 1.3 setclock would work
again.  No problems since then.

The battery in the 2000 is spec'd at 3.6 volts.
My poor memory thinks it is Lithiun rather than NiCad, but
I don't suppose that makes much difference except, I 
believe Lithium batteries fade away rather than dieing
suddenly like NiCad ones, gradually dropping their
voltage as they run down.

I didn't think to put an ammeter on the battery, but it was
in place & the amy's power was off when I read the voltage,
so it should have had the clock chip loading it right?

When I had the box open, I did vacuum up about a Gazillion
kg of dust & hair from my scruffy little cat whose
favourite place in the whole world is the top of my nice
warm multisynch II, but I don't think that had any 
effect.

P.S.  I really don't know anything about H/W, I just
consider it a necessary evil to run S/W :-)

-- 
| Hugh D. Gamble  (416) 581-4354  {lsuc, utzoo}!censor!hugh  (Std. Disclaimers)
| I can push any computer to its limits.
| Any computer can push me to *my* limits.