Tajmaster's A4000 restoration (pr0n and everything, oh no!)

Time for a bit of Monday night hackery! :lol:

At the request of our very own Tajmaster, I'm taking some pictures of his A4000 motherboard as I work on it :)

Taj's A4000 has some poorly SIMM sockets: :(
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TT...0/CIMG0001.JPG

Only the grey Chip RAM socket has it's clips remaining and functional - stopping this Amiga from seeing its motherboard-mounted Fast RAM. But help is at hand - let's fire up the heat-ray of death, and murder some pesky SIMM sockets! :thumbsup:

SIMM sockets turn into chocolate very quickly! :lol:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TT...0/CIMG0002.JPG

...revealing a very clean and tidy PCB underneath. No battery damage here, sir! :thumbsup: I took the capacitor off to make some room as I worked on easing the socket out - they're getting done too, later on :D
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TT...0/CIMG0003.JPG

Slowly but surely, chunk by chunk, the evil SIMM sockets are removed.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TT...0/CIMG0004.JPG

'Ave a banana! :thumbsup2:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TT...0/CIMG0005.JPG

The end result... a pile of SIMM shrapnel: (Do you want these as a souvenir, Taj? :lol:)
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TT...0/CIMG0006.JPG

And it sure does look good naked:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TT...0/CIMG0007.JPG

Thanks to Hikey, we also have a perfect set of replacements, with metal clips - way more robust than the chocolate tat Commodore used! :lol: Cheers again for supplying them Hikey! :bowdown:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TT...0/CIMG0008.JPG

Work continues after a cuppa! :lol: There's only 360 holes to clear of solder, hahaha :p I'll be back... :thumbsup:

Holy heck, that's some extreme repair, I guess it's nice to get the rage out early so your in a good mind-set to repair.

Taj is in good hands, even if the state of the old SIMM's may look worrying. :p

It's the easiest - and only - way to get 'em out without damaging the board.

Nice work there! What temperature are you running the air at? I'm always torn between using too low a temp and not melting things properly, and using too high which scorches the board...

Great work as always d0pefish :thumbsup:

New Simm sockets look the part as well :cool:

Many thanks guys! :) It will be awesome to get this Amiga back to like new condition :)

@chiark
For this job I set my unit (Aoyue 857A++) at 390C, though I'd imagine it to be a fair bit less if measured an inch or so from the nozzle. I was using quite a large nozzle too and a medium-ish airflow. I find that (with my unit anyway) lower temperatures require more heating time - this temperature worked well as I was able to work fairly fast and not have to "hang around" too long - the sockets let go quickly and no damage was done :)

For actual components I use a much lower temperature, and a thin nozzle - these SIMM sockets just needed some persuasion :)

---------- Post added at 20:32 ---------- Previous post was at 19:42 ----------

Getting there... holes cleared on one socket and a quick cleanup:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TT...0/CIMG0010.JPG

And a test fit - LIKE A GLOVE! :thumbsup2:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TT...0/CIMG0011.JPG

This is a bit of a tedious procedure (clearing all the holes) but with wick and flux, a bit of music on in the background and some persevering, progress is being made :thumbsup:

Thanks. I've got an Aoyue 738, and I normally use just under 400 with a smallish nozzle, however sometimes I find I need to go hotter - to like 440...

That's incredible. I wish I had the skills and the patience to do such repairs as seen here. Sadly my hands shake worse than a drug addict who hasn't gotten a fix in a week, almost like I have a palsy of some sort. I always have. Which is funny as I very much enjoy to draw and paint, I'm just not terribly good at it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by d0pefish

And a test fit - LIKE A GLOVE! :thumbsup2:

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I always imagine Jim Carrey as Ace Ventura when people say that :lol:

Is it wrong that I am aroused by these photos? :oops:

I just want to say it (again), Dopefish is a fantastic chap and clearly VERY talented :) Hes been nothing but a gentleman in the upgrade of my A3640 and the A4000 motherboard upgrade too.

Dale, youre awesome dude :thumbsup:

[say it like Gerard Butler in 300]

THIS IS AMIBAY! :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tajmaster

Is it wrong that I am aroused by these photos? :oops:

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You don't want to get involved, you merely want to watch... Taj, the solder voyeur...

