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Sometimes cleaning the board with isopropyl alcohol will 'fix' problems. Get a soft tooth brush and softly scrub around the components then allow to dry.

For SMD parts only the TSOP (FLASH/SDRAM) and QFP (FPGA & micro) need concern you for getting the system up and running. If you can get hold of some liquid flux and a soldering iron with a fine tip, the best way to rework the joints is to not add any solder but to just put some flux on then just wipe the soldering iron along the pad. It will create unhealthy fumes but clean up the joints pretty quickly (after the flux is evaporated). You should then clean the joints with isopropyl alcohol [flux is acidic and will cause the joints to become dry eventually...] I recommend you have a magnifying glass handy to ensure that you didn't create any bridges (unlikely if you don't add any solder) but they can be removed with a bit of solder wick.

If that sounds beyond you, then perhaps you have a friend?

From: Scott E. Whitehead
To: xl7@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, 3 February 2014 12:01 PM
Subject: RE: [xl7] Four Dots ....

�

Thank you very much for the guidance.� I fix fully half of the things I take a soldiering iron to, and I think these puppies are below my size limit.� However the OS update is promising. Bizarrely, it booted fully before starting to become unresponsive.�; It’s a very cold day, coincidence?

Thanks again,

Scott

�

From: xl7@yahoogroups.com [mailto:xl7@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Jack Pratt
Sent: Sunday, February 02, 2014 2:52 PM
To: xl7@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [xl7] Four Dots ....

�

The four dots sounds like the dots that appear during OS upgrade. That would imply that the bootloader is running and not the main OS.�

�

Reasons for this could be that the memory has been corrupted or that the RAM is faulty and can't be recognised. Since both of these are on the main board on an MP7 (on the P2K series the DRAM was on a SIMM but the SDRAM is soldered to the mother board in the command stations) you can best hope hope to recover the system if the OS is corrupted. That might be because the board has a 'dry joint'. If you know anything about electronics you can clean the main board then rework the solder joints of the micro, SDRAM and FLASH memory and surrounding passives. If that doesn't provide a solution, then you could try using eloader to transfer the OS again - might work.

�

good luck...

�

From: Scott E. Whitehead <scottewhitehead@...>
To: xl7@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, 1 February 2014 12:58 PM
Subject: [xl7] Four Dots ....

�

Nuts.� My MP7 is stalling during boot with just four dots displayed on the screen.� I looked in the archives and the suggestion was to reseat the ROM.� I tried that, moving it to another slot and taking it out altogether and no change.� Any advice for me?� And it was going so well…

Thanks,

Scott

�

Emu XL-7 & MP-7 User's Group

Re: [xl7] Four Dots ....

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