Workbench won't boot + other issues with A500

[Sato]

Hi, I'm new both with retro computers and on here so sorry if I sound ill-informed. I'll just try and summarise what's going on.

• Tried booting the system. Both with and without a disk inserted, the screen just flickers between grey/green/yellow every few seconds.
• Opened the expansion bay and remove a large chip/board that's inside (it's labeled AMRAM-16, but I don't know what that is :huh
• Now the system powers on properly, an image appears with a hand holding a workbench disk with the version number v1.3
• Insert the workbench disk (v1.3.2), drive light turns orange for a moment and some sound is heard, then it stops and remains on the same screen.
• If it means anything, I don't have a mouse connected.

Just wondering if someone could help me with this? Is the board I removed an essential component/should it be replaced? Any idea why it won't boot into workbench properly?

Sorry for beginner-tier questions, but seems like the people here are helpful

 

[demolition]

It sounds like the memory expansion you removed is faulty. It may have a battery on it which could have leaked, destroying some tracks.
Next problem is that either the floppy drive or the disk is faulty so it won't start booting. Connecting a mouse is not relevant here. You should get a known working disk to try out with.

 

[Sato]

It sounds like the memory expansion you removed is faulty. It may have a battery on it which could have leaked, destroying some tracks.
Next problem is that either the floppy drive or the disk is faulty so it won't start booting. Connecting a mouse is not relevant here. You should get a known working disk to try out with.

God I really hope it's not a drive problem, but that's what I was thinking. Can I just insert a game/other software or do I have to boot into workbench first?

 

[demolition]

Try with some other disks. Most disks should be bootable by themselves and does not need WB. If it is the drive, perhaps it just needs a cleaning which is not too complicated but first make sure it is not just the disk.

 

[Sato]

Try with some other disks. Most disks should be bootable by themselves and does not need WB. If it is the drive, perhaps it just needs a cleaning which is not too complicated but first make sure it is not just the disk.

Tried with another few disks, definitely seems to be a drive problem. Even tried a few pirated/copied disks and had the same issue.

The drive light turns on, there's a light whirring and clicking sound and the screen goes white, then that all stops and it returns to the workbench disk screen.

 

[disco]

Green and yellow screen with expansion means both RAM and CPU are causing problems.
https://www.amibay.com/showthread.p...ow-screen-mean&p=239263&viewfull=1#post239263

I wouldn't be surprised if it's the floppy drive that's causing the other problem. I had bad luck past year or so with drives being damaged in transit. When I purchased Amiga 1200 the internal drive couldn't read or write, I had to buy another one and replace it. Same issue with 1541-II couple of weeks ago, everything seems to be working but can't read/write/format, head cleaning didn't help, head resistances are within specs, purchased replacement 1541-II the other day.

 

[Skellionz]

luckily the floppy shouldn't be hard to replace if needed!

 

[Sato]

Hi, would just like to give an update as I think I've found the problem.

Seems an incredibly tiny part of a small ribbon cable in the floppy itself has torn, so the disk can't be read properly.

If you look in the centre of the small part I'm lifting up, there's a small orange cable. The piece at the right is sticking out and appears to be broken.

Would appreciate if anyone could point out something I might have missed or a way to fix this, else I guess I'll just buy a new drive :'(

 

[demolition]

Looks to me like the entire head is severely bent to one side. It should be level just like the lower head. So I'd say that you should find a replacement drive and they should be easy enough to find.