Help needed with Mediator POS

[abraXXious]

What a bubbling crock of shit!

I have review after review saying how bad the Mediator system is.... but I always just thought it was only niggling problems that people moaned about.... how wrong I was.

Anywho, havea brand new Mediator 4000Di system with a Voodoo 3, Radeon 9250, Sound blaster Card, Ethernet card and Spider USB 2 card.

I have a full OS 3.9 install, plugged in the Mediator busboard and just the Voodoo 3 (thought it best to install one device at a time), reboot, installed the software from the Multimedia CD, reboot again. Install Picasso 96, rename the CVision64/3d icon in Devs:Monitors to Voodoo (as instructed), changed the tooltype of the icon to BOARDTYPE=VOODOO.

Reboot. and I see the 16mb of the Voodoo card added to my fast ram (which is not needed, but anyway).

I go to PicassoMode, attach the Voodoo card, then test a screenmode. EVERY screenmode I test results in either a rest, crash, or system slowing down to a crawl with the mouse cursor updating every few seconds.

Any ideas before I bin the lot?

I REALLY need to start listening to reviews...

 

[merlinkv]

@abraXXious

- BOARDTYPE=Voodoo (as is not all caps)

- Go to Prefs/Env-Archive/Mediator and edit the VoodooMem, change to 16, save the file and restart

If the value of VoodooMem is set to 0 all RAM of the Voodoo is used as FastRAM and not VRAM are available (system unstable & crashes)...... Best is to use the 16MB as VRAM

- Radeon 9250 ... 256MB I think.... Put the WindowSize jumper of the Mediatos in 512mb mode (closed).

Take a look here https://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?t=14178 maybe you find help

Best wishes

 

[abraXXious]

Thanks buddy - will try that now and post results.

---------- Post added at 23:34 ---------- Previous post was at 23:27 ----------

Did that, now the 16mb is no longer being added onto fast ram - step in the right direction, but still not working....

....I remember reading somewhere that the Mediator software installer was stuffed and copies the a1200 versions of libs etc even if you select the a4000 install.... is this correct?

 

[merlinkv]

In some cases... yes

Depending of MM CD revision......

Look... just extract the next lha archive in your DH0: root folder.

Is for Mediators 4K with Voodoo & Radeon

View attachment Mediator_4000D_OK.lha

Waiting your news

 

[abraXXious]

Thanks buddy!

 

[keropi]

not quite helping on the subject, but after testing g-rex and mediators for foth A1200 and A4000 I have concluded that g-rex busboards are the only ones that really just work and worth spending for them if you need PCI in your amiga ...

 

[merlinkv]

Really I don't know about G-Rex....and these boards are difficult to find. And what about drivers?

In anyway I have three Mediators 4KD familiy working now 100%. Time a go also with one A4KDi, this one a bit difficult to config but finally working like a charm.....

 

[hikey]

The critical part of the installation process I found was:

After the Picasso96 installation, start Picasso96 installation
once again and choose the "Update an installed version". Select only
"Monitorsettings" and choose the frequency supported by your monitor.

Other than that, everything just works without any issues.

 

[abraXXious]

It works! Thanks to Merlinkv's files.

Thanks Merlinkv. Well, now I have workbench booting up to 1280x1024 24bit.... is it safe to plug in the sound card, network card and usb 2 card?

Whats involved in installing the software for them?

 

[merlinkv]

Hi m8

That's great

No probs with sound cards like Terratek 512i, SB128 or compatibles. Also you can install Network PCI boards but check compatibility.

PCI USB is not allowed on Mediators... the old Spider boards & Poseidon (under v4) don't work without a registered key.

Best USB for A4K's is DENEB

All the best

 

[abraXXious]

No probs mate, will back up my sys: parition just in case, then start adding the other hardware.

I have 3 Deneb cards now and they are great. I also ordered a Thycaline USB card - on special for $59.00 atm! They are supposed to be good, not as good as the Deneb, but still good.

However, I already have a brand new Spider USB card, and the only thing I really use with use is mass storage devices - the Spider 2 card apparently has a fully working mass storage class, so I would like to get it running.
Which version of Posiden do I need?

Also, any tips when installing sound cards etc? My understanding is that I merely have to manually copy over the AHI driver to devs and then select the card in Prefs:Ahi.... is that correct?

---------- Post added at 02:05 ---------- Previous post was at 01:07 ----------

Also, I notice the Voodoo 3 card gets INCREDABLY hot. I have read about this issue a few times.

Am I best off pulling it out and replacing it with the Radeon 64mb card I have? I wanted Warp3d support, but not if it will make the system unstable (because of the ridiculous amount of heat the Voodoo 3 card generates).

 

[merlinkv]

Hi again m8

No special procedures to install sound boards, just use the MMCD and updates. Also, the best for me, is to use AHI and connect the Amiga output to any line-in of the Sound Board.

In anyway, I use PCI only for RTG & Warp3D all my other hardware is Zorro based... Toccata, V-Lab Motion, ......

About Voodoo boards. Yes they are very hot ones. Is strongly recommended to have a good airflow inside the A4KD case...

I don't use now the desktop case... I towerised all my A4K's but all my Voodoos's have a little fan with heatshink (like the fans of CPU boards) and also more fans inside the tower.... A little noise in quiet environmments, but systems runs for days without problems.....

Best wishes

 

[abraXXious]

Radeon cards dont have Warp3d support yet?

 

[merlinkv]

Not under 3.x & 4.0... maybe in the next 4.1 Classic.... But nothing clear at this moment....

 

[rkauer]

Just as a word of advice: don't waste your time with Thylacine or Spider USB: they both are not register-able under Poseidon from a very long time.

Poseidon 3.8 have support for both, but you'll not be able to locate a key anywhere.

 

[abraXXious]

I dont think Thylacine is a waste of time/money - it is presently 1/3 the price of a Deneb card and comes with a fully functioning usb stack!

 

[merlinkv]

DENEB are more expensive boards but, they are the best USB solution for Zorro based Amigas.