:rofl3

Looking good!

Easiest way to clear the holes I find, is to use the hot air tool to melt the solder, then a quick blast with an air compressor and the holes are cleared perfectly. This saves on expensive solder wick :)
With some practice you should have the holes cleared in a matter of minutes
NB you need to use a proper air compressor, canned air doesn't work so well as the propellent tends to have a freezing action.

Some fantastic work d0pefish!

To know you did this on hot-air and solder-wick shows some amazing skills -

I am one of the lucky few that have an aoyue int 474 vacuum solder sucker - it can run to 390c which is great for 90% jobs - its clean and has no-recoil like a spring loaded or mag-coil based solder sucker.

(FYI for the non-reworker, some PCB's are soft and when you add heat they get softer - and with the recoil of the sucker you can tear traces from the motherboard.)

for the jobs my aoyue cannot manage (or on stubborn ground planes) I have the hot-air on 320c in one hand and the aoyue maxed out in the other...

one can sail though a 72pin SIMM socket in about 12 minutes - all holes clear - you might get the odd stubborn one though... normally on a ground plane LOL...

I would recommend an Aoyue int 474 to anyone, however looking at the prices on fleabay I suggest you hold off.... they are nothing short of over twice the price I paid for mine (including postage)

I would suggest however this little monster

Electric Vacuum de-solder Gun - £68 inc postage (ebay.co.uk BIN)
http://i.ebayimg.com/18/!BRQfkiwBGk~...3)sj!~~_35.JPG


Again with all new equipment I would suggest practice on non-essential equipment like PC's.... Atari 520st's etc... =D

Nice work dopefish. :thumbsup: I love seeing old boards brought back to life.

It wasnt actually dead :) It needed the caps replacing and the SIMM socket clips had all snapped.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AmiNeo

I always imagine Jim Carrey as Ace Ventura when people say that :lol:

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Hahahaaa, that was the intention! :lol:

@Taj: :oops: Awh, man - thanks so much dude! I'm glad you like the results so far :) But it aint over til we see 16MB Other Mem... :thumbsup:

We also now have sockets on the way for yours and of course Fitzsteve's A3640s GAL chips so they'll also both be getting some attention this week :)

@hikey and Zetr0:
Thanks for the kind words guys, I couldn't do this with the help of people like yourselves :D One of these days I may just end up with some nice equipment to make tasks like this easier, if I ever end up doing this kind of work more often :) I'm still quite new to the electronics repair world so I really appreciate the advice :thumbsup:

Another productive evening :)

All holes cleared...
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TT...0/CIMG0012.JPG

Sockets soldered in! :thumbsup2: The most time-consuming part is over, w00t! :drinkin:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TT...0/CIMG0013.JPG

Nice tight and secure fit for the SIMMS:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TT...0/CIMG0014.JPG

Tomorrow, capacitor replacement, and rigorous testing of memory, ports, sound, Zorro backplane, LEDs and keylock, disk interfaces, etc. :)

Later a coin-battery mod should be on the agenda too, along with a test of the clock/calendar :) But with some parts arriving tomorrow, I'm going to give Fitzsteve's A3640 some long-awaited attention. :)

Cheers :D

Good news all round then, nice work as always d0pefish :thumbsup:

Watch out Zetr0 n' Pals there's a new kid on the block ;)

I gotta say, I am LOVING this pr0n! And the best bit is its coming back home to pappa :P lol

Awesome work d0pefish! Really nice and clean :)

WOW! That's an incredible job d0pe. All this in just a couple of days, that's pretty amazing. :thumbsup:

Cheers! :D

Well - sorry for the lack of updates, it was my birthday on Friday and now that I'm back in Bristol there was some opportunity for a bit of a night out with a friend, so that's how my weekend has been spent so far :lol:

But I've spent a few minutes with the A4000 as I was itching to verify that the new SIMM sockets were replaced alright.

