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CMI III boot problems : getting closer :)

CMI III boot problems : getting closer :)

2011-02-16 by arroncx

Hi all,

Thanks for all you assistance so far. Just thought Id report back :)

So : I got a replacement CMI32 card from the ever helpful Peter Wielk and great now when I boot, i can see all my channel cards, memory etc.

The system runs right the way though its boot-up sequence, but just as its about to start, the system exits to the command prompt with 

mptask handshake timeout : aborting process.

does anyone know where I could start looking next to get a bit further ? 

I looked on the KMI website, and it says that mptask controls all the realtime events in the CMI. (if Im understanding it right)

Also : when I boot up : the status display says that no sync card is present : what does this refer to, and is this part of my my problem ? 

Any hints or clues appreciated as normal :)

Best wishes : Arron

Re: [Fairlight-CMI] CMI III boot problems : getting closer :)

2011-02-16 by Joe Sleator

Hi, Arron

First guess is it's falling over where it asks if the Midi Processor (CMI28) is present, by poking and reading from its peripheral address, and the midi processor either does not reply, or says something stoopid.

Whilst the IIx would boot happily in this configuration, i.e with no CMI28, all the III software releases I'm aware of are fairly tightly bound to the CMI28, as it does most of the work triggering the sounds via the channel cards. See if you can get your hands on a spare CMI28 would be my next goal. You might just be able to re-seat the ROMS and RAMS and the 68K in their sockets, being careful of the pins. Usually it's enough to pop a tiny screwdriver under one end, lift the chip slightly, and then squish it back down. There must be someone else in your neck of the woods with either a IIx or a series III.

IF YOU TAKE CMI28 OUT BE SURE YOU ARE EARTHED ESPECIALLY IF IT's WINTERTIME AND THE HEAT IS ON IN YOUR PLACE BEFORE TOUCHING THE CHIPS DIRECTLY. I can't stress this enough, many times boards are degraded or die outright from miniscule ~5KV or less, static discharges and it's totally avoidable.

If the ROMS have suffered bit-rot (you can tell by reading them out and comparing to known good roms) they can fairly easily be replaced, or erased and re-programmed.

The other way to tell is to slot roms from a working CMI28 into the suss board and re-try.

The roms, rams, and 68K chip are all socketed. A resourceful soul can find replacements for all these chips by poking around. Virtually all the other chips on the CMI28 are common TTL or early motorola LSI, so also should be obtainable, however finding what's gone bad is the challenge.

Since the Series III diagnostics do virtually the same thing as mptask, I don't think they'd shed much more light, but probably worth a try.

Good luck.
Joe

On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 5:14 AM, arroncx <aclague@synapse-consulting.com> wrote:
Show quoted textHide quoted text

Hi all,

Thanks for all you assistance so far. Just thought Id report back :)

So : I got a replacement CMI32 card from the ever helpful Peter Wielk and great now when I boot, i can see all my channel cards, memory etc.

The system runs right the way though its boot-up sequence, but just as its about to start, the system exits to the command prompt with

mptask handshake timeout : aborting process.

does anyone know where I could start looking next to get a bit further ?

I looked on the KMI website, and it says that mptask controls all the realtime events in the CMI. (if Im understanding it right)

Also : when I boot up : the status display says that no sync card is present : what does this refer to, and is this part of my my problem ?

Any hints or clues appreciated as normal :)

Best wishes : Arron


Re: CMI III boot problems : getting closer :)

2011-02-16 by arroncx

Brilliant advice guys : 

I found the following post, where a different user has a different problem (slightly) and they go to KMON diag and type DI :

http://www.fairlightau.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?p=451&sid=e7792b9128e6d693314edccf7cd362ea

If I do the same, I also get "Address Error" followed by a heap of info i dont understand.  I dont know the commands for the diagnostics, nor what this output means in real terms.

If I post a screen screen shot of the output on my system, would that help at all ?

Is there anything useful I can do with the diagnostics ?

In the meantime, Ill put on antistatic wristband, and try to resit the chip and Joe suggests.

And james, yes it is a real pity. I am accumulating quite a pile of dead cards, and im sure there cant be many left in the world ! 

Many Thanks to you,

Arron

--- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, Gmail <jamesthomson9@...> wrote:
Show quoted textHide quoted text
>
> Hi Arron,
> 
>  This error message that you are getting is caused by a faulty CMI-28 card.  I had the exact same error but was fortunate to have a spare card.  It would be great if there was someone with the series 3 knowledge to repair these cards.  There are people who can repair the CMI-2X cards but I haven't found anyone who can repair the series 3 cards.  It's really a shame that these amazing instruments are not supported. 
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> James
> 
> On 16 Feb 2011, at 20:12, Joe Sleator wrote:
> 
> > Hi, Arron
> > 
> > 
> > First guess is it's falling over where it asks if the Midi Processor (CMI28) is present, by poking and reading from its peripheral address, and the midi processor either does not reply, or says something stoopid.
> > 
> > Whilst the IIx would boot happily in this configuration, i.e with no CMI28, all the III software releases I'm aware of are fairly tightly bound to the CMI28, as it does most of the work triggering the sounds via the channel cards. See if you can get your hands on a spare CMI28 would be my next goal. You might just be able to re-seat the ROMS and RAMS and the 68K in their sockets, being careful of the pins. Usually it's enough to pop a tiny screwdriver under one end, lift the chip slightly, and then squish it back down. There must be someone else in your neck of the woods with either a IIx or a series III.
> > 
> > IF YOU TAKE CMI28 OUT BE SURE YOU ARE EARTHED ESPECIALLY IF IT's WINTERTIME AND THE HEAT IS ON IN YOUR PLACE BEFORE TOUCHING THE CHIPS DIRECTLY. I can't stress this enough, many times boards are degraded or die outright from miniscule ~5KV or less, static discharges and it's totally avoidable.
> > 
> > If the ROMS have suffered bit-rot (you can tell by reading them out and comparing to known good roms) they can fairly easily be replaced, or erased and re-programmed.
> > 
> > The other way to tell is to slot roms from a working CMI28 into the suss board and re-try.
> > 
> > The roms, rams, and 68K chip are all socketed. A resourceful soul can find replacements for all these chips by poking around. Virtually all the other chips on the CMI28 are common TTL or early motorola LSI, so also should be obtainable, however finding what's gone bad is the challenge.
> > 
> > Since the Series III diagnostics do virtually the same thing as mptask, I don't think they'd shed much more light, but probably worth a try.
> > 
> > Good luck.
> > Joe
> > 
> > On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 5:14 AM, arroncx <aclague@...> wrote:
> >  
> > Hi all,
> > 
> > Thanks for all you assistance so far. Just thought Id report back :)
> > 
> > So : I got a replacement CMI32 card from the ever helpful Peter Wielk and great now when I boot, i can see all my channel cards, memory etc.
> > 
> > The system runs right the way though its boot-up sequence, but just as its about to start, the system exits to the command prompt with 
> > 
> > mptask handshake timeout : aborting process.
> > 
> > does anyone know where I could start looking next to get a bit further ? 
> > 
> > I looked on the KMI website, and it says that mptask controls all the realtime events in the CMI. (if Im understanding it right)
> > 
> > Also : when I boot up : the status display says that no sync card is present : what does this refer to, and is this part of my my problem ? 
> > 
> > Any hints or clues appreciated as normal :)
> > 
> > Best wishes : Arron
> > 
> > 
> > 
> >
>

Re: [Fairlight-CMI] CMI III boot problems : getting closer :)

2011-02-16 by Gmail

Hi Arron,

This error message that you are getting is caused by a faulty CMI-28 card. I had the exact same error but was fortunate to have a spare card. It would be great if there was someone with the series 3 knowledge to repair these cards. There are people who can repair the CMI-2X cards but I haven't found anyone who can repair the series 3 cards. ;It's really a shame that these amazing instruments are not supported. ;

Cheers,

James

On 16 Feb 2011, at 20:12, Joe Sleator wrote:

Hi, Arron


First guess is it's falling over where it asks if the Midi Processor (CMI28) is present, by poking and reading from its peripheral address, and the midi processor either does not reply, or says something stoopid.

Whilst the IIx would boot happily in this configuration, i.e with no CMI28, all the III software releases I'm aware of are fairly tightly bound to the CMI28, as it does most of the work triggering the sounds via the channel cards. See if you can get your hands on a spare CMI28 would be my next goal. You might just be able to re-seat the ROMS and RAMS and the 68K in their sockets, being careful of the pins. Usually it's enough to pop a tiny screwdriver under one end, lift the chip slightly, and then squish it back down. There must be someone else in your neck of the woods with either a IIx or a series III.

IF YOU TAKE CMI28 OUT BE SURE YOU ARE EARTHED ESPECIALLY IF IT's WINTERTIME AND THE HEAT IS ON IN YOUR PLACE BEFORE TOUCHING THE CHIPS DIRECTLY. I can't stress this enough, many times boards are degraded or die outright from miniscule ~5KV or less, static discharges and it's totally avoidable.

If the ROMS have suffered bit-rot (you can tell by reading them out and comparing to known good roms) they can fairly easily be replaced, or erased and re-programmed.

The other way to tell is to slot roms from a working CMI28 into the suss board and re-try.

The roms, rams, and 68K chip are all socketed. A resourceful soul can find replacements for all these chips by poking around. Virtually all the other chips on the CMI28 are common TTL or early motorola LSI, so also should be obtainable, however finding what's gone bad is the challenge.

Since the Series III diagnostics do virtually the same thing as mptask, I don't think they'd shed much more light, but probably worth a try.

Good luck.
Joe

On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 5:14 AM, arroncx <aclague@synapse-consulting.com> wrote:

Hi all,

Thanks for all you assistance so far. Just thought Id report back :)

So : I got a replacement CMI32 card from the ever helpful Peter Wielk and great now when I boot, i can see all my channel cards, memory etc.

The system runs right the way though its boot-up sequence, but just as its about to start, the system exits to the command prompt with

mptask handshake timeout : aborting process.

does anyone know where I could start looking next to get a bit further ?

I looked on the KMI website, and it says that mptask controls all the realtime events in the CMI. (if Im understanding it right)

Also : when I boot up : the status display says that no sync card is present : what does this refer to, and is this part of my my problem ?

Any hints or clues appreciated as normal :)

Best wishes : Arron




Re: [Fairlight-CMI] CMI III boot problems : getting closer :)

2011-02-16 by Gordon JC Pearce

On Wed, 2011-02-16 at 20:52 +0000, Gmail wrote:
> 
> 
> Hi Arron,
> 
> 
>  This error message that you are getting is caused by a faulty CMI-28
> card.  I had the exact same error but was fortunate to have a spare
> card.  It would be great if there was someone with the series 3
> knowledge to repair these cards.  There are people who can repair the
> CMI-2X cards but I haven't found anyone who can repair the series 3
> cards.  It's really a shame that these amazing instruments are not
> supported. 
> 

I wish I had a Fairlight to test them in ;-)

There can't be *that* much to them...

Gordon MM0YEQ

Re: [Fairlight-CMI] CMI III boot problems : getting closer :)

2011-02-17 by Joe Sleator

> I haven't found anyone who can repair the series 3 cards.
> It's really a shame that these amazing instruments are not supported.

OK, let';s assume they were supported, and very well, better than even a 2 year old Nokia phone, or a 69 MG Midget, or that old Russian space suit I can't get parts for any longer. :-D

Lets say you could fedex the card to a company, and they would either repair or replace the card, to good as new, with 90 day warranty, or return it to you and refund your shipping if it could not be repaired or replaced for whatever reason. Zero risk to you. And that company would even pay you for your broken boards if you decided not to get them shipped back.

What would that be worth, lets say, for a CMI28? Go on and quote me a price in any currency you'd care to. And how many paid Series III board repairs do you reckon would come in per year? Not the sum-total of broken CMI boards, mind you, but just the ones people wanted repaired enough to pay.

Joe

Show quoted textHide quoted text
On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 7:52 AM, Gmail <jamesthomson9@googlemail.com> wrote:

Hi Arron,


This error message that you are getting is caused by a faulty CMI-28 card. I had the exact same error but was fortunate to have a spare card. It would be great if there was someone with the series 3 knowledge to repair these cards. There are people who can repair the CMI-2X cards but I haven't found anyone who can repair the series 3 cards. It's really a shame that these amazing instruments are not supported.

