ST nube: can't boot my "new" 1040STf

[old_system_guy22]

Hello all...I picked up a 1040STf with a SC1224 monitor today for almost nothing. i'm primarily a cartridge loading, gaming console collector, and have never used an ST before so i don't really have any idea what i'm doing with it. I plugged in the monitor and the computer and turned it on. The lower left hand light glows red and the monitor displays skinny vertical rainbow colored lines, but nothing else. if i pull the monitor cable most of the way out of the back of the computer, the lines change to red and black "ghosty" squares. If i press the reset button the screen goes black for maybe a half second and the bars come back as soon as i let go of the button. I spent the afternoon calling local pc repair joints, (all of whom think i'm out of my mind for even attempting to run this bad boy) but no one had any info for me. many thought the ST was a videogame console.

please tell me that its something stupid and simple, like operator error, and not a fried video card, or guide, or whatever it is that runs the video in this machine. thanks in advance for all your help, i can't wait to get this up and running

[+Guitarman]

Hello all...I picked up a 1040STf with a SC1224 monitor today for almost nothing. i'm primarily a cartridge loading, gaming console collector, and have never used an ST before so i don't really have any idea what i'm doing with it. I plugged in the monitor and the computer and turned it on. The lower left hand light glows red and the monitor displays skinny vertical rainbow colored lines, but nothing else. if i pull the monitor cable most of the way out of the back of the computer, the lines change to red and black "ghosty" squares. If i press the reset button the screen goes black for maybe a half second and the bars come back as soon as i let go of the button. I spent the afternoon calling local pc repair joints, (all of whom think i'm out of my mind for even attempting to run this bad boy) but no one had any info for me. many thought the ST was a videogame console.

please tell me that its something stupid and simple, like operator error, and not a fried video card, or guide, or whatever it is that runs the video in this machine. thanks in advance for all your help, i can't wait to get this up and running

 

 

Being it is a 1040STf and not STfm, chances are there is not a RF out on it, to connect to a TV. If there is, try hooking it to a TV to see if you get a good picture on it. It could also be that some of the chips are not seated well, a common issue in the ST. Most will give it about a 4-5" inch flat drop on to a hard surface or table to re-seat the chips. You might try that also.

[old_system_guy22]

well...no RF...i even pulled it apart slightly and looked under all that steel shielding to see if there was one hiding somewhere behind the case. nada.. next i held it about 5" above the very short carpet on my porch, and let er' drop. no change. just for good measure i took it out to the garage and held it about 6" above the cement floor. again, let er' drop. really loud satisfying "electronics hitting concrete" noise, but still no change.

One of the computer techs that i talked to offered me the opinion that it might have a bunk monitor? does that sound like it may be accurate? is there any reliable way to test an SC1224 without another working atari computer? a working //e looks pretty impressive next to a broken 1040STf =)

[atarian1]

From your description, it could be either the computer or monitor.

 

Are you handy with a soldering iron and have a SVGA monitor? If so, you could build a monitor adapter which will allow you to use the monochrome resolutions on a SVGA monitor. Instructions are available here: Notator ST-VGA cable page.

 

By the way, please don't drop your ST. (I really hate it when people give that mythical advice. ) It can do more harm than good.

 

To fix the loose chips problem that sometimes occurs in old 1040STs, open up the computer and press the chips down into their sockets. Much safer and more reliable.

 

Lastly, where are you? Maybe someone here who lives nearby can help you.

[ijor]

It is not your monitor (or at least, not only), it seems that your computer is bad.

 

Regardless of the video signal, the computer should attempt to read the floppy disk. If the floppy disk led is not turning on, then something is wrong at the computer.

 

Just in case the monitor (or the cable) is so bad that it could affect the computer, try again with the monitor cable disconnected. If the led of the floppy doesn't turn on, then again, you have a problem on the computer.

[old_system_guy22]

yea..it didn't seem like that good of an idea to drop the ST to me either. The only reason that i did it is that i had read of that fix before. heard it refered to as "the atari drop".. i read of something else called "the atari twist" too, but there wasn't really a very good description of that one.

