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Conference hydra::amiga_v1

Title:	AMIGA NOTES
Notice:	Join us in the NEW conference - HYDRA::AMIGA_V2
Moderator:	HYDRA::MOORE

Created:	Sat Apr 26 1986
Last Modified:	Wed Feb 05 1992
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	5378
Total number of notes:	38326

3358.0. "A500 Problem, H/W or Virus" by YUPPY::PEGLEY () Thu Jan 18 1990 03:44

    I do not know if there is specific note to cover faults and problems
    in this conference as from the UK, access time makes it impractical
    to search through directory.
    
    Anyway, I thought I would ask all you Amiga fans out there if any
    of you have come across the problem I am experiencing at the moment.
    
    My A500 is just over 1 year old and has developed a fault whereby
    the screen goes blank, i.e. only the background colour remains.
    The mouse and the keyboard are inactive and the only way to clear
    the problem is to re-boot it. This problem can occur anytime from
    2minutes to 30 mins after switch-on.
    
    Another aspect I have noticed is that the type of program being
    run seems to make a difference. Programs such as Word Wright WP
    and Leaderboard game seem to cause the problem to occur, whereas
    other games such as Turbo Cup or Bionic Commando do not.
    
    I ahve just got the A500 back from a supposed Commodore service
    agent who has had the thing for 8 weeks and failed to fix it! I
    am loathe to send it to him again until I am sure I definitely have
    a hardware problem.
    
    Has anybody come across a similar problem?
    
    Do I have a strange virus lurking in there somewhere?

    Help!!!
    
    Steve

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
3358.1	Congratulations you got a VIRUS !!!	GLORY::SPATOULAS	Don't Automate the Past...Invent the Future...	`Thu Jan 18 1990 09:08`	11
	I had the same problem and it was a virus.... another problem that you might get is that when you try to format your format program will start formating and after it starts it goes into never never....land.... There is a virus program on the network that will do the trick.... good luck.... ...gss... PS: Do not forget to go through ALL your disks since you do not know how many are effected.
3358.2	another possible cause...	NAC::BRANNON	value added	`Thu Jan 18 1990 15:29`	16
	I saw the symptom you describe happen on my Amiga 1000. The rest of that evening I would also get Guru 3's at random intervals even after powering down everything and rebooting again. I run Virusx 4.0 and it didn't didn't detect a virus. I finally tracked down the cause and haven't seen the problem reoccur in over a week. I taught my short haired cat that when I said "NO!" that meant I wasn't really interested in seeing how much static electricity could jump from her to my mouse cord or the metal tv stand my Amiga is on. She now leaves the room and no more problems. Anti-static spray probably would also have helped. regards, dennis
3358.3		PEEVAX::GIFFORD	My dunny was kicked down by chooks!	`Thu Jan 18 1990 16:51`	11
	Sounds like classic Byte-Bandit virus to me.. (I had the same problem and thought it was H/W) Somewhere I saw a description of some keystrokes that would re-activate the system. Run Virus-X and see what it says! Stan
3358.4	need more info	YUPPY::PEGLEY		`Fri Jan 19 1990 08:38`	9
	Thanks for the inputs. I had not considered the ESD angle. Can any one direct me to the best place to get info on virus killers in this conference? Also, if you know where I might find details of the keystrokes to re-activate the system after it has been got, it would be a great help!! Steve
3358.5	Gotcha Virus!	YUPPY::PEGLEY		`Mon Jan 22 1990 04:53`	8
	RE .0, It looks as if it was a virus. I went through all my disks with VirusX and found about 80% infected with Byte bandit and Byte Warrior. So far, the problem has not come back. I,ll keep my fingers crossed! Thanks for the advice Steve