So... ta-daaa:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TT...0/IMAG0170.jpg
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TT...0/IMAG0171.jpg

We can see all 16MB of Fast RAM, and of course the 2MB Chip! :thumbsup:

However, this is not with the Fast memory that Taj sent with his board. The sticks that came with it made the Amiga do some weird things, Taj :unsure:

There was the odd yellow screen, sometimes some boot looping, sometimes it'd boot up and show some of the RAM, sometimes some freezing - this is with the RAM being tested one stick at a time in various sockets.

At first I thought that the sockets may need revisiting, but as soon as I put in the sticks from my own A4000, the board began behaving perfectly every time.

So, I don't know if we have some faulty RAM, or maybe it's incompatible or too slow. I had the same behavior with both my CyberStorm PPC and your now-clocked A3640.

Have you ever used this RAM successfully in your Amiga, Taj?

Cheers! :)

Firstly, Happy birthday Dale! Hope you enjoyed it mate :thumbsup:

With regards to the RAM, I used to get crashes with OS3.9 all the time but tbh, I hardly used it when it was with me before. I had 3.1 on it but only briefly to upgrade to 3.9. I always thought it was just 3.9 being picky?
I think Ive got some SIMMs here that I will replace the ones I sent with it :)

Many thanks dude! :D

Yeah, there's definitely something not right with these SIMMs I'm afraid. :(

I've even tried putting the clock back to 25MHz just in case they were being driven too hard, but it didn't change anything. I was also getting gurus immediately on power-on too - i.e. before it even touched the drive to boot it... :huh:

I'd try some others in there, mate - and if not, perhaps someone on AmiBay can supply a known-good and compatible set for you :thumbsup:

Otherwise, board is looking healthy! :D I'll probably get it recapped early next week.

An excellent job you're doing there dude, thanks for sharing those pics with us! :thumbsup:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by d0pefish

Many thanks dude! :D

Yeah, there's definitely something not right with these SIMMs I'm afraid. :(

I've even tried putting the clock back to 25MHz just in case they were being driven too hard, but it didn't change anything. I was also getting gurus immediately on power-on too - i.e. before it even touched the drive to boot it... :huh:

I'd try some others in there, mate - and if not, perhaps someone on AmiBay can supply a known-good and compatible set for you :thumbsup:

Otherwise, board is looking healthy! :D I'll probably get it recapped early next week.

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I think Ive got some somewhere and AmigaKit sell them too :) I dont have any 2MB ones though.

Do you (or anyone) know if the chip ram has to be a 2MB SIMM or will any size (such as a 4 or an 8MB) work?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by salaxi54

An excellent job you're doing there dude, thanks for sharing those pics with us! :thumbsup:

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Thanks for the kind words, you are most welcome for the pictures :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tajmaster

I think Ive got some somewhere and AmigaKit sell them too :) I dont have any 2MB ones though.

Do you (or anyone) know if the chip ram has to be a 2MB SIMM or will any size (such as a 4 or an 8MB) work?

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Ahh - sorry mate, I forgot to mention - your current 2MB Chip RAM SIMM is fine :) It's just the four 4MB Fast RAM SIMMs that seem to be problematic :)

<snip>

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tajmaster

I think Ive got some somewhere and AmigaKit sell them too :) I dont have any 2MB ones though.

Quote:

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Do you (or anyone) know if the chip ram has to be a 2MB SIMM or will any size (such as a 4 or an 8MB) work?

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Ahh - sorry mate, I forgot to mention - your current 2MB Chip RAM SIMM is fine :) It's just the four 4MB Fast RAM SIMMs that seem to be problematic :)

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Cool, Ill test the ones Ive got in the A4000 when it gets back then :) The pics are awesome btw dude :drool:

EDIT: Is that my A3640 or Steves in the pic? Just curious :)

@Taj: you can use a pair of 8Mb Fast Page Mode modules instead the four 4Mb units.

EDO RAM will not work.

