#AIBB & SYSINFO on A3000?
33 messages in this thread
Steve: I just downloaded AIBB here on the forum, and found that on my
A3000, the machine freezes once the message "Testing system.. Please wait"
or something like that, comes up. I tried removing all my extra tasks
(screen blanker, commodities, etc) to no avail. I was wondering if this is
normal behavior.
I have: An Amiga 3000 25 mHz 50 Meg with 6 Megs of Ram. No expansion
boards.
Also, SYSINFO freezes on me when I do the COMPUTE SPEED option, once it
gets to the MFLOPS test. Any ideas? Is there something I'm doing wrong, or
is something defective in my system? The computer seems to run fine
otherwise.
Thanks! -Via AutoPilot
— Dave
Dave,
I don't know. I've never run AIBB but have run various versions of SYSINFO
with no problems. It might be due to an OS version difference (if you're
not running 2.04 or 2.1), it might be hardware problem on your end, or it
might be a conflict with something in your wbstartup drawer. If your
machine is stable otherwise, I wouldn't be too concerned about it.
Steve: Yes, my machine is stable otherwise. I had thought that since
SYSINFO hangs up on the MFLOPS calculations, maybe something was amiss
with my FPU, but I have DISTANT SUNS 4.1 in the OS 2.0 – FPU only version,
and it works fine, plus I have FRACBLANK_881 that works fine.
A possibility is that perhaps I have an "early" or beta version of 2.04…
I bought my 3000 used from someone who may have had access to beta version
of the OS. How can I tell if I have the correct "release" version?
I just brought up a Shell and typed in the VERSION command, and this is
what it returned:
1.System2.0:> version
Kickstart version 37.175. Workbench version 37.67
1.System2.0:>
Does that indicate anything to you? Thanks for your help!
— AutoPilot Engaged!
— Dave
Dave,
Those are the correct release version 2.04 numbers.
As mentioned, your OS release is correct. I suspect that Dean may have
hit upon the problem. You did read the docs, yes?
It is not exactly considered good form to notify the user of a problem by
locking up the machine so LaMonte tries to supply the user with something
a bit more friendly. However, while his program is tested with all
versions of the OS it is nearly impossible to test a program with all
version of the various support libraries that may be around. You could
have a corrupt library or even one that is not backwards compatible (that
should never be allowed to happen but..).
-bill
Bill: I did not have Req.Library, but that did not make a difference after
I downloaded it from AmigaTech. I admit I did not read every word of the
Docs, but I did read the section on system requirements and usage
carefully. Here is a snap from the AIBB docs:
AIBB uses a shared library for its file requester functions. For
this reason AIBB requires that one of the following shared libraries
be within the system LIBS: directory:
1. kd_freq.library ( library version 3.0 or greater )
2. req.library ( library versiopn 2.0 or greater )
3. asl.library ( AmigaOS 2.0 systems only )
4. reqtools.library
AIBB will search for these libraries in the order given, stopping
when it is either able to open one, or none are found.
I have all those now, but it still freezes after displaying "Evaluating
System: Please wait." The mouse freezes, but the power light DOES NOT go
dim. I have let the thing sit for about 30 minutes. No dice. This is
increasingly puzzling.
Thanks again for your help…… Merry Christmas!
— Dave
AIBB worked fine on my A3000 (before and after adding an 040
accelerator).
I had no problems running it under 2.04 and 2.1.
Sounds weird. ?
Erik Flom
Dave; LaMonte would be very interested in hearing about your problem.
AIBB is a professional level benchmarking program. Many developers have
assisted in process required to make it accurate. AIBB gets tested on
some of the strangest Amiga systems around. It works with every release
of the OS (to the point stated in the docs).
It should run without problem on any amiga. If it does not then either
you have found a bug, there is something non-standard (in a wicked way) in
your system or there is actually something wrong with your system.
Would please post all of the relevent information on your machine, do a
version command (for workbench and kickstart), do a version on each of the
"mathxxxxx.libraries". Also, what HardDrive do you have, how is it
partitioned and what filesystem ("version filesystem" or "version wb_2.x:"
should work)?
-bill
Bill: Yes, I'm very puzzled about this… I'll list all the info on my
machine, and perhaps you can identify somthing out of the ordinary. I have
to stress that my machine works fine (even with programs specifically
written for FPU use) other than SYSINFO and AIBB. Here goes:
A3000 25mHz 52 Meg Quantum HD. No Boards. Daisy Wheel printer connected to
the Parallel Port; SupraModem 2400 to the serial port. A pair of C= A10's
for sound, and a C= 1950 multiscan monitor. One floppy drive. HD has 2
partitions: 6 Meg System2.0: Partition, and 44 Meg Work: partition. I have
had no problems with the HD.