Cheers,

James

On 16 Feb 2011, at 20:12, Joe Sleator wrote:

Hi, Arron


First guess is it's falling over where it asks if the Midi Processor (CMI28) is present, by poking and reading from its peripheral address, and the midi processor either does not reply, or says something stoopid.

Whilst the IIx would boot happily in this configuration, i.e with no CMI28, all the III software releases I'm aware of are fairly tightly bound to the CMI28, as it does most of the work triggering the sounds via the channel cards. See if you can get your hands on a spare CMI28 would be my next goal. You might just be able to re-seat the ROMS and RAMS and the 68K in their sockets, being careful of the pins. Usually it's enough to pop a tiny screwdriver under one end, lift the chip slightly, and then squish it back down. There must be someone else in your neck of the woods with either a IIx or a series III.

IF YOU TAKE CMI28 OUT BE SURE YOU ARE EARTHED ESPECIALLY IF IT's WINTERTIME AND THE HEAT IS ON IN YOUR PLACE BEFORE TOUCHING THE CHIPS DIRECTLY. I can't stress this enough, many times boards are degraded or die outright from miniscule ~5KV or less, static discharges and it's totally avoidable.

If the ROMS have suffered bit-rot (you can tell by reading them out and comparing to known good roms) they can fairly easily be replaced, or erased and re-programmed.

The other way to tell is to slot roms from a working CMI28 into the suss board and re-try.

The roms, rams, and 68K chip are all socketed. A resourceful soul can find replacements for all these chips by poking around. Virtually all the other chips on the CMI28 are common TTL or early motorola LSI, so also should be obtainable, however finding what's gone bad is the challenge.

Since the Series III diagnostics do virtually the same thing as mptask, I don't think they'd shed much more light, but probably worth a try.

Good luck.
Joe

On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 5:14 AM, arroncx <aclague@synapse-consulting.com> wrote:

Hi all,

Thanks for all you assistance so far. Just thought Id report back :)

So : I got a replacement CMI32 card from the ever helpful Peter Wielk and great now when I boot, i can see all my channel cards, memory etc.

The system runs right the way though its boot-up sequence, but just as its about to start, the system exits to the command prompt with

mptask handshake timeout : aborting process.

does anyone know where I could start looking next to get a bit further ?

I looked on the KMI website, and it says that mptask controls all the realtime events in the CMI. (if Im understanding it right)

Also : when I boot up : the status display says that no sync card is present : what does this refer to, and is this part of my my problem ?

Any hints or clues appreciated as normal :)

Best wishes : Arron





Re: [Fairlight-CMI] CMI III boot problems : getting closer :)

2011-02-17 by James Thomson

Hi Joe,

I would think that CMI-3 board repair could be a fairly lucrative sideline to compliment someone's main job. There are many of us who would pay a good price to have a board repaired as it is imperative to keeping the system running. I would pay £ 100.00 - £ 150.00 to have a faulty CMI-28 board repaired. This board seems to fail a lot and I think I have about 3 faulty CMI-28 boards ( rev 5.1 I believe ). The CMI 2X's will last forever I am sure but the CMI series 3 is a different matter. There is a market there. Jo Britt recently produced a run of CMI-2X USB boxes so that you can use a USB mouse and TFT screen instead of the lightpen and old green screen monitor. They sold out immediately and there is demand for more. The speed improvement using a USB mouse as compared with the lightpen is brilliant. Using the whole CMI 2X is so much fluid now. The lightpen looks great and this can still be used as well as the USB mouse. Perhaps the recently established Fairlight Instruments could provide a CMI-3 board repair service alongside their i-Pad and CMI-30A products ?

Cheers,

James

Magic Audio Co
Any Sound in Theory and in Practice
Studio 26
The Coach House
2 Upper York Street
Bristol BS2 8QN
U.K.
studio direct line: +44 (0)117 370 5810
mobile: +44 (0)7711 031 615





On 17 Feb 2011, at 09:45, Joe Sleator wrote:



> I haven't found anyone who can repair the series 3 cards.
> It's really a shame that these amazing instruments are not supported.

OK, let's assume they were supported, and very well, better than even a 2 year old Nokia phone, or a 69 MG Midget, or that old Russian space suit I can't get parts for any longer. :-D

Lets say you could fedex the card to a company, and they would either repair or replace the card, to good as new, with 90 day warranty, or return it to you and refund your shipping if it could not be repaired or replaced for whatever reason. Zero risk to you. And that company would even pay you for your broken boards if you decided not to get them shipped back.

What would that be worth, lets say, for a CMI28? Go on and quote me a price in any currency you'd care to. And how many paid Series III board repairs do you reckon would come in per year? Not the sum-total of broken CMI boards, mind you, but just the ones people wanted repaired enough to pay.

Joe

On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 7:52 AM, Gmail <jamesthomson9@googlemail.com> ;wrote:

Hi Arron,


This error message that you are getting is caused by a faulty CMI-28 card. ;I had the exact same error but was fortunate to have a spare card. It would be great if there was someone with the series 3 knowledge to repair these cards. There are people who can repair the CMI-2X cards but I haven't found anyone who can repair the series 3 cards. It's really a shame that these amazing instruments are not supported.

Cheers,

James

On 16 Feb 2011, at 20:12, Joe Sleator wrote:

Hi, Arron


First guess is it's falling over where it asks if the Midi Processor (CMI28) is present, by poking and reading from its peripheral address, and the midi processor either does not reply, or says something stoopid.

Whilst the IIx would boot happily in this configuration, i.e with no CMI28, all the III software releases I'm aware of are fairly tightly bound to the CMI28, as it does most of the work triggering the sounds via the channel cards. See if you can get your hands on a spare CMI28 would be my next goal. You might just be able to re-seat the ROMS and RAMS and the 68K in their sockets, being careful of the pins. Usually it's enough to pop a tiny screwdriver under one end, lift the chip slightly, and then squish it back down. There must be someone else in your neck of the woods with either a IIx or a series III.

IF YOU TAKE CMI28 OUT BE SURE YOU ARE EARTHED ESPECIALLY IF IT's WINTERTIME AND THE HEAT IS ON IN YOUR PLACE BEFORE TOUCHING THE CHIPS DIRECTLY. I can't stress this enough, many times boards are degraded or die outright from miniscule ~5KV or less, static discharges and it's totally avoidable.

If the ROMS have suffered bit-rot (you can tell by reading them out and comparing to known good roms) they can fairly easily be replaced, or erased and re-programmed.

The other way to tell is to slot roms from a working CMI28 into the suss board and re-try.

The roms, rams, and 68K chip are all socketed. A resourceful soul can find replacements for all these chips by poking around. Virtually all the other chips on the CMI28 are common TTL or early motorola LSI, so also should be obtainable, however finding what's gone bad is the challenge.

Since the Series III diagnostics do virtually the same thing as mptask, I don't think they'd shed much more light, but probably worth a try.

Good luck.
Joe

On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 5:14 AM, arroncx <aclague@synapse-consulting.com> wrote:

Hi all,

Thanks for all you assistance so far. Just thought Id report back :)

So : I got a replacement CMI32 card from the ever helpful Peter Wielk and great now when I boot, i can see all my channel cards, memory etc.

The system runs right the way though its boot-up sequence, but just as its about to start, the system exits to the command prompt with

mptask handshake timeout : aborting process.

does anyone know where I could start looking next to get a bit further ?

I looked on the KMI website, and it says that mptask controls all the realtime events in the CMI. (if Im understanding it right)

Also : when I boot up : the status display says that no sync card is present : what does this refer to, and is this part of my my problem ?

Any hints or clues appreciated as normal :)

Best wishes : Arron









Re: CMI III boot problems : getting closer :)

2011-02-17 by arroncx

Hi there : Ive posted the error screen i get from the diagnostics in the group photos page if anyone can shed any light on what it means :)

Maybe one day there will be an upgrade where you can get a PC on a fairlight sized card, and a Crystal Core board in the same format, and then just take all the old cards out of your fairlight, and wire up the old music keyboard via midi , and the outputs round the back as straight thru sockets. :) 

Photo at :

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Fairlight-CMI/photos/album/1576007894/pic/66577237/view?picmode=&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=1&count=20&dir=asc

Cheers,

Arron


--- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, James Thomson <jamesthomson9@...> wrote:
Show quoted textHide quoted text
>
> Hi Joe,
> 
>  I would think that CMI-3 board repair could be a fairly lucrative sideline to compliment someone's main job.  There are many of us who would pay a good price to have a board repaired as it is imperative to keeping the system running.  I would pay £ 100.00 - £ 150.00 to have  a faulty CMI-28 board repaired.  This board seems to fail a lot and I think I have about 3 faulty CMI-28 boards  ( rev 5.1  I believe ).  The CMI 2X's will last forever I am sure but the CMI series 3 is a different matter.  There is a market there.  Jo Britt recently produced a run of CMI-2X USB boxes so that you can use a USB mouse and TFT screen instead of the lightpen and old green screen monitor.  They sold out immediately and there is demand for more.  The speed improvement using a USB mouse as compared with the lightpen is brilliant.  Using the whole CMI 2X is so much fluid now. The lightpen looks great and this can still be used as well as the USB mouse. Perhaps the recently established Fairlight Instruments  could provide a CMI-3 board repair service alongside their i-Pad and CMI-30A products ?
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> James
> 
> Magic Audio Co
> Any Sound in Theory and in Practice
> Studio 26
> The Coach House
> 2 Upper York Street
> Bristol BS2 8QN
> U.K.
> studio direct line: +44 (0)117 370 5810
> mobile: +44 (0)7711 031 615
> email: jamesthomson@...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 17 Feb 2011, at 09:45, Joe Sleator wrote:
> 
> > 
> > 
> > > I haven't found anyone who can repair the series 3 cards.
> > > It's really a shame that these amazing instruments are not supported. 
> > 
> > OK, let's assume they were supported, and very well, better than even a 2 year old Nokia phone, or a 69 MG Midget, or that old Russian space suit I can't get parts for any longer. :-D
> > 
> > Lets say you could fedex the card to a company, and they would either repair or replace the card, to good as new, with 90 day warranty, or return it to you and refund your shipping if it could not be repaired or replaced for whatever reason. Zero risk to you. And that company would even pay you for your broken boards if you decided not to get them shipped back.
> > 
> > What would that be worth, lets say, for a CMI28? Go on and quote me a price in any currency you'd care to. And how many paid Series III board repairs do you reckon would come in per year? Not the sum-total of broken CMI boards, mind you, but just the ones people wanted repaired enough to pay.
> > 
> > Joe
> > 
> > On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 7:52 AM, Gmail <jamesthomson9@...> wrote:
> >  
> > Hi Arron,
> > 
> > 
> >  This error message that you are getting is caused by a faulty CMI-28 card.  I had the exact same error but was fortunate to have a spare card.  It would be great if there was someone with the series 3 knowledge to repair these cards.  There are people who can repair the CMI-2X cards but I haven't found anyone who can repair the series 3 cards.  It's really a shame that these amazing instruments are not supported. 
> > 
> > Cheers,
> > 
> > James
> > 
> > On 16 Feb 2011, at 20:12, Joe Sleator wrote:
> > 
> >>  
> >> Hi, Arron
> >> 
> >> 
> >> First guess is it's falling over where it asks if the Midi Processor (CMI28) is present, by poking and reading from its peripheral address, and the midi processor either does not reply, or says something stoopid.
> >> 
> >> Whilst the IIx would boot happily in this configuration, i.e with no CMI28, all the III software releases I'm aware of are fairly tightly bound to the CMI28, as it does most of the work triggering the sounds via the channel cards. See if you can get your hands on a spare CMI28 would be my next goal. You might just be able to re-seat the ROMS and RAMS and the 68K in their sockets, being careful of the pins. Usually it's enough to pop a tiny screwdriver under one end, lift the chip slightly, and then squish it back down. There must be someone else in your neck of the woods with either a IIx or a series III.
> >> 
> >> IF YOU TAKE CMI28 OUT BE SURE YOU ARE EARTHED ESPECIALLY IF IT's WINTERTIME AND THE HEAT IS ON IN YOUR PLACE BEFORE TOUCHING THE CHIPS DIRECTLY. I can't stress this enough, many times boards are degraded or die outright from miniscule ~5KV or less, static discharges and it's totally avoidable.
> >> 
> >> If the ROMS have suffered bit-rot (you can tell by reading them out and comparing to known good roms) they can fairly easily be replaced, or erased and re-programmed.
> >> 
> >> The other way to tell is to slot roms from a working CMI28 into the suss board and re-try.
> >> 
> >> The roms, rams, and 68K chip are all socketed. A resourceful soul can find replacements for all these chips by poking around. Virtually all the other chips on the CMI28 are common TTL or early motorola LSI, so also should be obtainable, however finding what's gone bad is the challenge.
> >> 
> >> Since the Series III diagnostics do virtually the same thing as mptask, I don't think they'd shed much more light, but probably worth a try.
> >> 
> >> Good luck.
> >> Joe
> >> 
> >> On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 5:14 AM, arroncx <aclague@...> wrote:
> >>  
> >> Hi all,
> >> 
> >> Thanks for all you assistance so far. Just thought Id report back :)
> >> 
> >> So : I got a replacement CMI32 card from the ever helpful Peter Wielk and great now when I boot, i can see all my channel cards, memory etc.
> >> 
> >> The system runs right the way though its boot-up sequence, but just as its about to start, the system exits to the command prompt with 
> >> 
> >> mptask handshake timeout : aborting process.
> >> 
> >> does anyone know where I could start looking next to get a bit further ? 
> >> 
> >> I looked on the KMI website, and it says that mptask controls all the realtime events in the CMI. (if Im understanding it right)
> >> 
> >> Also : when I boot up : the status display says that no sync card is present : what does this refer to, and is this part of my my problem ? 
> >> 
> >> Any hints or clues appreciated as normal :)
> >> 
> >> Best wishes : Arron
> >> 
> >> 
> >> 
> >> 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> >
>