Nice one :thumbsup: Ill give it a go when the board gets back :)

Right, time for a little more pr0n :)

Tonight we got the caps all done, whehey! :thumbsup:

Old capacitors removed, and their pads cleaned up. No damage found! :) Very, very minor leakage on maybe one or two - there was some traces (and I mean, TINY traces) of electrolyte underneath a couple, but not even remotely close to sustaining corrosion damage! This board is in pristine condition. :D

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TT...0/CIMG0112.JPG

The old capacitors, a thing of the past :) Now Taj can sleep easily :thumbsup:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TT...0/CIMG0119.JPG

One by one, the replacements are soldered onto the board - even the large through-hole ones :D
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TT...0/CIMG0113.JPG

And it's complete :D Here's the most densely populated area - which happens to be the audio circuit, where most of the problems tend to occur first. Now it's home to a family of brand new capacitors. Look - they even shine! :D
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TT...0/CIMG0117.JPG

Next time, I'll be taking a look at tackling the clock battery. :)

Niiiicccceeeeee. :thumbsup:

:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:

Hi Taj :)

I'm probably going to do the clock battery shortly and I wondered if you'd be happy with a small proposal here. :)

The coin cell holder I have here is a little too chunky to fit into the board, as it conflicts with the SIMM sockets. It'd need to be elevated slightly anyway to make room for the diode, but in this case it'd need to be up on pretty high "stilts" to clear the SIMMs and have room for the diode.

What I was thinking of doing is solder a small 2-pin header-socket type thing onto the board along with the diode - one of those sockets where the orientation is one-way only so it cannot be connected wrongly - like the ones you see on PC motherboards for connecting CPU fans, and the likes. :)

This way, the battery cell holder is on a wire and we don't need to worry about spacing on the board etc. You can then hide it somewhere else in the case - perhaps even behind the plastic front panel, near where the LEDs pass through the chassis. Or stick it somewhere more convenient. :)

Would you be happy with this? I think it'd be neater and perhaps safer than soldering it in such a way that it stands tall to clear the SIMMs. Also, we can be sure that the first Zorro slot is cleared. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by d0pefish

Hi Taj :)

I'm probably going to do the clock battery shortly and I wondered if you'd be happy with a small proposal here. :)

The coin cell holder I have here is a little too chunky to fit into the board, as it conflicts with the SIMM sockets. It'd need to be elevated slightly anyway to make room for the diode, but in this case it'd need to be up on pretty high "stilts" to clear the SIMMs and have room for the diode.

What I was thinking of doing is solder a small 2-pin header-socket type thing onto the board along with the diode - one of those sockets where the orientation is one-way only so it cannot be connected wrongly - like the ones you see on PC motherboards for connecting CPU fans, and the likes. :)

This way, the battery cell holder is on a wire and we don't need to worry about spacing on the board etc. You can then hide it somewhere else in the case - perhaps even behind the plastic front panel, near where the LEDs pass through the chassis. Or stick it somewhere more convenient. :)

Would you be happy with this? I think it'd be neater and perhaps safer than soldering it in such a way that it stands tall to clear the SIMMs. Also, we can be sure that the first Zorro slot is cleared. :)

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Sounds good to me Dale, go for it :) :bowdown:

Dopefish, that looks very nice work:thumbsup:

Also a very nice idea, to just put a connector there, velcro for a glue battery pack can be bought anywhere. Anyhow it is up to taijmaster to decide. - I don't believe in battery technology, they move on to next technology, but proove certain malfunctions in time anyhow.

Thanks jvdbossc :)

Well, here's what I've come up with:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TU...0/CIMG0126.JPG

It's perhaps not the prettiest solution in the world, but it does mean you can attach any kind of ~3V battery you fancy :)

It's more robust than it looks - it's fairly delicate and won't tolerate being roughly pulled/pushed, but it's not so flimsy it's going to snap as soon as you look at it :) I've made it out of the leads from the diode, rather than flexible wire, so it has a bit of stiffness, and I added a tiny pad of double sided adhesive to try and stick the connector down a little.

The socket and wire I've made for you looks like this:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TU...0/CIMG0129.JPG

I'd recommend one of these cable tie bases:
http://image.made-in-china.com/4f0j0...e-Tie-Base.jpg

The wire will reach to the accelerator card area - there you could mount the battery with a zip tie around it, behind the metal front edge next to the accelerator.

