Caluser2000
Banned
Once I looked into the Acorn Risc Machines history i was somewhat hooked so to speak. The real time adjustable ram disk is very handy.
- VCF East - April 12 - 14, Infoage Museum, Wall NJ
- VCF South West - June 14 - 16, Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at University of Texas at Dallas
- VCF West - Aug 2 - 3, Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA
- VCF Midwest - Sept 7 - 8 2024, Schaumburg, IL
- VCF SoCal - Mid February 2025, Location TBD, Sothern CA
-
Please review our updated Terms and Rules here
Acorn A3000 Gamble
- Thread starter mbliss11
- Start date
So I was able to figure out the keyboard. One of my trace repairs had failed and was actually going to the wrong pin on the keyboard (15 which is 5 volts!!!). I am thankful that it did fail otherwise it probably would have fried that logic chip. Anywho - got that sorted out and now all the keys work 
I was also able to make an rgb cable for my pvm and that works well too. I also serviced and cleaned the floppy drive. A game came with the system James Pond 2 I did the cat command to read what was on the disk and !RoboCod was listed. I tried to run that file but it just resets the computer and then says that a previous service is running when I attempt to do anything. Is there any way to run programs without a mouse? I have an adapter coming but will take some time to get here.
Now just need to clean the keys and the case.
I was also able to make an rgb cable for my pvm and that works well too. I also serviced and cleaned the floppy drive. A game came with the system James Pond 2 I did the cat command to read what was on the disk and !RoboCod was listed. I tried to run that file but it just resets the computer and then says that a previous service is running when I attempt to do anything. Is there any way to run programs without a mouse? I have an adapter coming but will take some time to get here.
Now just need to clean the keys and the case.
Attachments
Caluser2000
Banned
i don't think there is a keyboard only option but I'll have a look at the RiscOS manual and see if there is a * command option.
jltursan
Veteran Member
Doesn't autoboots when powering up the machine with the disk inserted?
No as far as I am aware it does not. I do not get any floppy activity on boot and only floppy activity I get is if I enter commands in the shell to search for files. I have a usb mouse adapter coming in the next few weeks hopefully once I get a mouse I am hoping I’ll be able to dig more into the os. I have no familiarity with riscos what so ever
Alright some updates!
RISC OS3.11 roms came in the mail. Held down delete key after installing and moving jumpers around but get flashing lights. However it does boot to desktop
I did some research online and found a error mapper for the flashing lights
MEMC Protection failed and MEMC CAM mapping failed. Will have to investigate that. It does have a memory upgrade installed maybe I’ll reseat that and clean up contacts.
I still don’t have mouse for it yet hoping that arrives soon
RISC OS3.11 roms came in the mail. Held down delete key after installing and moving jumpers around but get flashing lights. However it does boot to desktop
I did some research online and found a error mapper for the flashing lights
MEMC Protection failed and MEMC CAM mapping failed. Will have to investigate that. It does have a memory upgrade installed maybe I’ll reseat that and clean up contacts.
I still don’t have mouse for it yet hoping that arrives soon
Kind of going blind with diagnosing these error codes. Did some sloothing on the web about them and generally found people having issues with A3010's and having the wrong RAM jumpers configured. Don't believe there are any on the A3000 board. I removed a very stubborn RAM module and cleaned the areas and pins. Tried booting without it installed and it still showed the same behavior. Boots in multiple colors stops at red screen then goes through the floppy flashing light fault codes as shown above. I pulled up schematics to try to find areas where MEMC points to the trouble spots on the board that I repaired.
Looks like an RCS* signal goes through R14 and then becomes ROMCS* signal back to pin 22 of the ROMs. I'll have to find R141 near MEMC as that appears to be jump between R14. Maybe a trace I missed? Does this error message even mean anything? It is so hard to know without a mouse
Looks like an RCS* signal goes through R14 and then becomes ROMCS* signal back to pin 22 of the ROMs. I'll have to find R141 near MEMC as that appears to be jump between R14. Maybe a trace I missed? Does this error message even mean anything? It is so hard to know without a mouse
Last edited:
So after looking at the schematics not close to bedtime I read them wrong. Rcs* signal from Roms goes through to pin 60 Romcs on the MEMC. Was able to confirm that got 330ohms resistance from the rom chips pin 22 to pin 60 MEMC. I also toned out all of the ram and to the ras and cas resistors r129-r133.
I’m not entirely sure if this is a real error or not. The machine boots and recognizes correct memory when expansion is removed and inserted. Full disclosure I forgot to change lk17 and lk18 jumpers initially when I first put the new roms in. Figured that out after first power on and did a Homer Simpson doh. Maybe that borked things up?
I think the best course of action is to just wait until mouse adapter comes in and then see if I can launch any programs. Maybe make a RAM disk and copy files to it.
I’m not entirely sure if this is a real error or not. The machine boots and recognizes correct memory when expansion is removed and inserted. Full disclosure I forgot to change lk17 and lk18 jumpers initially when I first put the new roms in. Figured that out after first power on and did a Homer Simpson doh. Maybe that borked things up?
I think the best course of action is to just wait until mouse adapter comes in and then see if I can launch any programs. Maybe make a RAM disk and copy files to it.
Ok - I ended up flashing a gotek I had laying around and got it working with flashfloppy. It runs and reads ADF images just fine on the A3000. I found this:
A3000 Dealer Test Disc
It is a compressed .arc file. I have absolutely no idea how to get this into an ADF format. Does anyone have the ability to throw this into an ADF so I can try this out on the gotek?
A3000 Dealer Test Disc
It is a compressed .arc file. I have absolutely no idea how to get this into an ADF format. Does anyone have the ability to throw this into an ADF so I can try this out on the gotek?
Well - I did some more probing around the rtc and ram area of the board and didn’t really see anything. I decided to throw the 2.0 roms back into the machine and see what the dealer tests reported and wouldn’t you know….
It also successfully detected the version and that it has a 1 Meg upgrade. It didn’t detect the upgrade in the upgrades option but maybe thats because it isn’t official acorn hardware.
Game also loaded fine on os version 2
That error code is going to eat away at my sanity. Is ignorance truly Bliss? Do I just leave the 2.0 roms in the machine which has no post checks…I have other projects I could work on…but I really don’t like leaving a job unfinished…but that nabu personal computer box hasn’t even been opened yet….
It also successfully detected the version and that it has a 1 Meg upgrade. It didn’t detect the upgrade in the upgrades option but maybe thats because it isn’t official acorn hardware.
Game also loaded fine on os version 2
That error code is going to eat away at my sanity. Is ignorance truly Bliss? Do I just leave the 2.0 roms in the machine which has no post checks…I have other projects I could work on…but I really don’t like leaving a job unfinished…but that nabu personal computer box hasn’t even been opened yet….
Attachments
jltursan
Veteran Member
Just wondering, are you 100% sure that the decoded error is C09 and not C009?
Nope! I’m not 100% sure about anything! Haha
The only thing I know for certain is the light sequence from the drive. On the 6th series there is long long short short and on the 8th series long short short long
I see what you are saying though. That would be on the fifth sequence and not the sixth. That would be a VIDC related error and actually per the documentation would explain why it is able to post. I am going to triple confirm it is the 6th series of flashes and not the fifth when I get home this evening.
Caluser2000
Banned
Excellent progress ol bean.
Thanks mate!Excellent progress ol bean.