Re: CMI III boot problems : getting closer :)

2011-02-17 by arroncx

Hi Joe : 

OK : so the history in summery is that the machine was working, and then it was in storage for a couple of years while I was moving about and working out of the country.

When I got it back out of storage, the VGA video card blew a fuse, which I replaced, I was not detecting any voice cards installed, and one of the pins had snapped off the CMI28 ribbon connector. I should none that the first thing that I did when I got it out of storage was disassemble the whole system, partly to check it, but also because I needed to carry the mainframe up three flights of steep stairs, and wanted it to be lighter. 

Since then, I have replaced the CMI 32 card, and I can now see all the voice cards.

Yes I typed DI : I don't have any reference for the diagnostic commands so I was just guessing in the dark that the process found in this thread on the fairlight boards would be something worth trying :  

http://www.fairlightau.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?p=451&sid=e7792b9128e6d693314edccf7cd362ea

I will check the q777 is always the in : I suspect it is fine as the system is booting from SCSI disk.

I really appreciate the suggestions : tonight I will try the following : 

1)	Reseat all socketed chips on CMI 28
2)	Repet diagnostics with escape D only
3)	Check the Card keys are present and the pins are lined up correctly (I have the top off the system and so can confirm visually)
4)	Check the Q777 is seated OK.

Again : I really appreciate the suggestions &#61514;

Best wishes : Arron


--- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, Joe Sleator <joe.sleator@...> wrote:
Show quoted textHide quoted text
>
> Hey Arron
> 
> So, that's Chris Alfred's "new" diagnostics screen for the Waveform Super,
> CMI41. The address error that occurred is happening in the other 68K board,
> the Wave Super, CMI41.
> 
> That screen has little to do with the CMI28, AFAIK
> 
> Are you saying you typed "DI" at the prompt? Are you sure it's not just "D"?
> 
> I'm guessing the D command was diagnostics, and the I command told it to do
> something else, which caused the address error, unless my own memory's
> faulty.
> 
> I think that since you said it booted from disk, up to getting mptask
> running, that's a fair way in, and if CMI41 can do that, it's probably
> working ok.
> 
> Another possible issue might be the DMA configuration of your machine. Is
> the Q777 plugged in all the way at the right, or is there another card
> there?
> 
> And can I ask, from when this machine did work, what all has changed? Did it
> work recently? Have you exchanged any cards already?
> 
> Without unpacking my Series III (still packed after recent move) I can't
> remember what the various diag menu options are, but I'll need to set it up
> soon enough for other requirements.
> 
> But not long ago, we made some more WFM32s, and I seem to recall there being
> a memory test for CMI41. Maybe just "M".
> 
> If you do find the right key for the memory test, and I'm pretty sure it's
> just one letter for each thing, you may as well verify the memory for the
> CMI41, even though I don't think that's your problem.
> 
> Where did you get your diagnostic key code info? Maybe double-check?
> 
> Another thing to look for whenever you have cards out, is there should be a
> key near the bottom of every backplane slot, that goes in the notches in the
> boards. When those are missing, all sorts of random things go wrong, as the
> pins don't line up!
> 
> What happens if you just type escape and D?
> 
> Good luck,
> 
> Joe
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 10:21 PM, arroncx <aclague@...>wrote:
> 
> >
> >
> > Hi there : Ive posted the error screen i get from the diagnostics in the
> > group photos page if anyone can shed any light on what it means :)
> >
> > Maybe one day there will be an upgrade where you can get a PC on a
> > fairlight sized card, and a Crystal Core board in the same format, and then
> > just take all the old cards out of your fairlight, and wire up the old music
> > keyboard via midi , and the outputs round the back as straight thru sockets.
> > :)
> >
> > Photo at :
> >
> >
> > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Fairlight-CMI/photos/album/1576007894/pic/66577237/view?picmode=&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=1&count=20&dir=asc
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Arron
> >
> >
> > --- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, James Thomson <jamesthomson9@>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi Joe,
> > >
> > > I would think that CMI-3 board repair could be a fairly lucrative
> > sideline to compliment someone's main job. There are many of us who would
> > pay a good price to have a board repaired as it is imperative to keeping the
> > system running. I would pay £ 100.00 - £ 150.00 to have a faulty CMI-28
> > board repaired. This board seems to fail a lot and I think I have about 3
> > faulty CMI-28 boards ( rev 5.1 I believe ). The CMI 2X's will last forever I
> > am sure but the CMI series 3 is a different matter. There is a market there.
> > Jo Britt recently produced a run of CMI-2X USB boxes so that you can use a
> > USB mouse and TFT screen instead of the lightpen and old green screen
> > monitor. They sold out immediately and there is demand for more. The speed
> > improvement using a USB mouse as compared with the lightpen is brilliant.
> > Using the whole CMI 2X is so much fluid now. The lightpen looks great and
> > this can still be used as well as the USB mouse. Perhaps the recently
> > established Fairlight Instruments could provide a CMI-3 board repair service
> > alongside their i-Pad and CMI-30A products ?
> > >
> > > Cheers,
> > >
> > > James
> > >
> > > Magic Audio Co
> > > Any Sound in Theory and in Practice
> > > Studio 26
> > > The Coach House
> > > 2 Upper York Street
> > > Bristol BS2 8QN
> > > U.K.
> > > studio direct line: +44 (0)117 370 5810
> > > mobile: +44 (0)7711 031 615
> > > email: jamesthomson@
> >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On 17 Feb 2011, at 09:45, Joe Sleator wrote:
> > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > > I haven't found anyone who can repair the series 3 cards.
> > > > > It's really a shame that these amazing instruments are not supported.
> >
> > > >
> > > > OK, let's assume they were supported, and very well, better than even a
> > 2 year old Nokia phone, or a 69 MG Midget, or that old Russian space suit I
> > can't get parts for any longer. :-D
> > > >
> > > > Lets say you could fedex the card to a company, and they would either
> > repair or replace the card, to good as new, with 90 day warranty, or return
> > it to you and refund your shipping if it could not be repaired or replaced
> > for whatever reason. Zero risk to you. And that company would even pay you
> > for your broken boards if you decided not to get them shipped back.
> > > >
> > > > What would that be worth, lets say, for a CMI28? Go on and quote me a
> > price in any currency you'd care to. And how many paid Series III board
> > repairs do you reckon would come in per year? Not the sum-total of broken
> > CMI boards, mind you, but just the ones people wanted repaired enough to
> > pay.
> > > >
> > > > Joe
> > > >
> > > > On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 7:52 AM, Gmail <jamesthomson9@> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Hi Arron,
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > This error message that you are getting is caused by a faulty CMI-28
> > card. I had the exact same error but was fortunate to have a spare card. It
> > would be great if there was someone with the series 3 knowledge to repair
> > these cards. There are people who can repair the CMI-2X cards but I haven't
> > found anyone who can repair the series 3 cards. It's really a shame that
> > these amazing instruments are not supported.
> > > >
> > > > Cheers,
> > > >
> > > > James
> > > >
> > > > On 16 Feb 2011, at 20:12, Joe Sleator wrote:
> > > >
> > > >>
> > > >> Hi, Arron
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> First guess is it's falling over where it asks if the Midi Processor
> > (CMI28) is present, by poking and reading from its peripheral address, and
> > the midi processor either does not reply, or says something stoopid.
> > > >>
> > > >> Whilst the IIx would boot happily in this configuration, i.e with no
> > CMI28, all the III software releases I'm aware of are fairly tightly bound
> > to the CMI28, as it does most of the work triggering the sounds via the
> > channel cards. See if you can get your hands on a spare CMI28 would be my
> > next goal. You might just be able to re-seat the ROMS and RAMS and the 68K
> > in their sockets, being careful of the pins. Usually it's enough to pop a
> > tiny screwdriver under one end, lift the chip slightly, and then squish it
> > back down. There must be someone else in your neck of the woods with either
> > a IIx or a series III.
> > > >>
> > > >> IF YOU TAKE CMI28 OUT BE SURE YOU ARE EARTHED ESPECIALLY IF IT's
> > WINTERTIME AND THE HEAT IS ON IN YOUR PLACE BEFORE TOUCHING THE CHIPS
> > DIRECTLY. I can't stress this enough, many times boards are degraded or die
> > outright from miniscule ~5KV or less, static discharges and it's totally
> > avoidable.
> > > >>
> > > >> If the ROMS have suffered bit-rot (you can tell by reading them out
> > and comparing to known good roms) they can fairly easily be replaced, or
> > erased and re-programmed.
> > > >>
> > > >> The other way to tell is to slot roms from a working CMI28 into the
> > suss board and re-try.
> > > >>
> > > >> The roms, rams, and 68K chip are all socketed. A resourceful soul can
> > find replacements for all these chips by poking around. Virtually all the
> > other chips on the CMI28 are common TTL or early motorola LSI, so also
> > should be obtainable, however finding what's gone bad is the challenge.
> > > >>
> > > >> Since the Series III diagnostics do virtually the same thing as
> > mptask, I don't think they'd shed much more light, but probably worth a try.
> > > >>
> > > >> Good luck.
> > > >> Joe
> > > >>
> > > >> On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 5:14 AM, arroncx <aclague@> wrote:
> > > >>
> > > >> Hi all,
> > > >>
> > > >> Thanks for all you assistance so far. Just thought Id report back :)
> > > >>
> > > >> So : I got a replacement CMI32 card from the ever helpful Peter Wielk
> > and great now when I boot, i can see all my channel cards, memory etc.
> > > >>
> > > >> The system runs right the way though its boot-up sequence, but just as
> > its about to start, the system exits to the command prompt with
> > > >>
> > > >> mptask handshake timeout : aborting process.
> > > >>
> > > >> does anyone know where I could start looking next to get a bit further
> > ?
> > > >>
> > > >> I looked on the KMI website, and it says that mptask controls all the
> > realtime events in the CMI. (if Im understanding it right)
> > > >>
> > > >> Also : when I boot up : the status display says that no sync card is
> > present : what does this refer to, and is this part of my my problem ?
> > > >>
> > > >> Any hints or clues appreciated as normal :)
> > > >>
> > > >> Best wishes : Arron
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> >  
> >
>

Re: [Fairlight-CMI] Re: CMI III boot problems : getting closer :)

2011-02-17 by Joe Sleator

Hey Arron

So, that's Chris Alfred's "new" diagnostics screen for the Waveform Super, CMI41. The address error that occurred is happening in the other 68K board, the Wave Super, CMI41.