Here is a listing of Shell inquiries as you requested (via SNAP):
1.System2.0:> cpu
System: 68030 68882 FastROM (INST: Cache NoBurst) (DATA: Cache NoBurst)
1.System2.0:> version
Kickstart version 37.175. Workbench version 37.67
1.System2.0:> version mathieeedoubbas.library
mathieeedoubbas.library version 37.1
1.System2.0:> version mathieeedoubtrans.library
mathieeedoubtrans.library version 37.1
1.System2.0:> version mathieeesingtrans.library
mathieeesingtrans.library version 37.1
1.System2.0:> version mathtrans.library
mathtrans.library version 37.1
1.System2.0:> version filesystem
Error: filesystem not found
1.System2.0:> version wb_2.x:
fs 37.26
1.System2.0:> ?
Does this listing tell you anything? Thanks for your help!
AutoPilot Engaged!
<continued>
Thanks Dave; I get back to you after I hear from LaMonte. I don't know
if he is doing anything over the holidays or not so don't have any idea
how long it will be. Speaking of which….
Merry Christmas!
-bill
Thanks for looking into this for me… I really appreciate it.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
— Dave
Bill: I just took the cover off of my A3000, and I may have some more news
for you. The system has 2Meg Chip ram, and 4 Meg Fast Ram. Fast Ram is 1 x
4 Page mode.
Also: I do not have Kickstart in ROM (ROM 0 and ROM 1 are missing). I have
known this since I got the machine; I have been waiting for the updates to
the OS to happen (2.1, and now 3.0). I noticed, however, that there are no
sockets for the ROM chips; they are surface mounted. This means <gulp>
that they are not user-installable, and have to be done by a service
center, correct?
Thanks for your help…. talk to you soon! Merry Christmas!
— Dave
I just got 2.0 ROM's with the GVP 040-A3000 accelerator(a FREE bonus!).
(But, it fried my Toaster, so buy a bigger Power Supply if you go for this
config!)
There were 2 empty sets of holes on the PC board, and a set of socketed
ROMs in front of them – I just had to pull out the old Bootstrap ROMs and
plug the new ones into those sockets. No soldering required! (I WAS using
the setup where KICKSTART was loaded from disk, but the new ROMs don't
support it. [Gee, I guess I can't use that old 1.3 Kickstart image
anymore. Too bad. :^) ])
BTW, I had run v5.0 on AIBB on both the old config, and the new config
with the new ROMs – no problem. (I had the same version of 2.x Kickstart
as you have in your disk image. [37.175])
Hope you get AIBB to work.
Erik Flom
P.S. Merry XMas, and a Happy Gnu Year! ,<|:^)
(It's a hat, really!)-^
Hmmm… The version of AIBB I've been using is 4.1. Maybe I need to find a
new version somewhere….. I got it from either here or in the AmigaTech
forum.
Interesting about the ROMs. The empty places I saw (no sockets) were under
the equipment platform, on the left and almost all the way to the back
past the mouse & joystick plugs and in front of the fan. The empty spaces
were labeled, on the circuit board, as ROM0 and ROM1, and they looked like
huge, long rectangular chips. Perhaps this is not the place where the OS
ROM is installed?
Merry Christmas!
I like the hat! ,<|:^)
— Dave
I just got v5 of AIBB from CIS recently, if I remember correctly.
(Has worked just fine for me.)
Yes, those 2 empty spaces are in the right area, but there should have
been 2 socketed chips in front of them (towards the RAM chips). Those are
the ones you would swap out (U180 & U181 on my MB). (You do have an A3000,
and not a tower 3000? They only have 2 sockets.)
Noel, Noel. ,<|:^)
Erik Flom
Erik, yes I have the A3000. I must have missed the two socketed ROMS when
I was peaking through the side. At least that's good news! I wouldn't want
to try to install a 40-pin surface mount chip (never mind 2!) if my life
depended on it.
I will do a catalog update for the Amiga Forums to see if AIBB 5.0 has
been posted more recently than I think… then if I find it, I'll let you
know what happens.
Thanks & Buon Natale!
— via AutoPilot.
— Dave
The socketed ROMs ARE easy to miss. Especially if you haven't pulled off
the equipment bay. (I HAVE removed 40 pin IC's & all I can say is that it
requires much patience [& a very low-power soldering iron].)
Good Luck w/ AIBB v5.0!
And a big Ho-Ho-Ho to you too!
Erik Flom ,<|:^)
Erik: AIBB 5.0 is not here on CIS. Bill just uploaded 5.5, though, and
that worked fine on my system! It asked me on startup what CPU I have
(68030 or 68EC030), but after that ran beautifully. My machine held its
own against the A3000-25 (but darn that A4000 just SPOILS everything!
g>)
Thanks for all your help!
Feliz Navidad!
— Dave
Dave;
I just pushed AIBB_55.lha up this morning. Again, I'm reminded of a
feature that AP badly needs and that is the ability to specify the name
that the file should have on the CIS. I suspect that the file will be
named AIBB_5.lha which will no doubt be very misleading. Of course the
description says that it is 5.5 and not 5.0 version.
