Hello all.
As the title suggests, ive just dusted off my old Amiga 600 and played with it for a week.
No issues but decided to sell it on the well known auction site.
Got a buyer, sent off the Amiga now he says on turning it on, he's getting error messages and when it does work, games freeze after about 5 minutes.
So my question is, is he trying it on or can the Amiga start playing up like this and if so, what do the errors mean?
Im nearly at the point of refunding but dont know what to do.
He's sent me pics of the screen saying:
Software failure. Press Left Mouse button to Continue
Error 8000 0004 Task: 0000 26DO
Another:
Error 8000 0004 Task: 0000 BDDC
Another:
Error 8000 000A Task: 0000 BDDC
It was working 100% when I sent it.
I'm so confused.
Can anyone please help?
Thanks in advance.
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intric8
- Seattle, WA, USA
Guru meditations - in my experience - aren't extremely helpful to the average person.
The one you have I think may have to do with a CPU error. So, my first thought is did the CPU get a bit jostled during shipping? No way to know except popping the chip and reseating it. (I would NOT ask a buyer to do this, personally.)
However, the A600 is also has notoriously bad capacitors. If that machine has never been recapped, I'd be extremely nervous using it for any extended period of time. Once a cap blows it can be devastating and cause all kinds of issues. The fact it seems to work sometimes and not others at least makes me think it's not gone beyond a point of no return.
If he can send you photos/videos of the issues at hand, and you can verify the authenticity of the footage, if I was in your shoes I'd probably ask for him to return it to you. Once received you'd issue the refund.
At that stage the computer might be repairable. Rinse and Repeat. Or, re-sell and state "Needs Repair" but know you'll get less as a result.
It's for reasons like this that even when I might sell a NOS (new old stock) piece of hardware, I generally put at the bottom of the listing: "Due to the extreme age of this vintage hardware, sold As-Is and No Returns. Purchase at your own risk." Kind of stuff. I mean, sometimes it really does get damaged simply by shipping. I've seen carriers throw boxes on my porch with not a care in the world.
Good luck!
The one you have I think may have to do with a CPU error. So, my first thought is did the CPU get a bit jostled during shipping? No way to know except popping the chip and reseating it. (I would NOT ask a buyer to do this, personally.)
However, the A600 is also has notoriously bad capacitors. If that machine has never been recapped, I'd be extremely nervous using it for any extended period of time. Once a cap blows it can be devastating and cause all kinds of issues. The fact it seems to work sometimes and not others at least makes me think it's not gone beyond a point of no return.
If he can send you photos/videos of the issues at hand, and you can verify the authenticity of the footage, if I was in your shoes I'd probably ask for him to return it to you. Once received you'd issue the refund.
At that stage the computer might be repairable. Rinse and Repeat. Or, re-sell and state "Needs Repair" but know you'll get less as a result.
It's for reasons like this that even when I might sell a NOS (new old stock) piece of hardware, I generally put at the bottom of the listing: "Due to the extreme age of this vintage hardware, sold As-Is and No Returns. Purchase at your own risk." Kind of stuff. I mean, sometimes it really does get damaged simply by shipping. I've seen carriers throw boxes on my porch with not a care in the world.
Good luck!
Thank you for the reply.
I was thinking i'd ask him to return it so I can test it for myself and also make sure he's not conning me.
It is always possible it could have got thrown around but I did pack it with loads of bubble wrap to try to stop any damage.
The re-seating of the chip thing you mention, is this fairly straight forward when i get it back?
He did send me pictures of the screen messages with the Amiga next to it so im fairly sure it's the same one but you never know.
I'm so disappointed as i've never had any trouble with it and now this.
I was thinking i'd ask him to return it so I can test it for myself and also make sure he's not conning me.
It is always possible it could have got thrown around but I did pack it with loads of bubble wrap to try to stop any damage.
The re-seating of the chip thing you mention, is this fairly straight forward when i get it back?
He did send me pictures of the screen messages with the Amiga next to it so im fairly sure it's the same one but you never know.
I'm so disappointed as i've never had any trouble with it and now this.
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intric8
- Seattle, WA, USA
Oh - I completely forgot! Even though the A600 uses a regular old 7Mhz 68000 CPU, to cut costs Commodore actually soldered that sucker on to the motherboard. It's not socketed (now that I think about it - was it the only Amiga w/o a socketed CPU?)
I must take back what I said before - there's no reseating to be done!
Ay yi yi.
I must take back what I said before - there's no reseating to be done!
Ay yi yi.
So I’m goosed?
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intric8
- Seattle, WA, USA
Out of curiosity, what kind of hard drive does your A600 use? Other upgrades or is it bone stock? Anything in the trap door?
Diagnosing things this way is fraught with peril. But maybe someone else here will be able to share an idea or 2 before you have to pull the plug and ask for it to be returned.
Diagnosing things this way is fraught with peril. But maybe someone else here will be able to share an idea or 2 before you have to pull the plug and ask for it to be returned.
It’s just standard. No upgrades. Nothing done to it.
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intric8
- Seattle, WA, USA
Ah, OK. Part of me was kind of hoping there was a small RAM upgrade in the trap door, which could have easily jiggled loose in some rough shipping. Sorry man, I'm not sure what to do. I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide.
Thanks for your help.
It’s much appreciated. I just hope something can be done. Had many fun hours on this thing as a kid and gutted it’s ended this way.
It’s much appreciated. I just hope something can be done. Had many fun hours on this thing as a kid and gutted it’s ended this way.
Just checked the mainboard on Amiga.resource.cx. No battery that could leak.
The only thing I could imagine is that he connected the mouse while powered on and fried a CIA chip, which now throws some errors.
The only thing I could imagine is that he connected the mouse while powered on and fried a CIA chip, which now throws some errors.