That screen has little to do with the CMI28, AFAIK

Are you saying you typed "DI" at the prompt? Are you sure it's not just "D"?

I'm guessing the D command was diagnostics, and the I command told it to do something else, which caused the address error, unless my own memory's faulty.

I think that since you said it booted from disk, up to getting mptask running, that's a fair way in, and if CMI41 can do that, it's probably working ok.

Another possible issue might be the DMA configuration of your machine. Is the Q777 plugged in all the way at the right, or is there another card there?

And can I ask, from when this machine did work, what all has changed? Did it work recently? Have you exchanged any cards already?

Without unpacking my Series III (still packed after recent move) I can't remember what the various diag menu options are, but I'll need to set it up soon enough for other requirements.

But not long ago, we made some more WFM32s, and I seem to recall there being a memory test for CMI41. Maybe just "M".

If you do find the right key for the memory test, and I'm pretty sure it's just one letter for each thing, you may as well verify the memory for the CMI41, even though I don't think that's your problem.

Where did you get your diagnostic key code info? Maybe double-check?

Another thing to look for whenever you have cards out, is there should be a key near the bottom of every backplane slot, that goes in the notches in the boards. When those are missing, all sorts of random things go wrong, as the pins don't line up!

What happens if you just type escape and D?

Good luck,

Joe



Show quoted textHide quoted text
On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 10:21 PM, arroncx <aclague@synapse-consulting.com> wrote:

Hi there : Ive posted the error screen i get from the diagnostics in the group photos page if anyone can shed any light on what it means :)

Maybe one day there will be an upgrade where you can get a PC on a fairlight sized card, and a Crystal Core board in the same format, and then just take all the old cards out of your fairlight, and wire up the old music keyboard via midi , and the outputs round the back as straight thru sockets. :)

Photo at :

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Fairlight-CMI/photos/album/1576007894/pic/66577237/view?picmode=&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=1&count=20&dir=asc

Cheers,

Arron



--- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, James Thomson wrote:
>
> Hi Joe,
>
> I would think that CMI-3 board repair could be a fairly lucrative sideline to compliment someone's main job. There are many of us who would pay a good price to have a board repaired as it is imperative to keeping the system running. I would pay £ 100.00 - £ 150.00 to have a faulty CMI-28 board repaired. This board seems to fail a lot and I think I have about 3 faulty CMI-28 boards ( rev 5.1 I believe ). The CMI 2X's will last forever I am sure but the CMI series 3 is a different matter. There is a market there. Jo Britt recently produced a run of CMI-2X USB boxes so that you can use a USB mouse and TFT screen instead of the lightpen and old green screen monitor. They sold out immediately and there is demand for more. The speed improvement using a USB mouse as compared with the lightpen is brilliant. Using the whole CMI 2X is so much fluid now. The lightpen looks great and this can still be used as well as the USB mouse. Perhaps the recently established Fairlight Instruments could provide a CMI-3 board repair service alongside their i-Pad and CMI-30A products ?
>
> Cheers,
>
> James
>
> Magic Audio Co
> Any Sound in Theory and in Practice
> Studio 26
> The Coach House
> 2 Upper York Street
> Bristol BS2 8QN
> U.K.
> studio direct line: +44 (0)117 370 5810
> mobile: +44 (0)7711 031 615
> email: jamesthomson@...

>
>
>
>
>
> On 17 Feb 2011, at 09:45, Joe Sleator wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > > I haven't found anyone who can repair the series 3 cards.
> > > It's really a shame that these amazing instruments are not supported.
> >
> > OK, let's assume they were supported, and very well, better than even a 2 year old Nokia phone, or a 69 MG Midget, or that old Russian space suit I can't get parts for any longer. :-D
> >
> > Lets say you could fedex the card to a company, and they would either repair or replace the card, to good as new, with 90 day warranty, or return it to you and refund your shipping if it could not be repaired or replaced for whatever reason. Zero risk to you. And that company would even pay you for your broken boards if you decided not to get them shipped back.
> >
> > What would that be worth, lets say, for a CMI28? Go on and quote me a price in any currency you'd care to. And how many paid Series III board repairs do you reckon would come in per year? Not the sum-total of broken CMI boards, mind you, but just the ones people wanted repaired enough to pay.
> >
> > Joe
> >
> > On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 7:52 AM, Gmail wrote:
> >
> > Hi Arron,
> >
> >
> > This error message that you are getting is caused by a faulty CMI-28 card. I had the exact same error but was fortunate to have a spare card. It would be great if there was someone with the series 3 knowledge to repair these cards. There are people who can repair the CMI-2X cards but I haven't found anyone who can repair the series 3 cards. It's really a shame that these amazing instruments are not supported.
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > James
> >
> > On 16 Feb 2011, at 20:12, Joe Sleator wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> Hi, Arron
> >>
> >>
> >> First guess is it's falling over where it asks if the Midi Processor (CMI28) is present, by poking and reading from its peripheral address, and the midi processor either does not reply, or says something stoopid.
> >>
> >> Whilst the IIx would boot happily in this configuration, i.e with no CMI28, all the III software releases I'm aware of are fairly tightly bound to the CMI28, as it does most of the work triggering the sounds via the channel cards. See if you can get your hands on a spare CMI28 would be my next goal. You might just be able to re-seat the ROMS and RAMS and the 68K in their sockets, being careful of the pins. Usually it's enough to pop a tiny screwdriver under one end, lift the chip slightly, and then squish it back down. There must be someone else in your neck of the woods with either a IIx or a series III.
> >>
> >> IF YOU TAKE CMI28 OUT BE SURE YOU ARE EARTHED ESPECIALLY IF IT's WINTERTIME AND THE HEAT IS ON IN YOUR PLACE BEFORE TOUCHING THE CHIPS DIRECTLY. I can't stress this enough, many times boards are degraded or die outright from miniscule ~5KV or less, static discharges and it's totally avoidable.
> >>
> >> If the ROMS have suffered bit-rot (you can tell by reading them out and comparing to known good roms) they can fairly easily be replaced, or erased and re-programmed.
> >>
> >> The other way to tell is to slot roms from a working CMI28 into the suss board and re-try.
> >>
> >> The roms, rams, and 68K chip are all socketed. A resourceful soul can find replacements for all these chips by poking around. Virtually all the other chips on the CMI28 are common TTL or early motorola LSI, so also should be obtainable, however finding what's gone bad is the challenge.
> >>
> >> Since the Series III diagnostics do virtually the same thing as mptask, I don't think they'd shed much more light, but probably worth a try.
> >>
> >> Good luck.
> >> Joe
> >>
> >> On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 5:14 AM, arroncx wrote:
> >>
> >> Hi all,
> >>
> >> Thanks for all you assistance so far. Just thought Id report back :)
> >>
> >> So : I got a replacement CMI32 card from the ever helpful Peter Wielk and great now when I boot, i can see all my channel cards, memory etc.
> >>
> >> The system runs right the way though its boot-up sequence, but just as its about to start, the system exits to the command prompt with
> >>
> >> mptask handshake timeout : aborting process.
> >>
> >> does anyone know where I could start looking next to get a bit further ?
> >>
> >> I looked on the KMI website, and it says that mptask controls all the realtime events in the CMI. (if Im understanding it right)
> >>
> >> Also : when I boot up : the status display says that no sync card is present : what does this refer to, and is this part of my my problem ?
> >>
> >> Any hints or clues appreciated as normal :)
> >>
> >> Best wishes : Arron
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>


Re: CMI III boot problems : getting closer :)

2011-02-17 by arroncx

The machine is a 9.34 CMI : I bought the VGA card later from Peter Wielk, and installed it without issue when the machine was still working.

The fuse is a tiny surface mounted thing on the Main on the main ESP-CG3 card. I blew it because I kicked the VGA plug out by accident while it was running, causing a bit of a spark.

As far as I can tell, the missing pin on the CMI ribbon port is unused (from the series III service manual), so Im ignoring this for the moment.

"And you said it would "see" the channel cards, I'm assuming you mean the startup kmon screen where it does a check of what's installed in the system?" yes exactly.

In fact the mptask error still existed at the point the CMI32 was faulty : I assumed that the replacement of the CMI32 card might clear this, but it turns out this is an additional issue.

I have checked the cards location both against the notes I made as I was disassembling it, and the KMI site, and seems to be OK.

I will read the q777 in detail later.

If peter has some wfm32 cards left I will for sure buy one &#61514;

Again, much appreciated &#61514;


--- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, Joe Sleator <joe.sleator@...> wrote:
Show quoted textHide quoted text
>
> OK, so when you say VGA video card, you must mean the little board that has
> the VGA plug on it? The RGB01? Mine doesn't have a fuse. Strange.
> 
> So you have a colour system? An MFX1 or MFX2?
> 
> It's certainly at least rev 6 as you've got a wave super.
> 
> Then this pin on the CMI 28 got broke....but you could leave that alone and
> the CMI would still boot up and go, it just wouldn't do midi or normal
> keyboard notes. But you could play sequences and stuff.
> 
> So you fixed that and now the CMI28 apparently has some other problem.
> 
> And you said it would "see" the channel cards, I'm assuming you mean the
> startup kmon screen where it does a check of what's installed in the system?
> 
> Maybe a silly question, but maybe its a good time to just audit what's in
> which slot in the machine. Are you quite sure everything's back the way it
> was supposed to be? If it boots, even part-way, I daresay _some_ of the
> cards must be right. Also, if you're running a WFM32 I'd put it all the way
> over to the far end of the WRAM sockets. If you're not running a WFM32, go
> get one from Peter Wielk.
> 
> BTW, in future, cleaning an old computer system that isn't broken, may cause
> it to start playing up, whether by static damage due to disassembly, or due
> to incorrect reassembly, or just brittleness. I tend only to clean a CMI if
> the dirt is so bad it's obstructing the airflow. Just flicking a
> feather-duster or synthetic cloth across a board can be enough to statically
> charge and damage it, especially in winter or desert conditions with dry
> air. Sounds obsessive, but it's true.
> 
> Humidity is your friend, unless you're a chip that will be wave-soldered!
> 
> > I will check the q777 is always the in : I suspect it is fine as the
> system is booting from SCSI disk.
> 
> Erm, there's a bit more to it than that in the wave super system. You'll
> want to make sure the SCSI cable is plugged into the wave super, rather than
> the Q777, but that Q777 is in the right-most slot, to the right of the
> floppy board. For a good primer on why the 777 still needs to be there, read
> KMI's site, under CMI hardware, where it talks about DMA on a series III.
> 
> Anyway, I think you'll get there.
> 
> Best of luck,
> Joe
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Fri, Feb 18, 2011 at 12:04 AM, arroncx <aclague@...>wrote:
> 
> >
> >
> > Hi Joe :
> >
> > OK : so the history in summery is that the machine was working, and then it
> > was in storage for a couple of years while I was moving about and working
> > out of the country.
> >
> > When I got it back out of storage, the VGA video card blew a fuse, which I
> > replaced, I was not detecting any voice cards installed, and one of the pins
> > had snapped off the CMI28 ribbon connector. I should none that the first
> > thing that I did when I got it out of storage was disassemble the whole
> > system, partly to check it, but also because I needed to carry the mainframe
> > up three flights of steep stairs, and wanted it to be lighter.
> >
> > Since then, I have replaced the CMI 32 card, and I can now see all the
> > voice cards.
> >
> > Yes I typed DI : I don't have any reference for the diagnostic commands so
> > I was just guessing in the dark that the process found in this thread on the
> > fairlight boards would be something worth trying :
> >
> >
> > http://www.fairlightau.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?p=451&sid=e7792b9128e6d693314edccf7cd362ea
> >
> > I will check the q777 is always the in : I suspect it is fine as the system
> > is booting from SCSI disk.
> >
> > I really appreciate the suggestions : tonight I will try the following :
> >
> > 1) Reseat all socketed chips on CMI 28
> > 2) Repet diagnostics with escape D only
> > 3) Check the Card keys are present and the pins are lined up correctly (I
> > have the top off the system and so can confirm visually)
> > 4) Check the Q777 is seated OK.
> >
> > Again : I really appreciate the suggestions &#61514;
> >
> > Best wishes : Arron
> >
> >
> > --- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, Joe Sleator <joe.sleator@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Hey Arron
> > >
> > > So, that's Chris Alfred's "new" diagnostics screen for the Waveform
> > Super,
> > > CMI41. The address error that occurred is happening in the other 68K
> > board,
> > > the Wave Super, CMI41.
> > >
> > > That screen has little to do with the CMI28, AFAIK
> > >
> > > Are you saying you typed "DI" at the prompt? Are you sure it's not just
> > "D"?
> > >
> > > I'm guessing the D command was diagnostics, and the I command told it to
> > do
> > > something else, which caused the address error, unless my own memory's
> > > faulty.
> > >
> > > I think that since you said it booted from disk, up to getting mptask
> > > running, that's a fair way in, and if CMI41 can do that, it's probably
> > > working ok.
> > >
> > > Another possible issue might be the DMA configuration of your machine. Is
> > > the Q777 plugged in all the way at the right, or is there another card
> > > there?
> > >
> > > And can I ask, from when this machine did work, what all has changed? Did
> > it
> > > work recently? Have you exchanged any cards already?
> > >
> > > Without unpacking my Series III (still packed after recent move) I can't
> > > remember what the various diag menu options are, but I'll need to set it
> > up
> > > soon enough for other requirements.
> > >
> > > But not long ago, we made some more WFM32s, and I seem to recall there
> > being
> > > a memory test for CMI41. Maybe just "M".
> > >
> > > If you do find the right key for the memory test, and I'm pretty sure
> > it's
> > > just one letter for each thing, you may as well verify the memory for the
> > > CMI41, even though I don't think that's your problem.
> > >
> > > Where did you get your diagnostic key code info? Maybe double-check?
> > >
> > > Another thing to look for whenever you have cards out, is there should be
> > a
> > > key near the bottom of every backplane slot, that goes in the notches in
> > the
> > > boards. When those are missing, all sorts of random things go wrong, as
> > the
> > > pins don't line up!
> > >
> > > What happens if you just type escape and D?
> > >
> > > Good luck,
> > >
> > > Joe
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 10:21 PM, arroncx <aclague@>wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Hi there : Ive posted the error screen i get from the diagnostics in
> > the
> > > > group photos page if anyone can shed any light on what it means :)
> > > >
> > > > Maybe one day there will be an upgrade where you can get a PC on a
> > > > fairlight sized card, and a Crystal Core board in the same format, and
> > then
> > > > just take all the old cards out of your fairlight, and wire up the old
> > music
> > > > keyboard via midi , and the outputs round the back as straight thru
> > sockets.
> > > > :)
> > > >
> > > > Photo at :
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Fairlight-CMI/photos/album/1576007894/pic/66577237/view?picmode=&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=1&count=20&dir=asc
> > > >
> > > > Cheers,
> > > >
> > > > Arron
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, James Thomson <jamesthomson9@>
> > > > wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > Hi Joe,
> > > > >
> > > > > I would think that CMI-3 board repair could be a fairly lucrative
> > > > sideline to compliment someone's main job. There are many of us who
> > would
> > > > pay a good price to have a board repaired as it is imperative to
> > keeping the
> > > > system running. I would pay £ 100.00 - £ 150.00 to have a faulty CMI-28
> > > > board repaired. This board seems to fail a lot and I think I have about
> > 3
> > > > faulty CMI-28 boards ( rev 5.1 I believe ). The CMI 2X's will last
> > forever I
> > > > am sure but the CMI series 3 is a different matter. There is a market
> > there.
> > > > Jo Britt recently produced a run of CMI-2X USB boxes so that you can
> > use a
> > > > USB mouse and TFT screen instead of the lightpen and old green screen
> > > > monitor. They sold out immediately and there is demand for more. The
> > speed
> > > > improvement using a USB mouse as compared with the lightpen is
> > brilliant.
> > > > Using the whole CMI 2X is so much fluid now. The lightpen looks great
> > and
> > > > this can still be used as well as the USB mouse. Perhaps the recently
> > > > established Fairlight Instruments could provide a CMI-3 board repair
> > service
> > > > alongside their i-Pad and CMI-30A products ?
> > > > >
> > > > > Cheers,
> > > > >
> > > > > James
> > > > >
> > > > > Magic Audio Co
> > > > > Any Sound in Theory and in Practice
> > > > > Studio 26
> > > > > The Coach House
> > > > > 2 Upper York Street
> > > > > Bristol BS2 8QN
> > > > > U.K.
> > > > > studio direct line: +44 (0)117 370 5810
> > > > > mobile: +44 (0)7711 031 615
> > > > > email: jamesthomson@
> > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > On 17 Feb 2011, at 09:45, Joe Sleator wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > > I haven't found anyone who can repair the series 3 cards.
> > > > > > > It's really a shame that these amazing instruments are not
> > supported.
> > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > OK, let's assume they were supported, and very well, better than
> > even a
> > > > 2 year old Nokia phone, or a 69 MG Midget, or that old Russian space
> > suit I
> > > > can't get parts for any longer. :-D
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Lets say you could fedex the card to a company, and they would
> > either
> > > > repair or replace the card, to good as new, with 90 day warranty, or
> > return
> > > > it to you and refund your shipping if it could not be repaired or
> > replaced
> > > > for whatever reason. Zero risk to you. And that company would even pay
> > you
> > > > for your broken boards if you decided not to get them shipped back.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > What would that be worth, lets say, for a CMI28? Go on and quote me
> > a
> > > > price in any currency you'd care to. And how many paid Series III board
> > > > repairs do you reckon would come in per year? Not the sum-total of
> > broken
> > > > CMI boards, mind you, but just the ones people wanted repaired enough
> > to
> > > > pay.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Joe
> > > > > >
> > > > > > On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 7:52 AM, Gmail <jamesthomson9@> wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Hi Arron,
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > This error message that you are getting is caused by a faulty
> > CMI-28
> > > > card. I had the exact same error but was fortunate to have a spare
> > card. It
> > > > would be great if there was someone with the series 3 knowledge to
> > repair
> > > > these cards. There are people who can repair the CMI-2X cards but I
> > haven't
> > > > found anyone who can repair the series 3 cards. It's really a shame
> > that
> > > > these amazing instruments are not supported.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Cheers,
> > > > > >
> > > > > > James
> > > > > >
> > > > > > On 16 Feb 2011, at 20:12, Joe Sleator wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> Hi, Arron
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> First guess is it's falling over where it asks if the Midi
> > Processor
> > > > (CMI28) is present, by poking and reading from its peripheral address,
> > and
> > > > the midi processor either does not reply, or says something stoopid.
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> Whilst the IIx would boot happily in this configuration, i.e with
> > no
> > > > CMI28, all the III software releases I'm aware of are fairly tightly
> > bound
> > > > to the CMI28, as it does most of the work triggering the sounds via the
> > > > channel cards. See if you can get your hands on a spare CMI28 would be
> > my
> > > > next goal. You might just be able to re-seat the ROMS and RAMS and the
> > 68K
> > > > in their sockets, being careful of the pins. Usually it's enough to pop
> > a
> > > > tiny screwdriver under one end, lift the chip slightly, and then squish
> > it
> > > > back down. There must be someone else in your neck of the woods with
> > either
> > > > a IIx or a series III.
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> IF YOU TAKE CMI28 OUT BE SURE YOU ARE EARTHED ESPECIALLY IF IT's
> > > > WINTERTIME AND THE HEAT IS ON IN YOUR PLACE BEFORE TOUCHING THE CHIPS
> > > > DIRECTLY. I can't stress this enough, many times boards are degraded or
> > die
> > > > outright from miniscule ~5KV or less, static discharges and it's
> > totally
> > > > avoidable.
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> If the ROMS have suffered bit-rot (you can tell by reading them
> > out
> > > > and comparing to known good roms) they can fairly easily be replaced,
> > or
> > > > erased and re-programmed.
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> The other way to tell is to slot roms from a working CMI28 into
> > the
> > > > suss board and re-try.
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> The roms, rams, and 68K chip are all socketed. A resourceful soul
> > can
> > > > find replacements for all these chips by poking around. Virtually all
> > the
> > > > other chips on the CMI28 are common TTL or early motorola LSI, so also
> > > > should be obtainable, however finding what's gone bad is the challenge.
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> Since the Series III diagnostics do virtually the same thing as
> > > > mptask, I don't think they'd shed much more light, but probably worth a
> > try.
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> Good luck.
> > > > > >> Joe
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 5:14 AM, arroncx <aclague@> wrote:
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> Hi all,
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> Thanks for all you assistance so far. Just thought Id report back
> > :)
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> So : I got a replacement CMI32 card from the ever helpful Peter
> > Wielk
> > > > and great now when I boot, i can see all my channel cards, memory etc.
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> The system runs right the way though its boot-up sequence, but
> > just as
> > > > its about to start, the system exits to the command prompt with
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> mptask handshake timeout : aborting process.
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> does anyone know where I could start looking next to get a bit
> > further
> > > > ?
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> I looked on the KMI website, and it says that mptask controls all
> > the
> > > > realtime events in the CMI. (if Im understanding it right)
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> Also : when I boot up : the status display says that no sync card
> > is
> > > > present : what does this refer to, and is this part of my my problem ?
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> Any hints or clues appreciated as normal :)
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >> Best wishes : Arron
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >>
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> >  
> >
>

Re: [Fairlight-CMI] Re: CMI III boot problems : getting closer :)

2011-02-17 by Joe Sleator

OK, so when you say VGA video card, you must mean the little board that has the VGA plug on it? The RGB01? Mine doesn't have a fuse. Strange.

So you have a colour system? An MFX1 or MFX2?

It's certainly at least rev 6 as you've got a wave super.

Then this pin on the CMI 28 got broke....but you could leave that alone and the CMI would still boot up and go, it just wouldn't do midi or normal keyboard notes. But you could play sequences and stuff.

So you fixed that and now the CMI28 apparently has some other problem.

And you said it would "see" the channel cards, I'm assuming you mean the startup kmon screen where it does a check of what's installed in the system?

Maybe a silly question, but maybe its a good time to just audit what's in which slot in the machine. Are you quite sure everything's back the way it was supposed to be? If it boots, even part-way, I daresay _some_ of the cards must be right. Also, if you're running a WFM32 I'd put it all the way over to the far end of the WRAM sockets. If you're not running a WFM32, go get one from Peter Wielk.

BTW, in future, cleaning an old computer system that isn't broken, may cause it to start playing up, whether by static damage due to disassembly, or due to incorrect reassembly, or just brittleness. I tend only to clean a CMI if the dirt is so bad it's obstructing the airflow. Just flicking a feather-duster or synthetic cloth across a board can be enough to statically charge and damage it, especially in winter or desert conditions with dry air. Sounds obsessive, but it's true.

Humidity is your friend, unless you're a chip that will be wave-soldered!

> I will check the q777 is always the in : I suspect it is fine as the system is booting from SCSI disk.

Erm, there's a bit more to it than that in the wave super system. You'll want to make sure the SCSI cable is plugged into the wave super, rather than the Q777, but that Q777 is in the right-most slot, to the right of the floppy board. For a good primer on why the 777 still needs to be there, read KMI's site, under CMI hardware, where it talks about DMA on a series III.

Anyway, I think you'll get there.

Best of luck,
Joe




Show quoted textHide quoted text
On Fri, Feb 18, 2011 at 12:04 AM, arroncx <aclague@synapse-consulting.com> wrote:

Hi Joe :

OK : so the history in summery is that the machine was working, and then it was in storage for a couple of years while I was moving about and working out of the country.

When I got it back out of storage, the VGA video card blew a fuse, which I replaced, I was not detecting any voice cards installed, and one of the pins had snapped off the CMI28 ribbon connector. I should none that the first thing that I did when I got it out of storage was disassemble the whole system, partly to check it, but also because I needed to carry the mainframe up three flights of steep stairs, and wanted it to be lighter.

Since then, I have replaced the CMI 32 card, and I can now see all the voice cards.

Yes I typed DI : I don't have any reference for the diagnostic commands so I was just guessing in the dark that the process found in this thread on the fairlight boards would be something worth trying :

I will check the q777 is always the in : I suspect it is fine as the system is booting from SCSI disk.