Happy Holidays
-bill
Bill: Just downloaded your AIBB 5.5 and…. It Works! It came up with a
requester saying it could not firmly determine if I had a 68030 or 68EC030
CPU. I clicked on the 68030 button, and all the tests worked fine. I
placed rather favorably vs the A3000-25 w/ SCRAM. *Whew!* that was a
relief.
I had been using AIBB 4.1… perhaps it had a bug!
Happy Holidays! & Thanks for your help!
— Dave
Surface mounts Gawk! I have never hear of such a thing. You get a
"loading kickstart" message briefly on the screen when you power up the
machine?
If the boot roms are actually surface mount, then I suspect that, as a
practical matter, they can not be replaced but rather the whole
motherboard would be replaced.
-bill
Bill: Yes, I get a "Loading Kickstart 2.x" and "Rebooting System" message
very quickly when I power up. Perhaps I misled you about the ROMs: The ROM
spaces I mentioned have no chips in them. They are instead blank areas on
the motherboard, with an outline of a chip, and pads for mounting the
chip. The two are labled ROM0 and ROM1. I was under the impression that it
was in this place that the OS ROMs would go.
However, after reading Erik's message, I checked the schematics of the
A3000, and it appears that there may be socketed ROMs already (the boot
roms) that I overlooked (I was peaking though the side while blowing the
dust away…. I didn't take off the equipment platform), so it looks like
there are actually *4* ROM places, two occupied by the boot ROMs which I
didn't see, and the other two, with just "pads waiting for pins" on the
motherboard. Could that be the place for the "A2000" ROMS that the
schematics list?
The "missing" ROMS seem to be U182 and U183.
— AutoPilot Engaged!
— Dave
Dave;
Yep, that is correct. The two long chips next to the blanks (toward the
front of the machine) are the boot loader ROMs.
Did you ever determine what version of AIBB you were running? I have a
new one to post now also.
Happy Holidays
-bill
Dave,
I believe the apparent lockup is due to AIBB looking for req.library.
You should be able to find that here in the Libs somewhere.
Dean
DKB Software
Dean: Nope, that's not it. Here's a Snap from the docs:
AIBB uses a shared library for its file requester functions. For
this reason AIBB requires that one of the following shared libraries
be within the system LIBS: directory:
1. kd_freq.library ( library version 3.0 or greater )
2. req.library ( library versiopn 2.0 or greater )
3. asl.library ( AmigaOS 2.0 systems only )
4. reqtools.library
AIBB will search for these libraries in the order given, stopping
when it is either able to open one, or none are found.
I have kd_freq.library 3.0, asl.library and reqtools.library. I went ahead
and downloaded the req.library (2.2) from AmigaTech, but it still froze
up. I really don't understand this.
— Dave
Dave,
Hmmm, can you do a L-Amiga M and cycle the screens? I've had AIBB do
this to me on a floppy based system where it was looking for 'something'
on the boot disk. I'd get a blank screen that I couldn't get rid of by any
way other than rebooting. My solution for this is to copy AIBB into the
RAM Disk, insert the boot disk into df0: and then run AIBB out of RAM. If
this isn't what is happening to you, then I'm stumped!
Dean
DKB Software
Dean: I haven't tried L-Amiga M, but I CAN tell you that the mouse
freezes, and the machine seems to become a doorstop. I had been running
AIBB (Ver. 4.1, BTW) out of RAM, but I tried running it off of a floppy as
well. Same thing. I even re-booted the machine using a copy of the
original Workbench 2.04 floppy, so that NONE of my "extra add-ons" were
loaded. Same thing happens. AIBB doesn't even look at the drives… as
soon as the message "Evaluating System. Please Wait." fades up, the mouse
freezes, and the computer becomes a veritable doorstop. I even went away
and came back 30 minutes later… the message was still on the screen, and
my screen blanker didn't even take it away. I'm very puzzled.
Did I mention that the program SYSINFO will load and perform everything
perfectly…. until it gets to "Calculating MFLOPS" in the speed section.
The computer then freezes and acts just as it does when I try to load
AIBB. Only a CTRL-A-A (reboot) works. I thought it was a bug in the
software, but when I downloaded SYSINFO 3.1 and AIBB recently, I began to
worry. Is there a problem with my FPU? My copies of DISTANT SUNS / 2.0-FPU
and FracBlank_881 work fine….. I'm really puzzled.
— Via AutoPilot
— Dave
Dave,
AIBB will freeze the system at that point, although it should only be
for at most 10 seconds. Since what AIBB is attempting to do at that point
is determine the clock rate of the CPU and FPU, I'd suspect the problem
may be hardware. The first thing I'd do is to check the 8520's.
Dean
DKB Software
Dean: Good News! I just downloaded AIBB 5.5 this morning, and it works! It
came up with a requester saying that it could not firmly determine whether
I was using a 68030 or 68EC030 CPU. I clicked on the correct button, and
all the tests performed flawlessly. I was right on-par (roughly) with the
A3000-25 given for comparison. Perhaps 4.1 had a bug?
— Dave
Dave,
From all apperances it would seem so! Glad you finally determined what
the problem was.
Dean
DKB Software