I tried turning it on without the monitor hooked up and still, only the lower left led lights up. I have one disk that happened to be in the machine when i got it. it is "Micro League Wrestling match disk" could this disk be bad, or will this machine boot without a disk? maybe the disk drive is dunzo?

I live in Central Maine, but i am in Seacoast NH for the weekend. If there is anyone in this general area that might be interested in taking a look with me, i'll be more than happy to drive to meet or something.

it sucks, i bought 3 computers, a //e, a Franklin Ace 1000, and this ST. the only one i was actually interested in is the ST. Go figure huh?

[ijor]

I tried turning it on without the monitor hooked up and still, only the lower left led lights up. I have one disk that happened to be in the machine when i got it. it is "Micro League Wrestling match disk" could this disk be bad, or will this machine boot without a disk? maybe the disk drive is dunzo?

 

It doesn't matter the disk. The ST should try to read the disk, and you should see then the drive led turned on. It might be able to read the disk or not, that's not an issue at this time.

 

But try it without any disk. This will make the issue more obvious, because when there is no disk the ST turns the drive led for a very long time. If it doesn't ...

[tjlazer]

yea..it didn't seem like that good of an idea to drop the ST to me either. The only reason that i did it is that i had read of that fix before. heard it refered to as "the atari drop".. i read of something else called "the atari twist" too, but there wasn't really a very good description of that one.

I tried turning it on without the monitor hooked up and still, only the lower left led lights up. I have one disk that happened to be in the machine when i got it. it is "Micro League Wrestling match disk" could this disk be bad, or will this machine boot without a disk? maybe the disk drive is dunzo?

I live in Central Maine, but i am in Seacoast NH for the weekend. If there is anyone in this general area that might be interested in taking a look with me, i'll be more than happy to drive to meet or something.

it sucks, i bought 3 computers, a //e, a Franklin Ace 1000, and this ST. the only one i was actually interested in is the ST. Go figure huh?

 

Well the "Universal 4" Drop" and "Atari Twist" are for users who do not feel comfortable opening up their computers to properly reseat the socketted chips. It is not recommended, but for a n00b out in the sticks that is desperate it is better than nothing!

 

I would remove and reseat all the socketted chips, even the TOS in ROM.

[nathanallan]

i agree, dropping it can be dangerous. Since you've already opened it up, go a little further and do as suggested, reseat the chips. You don't even have to take them out, just wiggle them a little. If you can find a different monitor, try that, too.

 

I found a user in Maine that may be able to help,

 

http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Peaks/6320/driven.htm

 

Good luck with your "new" machine!

 

Nathan

[tjlazah]

well...no RF...i even pulled it apart slightly and looked under all that steel shielding to see if there was one hiding somewhere behind the case. nada.. next i held it about 5" above the very short carpet on my porch, and let er' drop. no change. just for good measure i took it out to the garage and held it about 6" above the cement floor. again, let er' drop. really loud satisfying "electronics hitting concrete" noise, but still no change.

 

Also FYI, doing the "Drop" or "twist" are for noobs that cannot or will not open up the ST, it is a quick and dirty "temp" fix. Since you opened up the ST, all you had to do is reseat all the socketted chips! No need to do the drop if you open it up man! LOL

[+Zeptari]

yea..it didn't seem like that good of an idea to drop the ST to me either. The only reason that i did it is that i had read of that fix before. heard it refered to as "the atari drop".. i read of something else called "the atari twist" too, but there wasn't really a very good description of that one.

I tried turning it on without the monitor hooked up and still, only the lower left led lights up. I have one disk that happened to be in the machine when i got it. it is "Micro League Wrestling match disk" could this disk be bad, or will this machine boot without a disk? maybe the disk drive is dunzo?

I live in Central Maine, but i am in Seacoast NH for the weekend. If there is anyone in this general area that might be interested in taking a look with me, i'll be more than happy to drive to meet or something.

it sucks, i bought 3 computers, a //e, a Franklin Ace 1000, and this ST. the only one i was actually interested in is the ST. Go figure huh?

 

 

So did you try the 4" drop? it worked for me for a few days. then the "bars" came back. I'll have to open my

1040 and fix it right.

