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Bringing an A3010 back to life |
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robert32 (14:12 19/4/2012)
arawnsley (14:19 19/4/2012)
trevj (14:42 19/4/2012)
pwx (08:35 20/4/2012)
PaulV (14:40 20/4/2012)
robert32 (15:00 29/12/2015)
robert32 (16:08 29/12/2015)
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Rob Curry |
Message #120143, posted by robert32 at 14:12, 19/4/2012 |
Member
Posts: 5
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Hi there,
I've just powered up my A3010 for the first time in a number of years.
Unfortunately it stalls at the supervisor screen. At first I put this down to the boot config being lost due to a low battery.
I've tried to reconfigure it, but fail at designating the filing system. I had an IDEFS system, but it just does not pick it up and throws a "filing system not found" error.
Please can someone shed some light on this? I can't find anything immediate on the web.
Cheers,
Rob. |
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Andrew Rawnsley |
Message #120144, posted by arawnsley at 14:19, 19/4/2012, in reply to message #120143 |
R-Comp chap
Posts: 600
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If you type *Desktop you'll see what icons are appearing on the iconbar, which may help.
You might need to *configure some drives etc.
Also, do *rommodules to see what modules are present (eg. are IDEFS modules/podule even present) and see what is unplugged, then rmreinit things if necessary. |
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Trevor Johnson |
Message #120145, posted by trevj at 14:42, 19/4/2012, in reply to message #120143 |
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Posts: 660
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"It's worth taking a look at the CMOS battery" (pics).
[Edited by trevj at 15:43, 19/4/2012] |
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Philip Webster |
Message #120161, posted by pwx at 08:35, 20/4/2012, in reply to message #120145 |
Member
Posts: 227
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"It's worth taking a look at the CMOS battery" (pics).
That battery looks similar to the one on the RiscPC motherboard. Are they the same type? If so, would I be able to use one of the equivalents that APDL sells as a replacement part?
Not that I need it right now, what with the A3010 still being mint and new - but I certainly would like to keep it in good condition, as it's destined to be my lad's main computer for a long while. |
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Paul Vernon |
Message #120170, posted by PaulV at 14:40, 20/4/2012, in reply to message #120161 |
Member
Posts: 135
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The battery for the A30x0 series machines is pretty much the same as every other vintage RISC OS machine that has a rechargeable battery on board. They're usually 1.2V rechargeable affairs like the one pictured. These 1.2V coins are hard to come by these days IME.
The good news is that the RTC/CMOS chip which is usually a Philips PCF8583 variant can take a range of input voltages from 1 to 6V and it'll work just fine.
You have to bear in mind the charging circuit is geared towards a 1.2V battery so larger capacity batteries take longer to fully charge, but I and others have successfully used 3.6V VARTA Mempac batteries which can be bought via various outlets online.
Here's a link to my A3000 and A5000 battery pages detailing battery changes and fixing RTC circuits due to alkaline substances leaking from the batteries.
http://www.retro-kit.co.uk/page.cfm/content/Acorn-BBC-A3000-Battery-Maintenance/
http://www.retro-kit.co.uk/page.cfm/content/Restoring-an-A5000/
If you want to keep your A3010 mint, if I were you, I be changing that battery sooner rather than later as it's guaranteed to leak in the next few years if it hasn't started already.
Paul
[Edited by PaulV at 15:43, 20/4/2012] |
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Rob Curry |
Message #123774, posted by robert32 at 15:00, 29/12/2015, in reply to message #120170 |
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Posts: 5
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Thanks for the above help and advice. I'm picking this thread up after some time away, now that I've got some time on my hands to try and bring this machine back to life.
OK, so I've removed the battery and I am about to clean the circuit board of any leakage. I have read through Paul's excellent advice and I have the necessary materials. Couple of quick questions:
1. what shall I "swab" the PCB with? Would a cotton bud suffice? I am concious of not generating static and damaging the circuit board
2. Do I have to wait for the vinegar/de-ionized water to dry before applying the isopropyl - or just wait until leakage is cleaned up?
3. As my machine probably has a few problems to overcome, is it absolutely necessary to fit a replacement battery at this point before I can confirm everything else is "repearable"?
4. Do you have a link to an appropriate replacement battery on eBay?
Thanks!
Rob. |
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Rob Curry |
Message #123775, posted by robert32 at 16:08, 29/12/2015, in reply to message #123774 |
Member
Posts: 5
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Also, the last time I powered the machine up the graphics output was failing (the output signal was there, but suffering from severe inteference). This was true of both VGA and TV outputs.
There was no evidence of damage to the outputs on the PCB, but potentially some leakage has reached other parts of the PCB away from the battery that may be causing a problem.
I have uploaded photos onto Flickr here for your perusal: https://flic.kr/s/aHskrK226T
[Edited by robert32 at 16:13, 29/12/2015] |
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