Tried typing Desktop (return) at the Supervisor prompt?
hi there, to reply to both of these I am getting no response from the keyboard. caps lock scroll etc lights do not turn on and off when pressed and i cannot see any change to the blurry image as it it scrolling not matter how many keys i press.possible pointers or directions to go from here would be greatly ap
The floppy light is supposed to flash out an error code if it fails to boot.
I cannot see any lights flashing as it fails to boot. even in a darkened room.
I suspect this machine has been a "recovered from battery damage" as there does appear to be a little work done around this area. I think i am going to have to get my magnifying glass out and have a good close look.the CMOS IC has been replaced, that suggests previous battery damage and a track - or two - may have become unstable or corroded over the years. You may want to download the schematics, they are easily found.
Oh nice, there are some good suggestions here for me to try. i think i will have to try to remove the cmos to get the POST error first. I can also look at which jumpers to use an external keyboard as i do have an a310 and an a4000 keyboard here that i could try. as far as the keyboard controller is concerned I would have to ask someone local to program it for me as i do not have the equipment or knowledge of how to do this. I am sure there are some you tube tutorials on how to achieve this myself if all else fails.If holding R doesn't work, one option is to link across the appropriate pins of the keyboard connectors. See viewtopic.php?p=329944#p329944. If you've changed the chip it will have been disconnected from the battery and hence be full of rubbish which can give a bad monitor configuration, which could explain the poor sync - also random modules get unplugged giving the "stuck at supervisor prompt".
If you still can't get it to work, suspect corrosion damage has spread to the keyboard area, which is adjacent to the battery area on the A3000. You might be able to move the key-substitute link closer to the keyboard controller. You might also get lucky by holding the appropriate monitor type key on the numeric keypad at boot (although if the rest of the CMOS is corrupt that doesn't get you much further than helping to narrow down the good vs bad sections).
If your CMOS chip is socketed then try removing it completely - that should both force the defaults to be used and also trigger a POST error. The other bits in the error flash code will be the interesting ones (Obviously it would report the CMOS as faulty...).
Bad keyboard controllers have been seen, but not often. It's a mask-programmed 8051 - the firmware is available but you'd need to source an EPROM version of the 8051 (some manufacturer call that an 8751) and a suitable programmer. It is also possible to disconnect the 8051 (there are some jumpers/links somewhere) and connect an external Archi keyboard (not a PC one!) although they are unlikely to be plentiful in your corner of the world.
Thanks to all who have replied so far you have given me a direction to attempt further diagnosis and potential repair. It is very much appreciated
Statistics: Posted by nzjavert — Thu Jun 19, 2025 10:23 pm