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avatar_Dagger

Faulty 464

Started by Dagger, 23:02, 06 May 16

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Dagger

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
Life's a bitch. You marry one or two then you die !

Zoe Robinson

Sounds like it needs a clean inside, in the first instance. That can clear up a surprising number of video problems.

Dagger

What do I clean ? I removed the ULA chip and the Z80 and re-seated them
Life's a bitch. You marry one or two then you die !

Audronic

@Dagger

If you press the del key several times does the computer beep (loudspeaker)

Good luck

Ray
Procrastinators Unite,
If it Ain't Broke PLEASE Don't Fix it.
I keep telling you I am Not Pedantic.
As I Live " Down Under " I Take my Gravity Tablets and Wear my Magnetic Boots to Keep me from Falling off.

Dagger

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
Life's a bitch. You marry one or two then you die !

Audronic

@dagger


Ok.
How technical are you ?.
Do you have a probe, CRO, Multimeter etc.
What country do you live in ?


Ray
Procrastinators Unite,
If it Ain't Broke PLEASE Don't Fix it.
I keep telling you I am Not Pedantic.
As I Live " Down Under " I Take my Gravity Tablets and Wear my Magnetic Boots to Keep me from Falling off.

Dagger

I have a couple of meters(fluke) a soldering iron and that's about it, UK
Life's a bitch. You marry one or two then you die !

Audronic

#7
@Dagger


1)  Does the Power light come on
2)  Grab a Schematic from the Wiki  and some Board layouts "   Schematics - CPCWiki  "
  or  "   documentations:repository [Grimware]  ""
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
Procrastinators Unite,
If it Ain't Broke PLEASE Don't Fix it.
I keep telling you I am Not Pedantic.
As I Live " Down Under " I Take my Gravity Tablets and Wear my Magnetic Boots to Keep me from Falling off.

Dagger

#8
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?



Life's a bitch. You marry one or two then you die !

CraigsBar

Where are you @Dagger? Most issues are fixable. And @Bryce has probably seen most of them before!
IRC:  #Retro4All on Freenode

Dagger

Hi, I am East of London, UK.
Life's a bitch. You marry one or two then you die !

Audronic

@Dagger


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
Procrastinators Unite,
If it Ain't Broke PLEASE Don't Fix it.
I keep telling you I am Not Pedantic.
As I Live " Down Under " I Take my Gravity Tablets and Wear my Magnetic Boots to Keep me from Falling off.

||C|-|E||

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

Bryce

Does the start screen have a border or is it all one colour? Culprit No. 1 is RAM, then Z80, then CRTC.

Bryce.

Dagger

It has a black border. Is ram a common failure on these machines?
Life's a bitch. You marry one or two then you die !

Bryce

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.

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