I picked up a 464 of the bay and as half expected it turned out to be faulty as not used in over 10 years :( . It powers on, the tape deck seems to work but all I get it a purple(Mouve) screen. Any advice please
Sounds like it needs a clean inside, in the first instance. That can clear up a surprising number of video problems.
What do I clean ? I removed the ULA chip and the Z80 and re-seated them
@Dagger (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=376)
If you press the del key several times does the computer beep (loudspeaker)
Good luck
Ray
Hi, There is no sound from pressing the del key(kept pressing for a couple of mins, nothing). Put my other monitor on as I remembered the colours where never right on the first one and now it comes up with a light blue screen. Still blank not logo or anything
@dagger
Ok.
How technical are you ?.
Do you have a probe, CRO, Multimeter etc.
What country do you live in ?
Ray
I have a couple of meters(fluke) a soldering iron and that's about it, UK
@Dagger (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=376)
1) Does the Power light come on
2) Grab a Schematic from the Wiki and some Board layouts " Schematics - CPCWiki (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Schematics) "
or " documentations:repository [Grimware] (http://www.grimware.org/doku.php/documentations/repository) ""
3) Measure the +5 Volts inside the machine.
3a) Purchase a Probe (Probably under 10 Eng Pounds)
4) Have a look inside the machine for any obvious damage.
5) Get some help locally.
Good luck Ray
Hi, Yes it has power it gives a blank light blue blank screen as mentioned.
Love the quote "Get help locally". Nobody I know or work with etc as ever heard of an Amstrad computer :) The people I have spoke with look at you with a puzzled or blank look on their face like you are from another planet :)
I have a spare working 464 would swaping the chips to test risk any damage to the working ones?
Where are you @Dagger? Most issues are fixable. And @Bryce has probably seen most of them before!
Hi, I am East of London, UK.
@Dagger (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=376)
Yes you could swap the Z80 That is in a socket, i am not sure what else is.
Have a look at the board and see what is in sockets on both boards (Please put a label on the ones from the good 464 before swapping).
I can not help you "" Locally "" as i am upside down here in Australia. :)
There are a lot of members from the UK on this board and i am sure that somebody will live nearby with some technical skills..
Good Luck Ray
I was there during the morning collecting a CTM 644 (thanks again! It was very nice to meet you :D ) and I had a little look at the computer. There is nothing obviously wrong just looking at the board by eye. I can help and replace any chip for a new one, the problem is that we need a proper diagnose to know what to replace :-X
Does the start screen have a border or is it all one colour? Culprit No. 1 is RAM, then Z80, then CRTC.
Bryce.
It has a black border. Is ram a common failure on these machines?
Then the Z80 is fine and the CRTC is most likely ok too. RAM issue. Yes, RAM on almost every retro computer is an issue.
Bryce.