 

Btw i live in new england too... right in western mass. still about a 6+ hour drive to you, i'm betting.

 

-rick

[joyfulcoder]

So did you try the 4" drop? it worked for me for a few days. then the "bars" came back. I'll have to open my

1040 and fix it right.

 

Btw i live in new england too... right in western mass. still about a 6+ hour drive to you, i'm betting.

 

-rick

 

I live in western Mass too. Greenfield, Amherst, Northampton area to be more specific.

 

Eric

[+Zeptari]

So did you try the 4" drop? it worked for me for a few days. then the "bars" came back. I'll have to open my

1040 and fix it right.

 

Btw i live in new england too... right in western mass. still about a 6+ hour drive to you, i'm betting.

 

-rick

 

I live in western Mass too. Greenfield, Amherst, Northampton area to be more specific.

 

Eric

 

 

i'm thinking of selling my 1040 and mega ste systems. interested?

 

i can give more details later this weekend with pics.

-rick

 

All the ST stuff pictured plus a SC124 Monochrome monitor, not pictured but included.

Plus the Pest interface, a large stack of st format mags... the whole lot.

if your willing to drive over and pick it all up. the mega needs a new keyboard and floppy.

Edited September 29, 2007 by Zeptari1

[joyfulcoder]

So did you try the 4" drop? it worked for me for a few days. then the "bars" came back. I'll have to open my

1040 and fix it right.

 

Btw i live in new england too... right in western mass. still about a 6+ hour drive to you, i'm betting.

 

-rick

 

I live in western Mass too. Greenfield, Amherst, Northampton area to be more specific.

 

Eric

 

 

i'm thinking of selling my 1040 and mega ste systems. interested?

 

i can give more details later this weekend with pics.

-rick

 

All the ST stuff pictured plus a SC124 Monochrome monitor, not pictured but included.

Plus the Pest interface, a large stack of st format mags... the whole lot.

if your willing to drive over and pick it all up. the mega needs a new keyboard and floppy.

 

No thank you. I have two STs and three monitors that I would like to sell. Sadly it is too expensive to ship the monitors.

[nathanallan]

That's a pretty hefty desk it's all on.

 

Er, I mentioned Maine cause I thought Mass meant Massachusetts. Oops

 

Nathan

[+Zeptari]

That's a pretty hefty desk it's all on.

 

Er, I mentioned Maine cause I thought Mass meant Massachusetts. Oops

 

Nathan

 

 

but Mass does mean Massachusetts!

 

I think I'm confused here?

 

-rick

[+Zeptari]

No thank you. I have two STs and three monitors that I would like to sell. Sadly it is too expensive to ship the monitors.

 

 

maybe we can switch this around..

 

what ST systems do you have? and what monitors?

 

would you wanna sell them?

 

-rick

[joyfulcoder]

maybe we can switch this around..

 

what ST systems do you have? and what monitors?

 

would you wanna sell them?

 

-rick

 

I have the following.

 

Monitors:

SC1224 (built-in video cable)

SC1224 Version 2

SC1435

 

Computers:

1040STfm (stock)

520STfm (with 2.5MB RAM board, flaky)

 

Hard Disks housings:

ToadFile (two bays, no drives)

ICD Fast (two bays?, no drives)

 

I also have:

Michtron Replay4 (sound digitizer cartridge)

Navarone TimeKeeper (clock cartridge)

 

Yes, I would like to sell.

[+Zeptari]

maybe we can switch this around..

 

what ST systems do you have? and what monitors?

 

would you wanna sell them?

 

-rick

 

I have the following.

 

Monitors:

SC1224 (built-in video cable)

SC1224 Version 2

SC1435

 

Computers:

1040STfm (stock)

520STfm (with 2.5MB RAM board, flaky)

 

Hard Disks housings:

ToadFile (two bays, no drives)

ICD Fast (two bays?, no drives)

 

I also have:

Michtron Replay4 (sound digitizer cartridge)

Navarone TimeKeeper (clock cartridge)

 

Yes, I would like to sell.

 

 

wow! that's alot of STuff!

 

How much are we talking?

 

-rick