I really appreciate the suggestions : tonight I will try the following :

1) Reseat all socketed chips on CMI 28
2) Repet diagnostics with escape D only
3) Check the Card keys are present and the pins are lined up correctly (I have the top off the system and so can confirm visually)
4) Check the Q777 is seated OK.

Again : I really appreciate the suggestions 

Best wishes : Arron


--- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, Joe Sleator wrote:
>
> Hey Arron
>
> So, that's Chris Alfred's "new" diagnostics screen for the Waveform Super,
> CMI41. The address error that occurred is happening in the other 68K board,
> the Wave Super, CMI41.
>
> That screen has little to do with the CMI28, AFAIK
>
> Are you saying you typed "DI" at the prompt? Are you sure it's not just "D"?
>
> I'm guessing the D command was diagnostics, and the I command told it to do
> something else, which caused the address error, unless my own memory's
> faulty.
>
> I think that since you said it booted from disk, up to getting mptask
> running, that's a fair way in, and if CMI41 can do that, it's probably
> working ok.
>
> Another possible issue might be the DMA configuration of your machine. Is
> the Q777 plugged in all the way at the right, or is there another card
> there?
>
> And can I ask, from when this machine did work, what all has changed? Did it
> work recently? Have you exchanged any cards already?
>
> Without unpacking my Series III (still packed after recent move) I can't
> remember what the various diag menu options are, but I'll need to set it up
> soon enough for other requirements.
>
> But not long ago, we made some more WFM32s, and I seem to recall there being
> a memory test for CMI41. Maybe just "M".
>
> If you do find the right key for the memory test, and I'm pretty sure it's
> just one letter for each thing, you may as well verify the memory for the
> CMI41, even though I don't think that's your problem.
>
> Where did you get your diagnostic key code info? Maybe double-check?
>
> Another thing to look for whenever you have cards out, is there should be a
> key near the bottom of every backplane slot, that goes in the notches in the
> boards. When those are missing, all sorts of random things go wrong, as the
> pins don't line up!
>
> What happens if you just type escape and D?
>
> Good luck,
>
> Joe
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 10:21 PM, arroncx wrote:

>
> >
> >
> > Hi there : Ive posted the error screen i get from the diagnostics in the
> > group photos page if anyone can shed any light on what it means :)
> >
> > Maybe one day there will be an upgrade where you can get a PC on a
> > fairlight sized card, and a Crystal Core board in the same format, and then
> > just take all the old cards out of your fairlight, and wire up the old music
> > keyboard via midi , and the outputs round the back as straight thru sockets.
> > :)
> >
> > Photo at :
> >
> >
> > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Fairlight-CMI/photos/album/1576007894/pic/66577237/view?picmode=&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=1&count=20&dir=asc
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Arron
> >
> >
> > --- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, James Thomson
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi Joe,
> > >
> > > I would think that CMI-3 board repair could be a fairly lucrative
> > sideline to compliment someone's main job. There are many of us who would
> > pay a good price to have a board repaired as it is imperative to keeping the
> > system running. I would pay £ 100.00 - £ 150.00 to have a faulty CMI-28
> > board repaired. This board seems to fail a lot and I think I have about 3
> > faulty CMI-28 boards ( rev 5.1 I believe ). The CMI 2X's will last forever I
> > am sure but the CMI series 3 is a different matter. There is a market there.
> > Jo Britt recently produced a run of CMI-2X USB boxes so that you can use a
> > USB mouse and TFT screen instead of the lightpen and old green screen
> > monitor. They sold out immediately and there is demand for more. The speed
> > improvement using a USB mouse as compared with the lightpen is brilliant.
> > Using the whole CMI 2X is so much fluid now. The lightpen looks great and
> > this can still be used as well as the USB mouse. Perhaps the recently
> > established Fairlight Instruments could provide a CMI-3 board repair service
> > alongside their i-Pad and CMI-30A products ?
> > >
> > > Cheers,
> > >
> > > James
> > >
> > > Magic Audio Co
> > > Any Sound in Theory and in Practice
> > > Studio 26
> > > The Coach House
> > > 2 Upper York Street
> > > Bristol BS2 8QN
> > > U.K.
> > > studio direct line: +44 (0)117 370 5810
> > > mobile: +44 (0)7711 031 615
> > > email: jamesthomson@
> >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On 17 Feb 2011, at 09:45, Joe Sleator wrote:
> > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > > I haven't found anyone who can repair the series 3 cards.
> > > > > It's really a shame that these amazing instruments are not supported.
> >
> > > >
> > > > OK, let's assume they were supported, and very well, better than even a
> > 2 year old Nokia phone, or a 69 MG Midget, or that old Russian space suit I
> > can't get parts for any longer. :-D
> > > >
> > > > Lets say you could fedex the card to a company, and they would either
> > repair or replace the card, to good as new, with 90 day warranty, or return
> > it to you and refund your shipping if it could not be repaired or replaced
> > for whatever reason. Zero risk to you. And that company would even pay you
> > for your broken boards if you decided not to get them shipped back.
> > > >
> > > > What would that be worth, lets say, for a CMI28? Go on and quote me a
> > price in any currency you'd care to. And how many paid Series III board
> > repairs do you reckon would come in per year? Not the sum-total of broken
> > CMI boards, mind you, but just the ones people wanted repaired enough to
> > pay.
> > > >
> > > > Joe
> > > >
> > > > On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 7:52 AM, Gmail wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Hi Arron,
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > This error message that you are getting is caused by a faulty CMI-28
> > card. I had the exact same error but was fortunate to have a spare card. It
> > would be great if there was someone with the series 3 knowledge to repair
> > these cards. There are people who can repair the CMI-2X cards but I haven't
> > found anyone who can repair the series 3 cards. It's really a shame that
> > these amazing instruments are not supported.
> > > >
> > > > Cheers,
> > > >
> > > > James
> > > >
> > > > On 16 Feb 2011, at 20:12, Joe Sleator wrote:
> > > >
> > > >>
> > > >> Hi, Arron
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >> First guess is it's falling over where it asks if the Midi Processor
> > (CMI28) is present, by poking and reading from its peripheral address, and
> > the midi processor either does not reply, or says something stoopid.
> > > >>
> > > >> Whilst the IIx would boot happily in this configuration, i.e with no
> > CMI28, all the III software releases I'm aware of are fairly tightly bound
> > to the CMI28, as it does most of the work triggering the sounds via the
> > channel cards. See if you can get your hands on a spare CMI28 would be my
> > next goal. You might just be able to re-seat the ROMS and RAMS and the 68K
> > in their sockets, being careful of the pins. Usually it's enough to pop a
> > tiny screwdriver under one end, lift the chip slightly, and then squish it
> > back down. There must be someone else in your neck of the woods with either
> > a IIx or a series III.
> > > >>
> > > >> IF YOU TAKE CMI28 OUT BE SURE YOU ARE EARTHED ESPECIALLY IF IT's
> > WINTERTIME AND THE HEAT IS ON IN YOUR PLACE BEFORE TOUCHING THE CHIPS
> > DIRECTLY. I can't stress this enough, many times boards are degraded or die
> > outright from miniscule ~5KV or less, static discharges and it9;s totally
> > avoidable.
> > > >>
> > > >> If the ROMS have suffered bit-rot (you can tell by reading them out
> > and comparing to known good roms) they can fairly easily be replaced, or
> > erased and re-programmed.
> > > >>
> > > >> The other way to tell is to slot roms from a working CMI28 into the
> > suss board and re-try.
> > > >>
> > > >> The roms, rams, and 68K chip are all socketed. A resourceful soul can
> > find replacements for all these chips by poking around. Virtually all the
> > other chips on the CMI28 are common TTL or early motorola LSI, so also
> > should be obtainable, however finding what's gone bad is the challenge.
> > > >>
> > > >> Since the Series III diagnostics do virtually the same thing as
> > mptask, I don't think they'd shed much more light, but probably worth a try.
> > > >>
> > > >> Good luck.
> > > >> Joe
> > > >>
> > > >> On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 5:14 AM, arroncx wrote:
> > > >>
> > > >> Hi all,
> > > >>
> > > >> Thanks for all you assistance so far. Just thought Id report back :)
> > > >>
> > > >> So : I got a replacement CMI32 card from the ever helpful Peter Wielk
> > and great now when I boot, i can see all my channel cards, memory etc.
> > > >>
> > > >> The system runs right the way though its boot-up sequence, but just as
> > its about to start, the system exits to the command prompt with
> > > >>
> > > >> mptask handshake timeout : aborting process.
> > > >>
> > > >> does anyone know where I could start looking next to get a bit further
> > ?
> > > >>
> > > >> I looked on the KMI website, and it says that mptask controls all the
> > realtime events in the CMI. (if Im understanding it right)
> > > >>
> > > >> Also : when I boot up : the status display says that no sync card is
> > present : what does this refer to, and is this part of my my problem ?
> > > >>
> > > >> Any hints or clues appreciated as normal :)
> > > >>
> > > >> Best wishes : Arron
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >>
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
>


Re: [Fairlight-CMI] Re: CMI III boot problems : getting closer :)

2011-02-17 by James Thomson

Hi Joe,

You sound quite knowledgable about the Series 3 CMI. Could you repair any CMI-3 cards ?

Cheers,

James

Magic Audio Co
Any Sound in Theory and in Practice
Studio 26
The Coach House
2 Upper York Street
Bristol BS2 8QN
U.K.
studio direct line: +44 (0)117 370 5810
mobile: +44 (0)7711 031 615





On 17 Feb 2011, at 14:09, arroncx wrote:

The machine is a 9.34 CMI : I bought the VGA card later from Peter Wielk, and installed it without issue when the machine was still working.

The fuse is a tiny surface mounted thing on the Main on the main ESP-CG3 card. I blew it because I kicked the VGA plug out by accident while it was running, causing a bit of a spark.

As far as I can tell, the missing pin on the CMI ribbon port is unused (from the series III service manual), so Im ignoring this for the moment.

"And you said it would "see" the channel cards, I'm assuming you mean the startup kmon screen where it does a check of what's installed in the system?" yes exactly.

In fact the mptask error still existed at the point the CMI32 was faulty : I assumed that the replacement of the CMI32 card might clear this, but it turns out this is an additional issue.

I have checked the cards location both against the notes I made as I was disassembling it, and the KMI site, and seems to be OK.

I will read the q777 in detail later.

If peter has some wfm32 cards left I will for sure buy one 

Again, much appreciated &#61514;

Show quoted textHide quoted text

--- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, Joe Sleator wrote:

OK, so when you say VGA video card, you must mean the little board that has
the VGA plug on it? The RGB01? Mine doesn't have a fuse. Strange.

So you have a colour system? An MFX1 or MFX2?

It's certainly at least rev 6 as you've got a wave super.

Then this pin on the CMI 28 got broke....but you could leave that alone and
the CMI would still boot up and go, it just wouldn't do midi or normal
keyboard notes. But you could play sequences and stuff.

So you fixed that and now the CMI28 apparently has some other problem.

And you said it would "see" the channel cards, I'm assuming you mean the
startup kmon screen where it does a check of what's installed in the system?

Maybe a silly question, but maybe its a good time to just audit what's in
which slot in the machine. Are you quite sure everything's back the way it
was supposed to be? If it boots, even part-way, I daresay _some_ of the
cards must be right. Also, if you're running a WFM32 I'd put it all the way
over to the far end of the WRAM sockets. If you're not running a WFM32, go
get one from Peter Wielk.

BTW, in future, cleaning an old computer system that isn't broken, may cause
it to start playing up, whether by static damage due to disassembly, or due
to incorrect reassembly, or just brittleness. I tend only to clean a CMI if
the dirt is so bad it's obstructing the airflow. Just flicking a
feather-duster or synthetic cloth across a board can be enough to statically
charge and damage it, especially in winter or desert conditions with dry
air. Sounds obsessive, but it's true.

Humidity is your friend, unless you're a chip that will be wave-soldered!

I will check the q777 is always the in : I suspect it is fine as the
system is booting from SCSI disk.

Erm, there's a bit more to it than that in the wave super system. You'll
want to make sure the SCSI cable is plugged into the wave super, rather than
the Q777, but that Q777 is in the right-most slot, to the right of the
floppy board. For a good primer on why the 777 still needs to be there, read
KMI's site, under CMI hardware, where it talks about DMA on a series III.