One note is that the socket is right at the edge of the motherboard, so it may not be attachable/detachable once the motherboard is back in its case. :roll:

Is that alright, Taj? The other alternative I can think of is to have the socket and diode on a short pig-tail wire soldered to the motherboard. :) If you'd prefer this, it's no problem whatsoever, and I'll change it to that instead. It would take me 5 minutes. :thumbsup:

Unless anyone has any neater or better suggestions? :)

After an ass-numbing drive up the M1 I come home to this....NICE! :D It looks great to me Dale, Im happy with it just as it is :) Thank you once again for your fantastic work mate :thumbsup:

thats a nice idea and a great job

Just a quick update for tonight :)

Taj:
Your A4000 is fully up and running, boots first time every time, everything seems very stable, and this is with your A3640 :)

The clock also remembers the time after power-off! :thumbsup2: So your RTC circuit seems to be all working :thumbsup:

I'm going to do a load of AIBB cycles tonight for a bit of a stress test.

Now if only my bloody GAL programmer was here... I could get on and do the A3640 v3.2 upgrade :(

Thats fantastic news Dale!! Ive been holed up in bed sick today so thats perked me right up, nice one! :thumbsup:

Im in no rush for the stuff back as I say so take your time with the programmer :)

Thanks Taj! :) Sorry to hear you're ill mate, I hope you feel better soon :(

I'm chasing the supplier and the Royal Mail to see where it's gone; I think my GAL programmer was lost in the post :(:(

I think I will actually re-do the clock battery clip and put it on a short wire as I suggested - it will make installation and removal easier, and in retrospect, it could cause damage to the board if accidentally caught or pulled.

I was also thinking of putting the battery holder on a small piece of veroboard - to add some robustness to the wires attached to it, and to allow easier attachment with cable ties :)

Battery idea sounds good :) I have no preference so do what you think is best :)

Hope the programmer isnt lost in the post, my girlfriend just filled in a claims form for some Wii carry cases she sold on eBay that were lost, Im lucky I still have hair cos I hated that form with a passion :censored: And SHE was filling it in :blink:

Thanks mate, I hope so too! Best of luck in recovering your parcel aswell dude! :(

Ok, I have a little treat for you. :lol:

I've just made... Taj's Clock Mod Mark II Ultra Turbo Edition

The board end:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TU...131_215407.jpg

and the battery "module":
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kRG1wB80tiI/TU...131_215329.jpg

As you can see, I've soldered the battery socket at a height which allows a cable tie to fit underneath :) I've also drilled some holes in the board to act as a wire strain relief, to help prevent the wires snapping off if it gets tugged.

The motherboard end has the diode in-line with the wire and is covered up in heatshrink.

I'm a lot happier with this method, it should be more robust and flexible in the long run. Would you agree? :)

I'll try to find some sandpaper, neaten up the little board, and try to insulate the back somehow, probably stick a little foam cushion onto it :D :thumbsup:

WOW!! Thats just bloody brilliant!! :bowdown:

Awesome solution Dale, just awesome!! Hope you are enjoying this restoration, Im loving the hardware pr0n!! :thumbsup:

Hey Taj,

Just thought I'd update you! :D

I still don't have my own GAL programmer, but once again Hikey has done us an awesome favour and programmed another batch for me (thankyou again Hikey! :bowdown:).

So, tonight I'll probably get your card updated to 3.2 and tested out :)

The 40MHz modifications could be quite a way off while I try to actually understand how to do it. I need to experiment on my own card really, and I may not even be able to do it - so, shall we wrap this up and get the boards back to you once I've done the above? :)

If I ever manage to do the 40MHz mods and you like the sound of it, as I've said, I'd be glad to revisit yours and Steve's cards if you guys wanted it. :)

Oh, I actually found one of those cable-tie mounting pillars for you if you need it, and I have some sticky foam to back the battery. :) I'll also give you some double-sided adhesive so you can either apply it directly to the battery board or to the mounting pillar as you please. :thumbsup:

I have a business trip to make over tomorrow/Thursday, so potentially I could get your stuff dispatched on Friday if you like mate. :thumbsup:

Cheers!

Hi Dale

Im am hugely indebted to you for your amazing work :bowdown: Ill be happy for the boards to come back now and then we can look at the 40Mhz option in the future, Id certainly love that !

