#MegAChip 2000 Disaster!
28 messages in this thread
We received a DKB MegAChip 2000 kit from Grapevine Co. yesterday. Installed
without any trouble in our Amiga 2000 to-day. We just cannot get the machine to
boot correctly,…white screen turning black… the occasion GURU warning.
Tried both from hard disk and WB. floppy…. same disaster results.
We are in a PANIC! A client comes in Monday for post production video work.
All his stuff is on the machine – via Toaster.
Background: Our Amiga 2000 setup includes: GVP 3001 accelerator with 4 Megs of
32 bit RAM. Also have board with additional 8 Megs normal chip. The toaster is
installed. We are updated to new Amiga DOS with the chips. All this worked well
until we installed the *[+#xx**}}… MegAChip.
At moment seems that we will have to try and restore the old ANGUS in its
seat… and hope things have not been damaged.
Anyone knowing how to make this d..n thing work… let's hear from you.
HILARY.
Hilary,
The MegaChip is an excellent product, I've had one in my 2000 (now
2500/20) for a long time with 0 problems. I'd suggest you recheck ALL your
connections and make sure the board is properly seated in the socket.
Bye the way…how did you remove the old AGNUS from it's socket? If
not done properly…you can VERY easily ruin the chip carrier. To do it
properly requires a special tool…NOT the tool that Grapevine has been known
to send with the chip. The proper tool looks like a double wishbone and you
hook the ends of the inner wishbone under the chip and then squeeze the outer
wishbone which prulls the chip out of the carrier. Grapevine has been known to
send a puller that hooks under the AGNUS but then you've got to pull and wiggle
it by hand to get it out….that can (and has) ruined many carriers.
If all else fails…contact DKB.
To be honest…I believe it's kind of foolish to modify a machine (with
or without hardware techs available) on Friday knowing you had to have that
machine available on Monday…without having a backup machine available and a
data backup also.
Don
Thanks Don…. as usual you are there to comfort and advise.
We were up most of last night. We pulled boards, tested… put boards back and
tested. Measured voltages and watched waveforms on the CRO. After much sweat
blood and tears… we found the problem. Most certainly it could happen to
others.
The little board of the DKB thing has a wire attached with a spring clip at one
end. This is supposed to go to Pin 36 of the GARY chip. It was on pin 36 from a
physical point of view. There must have been some oxide or dirt on that
connection – as therein lay the problem.
We took a 48 pin chip socket and soldered the wire to the pin 36. We then
removed GARY, inserted the 48 pin socket – then piggybacked the GARY chip on
top. This gave us a good physical/electrical connection. This would be an
excellent modification for DKB. Leaves no doubt as to connecting right pin etc.
At thre moment…. after a very long night… it seems to be working and ready
for our client on Monday – thank God. We have not checked all the advantages
of the MegAChip yet…. but will do so next week.
Yes…. the dinky toy chip puller from Grapevine leaves something to be
desired. Down in the shop we do have the pro' article which allows this type of
chip (ANGUS et alia.) to be pulled straight up – so as not to deform pins on
chip or socket.
Grapevine offer a $15.00 rebate if we send the old ANGUS back to them. What the
H…. do they do with these chips. Surely they cannot sell them "as new"?
Thanks again Don. When smoke comes out… will call for aid again. HILARY
Hilary,
Great! Glad you found the problem. At least for a while anyway, it
may still be occuring…Commodore gave credit for returned AGNUS chips. The
idea was to keep them off the market so Amiga clones can't be made.
Don
Good idea except that 1) it would increase expense and 2) it might
interfere with other add on products.
-bill
Hilary,
That is unusual, but it happens. Another thing that may have been
happening is that the metal portion of the clip may have been touching two
pins instead of just one.
We have considered something like what you did with an additional
socket but haven't for several reasons. First it adds additional expense
that the customer would end up paying for. Second is that it would then
require the person doing the installation to remove two chips instead of
just one. Our experience is that we need to minimise the amount of work
needed for the installation. The spring clip _usually_ works just fine.
I am sorry you had difficulty getting your machine running after
installing the MegAChip. If you have any other problems or questions
regarding the installation or operation of the MegAChip please call the
tech support number. The people working the phones are there to help you.
If there are any suggestions regarding the installation of any of DKB's
products, please make me aware of them. We are always interested in
hearing from our customers.