Anyway, I think you'll get there.

Best of luck,
Joe





On Fri, Feb 18, 2011 at 12:04 AM, arroncx wrote:



Hi Joe :

OK : so the history in summery is that the machine was working, and then it
was in storage for a couple of years while I was moving about and working
out of the country.

When I got it back out of storage, the VGA video card blew a fuse, which I
replaced, I was not detecting any voice cards installed, and one of the pins
had snapped off the CMI28 ribbon connector. I should none that the first
thing that I did when I got it out of storage was disassemble the whole
system, partly to check it, but also because I needed to carry the mainframe
up three flights of steep stairs, and wanted it to be lighter.

Since then, I have replaced the CMI 32 card, and I can now see all the
voice cards.

Yes I typed DI : I don't have any reference for the diagnostic commands so
I was just guessing in the dark that the process found in this thread on the
fairlight boards would be something worth trying :


http://www.fairlightau.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?p=451&sid=e7792b9128e6d693314edccf7cd362ea

I will check the q777 is always the in : I suspect it is fine as the system
is booting from SCSI disk.

I really appreciate the suggestions : tonight I will try the following :

1) Reseat all socketed chips on CMI 28
2) Repet diagnostics with escape D only
3) Check the Card keys are present and the pins are lined up correctly (I
have the top off the system and so can confirm visually)
4) Check the Q777 is seated OK.

Again : I really appreciate the suggestions 

Best wishes : Arron


--- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, Joe Sleator wrote:

Hey Arron

So, that's Chris Alfred's "new" diagnostics screen for the Waveform
Super,
CMI41. The address error that occurred is happening in the other 68K
board,
the Wave Super, CMI41.

That screen has little to do with the CMI28, AFAIK

Are you saying you typed "DI" at the prompt? Are you sure it's not just
"D"?

I'm guessing the D command was diagnostics, and the I command told it to
do
something else, which caused the address error, unless my own memory's
faulty.

I think that since you said it booted from disk, up to getting mptask
running, that's a fair way in, and if CMI41 can do that, it's probably
working ok.

Another possible issue might be the DMA configuration of your machine. Is
the Q777 plugged in all the way at the right, or is there another card
there?

And can I ask, from when this machine did work, what all has changed? Did
it
work recently? Have you exchanged any cards already?

Without unpacking my Series III (still packed after recent move) I can't
remember what the various diag menu options are, but I'll need to set it
up
soon enough for other requirements.

But not long ago, we made some more WFM32s, and I seem to recall there
being
a memory test for CMI41. Maybe just "M".

If you do find the right key for the memory test, and I'm pretty sure
it's
just one letter for each thing, you may as well verify the memory for the
CMI41, even though I don't think that's your problem.

Where did you get your diagnostic key code info? Maybe double-check?

Another thing to look for whenever you have cards out, is there should be
a
key near the bottom of every backplane slot, that goes in the notches in
the
boards. When those are missing, all sorts of random things go wrong, as
the
pins don't line up!

What happens if you just type escape and D?

Good luck,

Joe




On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 10:21 PM, arroncx wrote:




Hi there : Ive posted the error screen i get from the diagnostics in
the
group photos page if anyone can shed any light on what it means :)

Maybe one day there will be an upgrade where you can get a PC on a
fairlight sized card, and a Crystal Core board in the same format, and
then
just take all the old cards out of your fairlight, and wire up the old
music
keyboard via midi , and the outputs round the back as straight thru
sockets.
:)

Photo at :



http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Fairlight-CMI/photos/album/1576007894/pic/66577237/view?picmode=&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=1&count=20&dir=asc

Cheers,

Arron


--- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, James Thomson
wrote:

Hi Joe,

I would think that CMI-3 board repair could be a fairly lucrative
sideline to compliment someone's main job. There are many of us who
would
pay a good price to have a board repaired as it is imperative to
keeping the
system running. I would pay £ 100.00 - £ 150.00 to have a faulty CMI-28
board repaired. This board seems to fail a lot and I think I have about
3
faulty CMI-28 boards ( rev 5.1 I believe ). The CMI 2X's will last
forever I
am sure but the CMI series 3 is a different matter. There is a market
there.
Jo Britt recently produced a run of CMI-2X USB boxes so that you can
use a
USB mouse and TFT screen instead of the lightpen and old green screen
monitor. They sold out immediately and there is demand for more. The
speed
improvement using a USB mouse as compared with the lightpen is
brilliant.
Using the whole CMI 2X is so much fluid now. The lightpen looks great
and
this can still be used as well as the USB mouse. Perhaps the recently
established Fairlight Instruments could provide a CMI-3 board repair
service
alongside their i-Pad and CMI-30A products ?

Cheers,

James

Magic Audio Co
Any Sound in Theory and in Practice
Studio 26
The Coach House
2 Upper York Street
Bristol BS2 8QN
U.K.
studio direct line: +44 (0)117 370 5810
mobile: +44 (0)7711 031 615
email: jamesthomson@






On 17 Feb 2011, at 09:45, Joe Sleator wrote:



I haven't found anyone who can repair the series 3 cards.
It's really a shame that these amazing instruments are not
supported.


OK, let's assume they were supported, and very well, better than
even a
2 year old Nokia phone, or a 69 MG Midget, or that old Russian space
suit I
can't get parts for any longer. :-D

Lets say you could fedex the card to a company, and they would
either
repair or replace the card, to good as new, with 90 day warranty, or
return
it to you and refund your shipping if it could not be repaired or
replaced
for whatever reason. Zero risk to you. And that company would even pay
you
for your broken boards if you decided not to get them shipped back.

What would that be worth, lets say, for a CMI28? Go on and quote me
a
price in any currency you'd care to. And how many paid Series III board
repairs do you reckon would come in per year? Not the sum-total of
broken
CMI boards, mind you, but just the ones people wanted repaired enough
to
pay.

Joe

On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 7:52 AM, Gmail wrote:

Hi Arron,


This error message that you are getting is caused by a faulty
CMI-28
card. I had the exact same error but was fortunate to have a spare
card. It
would be great if there was someone with the series 3 knowledge to
repair
these cards. There are people who can repair the CMI-2X cards but I
haven't
found anyone who can repair the series 3 cards. It's really a shame
that
these amazing instruments are not supported.

Cheers,

James

On 16 Feb 2011, at 20:12, Joe Sleator wrote:


Hi, Arron


First guess is it's falling over where it asks if the Midi
Processor
(CMI28) is present, by poking and reading from its peripheral address,
and
the midi processor either does not reply, or says something stoopid.

Whilst the IIx would boot happily in this configuration, i.e with
no
CMI28, all the III software releases I'm aware of are fairly tightly
bound
to the CMI28, as it does most of the work triggering the sounds via the
channel cards. See if you can get your hands on a spare CMI28 would be
my
next goal. You might just be able to re-seat the ROMS and RAMS and the
68K
in their sockets, being careful of the pins. Usually it's enough to pop
a
tiny screwdriver under one end, lift the chip slightly, and then squish
it
back down. There must be someone else in your neck of the woods with
either
a IIx or a series III.

IF YOU TAKE CMI28 OUT BE SURE YOU ARE EARTHED ESPECIALLY IF IT's
WINTERTIME AND THE HEAT IS ON IN YOUR PLACE BEFORE TOUCHING THE CHIPS
DIRECTLY. I can't stress this enough, many times boards are degraded or
die
outright from miniscule ~5KV or less, static discharges and it's
totally
avoidable.

If the ROMS have suffered bit-rot (you can tell by reading them
out
and comparing to known good roms) they can fairly easily be replaced,
or
erased and re-programmed.

The other way to tell is to slot roms from a working CMI28 into
the
suss board and re-try.

The roms, rams, and 68K chip are all socketed. A resourceful soul
can
find replacements for all these chips by poking around. Virtually all
the
other chips on the CMI28 are common TTL or early motorola LSI, so also
should be obtainable, however finding what's gone bad is the challenge.

Since the Series III diagnostics do virtually the same thing as
mptask, I don't think they'd shed much more light, but probably worth a
try.

Good luck.
Joe

On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 5:14 AM, arroncx wrote:

Hi all,

Thanks for all you assistance so far. Just thought Id report back
:)

So : I got a replacement CMI32 card from the ever helpful Peter
Wielk
and great now when I boot, i can see all my channel cards, memory etc.

The system runs right the way though its boot-up sequence, but
just as
its about to start, the system exits to the command prompt with

mptask handshake timeout : aborting process.

does anyone know where I could start looking next to get a bit
further
?

I looked on the KMI website, and it says that mptask controls all
the
realtime events in the CMI. (if Im understanding it right)

Also : when I boot up : the status display says that no sync card
is
present : what does this refer to, and is this part of my my problem ?

Any hints or clues appreciated as normal :)

Best wishes : Arron























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Re: CMI III boot problems : getting closer :)

2011-02-17 by arroncx

Hi All,

Just an update : I tried everything you suggested : 

I carefully reseated all the socketed chips on 28 : no change
Checked that q777 was correctly seated : it was.
Checked keys in place and other cards seated correctly : looks fine.
Tried again in KMONDIAG with just a D to run DMA diagnostics.

This resulted in the system displaying PASS 0_ and hanging.

I found if you type H in KMONDIAG, you get a extended help, and the correct usage of the D command should have parameters for range, and destination. I dont know what to put here !

So Im all out of Ideas at the moment, and have emailed Peter Wielk to see if he has a spare CM28 card for me. 

Lets hope so :) 

Cheers for all your help, though :)

I looked in the troubleshooting and diagnostic section of the service manual, and it refers to a diagnostic disk with a load of os9 command to check subsystems. I dont have this floppy : does anyone else here ?

Best wishes : 

