New member hello/ D8B arriving

[csp]

DOK,

Thanks for the corrections and I wish that I could have purchased one of those adaptors in Australia as it woud have saved me having to buy the plug and a standard hard drive extension cable and then having to make the cable.

David

[Nick Birkby]

Hi all, sorry for the recent silence, i have had to travel for work and focus was elsewhere.

I have however tried a few other DB25 cables and all work the same so have eliminated dodgy cable as a problem.

This week Im going to try installing on a 4gb CF card as opposed to the 1gb and see if that makes any difference, also do more ribbon cable spraying and general tinkering around. Im going to also re-attach the floppy drive and try and have things "look the same" to the BIOS at startup in terms of peripherals.

As things stand Im still getting the same error message. Cheers, Nick

[Phil.c]

When doing the ribbon connector reseat and clean, you also need to lift the ribbons off the connector spikes, drop in some IPA and squeeze back with a pliers.

[Nick Birkby]

Thanks Phil.c, ok will try that.

Seeing that the issue is with the effects card, should I assume that the ribbon cable near those may be the ones to tackle first?
Makes sense but asking anyway... )

[Phil.c]

Seeing as you have the lid off, it's worth doing all the connectors, also the power ones and check that these are a tight fit.

[Nick Birkby]

Hello all. Ive not had much time to get to work on the ribbon cables but did try with a bigger 4gb cf hard drive. As I was slightly expecting it did not change matters and the unit still has the same error message on startup.

I wish i could find an inexpensive ribbon cable tester- one that you plug in the cables.

I will update again as things progress.

[csp]

Nick,

Re the ribbon cables, you could do as I did numerous times with the donated desk.

Get a good multimeter, a smallish vice and make up (I used a small paper-clip) two spikes about an inch long with a small looped head.

Then carefully clamp both plugs into the vice, insert the spikes into hole 1 at both ends, then on the lowest ohm range, put the meter's probes through the spike's loops and read the resistance. It should be almost zero ohms.

Repeat this process for every pin on the cable and if there is a problem (eg a high reading) then you can look at that wire when the entire cable is checked.

The largest plugs should take no more that about 10 minutes to fully check.

If you have the multimeter this will be a LOT cheaper than buying some form of cable tester and will be just a accurate if not more so.

Just a suggestion !!!

David

[doktor1360]

Hello all. Ive not had much time to get to work on the ribbon cables but did try with a bigger 4gb cf hard drive. As I was slightly expecting it did not change matters and the unit still has the same error message on startup.

I wish i could find an inexpensive ribbon cable tester- one that you plug in the cables.

I will update again as things progress.

Dude... those ribbon cables are inexpensive and everywhere on the internet - you're killing yourself with purchasing a cable tester unless it's something you'd utilize more than just once every eon. They're expensive, and anything 'inexpensive' in that category of tool... well, ya get what ya pay for. Just order yourself up an IDE cable - pick your vendor - and call it a day. If you need a little assistance sourcing one, just post back here on this thread. I don't know exactly what you're looking for or I would have posted a link myself...

What David suggested is more than appropriate for doing it 'old skool' IF you've got a multimeter and a little time - it's essentially the Flintstonian equivalent to a cable tester device, testing end to end one pin pair at a time. I've done this both ways, it's an easy way to test for continuity between two wired points (each connector pin). Grab a cup of coffee and have at it... \m/

Here's the caveat., whether you were expecting it or not :
[Standard Mgmt Disclaimer] - "Your actual mileage may vary..."

[csp]

DOK,

I think you have it wrong about me ---- I am the "Flintstonian's" great grandfather --- just ask your neighbour who lives somewhere down the road, as I am sure that he will agree !!!!!!!!!!!!!

David

[Nick Birkby]

Hi all, thank you for the imput and apologies for the delayed reply. Ive had a lot of work commitments and havent been able to get to the d8B. This week is clearer and am going to jump in with the multimeter and get busy again...