Dean
DKB Software
Dean,
I'm buying the DKB MegaChip 2000 used, but without the chip puller. I
have two questions. First, where do you recommend I get the proper chip
puller from? Second, will the MegaChip interfere with your MultiStart II?
Thanks.
Dom Fontana
–> Sent from NY via AP <–
Dom;
Yon can remove the chip by removing the motherboard from the machine and
pushing the chip out through the holes in the bottom of the motherboard.
There are two holes that go through both the motherboard and the socket.
This is the way that I installed the first MagAChip that I bought.
I don't know the answer to your other question but suspect that it depends
upon which version of the MegAChip you have.
-bill
Thanks, Bill. I'll keep the suggestion in mind.
Dom Fontana
–> Sent from NY via AP <–
Dom,
You can purchase the chip puller directly from us. Some dealers may
have them as well. To order just call us at (313) 960-8750.
There is no interference between the MegAChip and the MultiStart. You
can install them together with no compatability worries.
Dean
DKB Software
Dean,
Thanks. I'll call you for the chip puller. What's the price? Do you
charge list?
Dom Fontana
–> Sent from NY via AP <–
Dom,
The price is $16.50 including shipping and handling. There is no real
list price for the chip puller as we simply pass our cost on to the
customer as a service.
Dean
DKB Software
Thanks, Dean. I'll order the chip puller from you as soon as I finalize
the deal on the MegaChip 2000. The seller is waiting for his A4000 to
arrive before he removes the MegaChip from the A2500 he is selling. After
I get it, I'll send you the serial number, etc., so I can be a registered
owner.
Dom Fontana
–> Sent from NY via AP <–
Dean,
Is the MegaChip compatible with a GVP G-Force 030 (25 MHZ with MMU,
FPU, & 5 Meg 32-bit RAM (extended)) running on an Amiga 2000HD with a
bridgeboard?
Sincerely,
(Mr.) Gayle Lee Fairless
'Perfessor Fearless' from the Rocket City!
via AutoPilot 1.03a
Gayle,
There are very few boards available for the Amiga that will not work
with the MegAChip. In fact the only ones that I can think of off hand are
the > 512K expansion boards for the trapdoor slot on the A500. Those
boards use the Agnus addressing in a way that is completly incompatable
with what the MegAChip needs to do.
As far as the A2000 is concerned, other than problems with 6.0 and 6.1
motherboards, any problems that we've had, ended up being specific machine
or expansion board problems. I can't think of any particular board out
there that I can say the MegAChip won't work with.
Dean
DKB Software
Dean,
Does the MegaChip plug into the video slot?
Thank you for replying.
Sincerely,
(Mr.) Gayle Lee Fairless
'Perfessor Fearless' from the Rocket City!
via AutoPilot 1.03a
The A500 expansion board? Then how would you get the 2MB chip RAM?
I just had an 1MB agnes modification. Would it work with that? It uses the
A500 512K expansion board.
/\/\ I C |-| /-\ E |_ /\/\ /-\ S T
Always on autopilot
Hi Hilary
You might be interested to know that the memory upgrade I installed in
my other computer (A500) used the same technique you did, bending out and
soldering to a pin on an 18 pin socket and piggybacking the chip in it. I
never trusted those hypodermic clips either. Glad you found it.
I noted you said you have a 3001/4mb and also a board with 16bit ram on
it in the system. How do you use both together? I have an ICD2080 with ram
on it and never could get it to work concurrently with the 3001 32bit ram.
Tom Jones, Oklahoma City
AGA means "Amiga is Going Again"
{ Internet: jonest@hfsi.com 1:147/2020.5@fidonet }
>Grapevine offer a $15.00 rebate if we send the old ANGUS back to them.
>What the H…. do they do with these chips. Surely they cannot sell them
>"as new"?
Hilary,
there seems to be a market for 'used-but-good' computer parts (RAM chips,
CPUs, FPUs etc). If a new Agnus chip costs, say, 60 Dollars (which is
roughly the price in Germany), and a 'u-b-g' 30 Dollars I'm pretty sure
there are lots of people who would go for the used one. Most computer
chips either are defective as per production date or they will never
become except for circumstances which damage new chips as well. Some
companies make a living by taking apart used boards and selling the parts
that still work cheap. That's the way I got my 68030/68882 processors.
