Hopefully things will pick up a bit once OS4 is finally out of the door. I think Big Bash was certainly worth going to last year anyhow. I probably wouldn't have got my GP2X if I hadn't gone.
By the way is your little girl still hogging the A1?
It's possible for the number of Amiga users to increase again - we just need that &*^%$ hardware! And it doesn't even need to be amazingly powerful. For all of my needs my 800 Mhz Micro A1 is more than enough! But it needs to be able to be purchased if someone decides that they want it! Otherwise we are sunk.
For instance, I have a lot of spare time on my hands at the moment so I am spending all of my time coding. But my Micro A1 is slowly dying (has trouble being switched on after being moved, hard drive is soon going to die) and if it stops working now, then *I* also have to stop working! I can't just say "Oh it's stuffed, I'll just buy a new one." Geez, I even considered buying one of those *cough* "Blue" computers that I saw recently on Amibench for ?100, simply so that if my Micro A1 dies, at least I will have something to keep me working on my software until I can get it fixed or buy a new one.
Anyway, apologies if this is a bit of a negative response - it was originally meant to be a positive one! I'm just worried about the health of my beloved Micro A1 and how bored I will be if I can't spend 10+ hours per day coding on it, as I am currently doing!
Hopefully I can make it to the next ANT, where people with more hardware knowledge than me can do some surgery on it!!!
I bought a new battery but it made no difference. It is much more bizarre than that! I have *no* knowledge of hardware related issues (I am 100% coder/software) but it seems to have something to do with static electricity. ie. Last weekend, I plugged a speaker cable into my system and it shorted it out the system and it wouldn't boot until I pulled out the battery and the IDE cable and left them unplugged for a few minutes. It is as though somehow the system has problems with static electricity. Similar things things happen if I unplug the power cable and sometimes, if I even *touch* the computer!
As I said I am a 100% software guy, but nevertheless in all of my years with C= and Amiga computers I have never seen anything like this. And the funny thing is that the problem only developed after 2 years of running happily. A new battery made no difference.
I also have a new 3.5 " HD here but I am not sure how to plug it in because the 2.5 " cables and 3.5 " cables have different data and power lines. Compiler guru I am. Cable guru I am not!
If any ANT/3CAG/SEAL users would like to organise a get together somewhere in London this weekend to "Help the new Aussie guy who is a great programmer but who has NO idea about hardware" to get his hardware reliable again, then it would be appreciated! I might even show you what I have been working on and hell, it's a good excuse for an Amigans' get together*!
* Yes I know that I was supposed to go to 3CAG *and* ANT but it was all the fault of British Railways that I didn't make it! Honest!
You are not Victorian are you !! -:) Hang in there, the A1 has a few wierd tendancies, usually battery or PCI cards coming a bit loose. Wished I was there to try and help.
You think it could be the PSU? The main symptom of late has been that if I unplug the power plug (which leads to a transformer brick and then to the wall socket) and plug it back in again, then I have to remove the battery and leave it out for a few minutes before the system will boot again.
I was hoping that buying a new case (and hence PSU) would somehow fix it. Nice to hear you suggest that it might.
If it isn't the PSU, then its likely to be a cabling related issue centred around the PSU.
I have first hand experience of PSU problems with my AmigaOne XE - changed nearly every component (bar the mobo) and turned out to the PSU.
I try not to tarnish everyone's faults with the same "its the PSU" brush, but your fault certainly sounds like it fits into a cabling/power issue.
Intermittent faults are always hard to track. A new case will not hurt if it comes with a PSU as you say, give it a go. If you want some assistance go to ANT (or whatever it is called these days) or join as at 3CAG and we'll give you a hand.
You think it could be the PSU? The main symptom of late has been that if I unplug the power plug (which leads to a transformer brick and then to the wall socket) and plug it back in again, then I have to remove the battery and leave it out for a few minutes before the system will boot again.
Well, just to let you know, my uA1 has been like this since new, it's something I learn to live with. In order to turn the machine back on after having unplugged it, I remove the CMOS jumper for a few seconds, then the machine will start back up. Power supply? No idea, but I can't imagine why resetting the CMOS would affect the PS's ability to start the machine...
If it isn't the PSU, then its likely to be a cabling related issue centred around the PSU.
I have first hand experience of PSU problems with my AmigaOne XE - changed nearly every component (bar the mobo) and turned out to the PSU.
I try not to tarnish everyone's faults with the same "its the PSU" brush, but your fault certainly sounds like it fits into a cabling/power issue.
The odd thing is that for the first two years of its life, it was fine. The problem only developed later on.
Anyway, once I start work in the UK and have some ??? then I will completely overhaul my Amiga. New case (current one is too noisy), new HD (current one is f&?*ed) , new CD-ROM drive (current one won't boot OS4 CDs or play audio CDs as it doesn't follow the ATAPI standard). Yeah, this Amiga is a real lemon and I was always annoyed with my dealer for that.
Anyway, I thought a good overhaul might be a nice project for an ANT or 3CAG meeting. Anyone have ideas for a small *and* quiet case for a Micro A1? Also, finding a slimline CD-ROM/DVD drive that is ATAPI compliant is difficult too. All suggestions welcome!
Well, just to let you know, my uA1 has been like this since new, it's something I learn to live with. In order to turn the machine back on after having unplugged it, I remove the CMOS jumper for a few seconds, then the machine will start back up. Power supply? No idea, but I can't imagine why resetting the CMOS would affect the PS's ability to start the machine...
What do you mean by "CMOS jumper?" Removing a jumper might be less troublesome than removing the battery.