The problems persist!
14 messages in this thread
Here's an update on some computer problems I mentioned I was having about
one month ago.
At that time the problems were:
1) My 1950 monitor went; 2) My monitor switcher didn't work; 3) My TTR
tape drive didn't work; and 4) My KickStart ROM switcher didn't work.
This all happened in the same week.
About a week ago, I thought all the problems had been resolved since:
1) CBM gave me a new 1950 monitor; 2) I sent back the monitor switchbox
and ordered one from Redmond Cable, which was guaranteed to allow me to
switch between the flickerFixer and RGB output on my monitor; 3) TTR
finally sent me the proper cable and the Amiga would now boot with the tape
drive attached; and 4) I sent back the Kickstart board and ordered the DKB
MultiStartII board.
Unfortunately, I'm still having problems. It's unbelievable. Only one item
has been resolved.
1) The 1950 monitor works perfectly.
2) The monitor switchbox from Redmond works very poorly. I experience
slight flicker with the FF (an anomaly) and washed-out colors through the
RGB port.
3) I still can't back up my HD with the TTR tape drive. They said they had
just modified their tape handler to work properly with the GrandSlam. TTR
said they'd send it to me that day. I also called IVS and they said they'd
send me their new IVS_SCSIpro.device right away. It's supposed to work
better with tape drives. Predictably, I received the IVS disk on Saturday,
but nothing from TTR yet.
4) Finally, the fiasco. The DKB MultiStartII board did NOT work. It boots
up with my default ROM, 2.04, but it won't boot the alternate ROM when I do
a long reset (5-6 seconds) from the keyboard. It always boots with the 2.04
ROM.
So I've solved 1 out of 4 problems and am still working on the other 3.
I'll keep everyone posted. The saga continues!
Dom Fontana
Are you *sure* that you have the 1.3 ROM installed in the correct 'side'
socket? There are two 'side' sockets, and only one of them is active as
the 'secondary' ROM socket at a time.
If I remember when I installed mine, it was easy, but frankly, the docs
weren't that clear. I remember wondering, 'is this the correct socket?'…
but it worked first time.
Have you tried switching your 1.3 ROM to the other socket, just in case?
Gee, I'd hope the MultiStart works for you, after all the buildup I (and
others) gave it here! 🙂
–jp–seattle–
John,
I really am sure that I had the MultiStart II set up properly. The manual
that I received was very clear.
There were three jumpers that you had to set. I kept all of mine in the
default configuration and triple-checked to make sure they were set right.
One jumper was to determine if you were using an A2000 or A500. The second
jumper was to change the socket for the default ROM. I kept it so the
default ROM was the middle socket. The third jumper was to change the
socket for the alternate ROM. Again, I kept it so the alternate ROM was the
right socket.
I then installed the 2.04 ROM in the middle and the 1.3 ROM in the right
socket. I connected the black wire to pin 41 of the Gary chip.
As I said, it always booted up with the 2.04 ROM. If I had made a mistake
with the sockets, then it wouldn't boot up at all when I tried to use the
alternate ROM. Apparently, the board isn't sensing a long reset in order to
change ROMs.
I called DKB and got an RA number. I'm sending it back tomorrow and they
are going to replace it.
Oh, well; I guess I can wait a little longer.
Dom Fontana
Well, it was worth a shot. Good luck!
–jp–seattle–
Dom, I missed the first part oth this thread, but I thought I'd toss in a
comment. Some of those MultiStart boards require that you hold down the
CTL-A-A keys longer than the 5 second spec. Have you tried 10-15 seconds?
Jim,
Yes, I held down the reset sequence for as long as 30 seconds and still no
luck. I've already sent it back to DKB for replacement.
Thanks.
Dom Fontana
Dom,
After reading some of the messages here about the MultiStart, I went out
and bought one. It works perfectly when my autoboot drive is disconected;
however, it will not boot into 1.2 from a 2.04 boot without disconnecting
the drive (switch on drive.) I suppose this is normal, not being terribly
in the know I'm not sure. If I try I get a great system crash. No screen,
flashing power light. There are no perfect solutions. Any comments?
Vic.
Vic, I think that's normal. The 1.2 ROM does not support autobooting
drives.
Victor,
That's correct, not only does 1.2 not support autoboot drives,
it'll crash (as yours does) if the autoboot ROM (on the drive controller)
is activated.
Don
Well, I knew that 1.2 didn't autoboot but I didn't know it crashed. the
question is: If I get a 1.3 ROM can I warm reboot to a disk with the
MultiStart? Or will I still need a cold reboot? The only reason I got the
thing was to keep some old software alive (mostly games.) I have since
found that almost everything I was told wouldn't run under 2.04 actually
does. For example BaudBandit 1.00 which I'm using now.
Vic.
Vic,
Yes…you should be able to warm reboot to a disk with 1.3 and
MultiStart. But for exact details…contact DKB software.
Don
Victor,
I couldn't get my MultiStartII to switch ROMs even when I removed all the
cards from my system, including my autoboot HD. So, that's not what was
causing the problem for me.
Dom Fontana
Well, it's good to know that the CBM product is working!! If the monitor
wouldn't have worked, it might have caused one to lose faith in everything
related to the Amiga. Hope it works out, Dom.
Simon
Simon,
Thanks for the encouraging words.
Dom Fontana