Unsure if hardware issue with DMA, something else or nothing wrong

[BeigeFM]

Good morning.

The Atari is now a permanent fixture on my desk. Over the past year I've done bits and bobs to it but it's thanks to an excellent new Dell 2722H monitor I don't have to steal my son's TV anymore. Instead of an hour or two on the ST every now and again I've got it on my desk!

So it's an STE 4mb and has a recapped Mitsumi 98 PSU.
I've got the gotek and an SD4ST plugged in. VGA output. Pulling USB power for the SD4ST from the edge connector. TOS 1.6. I've just ordered TOS 206

So I'm now stretching it's legs so to speak and it does run software but occasionally software won't load or it bombs. Some software works from the provided SD4ST card and some doesn't.

I tried to load the bad apple demo provided on the SD card and it gave two bombs and crashed. 2nd time it ran to the point where the screen showed a witch and then crashed to desktop.

Here's the thing. While running that demo my ST gave out a loud whine! I thought from the PSU. It's never made a noise like that before or since. I've played tons of games without issue but some just won't load. I'm confused by the whining noise from the PSU. Unless it was coming from somewhere else on the board. I had no speakers plugged in.

Am I wrong to assume that 4mb STE on 1.6 tos should run pretty much every game or software provided on the SD4ST provided card? I understand that not every bit of software is going to be converted to run off hard drive properly and it's down to me to go and find the software I want. It's just that I seem to have a fifty percent failure rate of successfully loading the software and using it.

I've looked for diagnostic software and only found one RAM test that works... I think it works anyway. I get a white screen with periodic low noises from the speakers while the ram test runs. I've not seen anything on the screen to say the test has failed.

I'm wondering if I should just replace the DMA chip and see how I get on. Keep playing and testing. See If this is something to do with the data transfer from SD4ST.

And... As mentioned if it's crashing on tos 1.6 I thought I may as well upgrade the TOS chips. I'll open it up and check the DMA chip when I put TOS206 in.

Just looking for thoughts perhaps comments. is bad apple a demo that pushes the limits of the ST so much thr PSU crys out? It did say something about it being a 60hz demo. I just assumed that was the screen refresh rate or something like that.

Thanks and sorry for wittering on.

[BeigeFM]

Ok so I've opened it up.
I've been eyeing up the 32mhz booster and pending TOS upgrade I'd take a look to see if my CPU is socketed.

Not sure what's going on here. What's with the piggybacked chip?

https://ibb.co/ZGf1gsf

https://ibb.co/RhR1q0c

Can anyone put my mind at rest?

[BeigeFM]

Ok I searched the forum the mod appears to be normal for ca4003290 revision.

Socketed CPU, assuming STE is not actually faulty... looks like its possible to buy the 32Mhz booster kit.

Will I be able to run the 32mhz booster with TOS206?

[BeigeFM]

Well I priced that up and its 140 pounds total excluding postage to get my STE to 32Mhz
(and thats assuming I dont break it further!)
Ill stick with the TOS upgrade for now.
Maybe another time!

[BeigeFM]

Ive gone ahead and ordered some other bits and bobs instead from the exxos store.. and which will hopefully give me some more peace of mind.

Starting with that 4700uf capacitor and rubber feet.

Never rush anything is my motto. Baby steps...

Ill try and get it as reliable as possible then maybe 32mhz next year

[veroli]

i've recently done the spped upgrade and with TOS switcher.
It wasnt too bad to install, i had more difficulties with the PSU soldering.

Its given a nice speed boost along with speedogdos and NVDI majes my 4mb ste fly in the applications so am very happy with it.
Give it a go for sure

[Paradroid901]

Depends on what you want to use your STe for?

This is only my opinion that unless your going to operating in TOS,Ease,Magic and using utils or 3D Games the 32mhz may not be a priority but it does give a nice speed boost (I have one ) and TOS and Ease which I use as my main desktop is so much quicker that than 8mhz.

TOS Switcher will be a great help as well.

I have never used an SD2ST SD Card solution but maybe the device has timing issues with the Bad Apple demo as I only ever got it working with the Ultra Satan.

Would suggest you get the Exxos Mandatory fixes done on the machine.

Also check the DMA Chip as well and see if it has a 038 or 001 chip (at the end as well) and test the read and writes to the floppy and HD (esp).

