Greetings from Wiltshire, UK
Posted: 24 Apr 2024 20:53
Hello all, I'm Nigel and I'm here because my childhood 520STFM hates me...
No, it doesn't, although I can understand why if it does. You see, I abandoned it in the early nineties and became a hardcore Amiga user (with a fully pimped-out A4000, but that's another story) leaving my ST stored in various lofts until I finally resurrected it a few years ago.
Luckily, unlike other vintage computers that seem to dissolve in long-term storage, my ST worked perfectly when I first switched it on after a thirty-three year slumber. For safety I replaced the PSU (with a Meanwell unit) before I continued on my merry way playing my old games and wincing at the terrible Degas Elite pictures and TCB Tracker modules the teenage me had created...
...until the keyboard failed. Mouse input was fine but the keyboard was not recognised and clicking a mouse button caused the machine to freeze. I searched the web for a solution, I reflowed the solder points on the joystick ports, I replaced both ICs on the keyboard but alas, no joy. In the end I purchased a replacement keyboard from Ebay and the problem was solved. I resumed my journey back in time and laughed at my old rubbish GFA BASIC programs...
...until the floppy drive died. And I mean properly died, making evil noises and gouging grooves into any floppy disk I inserted. No messing around, this time I went straight back onto Ebay and bought a replacement drive. The 'Ship of Theseus' ST was alive once more! I played Captain Blood, Xenon, Oids, oh I was having so much fun...
...until it crashed, two maybe three bombs. Okay, I could boot into Desktop but the moment I ran anything memory-intensive the machine would crash and greet me with two bombs. Why do you hate me ST, why?
RAM tests and diagnostic carts lead me to believe my ST has a failed RAM chip but I'm unsure how to read the information correctly (I'll post in the Hardware section and plead for help later). In the meantime the ST sits in a plastic box in the office amongst the remains of its former innards, staring at me with vengeful intent. I want it to work. It doesn't want to work. I will win this battle.
Anyway, thanks for letting me join and thanks for all of your posts on this forum, you've helped me nurse my way back into the wonderful world of the Atari ST.
No, it doesn't, although I can understand why if it does. You see, I abandoned it in the early nineties and became a hardcore Amiga user (with a fully pimped-out A4000, but that's another story) leaving my ST stored in various lofts until I finally resurrected it a few years ago.
Luckily, unlike other vintage computers that seem to dissolve in long-term storage, my ST worked perfectly when I first switched it on after a thirty-three year slumber. For safety I replaced the PSU (with a Meanwell unit) before I continued on my merry way playing my old games and wincing at the terrible Degas Elite pictures and TCB Tracker modules the teenage me had created...
...until the keyboard failed. Mouse input was fine but the keyboard was not recognised and clicking a mouse button caused the machine to freeze. I searched the web for a solution, I reflowed the solder points on the joystick ports, I replaced both ICs on the keyboard but alas, no joy. In the end I purchased a replacement keyboard from Ebay and the problem was solved. I resumed my journey back in time and laughed at my old rubbish GFA BASIC programs...
...until the floppy drive died. And I mean properly died, making evil noises and gouging grooves into any floppy disk I inserted. No messing around, this time I went straight back onto Ebay and bought a replacement drive. The 'Ship of Theseus' ST was alive once more! I played Captain Blood, Xenon, Oids, oh I was having so much fun...
...until it crashed, two maybe three bombs. Okay, I could boot into Desktop but the moment I ran anything memory-intensive the machine would crash and greet me with two bombs. Why do you hate me ST, why?
RAM tests and diagnostic carts lead me to believe my ST has a failed RAM chip but I'm unsure how to read the information correctly (I'll post in the Hardware section and plead for help later). In the meantime the ST sits in a plastic box in the office amongst the remains of its former innards, staring at me with vengeful intent. I want it to work. It doesn't want to work. I will win this battle.
Anyway, thanks for letting me join and thanks for all of your posts on this forum, you've helped me nurse my way back into the wonderful world of the Atari ST.