CompuServe Thread

#Time has stopped!

3 messages in this thread
#123196From: Ged MurphyNov 28, 1993 11:15 AM
Help, I'm having the strangest of problems with my A2000+A2630. Time has stopped and I can't print anymore(thru the parallel device at least). When I reboot, the system reads the CORRECT time from the hardware-clock. When I activate the clock display, the time stays still. As a test I read the system time by opening the timer.device and doing a read system time, then the usecs field changes but the seconds remain still, confirming that the time has indeed stopped. As soon as I send an initprinter the system freezes. I changed J300 so that it did not use TICK anymore. The system came up, the clock ran but I still couldn't print. Sometimes, after power-up the clock actually runs. As soon as the printer is powered on the clock would jump +- 10-12 hours every second or so. The printer is ok, i checked it on my PC. Most of the programs I use seem to run OK, except those that need the absolute time. My suspicion is that the 8520 is kaputt. What I don't understand is how, and why there would be a relationship between the printer port drivers and the internal timers on the chip. As I can't get hold of an 8520 so quickly any further suggestions will be gratefully received ! Ged Murphy ……Autopilot engaged in Bonn Germany
#123205From: John DraperNov 28, 1993 12:31 PM
When a chip goes bad, it there is no telling how it will fail. In order to predict what all would be affected, you would need to know both the exact nature of the failure and the layout of the elements comprising the chip. It sure sounds like an 8520, or something in the immediate vicinity. The TICK signal itself could be bad, and it may or may not have caused a problem in the 8520, or perhaps a failure in the 8520 caused the TICK circuitry to fail. At any rate, the way to decide if an 8520 is bad is to swap the two 8520s, and see if the problem changes. If the problem remians exactly the same, it is unlikely that the 8520 is bad. -larry
#123268From: Don Curtis/SYSOPNov 29, 1993 12:25 AM
Ged, Actually…the TICK line leads to the low numbered 8520, which also controls most of the printer port. I'd say it's a 99.9% certainty that that 8520 is blown. Don