atrax27407 Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 My recent problem with my AVPC Card (and it's solution) has been a frustrating and ultimately satisfying experience (please refer to "AVPC Repair"). After disassembling my AVPC-modified console, and re-seating all of the jumper connections,I decided to look at the problem from the most basic standpoint. The console re-organization resulted in absolutely no change in the symptoms. So, I decided to watch the P-Box lights when the system booted. First up was the Flex Card light. Second was the AVPC light (a bi-color LED) that was supposed to go from green to red. Third was the BWG Disk Controller Card. I was able to determine that the problem was during the handoff from the Flex Card to the AVPC card. Could the problem actually be the Flex Card and not the AVPC? I replaced the Flex Card with another one and the system booted. At least I got my personalized TI title screen. That meant that the HSGPL card was intact and the custom GROMs were OK. I went to TI BASIC and executed a CALL HSGPL. That produced, much to my relief, a flawless 80-column display. The AVPC card was fully intact and functional. Then, I loaded the CONFIG program for my HRD16 RAMdisk. I found that when the faulty Flex card had done its "magic", it managed to take out the ROS on both the 3-meg HRD16 and the smaller Horizon RAMdisk. I loaded ROS into their repective RAMdisks and the system booted in all of its old glory. I also found that, amazingly, the contents of both RAMdisks were entirely intact. Lesson learned - watch the P-Box lights to solve at least some of your boot problems. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 Very good advice! Many times it *IS* written in the lights. A while ago in this message, I was able to use the lights to diagnose a problem I too was having. In my case it was a blue screen and not being able to boot up the TI. I'v always wondered, did TI put the lights there to 'look cool' or for practical reasons? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 I'v always wondered, did TI put the lights there to 'look cool' or for practical reasons? Perhaps both. Blinkenlights are "cool" as evidenced by the unending number of lighting and display add-ons for computers and electronics in general. They also offer comfort as an indication that things are working or doing something. Of course, the opposite means that something is not working thus giving simple diagnostics all the way to more complex with digits (think POST cards,) multi-color or multi-segment LED displays, etc. So, my assessment is three purposes: coolness, comfort, and diagnostic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary from OPA Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 My recent problem with my AVPC Card (and it's solution) has been a frustrating and ultimately satisfying experience (please refer to "AVPC Repair"). After disassembling my AVPC-modified console, and re-seating all of the jumper connections,I decided to look at the problem from the most basic standpoint. The console re-organization resulted in absolutely no change in the symptoms. So, I decided to watch the P-Box lights when the system booted. First up was the Flex Card light. Second was the AVPC light (a bi-color LED) that was supposed to go from green to red. Third was the BWG Disk Controller Card. I was able to determine that the problem was during the handoff from the Flex Card to the AVPC card. Could the problem actually be the Flex Card and not the AVPC? I replaced the Flex Card with another one and the system booted. At least I got my personalized TI title screen. That meant that the HSGPL card was intact and the custom GROMs were OK. I went to TI BASIC and executed a CALL HSGPL. That produced, much to my relief, a flawless 80-column display. The AVPC card was fully intact and functional. Then, I loaded the CONFIG program for my HRD16 RAMdisk. I found that when the faulty Flex card had done its "magic", it managed to take out the ROS on both the 3-meg HRD16 and the smaller Horizon RAMdisk. I loaded ROS into their repective RAMdisks and the system booted in all of its old glory. I also found that, amazingly, the contents of both RAMdisks were entirely intact. Lesson learned - watch the P-Box lights to solve at least some of your boot problems. The original AVPC DSR was very buggy, it had a bad habit of wiping out ROS depending on your CRU usage, power-up cycle and other third-party cards. Take a look here: http://o-p-a.biz/avpc/ Might be a good idea to compile the v3.2 by us and burn a new AVPC DSR eprom to prevent future weird issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrax27407 Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 The issue wasn't the AVPC DSR which is a modified version by Tony Knerr. The problem was the faulty Fex Card which took the Horizon DSR when it did its "magic" and died. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willsy Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Luckily the flex interface is very simple to fix. It's just buffers. You'll have that one ship-shape in no time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrax27407 Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 Quicker than you think - I just stuffed my spare into the slot and all is well. I can fix (or have fixed) the original at mt leisure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Makes me think twice about giving up my extras... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrax27407 Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 The fix for the Flex Card isn't complex. My problem is that, as the years have passed, my soldering abilities (if I ever had any) have deteriorated. The fix is to take out the 244's and 245's in both the foot and on the board and replace them with sockets. Then, stuff some 74HCT244's and 74HCT245's in their place.Maybe I can find someone to help me out or I can wait until the next TI Faire. Or, I might even find a Flex Card on eBay for a reasonable price. Most of the backup gear that I have came along as a "throw-in" with something that I bought or was given over the years. I have sold off some of it and given away some of it but I still have way too much (according to my wife). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 ...but I still have way too much (according to my wife). I'm beginning to think that this is a universal concept among wives in general. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willsy Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Or we all have the same wife. I mean, ask yourself: have you ever seen YOUR wife and MY wife in a room together at the same time? No. Bloody hell. WE'VE ALL GOT THE SAME WIFE!!! (It must be someone else's turn by now. Someone take her, please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Which is why I have not upgraded Girlfriend 16.0 to Wife 1.0. This upgrade often has deleterious effects on the user and is also often incompatible with existing applications. It also installs that damnedable "We Need To Talk" program for which there appears to be no uninstaller. While not necessarily a virus, I would absolutely classify it as a PUP. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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