They may have come from a VAX or other UNIX machine where they have worked
for a couple of years which only proves they're reliable…
Apart from that, it's also an act of recycling, i.e. good for the
environment. ;v)
// Chris coming in from Germany
\X/ on AutoPilot 1.06………..
I did that very thing with my MegaChip. That spring clip is not very reliable
if you move your machine around. There's not a lot of room under the power
supply tray though, so you have to be careful not to use an IC socket that's
too high.
Ouch!
It really sounds like you cracked the Agnus socket. What tool did you use
to pull the chip? You might want to peek under the mother board looking
for tell tale signs.
–Paul < Motorola Inside >
Hilary,
Please either respond to my EMAIL as soon as possible, or call the tech
support number in the manual Monday morning sometime after 9:00 AM EST.
Our tech support line is available from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM EST Monday
thru Friday. The techs are more than happy to step you through the
installation process in needed, and can usually resolve any problems over
the phone. In cases where a production schedule is involved, we will even
cross ship overnight in order to get your system running. Unfortunatly,
being a weekend, there isn't much I can do regarding cross shipping you a
new board.
See my EMAIL message to you regarding your problem, I will do my best
to help you out this weekend.
Dean
DKB Software
Hello,
I had a quick question. I have a MegaChip that has worked fine for
some time and I am thinking of adding Flicker Free Video II to my
2000. I have heard a rumor that the MegaChip and the FFVII will not
fit in together due to the proximaty of the Denise. Is this true?
Thanks
Shawn
Shawn,
That depends on which version of the MegAChip and what motherboard
revision you have. The current version of the MegAChip will fit with no
problems. If you have a rev 6.x motherboard, then the fit will be rather
tight with the first surface mount version of the MegAChip. If you have
the oldest through hole version of the MegAChip then an upgrade is
required to make everything fit.
You can identify which version of the MegAChip you have by looking at
the physical size of the board. The original board is approximetly 4 x 6
inches in size. The first surface mount board is 2 3/8 x 2 5/8 inches. The
current version is 1 3/4 x 2 1/4 inches.
Dean
DKB Software
Hilary;
I have been using a MegAChip with a A2000/GVP3001 for years. Never a
problem. DKB has always been the pargon of proper design and support.
-bill
Hilary,
If you're in a "panic", did you leave a message to DKB in their section in
AmigaVendor? Asking the developer is probably the quickest route in
getting everything squared away.
-sja
Hilary,
I've had 3 MegAchips: the old style MegAchip 2000, an 8372B compatible
megAchip 2000/500 and now an 8375 compatible MegAchip 2000/500. Now here
is the litany.
The oldest one still works in both 4.1 and 6.4 MB machines. The 8372B
version worked in the 4.1 for a long time (like a year) but when I put it
in the 6.4 machine, within 2 days it went from occasional boot problems to
wouldn't boot at all. What it did was flash white, black, white, stay
white while the disk chattered on till about the time I expected to see
the workbench screen but no workbench ever appeared. Now, I tested it
with the old board and it stilll worked fine so I reasoned the newer board
was bad. I sent it back to DKB who sent me the newest 8375 board. With
their 8375 mounted I just got flashing green screens and flashing pwer
LED. I replaced thier 8375 with mine, and it flashes white to black once,
and stays black with a noisy dark grey bar at the bottom of the screen, no
disk activity, no power LED flash. When I put the MegAchip in the 4.1 MB
Amiga it works perfectly. (At the time I couldn't retest the board I sent
back to them as the other A2000 was in parts all over the bench).
The other thing was that after the 8372B MegAchip 2000/500 quit booting in
the 6.4 MB Amiga, I started seeing other display anomalies with the
original 8375 back in the socket. After a while the screen starts to
develope little square areas of lost picture (either background color
shows through or there is a colored check pattern showing through). Then
if I use a scroll bar on a screen or a pull-woen menu, more of the screen
starts to look like Madras plaid under the menu after erleasing the button
or over the area where the scroll took place. Sometimes recovery is
power-down/up sometimes it only requires the program to be terminated and
restarted.
What rev is your MB? We may be locating a bug that arose when the MB revs
changed after the DKB card was designed. They are, BTW very good on
support, so I'd call DKB. First I'd take the board out and put the old
Agnes back, and if possible try the DKB board in another machine with an
older MB.
wmc – via Autopilot!
Wayne,
Your 6.4 motherboard has the classic symptoms of a bad Agnus socket.
Dean
DKB Software