Arron





--- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, "arroncx" <aclague@...> wrote:
Show quoted textHide quoted text
>
> The machine is a 9.34 CMI : I bought the VGA card later from Peter Wielk, and installed it without issue when the machine was still working.
> 
> The fuse is a tiny surface mounted thing on the Main on the main ESP-CG3 card. I blew it because I kicked the VGA plug out by accident while it was running, causing a bit of a spark.
> 
> As far as I can tell, the missing pin on the CMI ribbon port is unused (from the series III service manual), so Im ignoring this for the moment.
> 
> "And you said it would "see" the channel cards, I'm assuming you mean the startup kmon screen where it does a check of what's installed in the system?" yes exactly.
> 
> In fact the mptask error still existed at the point the CMI32 was faulty : I assumed that the replacement of the CMI32 card might clear this, but it turns out this is an additional issue.
> 
> I have checked the cards location both against the notes I made as I was disassembling it, and the KMI site, and seems to be OK.
> 
> I will read the q777 in detail later.
> 
> If peter has some wfm32 cards left I will for sure buy one &#61514;
> 
> Again, much appreciated &#61514;
> 
> 
> --- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, Joe Sleator <joe.sleator@> wrote:
> >
> > OK, so when you say VGA video card, you must mean the little board that has
> > the VGA plug on it? The RGB01? Mine doesn't have a fuse. Strange.
> > 
> > So you have a colour system? An MFX1 or MFX2?
> > 
> > It's certainly at least rev 6 as you've got a wave super.
> > 
> > Then this pin on the CMI 28 got broke....but you could leave that alone and
> > the CMI would still boot up and go, it just wouldn't do midi or normal
> > keyboard notes. But you could play sequences and stuff.
> > 
> > So you fixed that and now the CMI28 apparently has some other problem.
> > 
> > And you said it would "see" the channel cards, I'm assuming you mean the
> > startup kmon screen where it does a check of what's installed in the system?
> > 
> > Maybe a silly question, but maybe its a good time to just audit what's in
> > which slot in the machine. Are you quite sure everything's back the way it
> > was supposed to be? If it boots, even part-way, I daresay _some_ of the
> > cards must be right. Also, if you're running a WFM32 I'd put it all the way
> > over to the far end of the WRAM sockets. If you're not running a WFM32, go
> > get one from Peter Wielk.
> > 
> > BTW, in future, cleaning an old computer system that isn't broken, may cause
> > it to start playing up, whether by static damage due to disassembly, or due
> > to incorrect reassembly, or just brittleness. I tend only to clean a CMI if
> > the dirt is so bad it's obstructing the airflow. Just flicking a
> > feather-duster or synthetic cloth across a board can be enough to statically
> > charge and damage it, especially in winter or desert conditions with dry
> > air. Sounds obsessive, but it's true.
> > 
> > Humidity is your friend, unless you're a chip that will be wave-soldered!
> > 
> > > I will check the q777 is always the in : I suspect it is fine as the
> > system is booting from SCSI disk.
> > 
> > Erm, there's a bit more to it than that in the wave super system. You'll
> > want to make sure the SCSI cable is plugged into the wave super, rather than
> > the Q777, but that Q777 is in the right-most slot, to the right of the
> > floppy board. For a good primer on why the 777 still needs to be there, read
> > KMI's site, under CMI hardware, where it talks about DMA on a series III.
> > 
> > Anyway, I think you'll get there.
> > 
> > Best of luck,
> > Joe
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > On Fri, Feb 18, 2011 at 12:04 AM, arroncx <aclague@>wrote:
> > 
> > >
> > >
> > > Hi Joe :
> > >
> > > OK : so the history in summery is that the machine was working, and then it
> > > was in storage for a couple of years while I was moving about and working
> > > out of the country.
> > >
> > > When I got it back out of storage, the VGA video card blew a fuse, which I
> > > replaced, I was not detecting any voice cards installed, and one of the pins
> > > had snapped off the CMI28 ribbon connector. I should none that the first
> > > thing that I did when I got it out of storage was disassemble the whole
> > > system, partly to check it, but also because I needed to carry the mainframe
> > > up three flights of steep stairs, and wanted it to be lighter.
> > >
> > > Since then, I have replaced the CMI 32 card, and I can now see all the
> > > voice cards.
> > >
> > > Yes I typed DI : I don't have any reference for the diagnostic commands so
> > > I was just guessing in the dark that the process found in this thread on the
> > > fairlight boards would be something worth trying :
> > >
> > >
> > > http://www.fairlightau.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?p=451&sid=e7792b9128e6d693314edccf7cd362ea
> > >
> > > I will check the q777 is always the in : I suspect it is fine as the system
> > > is booting from SCSI disk.
> > >
> > > I really appreciate the suggestions : tonight I will try the following :
> > >
> > > 1) Reseat all socketed chips on CMI 28
> > > 2) Repet diagnostics with escape D only
> > > 3) Check the Card keys are present and the pins are lined up correctly (I
> > > have the top off the system and so can confirm visually)
> > > 4) Check the Q777 is seated OK.
> > >
> > > Again : I really appreciate the suggestions &#61514;
> > >
> > > Best wishes : Arron
> > >
> > >
> > > --- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, Joe Sleator <joe.sleator@> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Hey Arron
> > > >
> > > > So, that's Chris Alfred's "new" diagnostics screen for the Waveform
> > > Super,
> > > > CMI41. The address error that occurred is happening in the other 68K
> > > board,
> > > > the Wave Super, CMI41.
> > > >
> > > > That screen has little to do with the CMI28, AFAIK
> > > >
> > > > Are you saying you typed "DI" at the prompt? Are you sure it's not just
> > > "D"?
> > > >
> > > > I'm guessing the D command was diagnostics, and the I command told it to
> > > do
> > > > something else, which caused the address error, unless my own memory's
> > > > faulty.
> > > >
> > > > I think that since you said it booted from disk, up to getting mptask
> > > > running, that's a fair way in, and if CMI41 can do that, it's probably
> > > > working ok.
> > > >
> > > > Another possible issue might be the DMA configuration of your machine. Is
> > > > the Q777 plugged in all the way at the right, or is there another card
> > > > there?
> > > >
> > > > And can I ask, from when this machine did work, what all has changed? Did
> > > it
> > > > work recently? Have you exchanged any cards already?
> > > >
> > > > Without unpacking my Series III (still packed after recent move) I can't
> > > > remember what the various diag menu options are, but I'll need to set it
> > > up
> > > > soon enough for other requirements.
> > > >
> > > > But not long ago, we made some more WFM32s, and I seem to recall there
> > > being
> > > > a memory test for CMI41. Maybe just "M".
> > > >
> > > > If you do find the right key for the memory test, and I'm pretty sure
> > > it's
> > > > just one letter for each thing, you may as well verify the memory for the
> > > > CMI41, even though I don't think that's your problem.
> > > >
> > > > Where did you get your diagnostic key code info? Maybe double-check?
> > > >
> > > > Another thing to look for whenever you have cards out, is there should be
> > > a
> > > > key near the bottom of every backplane slot, that goes in the notches in
> > > the
> > > > boards. When those are missing, all sorts of random things go wrong, as
> > > the
> > > > pins don't line up!
> > > >
> > > > What happens if you just type escape and D?
> > > >
> > > > Good luck,
> > > >
> > > > Joe
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 10:21 PM, arroncx <aclague@>wrote:
> > >
> > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Hi there : Ive posted the error screen i get from the diagnostics in
> > > the
> > > > > group photos page if anyone can shed any light on what it means :)
> > > > >
> > > > > Maybe one day there will be an upgrade where you can get a PC on a
> > > > > fairlight sized card, and a Crystal Core board in the same format, and
> > > then
> > > > > just take all the old cards out of your fairlight, and wire up the old
> > > music
> > > > > keyboard via midi , and the outputs round the back as straight thru
> > > sockets.
> > > > > :)
> > > > >
> > > > > Photo at :
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Fairlight-CMI/photos/album/1576007894/pic/66577237/view?picmode=&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=1&count=20&dir=asc
> > > > >
> > > > > Cheers,
> > > > >
> > > > > Arron
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > --- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, James Thomson <jamesthomson9@>
> > > > > wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Hi Joe,
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I would think that CMI-3 board repair could be a fairly lucrative
> > > > > sideline to compliment someone's main job. There are many of us who
> > > would
> > > > > pay a good price to have a board repaired as it is imperative to
> > > keeping the
> > > > > system running. I would pay £ 100.00 - £ 150.00 to have a faulty CMI-28
> > > > > board repaired. This board seems to fail a lot and I think I have about
> > > 3
> > > > > faulty CMI-28 boards ( rev 5.1 I believe ). The CMI 2X's will last
> > > forever I
> > > > > am sure but the CMI series 3 is a different matter. There is a market
> > > there.
> > > > > Jo Britt recently produced a run of CMI-2X USB boxes so that you can
> > > use a
> > > > > USB mouse and TFT screen instead of the lightpen and old green screen
> > > > > monitor. They sold out immediately and there is demand for more. The
> > > speed
> > > > > improvement using a USB mouse as compared with the lightpen is
> > > brilliant.
> > > > > Using the whole CMI 2X is so much fluid now. The lightpen looks great
> > > and
> > > > > this can still be used as well as the USB mouse. Perhaps the recently
> > > > > established Fairlight Instruments could provide a CMI-3 board repair
> > > service
> > > > > alongside their i-Pad and CMI-30A products ?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Cheers,
> > > > > >
> > > > > > James
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Magic Audio Co
> > > > > > Any Sound in Theory and in Practice
> > > > > > Studio 26
> > > > > > The Coach House
> > > > > > 2 Upper York Street
> > > > > > Bristol BS2 8QN
> > > > > > U.K.
> > > > > > studio direct line: +44 (0)117 370 5810
> > > > > > mobile: +44 (0)7711 031 615
> > > > > > email: jamesthomson@
> > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > On 17 Feb 2011, at 09:45, Joe Sleator wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > I haven't found anyone who can repair the series 3 cards.
> > > > > > > > It's really a shame that these amazing instruments are not
> > > supported.
> > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > OK, let's assume they were supported, and very well, better than
> > > even a
> > > > > 2 year old Nokia phone, or a 69 MG Midget, or that old Russian space
> > > suit I
> > > > > can't get parts for any longer. :-D
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Lets say you could fedex the card to a company, and they would
> > > either
> > > > > repair or replace the card, to good as new, with 90 day warranty, or
> > > return
> > > > > it to you and refund your shipping if it could not be repaired or
> > > replaced
> > > > > for whatever reason. Zero risk to you. And that company would even pay
> > > you
> > > > > for your broken boards if you decided not to get them shipped back.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > What would that be worth, lets say, for a CMI28? Go on and quote me
> > > a
> > > > > price in any currency you'd care to. And how many paid Series III board
> > > > > repairs do you reckon would come in per year? Not the sum-total of
> > > broken
> > > > > CMI boards, mind you, but just the ones people wanted repaired enough
> > > to
> > > > > pay.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Joe
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 7:52 AM, Gmail <jamesthomson9@> wrote:
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Hi Arron,
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > This error message that you are getting is caused by a faulty
> > > CMI-28
> > > > > card. I had the exact same error but was fortunate to have a spare
> > > card. It
> > > > > would be great if there was someone with the series 3 knowledge to
> > > repair
> > > > > these cards. There are people who can repair the CMI-2X cards but I
> > > haven't
> > > > > found anyone who can repair the series 3 cards. It's really a shame
> > > that
> > > > > these amazing instruments are not supported.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Cheers,
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > James
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > On 16 Feb 2011, at 20:12, Joe Sleator wrote:
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> Hi, Arron
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> First guess is it's falling over where it asks if the Midi
> > > Processor
> > > > > (CMI28) is present, by poking and reading from its peripheral address,
> > > and
> > > > > the midi processor either does not reply, or says something stoopid.
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> Whilst the IIx would boot happily in this configuration, i.e with
> > > no
> > > > > CMI28, all the III software releases I'm aware of are fairly tightly
> > > bound
> > > > > to the CMI28, as it does most of the work triggering the sounds via the
> > > > > channel cards. See if you can get your hands on a spare CMI28 would be
> > > my
> > > > > next goal. You might just be able to re-seat the ROMS and RAMS and the
> > > 68K
> > > > > in their sockets, being careful of the pins. Usually it's enough to pop
> > > a
> > > > > tiny screwdriver under one end, lift the chip slightly, and then squish
> > > it
> > > > > back down. There must be someone else in your neck of the woods with
> > > either
> > > > > a IIx or a series III.
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> IF YOU TAKE CMI28 OUT BE SURE YOU ARE EARTHED ESPECIALLY IF IT's
> > > > > WINTERTIME AND THE HEAT IS ON IN YOUR PLACE BEFORE TOUCHING THE CHIPS
> > > > > DIRECTLY. I can't stress this enough, many times boards are degraded or
> > > die
> > > > > outright from miniscule ~5KV or less, static discharges and it's
> > > totally
> > > > > avoidable.
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> If the ROMS have suffered bit-rot (you can tell by reading them
> > > out
> > > > > and comparing to known good roms) they can fairly easily be replaced,
> > > or
> > > > > erased and re-programmed.
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> The other way to tell is to slot roms from a working CMI28 into
> > > the
> > > > > suss board and re-try.
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> The roms, rams, and 68K chip are all socketed. A resourceful soul
> > > can
> > > > > find replacements for all these chips by poking around. Virtually all
> > > the
> > > > > other chips on the CMI28 are common TTL or early motorola LSI, so also
> > > > > should be obtainable, however finding what's gone bad is the challenge.
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> Since the Series III diagnostics do virtually the same thing as
> > > > > mptask, I don't think they'd shed much more light, but probably worth a
> > > try.
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> Good luck.
> > > > > > >> Joe
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 5:14 AM, arroncx <aclague@> wrote:
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> Hi all,
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> Thanks for all you assistance so far. Just thought Id report back
> > > :)
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> So : I got a replacement CMI32 card from the ever helpful Peter
> > > Wielk
> > > > > and great now when I boot, i can see all my channel cards, memory etc.
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> The system runs right the way though its boot-up sequence, but
> > > just as
> > > > > its about to start, the system exits to the command prompt with
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> mptask handshake timeout : aborting process.
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> does anyone know where I could start looking next to get a bit
> > > further
> > > > > ?
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> I looked on the KMI website, and it says that mptask controls all
> > > the
> > > > > realtime events in the CMI. (if Im understanding it right)
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> Also : when I boot up : the status display says that no sync card
> > > is
> > > > > present : what does this refer to, and is this part of my my problem ?
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> Any hints or clues appreciated as normal :)
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >> Best wishes : Arron
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >>
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >  
> > >
> >
>

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