I am no means an expert just passing on my experiences

[rubber_jonnie]

I've got the gotek and an SD4ST plugged in. VGA output. Pulling USB power for the SD4ST from the edge connector. TOS 1.6. I've just ordered TOS 206

Am I wrong to assume that 4mb STE on 1.6 tos should run pretty much every game or software provided on the SD4ST provided card? I understand that not every bit of software is going to be converted to run off hard drive properly and it's down to me to go and find the software I want. It's just that I seem to have a fifty percent failure rate of successfully loading the software and using it.

I certainly wouldn't assume everything will work with TOS 1.6 and 4MB, and I wouldn't assume TOS 2.06 will fix it either, though it may. You may find that things don't like more than 1MB of RAM (Though a lot have been fixed)

It is also possible that you have software that is simply not designed to be run from HDD. Also, you don't mention which HDD driver you're using. I'd suggest you only use PPera's driver or HDDRIVER, as they are both up to date and AFAIK still actively developed.

You may also want to look at the Mandatory Fixes as that may help your machine.

It may be that your PSU needs a cap/transistor replacement, and that the SD4ST and Gotek are adding a little too much load in it's elderly state and you're overloading the PSU. I can't say for sure as I've never looked deeply into power draw, but the last STE I fixed for a forum member was drawing about 2.8A from the PSU, so it may not need much to tip it over the edge. Like I say, I can't be 100% sure about this, that's just a personal observation and without testing it's hard to say.

I've looked for diagnostic software and only found one RAM test that works... I think it works anyway. I get a white screen with periodic low noises from the speakers while the ram test runs. I've not seen anything on the screen to say the test has failed.

I'm wondering if I should just replace the DMA chip and see how I get on. Keep playing and testing. See If this is something to do with the data transfer from SD4ST.

And... As mentioned if it's crashing on tos 1.6 I thought I may as well upgrade the TOS chips. I'll open it up and check the DMA chip when I put TOS206 in.

Just looking for thoughts perhaps comments. is bad apple a demo that pushes the limits of the ST so much thr PSU crys out? It did say something about it being a 60hz demo. I just assumed that was the screen refresh rate or something like that.

Thanks and sorry for wittering on.

I'd suggest YAART or the diag cart for memory testing, they are usually pretty good.

Before replacing the DMA chip you ought to consider that it may not fix anything. Far better to apply the Mandatory Fixes first and review, and number 5, the swap for a 68HC000 has worked very well for some people. Also consider that if the PSU is having a hard time, that may also be the reason for your problems.

Personally I like to go for the DualTOS upgrade, then you can flit between 1.62 & 2.06 depending on your needs, at the flick of a switch.

As for Bad Apple I haven't tried myself, but if it is 60Hz then it may prove troublesome running on a 50Hz machine. If I get a chance I will try it and report back, but I do have a few other things I need to do

[BeigeFM]

Good morning!
Thanks for all your comments.
I appreciate your feedback guys!

Well the reset button on my Atari doesn't always clear the memory so I've noticed I have more success with a full power off between games. That's sorta good news. Reset circuit caps purchased!

I've had to order little things to make progress, and that includes a new soldering iron that doesn't rot away as you use it ( at least I hope it doesn't) so I can replace a few caps including the reset switch circuit caps and the big 4700uf. Will see if that makes a difference.

I do really want that 32mhz upgrade but I'd have to replace my parity ram as well so it all adds up to 140 buff which is quite a chunk of cash considering how much I've spent on my STE already. I've been spending a little too much lately on my hobbies and I think that kind of money will tip my missus over the edge.

It's in the pipeline! I've just got to master the secret of manifesting! I will just pretend the upgrade has already happened.

[rubber_jonnie]

Good morning!
Thanks for all your comments.
I appreciate your feedback guys!

Well the reset button on my Atari doesn't always clear the memory so I've noticed I have more success with a full power off between games. That's sorta good news. Reset circuit caps purchased!

I've had to order little things to make progress, and that includes a new soldering iron that doesn't rot away as you use it ( at least I hope it doesn't) so I can replace a few caps including the reset switch circuit caps and the big 4700uf. Will see if that makes a difference.

I do really want that 32mhz upgrade but I'd have to replace my parity ram as well so it all adds up to 140 buff which is quite a chunk of cash considering how much I've spent on my STE already. I've been spending a little too much lately on my hobbies and I think that kind of money will tip my missus over the edge.

It's in the pipeline! I've just got to master the secret of manifesting! I will just pretend the upgrade has already happened.

The parity chip on your RAM could be removed so I'm told by a reliable source.