ACORN A5000 inbound

[rubber_jonnie]

@stephen_usher @rubber_jonnie

The CMOS should be OK.

It keeps all the previous information stored in it (RAM DISK, etc.).

When I say 'reset', I mean the button at the back of the keyboard, not the 'R' key or 'DEL' at boot.

OK, I would say that my expectations of the keyboard reset button are quite low as I have had variable results - sometimes it works, sometimes it fails on the black screen, it's just not very relaible.

For example, if I shutdown from the menu or using CTRL/SHIFT/F12, once I get to the shutdown screen, if I hit reset it doesn't always boot correctly. If I hit CTRL+BREAK I can reliably boot, effectively getting a cold reset.

[HigashiJun]

Today was not my day... My digital microscope led light doesn't work any more and my magnifying glass is broken...

I was lucky to finish my repair though:

Last1.JPG

Last2.JPG

This forgotten trace is now covered with overcoat epoxy and is curing until tomorrow.

Buzzed some traces too near IC59 and IC60 to bust errors related to the RAM, but it was not so easy without a magnifying glass.

Everything seemed OK but I have to check again with the proper equipment.

[HigashiJun]

@rubber_jonnie

I don't know in my case, but the A5000 boots normally after the keyboard reset was pressed or a after a power off/power on.

As Ian Jeffray has suggested on the Stardot forum, the blinking cursor is when the A5000 it doing IDE/floppy detection, etc., and since there is an issue with ADFS (the floppy icon is not displayed on the desktop), this may explain the problem.

[rubber_jonnie]

@rubber_jonnie

I don't know in my case, but the A5000 boots normally after the keyboard reset was pressed or a after a power off/power on.

As Ian Jeffray has suggested on the Stardot forum, the blinking cursor is when the A5000 it doing IDE/floppy detection, etc., and since there is an issue with ADFS (the floppy icon is not displayed on the desktop), this may explain the problem.

It's certainly possible, but don't forget mine is booting Uniboot, and has a lot more modules installed and a custom desktop, so it is feasible that all the extra gubbins is why reset is unreliable on mine.

[HigashiJun]

It's certainly possible, but don't forget mine is booting Uniboot, and has a lot more modules installed and a custom desktop, so it is feasible that all the extra gubbins is why reset is unreliable on mine.

Yeah, you have the rubber_jonnie customised A5000...

It looks gorgeous !

8-)

[rubber_jonnie]

It's certainly possible, but don't forget mine is booting Uniboot, and has a lot more modules installed and a custom desktop, so it is feasible that all the extra gubbins is why reset is unreliable on mine.

Yeah, you have the rubber_jonnie customised A5000...

It looks gorgeous !

8-)

Thank you sir. It's been a bit of a wild ride getting there :)

[HigashiJun]

Thank you sir. It's been a bit of a wild ride getting there :)

Yes, but the ride was worth it...

8-)

[rubber_jonnie]

Thank you sir. It's been a bit of a wild ride getting there :)

Yes, but the ride was worth it...

8-)

:D

[HigashiJun]

Still no luck with floppy here (and I presume IDE also)...

I was wondering if the IO chip was not defective, so I tried the following little programme found on Stardot forum:

10 SYS "OS_ReadSysInfo", 2 TO r0%, r1%, r2%
20 IF((r1% AND &FF) > 0) THEN
30 PRINT "82C710 or similar SuperIO Chip Detected"
40 ELSE
50 PRINT "SuperIO Chip NOT Detected"
60 ENDIF

And the chip was detected, so it should be OK.

I am now de-soldering the podule expansion connector but as I do not want to break some vias, I take my time.

Should be done tomorrow though.

[rubber_jonnie]

Still no luck with floppy here (and I presume IDE also)...

I was wondering if the IO chip was not defective, so I tried the following little programme found on Stardot forum:

10 SYS "OS_ReadSysInfo", 2 TO r0%, r1%, r2%
20 IF((r1% AND &FF) > 0) THEN
30 PRINT "82C710 or similar SuperIO Chip Detected"
40 ELSE
50 PRINT "SuperIO Chip NOT Detected"
60 ENDIF

And the chip was detected, so it should be OK.

I am now de-soldering the podule expansion connector but as I do not want to break some vias, I take my time.

Should be done tomorrow though.

Can I ask what floppy cable you're using? I had to replace mine due to internal corrosion of the plugs on the cable that wasn't immediately obvious, and of course I replaced the sockets on the PCB. IIRC there is no twist in the cable.

Also, have you tried both floppy connectors? I can't remember which is which TBH.