Conference hydra::amiga_v1

    What color is the screen?  The screen color will indicate how far it
    gets into the self test.  Generally the fix is to open her up and
    gently push on all socketed chips including FAT AGNUS.  Take all static
    precautions and of course this could void your waranty if any is still
    in effect.
    
    
    Dark grey  OK Hardware
    Light Grey OK Software
    red        Bad Rom checksum
    Green      Bad Ram  (push on chips Gary and fat agnus most likely)
    blue       Bad custom chips
    Yellow     Exception (push on the chips)
    
    I generally get this every three months or so usually a green screen
    sometimes yellow.
    
    A more indepth error guide is in this notes file somewhere.
    
    
    Alan
    

    
>    A more indepth error guide is in this notes file somewhere.
    
    Note 632.    

My A500 has also problems last weeks. It reboots randomly after 10' to 1h of 
power-up. After 1 to 3 such reboots it works for the rest of the day. The CAPS
LOCK key remains sometimes locked and I have to reboot. I'll open it one of 
these days. This random reboot is really dangerous for the A590 if it occurs
while something is written on the disk.
After a little more than two years there is only the printer (an Epson LQ500)
which has not yet failed (the A590 has only more than 1 year and thanks god
it still works well). Failing monitor(s), mouse, A500, A501, A1010 ... I think
this needs no comments. I like very much the A500 but I feel very frustrated.

Sorin

    re -.1
    
    It sounds like you have some serious power line/static problems.  I've
    had my A500 for 2+ years, 1084, A1010, A501, mouse and A590 (1 year)
    with the only failure being the mouse buttons worn out.  I have never
    heard of anyone having as many problems as you have.  If you know
    someone in field service that does environmental checks, they might be
    able to check the static level out in your computer room/area.
    
    Ken

    If you do know someone in Field service ask them if they have a used
    Anti Static Mat.  I keep one folded up under my monitor and wear the
    wrist strap while using the computer.  You get used to the strap and
    this keeps a static charge from building up while using the computer. 
    My chair has plastic wheels scooting back and forth accross the carpet
    could result in a fatal discharge to AMI.
    
    Most Field Service engineers melt a soldering iron through a Antio
    Static mat sometime in their career.  I did it to a few.
    
    

    'tis the season for static
    
    the random gurus started last night for me.  Haven't had problems for
    for most of the summer, maybe it's time to actually buy an anti-static
    mat.  I use my cat as a static indicator - a long hair cat makes a
    great source of static electricity.  Unfortunately, she knows it.
    Doesn't even have to touch the computer, one rub against the monitor
    is enough to cause a guru when the weather is right.
    
    The problem usually goes away after a couple reboots, until the next
    static charge builds up.  Or comes wandering into the room again.
    
    Dave
    

    Sorin,
    Are you still using the standard "brick" power supply?  My friend's
    A500 acted very much like what you describe until we swapped his
    power unit with a better (3rd party) replacement.

    
    I'll make my annual suggestionn for a cheap anti-static spray...
    
    Mix 7 parts water with 1 part liquid fabric softener and keep in a
    spray bottle.  This makes a great, cheap anti-static spray.  Mist your
    computer room and adjoining hallways once a week.
    
    Ed.

First, thank you all for the answers ! The support I can find in this conference
is the thing which keeps me still using the Amiga (and surely also the public
domain goodies on the net are for something in it).

Now, here is the new situation:
Yesterday I opened the Ami and I pushed in their socket all the chips (they 
seemed to be already well fixed). I restarted the machine and the boot has 
failed few times (once grey screen, few times two caps/lock blinks - RAM test 
failure) and it still rebooted randomly for one hour. After this it worked ok 
and it passed the systest (thanks for putting it on the net). No more problems
till power-off late night.
This morning I restarted it without disk to reboot. While the usual disk image
apeared on the screen, the caps/lock kept blinking once a second (ROM test 
failure). No way to reset this state until leaving for the office.
I'll follow your advices and eventually I'll take the Ami for a repair trip.
I'll check also the power supply and the room conditions (I use a computer 
desk from IKEA, with the monitor on the top and the Amiga is covered while not
used with a plastic sheet).

Thank you all again,
Sorin