Ill PM or email you when I get home tonight with my delivery address mate :thumbsup:

@ Amiga people all over the world

THIS is the true spirit of the Amiga community! Its often talked about but not often practised IMO but Dale haa shown here what a smashing community we have right here on Amibay! Thank you Dale! :bowdown:

Taj, my friend, what has happened to you? I'm sure last year you were not quite this addicted and now you've got a tricked out 4000, 1200 and 600.

Get out now before it's too late!

Curry night 2011 to celebrate the safe return of your 4000?

Insanely nice work!

I wish we had more folks here in the States that offered this kind of work at reasonable costs. I know my way around a soldering iron, but recapping a board or replacing really delicate chips is way outside my comfort zone.


I have some Atari stuff that I would love to have recapped, but finding someone willing to do it is sometimes cost prohibitive.

@Taj:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tajmaster

Im am hugely indebted to you for your amazing work :bowdown: Ill be happy for the boards to come back now and then we can look at the 40Mhz option in the future, Id certainly love that !

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Don't mention it mate! :thumbsup: It is a real pleasure to work on Amigas, and especially to be able to help out some really nice people on a really nice forum :grouphug:

I really must extend to you my gratitude for your patience and for putting your trust in me with your valuable hardware :) There are other, far more experienced people around here than I, and being given the opportunity to work on your projects for you has really boosted my confidence - so I am equally as grateful towards you (and of course Steve) :bowdown:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tajmaster

Ill PM or email you when I get home tonight with my delivery address mate :thumbsup:

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Is it the same address as written on the side of your original parcel as the return address? :) If so I still have it! :thumbsup:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tajmaster

@ Amiga people all over the world

THIS is the true spirit of the Amiga community! Its often talked about but not often practised IMO but Dale haa shown here what a smashing community we have right here on Amibay! Thank you Dale! :bowdown:

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:oops::oops::oops::oops: *utterly speechless*....!:wooha: Thankyou! :D:D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thgill

Insanely nice work!

I wish we had more folks here in the States that offered this kind of work at reasonable costs. I know my way around a soldering iron, but recapping a board or replacing really delicate chips is way outside my comfort zone.

I have some Atari stuff that I would love to have recapped, but finding someone willing to do it is sometimes cost prohibitive.

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You're too kind! Thankyou :D

I recapped my 1040STe's PSU recently, in an attempt to remedy some noise in the audio and to freshen it regardless. I just didn't tell anyone. :shhh: :lol: You can see some pictures of that here if you like (last picture shows the new caps and a new & bigger bridge rectifier.

One day I'll do the motherboard, it's just finding some decent axial capacitors. If I can't i'll do something similar to what I did on Tokyoracer's Mac SE/30 and adapt some radials.

Back to Amigas: let's have some pr0n, eh? :)

So once again, the U209 GAL which contains updated code in a so-called 3.2 card, as shown by either the -01 (3.0), -02 (3.1) or -03 (3.2) suffix on the label. Taj's card is a 3.1, as also shown on the card's silkscreen.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_k...0/CIMG0138.JPG

Let's remove it. :)
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_k...0/CIMG0140.JPG

Socket goes on, and here's its -03 revision replacement, courtesy of Hikey! :thumbsup:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_k...0/CIMG0141.JPGhttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_k...0/CIMG0142.JPG

And we're done. :thumbsup2:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_k...0/CIMG0143.JPG

Here's Taj's card. @Taj: I've re-attached your fan with some shorter screws I had spare so it looks a little neater for you. :)
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_k...0/CIMG0144.JPG

Back over to the motherboard, I noticed the left audio channel jack was a little crooked...
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_k...0/CIMG0146.JPG

...so I fixed it. Hope you don't mind. :lol: Just gave them a quick re-solder. :thumbsup:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_k...0/CIMG0147.JPG

I also noticed your mouse port was missing a screw-post, so I replaced it with a spare I had. :)
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_k...0/CIMG0148.JPG

I'm delighted to say the board is booting up perfectly after the v3.2 upgrade! :drinkin::thumbsup2:

So, after some further testing on Thursday evening when I've had my business trip and am back home, I'll parcel everything up and aim to get it in the post on Friday.

I want to double-check the clock battery is working, so I've set the time, and will leave the machine unplugged from the mains for the time I'm away :) If the time's correct when I hook her back up, job done. :)

Cheers! :lol: