Overview Features Coding ApolloOS Performance Forum Downloads Products Order Contact

Welcome to the Apollo Forum

This forum is for people interested in the APOLLO CPU.
Please read the forum usage manual.
Please visit our Apollo-Discord Server for support.



All TopicsNewsPerformanceGamesDemosApolloVampireAROSWorkbenchATARIReleases
Documentation about the Vampire hardware

Still No Joy With a 500V2+ Board. Please Help! :(

Antony Coello

Posts 153
22 Dec 2020 22:45


After getting a new board back from Majsta a few weeks ago, I STILL cannot get the Vampire board to work with my A500...Please help!

I have tried to search the forum, and it seems no one else has had this problem. So...

I have tested the board plugged into both a CF reader with Sandisk Extreme 32Gb UDMA7 card AND a 2.5" IDE drive, both written to with the latest ApolloOS (R4 711); BOTH devices give the same results so Im presuming the card reader is not a problem here.

Either one (or none at all) boot to the EmuTOS pre-boot screen and I cannot continue from here. (If I boot with a drive inserted, I get drive options of A, C, D, E instead of just A, C. So it seems to recognise the IDE drive/CF card. I just cannot select them or any of the option keys for this screen dont do anything.

So, it stays on this screen and the only other thing I can do is a CTRL Amiga,Amiga, which, if I hold control, it either takes me to a file selection shell type screen, or the EmuTOS desktop. (A weird thing, when I get to the EmuTOS desktop with a mouse plugged in, it acts as if I have the right button held down. The mouse is a PS/2 with adapter for Amiga/Atari).

I created the ApolloOS image with Win32DiskImager v1.0 and it looks to have successfully written it. W10 can even see the EmuTOS and Mint partitions.

The Amiga 500 has been recently recapped, had a new CPU connector fitted and is running from an ATX PSU in a Checkmate 1500 plus case.

I cannot get any preboot screen by holding both mouse buttons and I cannot boot from the installed Flashfloppy Gotek drive.

What am I doing wrong?  :(




Gunnar von Boehn
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 6207
22 Dec 2020 22:47


Can it be that you are pressing fire?
Is a joystick connected?
Has the Jostick autofire on?
If not are maybe your joyports out of order?
What happens when you remove your mouse?

And then turn power OFF/ON


Antony Coello

Posts 153
22 Dec 2020 22:55


No joysticks or mouse connected.

When I connect the mouse, its no different.


Gunnar von Boehn
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 6207
22 Dec 2020 22:57


Antony Coello wrote:

No joysticks or mouse connected.
 
  When I connect the mouse, its no different.

But you said it yourself . your mouse button is always pressed?
I'm pretty sure that this is the problem.

When you mouse buttons are always pressed you trigger all kind of reactions.
You can load ATARI. You can end up early boot menu. You will turns of RTG/Video.

Your mouse port seems bad.



Antony Coello

Posts 153
22 Dec 2020 23:04


Antony Coello wrote:

  (A weird thing, when I get to the EmuTOS desktop with a mouse plugged in, it acts as if I have the right button held down.
 

Looks like it may be the mouse port then.

Thanks for confirming Gunnar. Without actually ever getting it to boot, I wasnt sure of the boot characteristics of this board.

Will look into this on the A500 board now. Thankyou.


Aksel Andersen

Posts 120
23 Dec 2020 20:49


try to swap the CIA chips with each other.
 
  maybe one has gone bad and this is a good way to test.
 
  merry xmas :)


Antony Coello

Posts 153
23 Dec 2020 21:06


Aksel Andersen wrote:

try to swap the CIA chips with each other.
 
  maybe one has gone bad and this is a good way to test.
 
  merry xmas :)

 
Thankyou. I was actually looking at the odd CIA as the possible culprit. Probably not able to do much till after Xmas now.

Merry Christmas! :)


Igor Majstorovic
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 406
23 Dec 2020 21:31


Yes, first card I sent you was also OK but it is damaged later (broken pin headers). But with that card problem wasn't just with headers, something else there died because of some sort of short on the bus or who knows what else. Investigation, to find out what is wrong here could be very tricky but we could try to run some test cores or maybe you can investigate more by running Logica Dialoga ROM without Vampire mounted.
 


Antony Coello

Posts 153
23 Dec 2020 22:35


igor majstorovic wrote:

  Yes, first card I sent you was also OK but it is damaged later (broken pin headers). But with that card problem wasn't just with headers, something else there died because of some sort of short on the bus or who knows what else. Investigation, to find out what is wrong here could be very tricky but we could try to run some test cores or maybe you can investigate more by running Logica Dialoga ROM without Vampire mounted.
   
 

 
  Hi Igor. The only other non standard part of the setup is a zorro expansion board plugged into the 86 pin port:
 
  EXTERNAL LINK 
  However, I am only using this for the ATX PSU input (at least for now) and I have not heard of any other problems with the Vampire boards and this expansion (I will contact Steven Jones/Rob Cranley to find out).
 
  Its looking like the odd CIA ATM (no mouse button response/button apprears pressed on/makes rectangle outline on screen in EmuTOS). I will switch the CIA chips to see if it will boot to ApolloOS.
 
  I will PM you on Discord if its not a faulty U7.
 
  But before all that, please relax and have a great Xmas. :)


Igor Majstorovic
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 406
23 Dec 2020 23:15


Well, someone here on the forum said that had some problems with that zorro expansion together with Vampire card so please search our forum.


Antony Coello

Posts 153
24 Dec 2020 00:25


igor majstorovic wrote:

Well, someone here on the forum said that had some problems with that zorro expansion together with Vampire card so please search our forum.

I can only find DMA Zorro related issues (I am not using any DMA card).

I will keep looking...


Antony Coello

Posts 153
06 Jan 2021 20:28


Update...
   
    OK, having swapped the CIA chips over, I can get my Gotek to boot (which ran several games fine, also latest sysinfo recognises the machine as a Vampire, so looking good). However, still no CF/HDD boot.
   
    This also means I can run the exellent Amiga Test Kit by KierF (highly recommended Amiga diagnostic test suite, which tests: RAM,Video,Audio,Floppy,Keyboard,Joy/Mouse ports,Ser.Par Ports, and CIAs).
   
    Having run the tests with my swapped over 8520A's, I get no response from most of the numberpad keys on the keyboard (apart from both brackets and forward slash) and the arrow keys too.
   
    CIA testing fails/freezes on the presision timing test (100VBL count) and the suite has a extensive CIA peripheral port test where the actual pin values can be changed (for gameport, floppy, LED, Parallel port data, serial/parallel control on both CIAs).
   
    However, I have not run this last CIA pin test. (All other tests run fine!)
   
    I have ordered a NOS CIA chip, so hopefully this will solve the keyboard numpad/arrows and with a bit of luck let me boot a HDD image. (Im guessing the Vampires IDE port makes use of the CIAs?)
   
    Being an Amiga beginner, its hard for me to know whats standard working behaviour, especially with a Vampire installed too, but the list of culprits is getting thinner now! Wish me luck! ;)
   
    I will report back when the IC arrives/is fitted. In the meantime, if anyone has any revelations...


James Husted
(Needs Verification)
Posts 81/ 3
06 Jan 2021 21:15


I would not think the CIA's are anything to do with IDE... on Amiga 600/1200 its gayle which of course a 500 does not have.


Antony Coello

Posts 153
07 Jan 2021 11:06


Ok; I didnt take much notice of it because I thought the sound samples were just low quality on the demo I tried, but it seems like ALL sounds are rough on all demos/games.

It sounds like a gated cutoff sort of roughness to the sound output. Quite noisy. Quiet samples seem to sound better.

Is this a thing with Paula chip? Should I get one in while Im waiting for the CIA to arrive?

(I cant believe how much of a nightmare this machine has been so far!)


Igor Majstorovic
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 406
07 Jan 2021 11:41


I would seriously consider to get another A500 motherboard to try it out with that setup.


Antony Coello

Posts 153
07 Jan 2021 12:45


I know Igor.

The painful part is that I sold a good working A1200 and about three working A500s to get the Vampire board! :/

Nowadays A500s are not cheap anymore, and even then, its rolling the dice again with possible problems. Ive replaced the CPU slot and had it recapped, so feel invested/determined in getting it working now.

Ive ordered a NOS Paula, and I will fit the NOS CIA and see what happens.

With some luck, a new Paula and CIA will be it.

At least the Vampire works in basic acceleration!

And at the end of all this, I should have a rudimentary understanding of Amiga HW troubleshooting at least! xD


Antony Coello

Posts 153
18 Jan 2021 20:31


Ok, having literally no time or any thorough understanding of the weird non booting problem, I finally gave in and bought another A500 locally as a last stand.
 
  Swapped them around and got CoffinOS to boot! Finally!
 
  I am over the moon! :)
 
  Thanks for all the support and help everyone.  :)
 


Igor Majstorovic
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 406
18 Jan 2021 21:07


Thank you for informing us. Have fun :)


posts 18