Just got a Commodore SX-64, it wont Boot

[Polybius]

Recently (May 2015), my Aunt, who is a Realtor, was selling a house for someone, the previous owner moved out and wanted to sell it, well, they left a ton of stuff, so my aunt tasked me with cleanup, in exchange for all the contents. one of the things was a Commodore SX-64 Executive Computer, a Commodore 1541 Floppy Drive, and a Commodore MP-48 Printer.

 

I went to boot the Commodore, and Nothing Happened. the light was on, and i could see that the screen was on, but it was just a black screen.

 

Any ideas?

[+save2600]

Open her up and clean out all the mog wasp nests, spiders, cockroaches, etc. Then inspect and reseat the socketed chips. Failing that, inspect the power supply and ensure you have proper voltages going to the motherboard, etc.

[carlsson]

Does the floppy drive briefly spin up, then stop? Do you have any other vintage computers, like a C64, Atari 8-bit etc? If you happen to have a composite video cable that fits either of those two systems, you can plug it in at the back of the SX-64 and connect to an external TV. If you get a display that way, it should boil down to the built-in CRT.

[7800fan]

Try this: http://www.lemon64.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=58368

 

a few good guides on troubleshooting C64.

[Polybius]

Does the floppy drive briefly spin up, then stop? Do you have any other vintage computers, like a C64, Atari 8-bit etc? If you happen to have a composite video cable that fits either of those two systems, you can plug it in at the back of the SX-64 and connect to an external TV. If you get a display that way, it should boil down to the built-in CRT.

tried that, still nothing, I had a composite output and a monitor from my C64 C unit. i cleaned the inside, wasnt really dirty at all, (it was in the house's attic). and yes, the floppy drive does briefly spool up.

Edited November 6, 2015 by Polybius

[adam242]

This document has helped me in the past. Open with Wordpad or similar.

 

sx64.txt

 

I've had two SX-64s, same symptoms as yours, both with a bad PLA chip. Your mileage may vary...

Good luck! It's a neat machine, and a great piece of 8-bit history.

[7800fan]

PLA blows easily like cheap light bulb. Lemon64 I believe has someone offering PLA clone that is less likely to go off.

 

99% of parts on SX mainboard can be exchanged for those off regular C64. AFAIK only the kernel ROM differs. *(C64-C uses different RAM chips and different SID from older 64s)