Date   : Mon, 23 Oct 2006 12:46:40
From   : Michael McConnell <soruk@...>
Subject: Re: poorly master

Charlie.Robson@... wrote:
> Hi everyone.
>
> I have a master that is in need of some TLC. At the very least, a new
> keyboard. The one I have has a couple of switches missing and some ugly
> solderwork on the k/b pcb. Many keys do not register. The main PCB looks to
> be in good shape from a quick visual inspection.
>
> When I replaced its corroded battery backup and reset the cmos, the poor
> blighter hangs at bootup. With a disk drive attached the drive spins and
> the access led lights up, but I can't break into whatever's happening.
> Inserting a floppy doesn't result in any seekage. I wonder might it be a
> stuck key? Shift perhaps? I didn't check but perhaps the default break
> operation is causing this?

IIRC the disc has to be ADFS.  The machine is trying to load the disc
catalogue.

> If I hold other keys at bootup time I can get to (from memory something
> approximately like)
>
> Acorn MOS 3.10
>
> This is not a language
> *

Most likely, in a Mode 0 screen.

Try:

*CONFIGURE MODE 7
*CONFIGURE LANG 12
*CONFIGURE FS 15

This will select BASIC as the language and the tape for the filesystem.
  (I can't remember DFS's ROM number, but use the number shown in *ROMS
to  select that instead of the tape if that's what you want.)

> Is it easy to get hold of a replacement keyboard? Might this only be the
> start of a problematic relationship with the master given the other
> evidence? I'd hate to shell out for a replacement k/b only to find that
> there's other problems afoot...

That I don't know, but you might be able to get hold of a
well-and-truly-dead Master, and see if its keyboard is okay?


--
-- Michael "Soruk" McConnell
   Eridani Star System

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