Strange Rom - Non standard??

[RodHull]

Can someone help me..

I've just picked up another 128.. And it seems to have a strange option rom.. More notably, the Caps Lock key has "CAPS LOCK - ASCII/DIN" printed on it.

Also a bunch of other keys have extra print..

ANd also, the motherboard has 2 non standard eproms on it.. One with 315079-01a C128 DIN Car, the other 315078-c01 c128 ker

It doesn't work in 64 mode and my 128 diag cart doesn't boot.

Any ideas??

[Mark Smith]

It's a German C128 isn't it ?  

Are those part numbers written on "genuine" Commodore ROMs (black with the lettering printed on them), or on after market ROMs ?

315079-xx is the character set for Germany
315078-xx is the German Kernal

Could be someone did a custom character set and kernal for it.

As to the 64mode not working, that could be because of the custom Kernal code might have had the "go to 64 mode cut out of it", and the C128 Diag cart probably needs to see a standard Kernal to work.

If you like I can sell you some EPROMs with all the correct ROM code in them ;-)

Mark

[RodHull]

They are aftermarket Eproms (the type with the glass eye hole on the top)

I think your right, anybody know anyone that needs a german 128?

I've got another spare 128, will pull the roms out of that one and see if the diag runs.

[Mark Smith]

I'd quite like another C128 ... is the keyboard the QWERTY or QWERTZ layout ?

but I'd get lynched if I brought another into the house :-)

[RodHull]

Both! Its got extra light grey symbols on the keys.. as you say Y and Z.. plus many others. And best of all.. NONE OF THEM YELLOW!!

Looks like my one did back in 86!

Have changed to roms, and some other minor solder links.. And still not quite a1.

64 mode still duffo.

Diag still duffo

But it is now 100 english!

Must have another problem with something.. ive got plenty of spares.

[Blacklord]

Can someone help me..

I've just picked up another 128.. And it seems to have a strange option rom.. More notably, the Caps Lock key has "CAPS LOCK - ASCII/DIN" printed on it.

Also a bunch of other keys have extra print..

ANd also, the motherboard has 2 non standard eproms on it.. One with 315079-01a C128 DIN Car, the other 315078-c01 c128 ker

It doesn't work in 64 mode and my 128 diag cart doesn't boot.

Any ideas??

Any chance you can get a dump of the ROMs ?

cheers,

Lance

[Mangelore]

The German C128 ROM dumps are available here
http://www.zimmers.net/anonftp/pub/cbm/firmware/computers/c128/

Are you getting any video dislay on bootup (black screen?). Remove the SID chip as it's not required for the C128 to boot. Sometimes shorted SID cips will cause a black screen.

If you still have no joy, swap the two CIA chips around. If it's doesn't boot, remove the two CIA chips.

If it still doesn't boot, then you need to start swaping chips like the VIC, VDC, ROMs etc from a known working C128.

Most faulty C128's I've picked in the past have had either bad SIDs or a faulty memory IC. Leave the C128 on for a coouple of minutes then place your finger on each RAM IC to find out if one is a lot hotter than the others. They are cheap and easy to replace.

Good luck!

[RodHull]

It's just coming up with an Out of memory error when entering 64 mode.

Apart from that all looks good.

I've got some spare 128's so I'm sure I can get this one going.. The case is SOOOooo good, no yellowing at all.. Gotta get it working!!

Question.. If anyone else has a "German" 128, can they tell me if it has a couple of extra wires tagged onto it..

Doesn't look like anything commodore has done.

Also if you do have a "German" unit.. Does pressing the CAPS/ASCII key give you a higher res (much nicer looking) font??

[Mangelore]

It's just coming up with an Out of memory error when entering 64 mode.

Apart from that all looks good.

I've got some spare 128's so I'm sure I can get this one going.. The case is SOOOooo good, no yellowing at all.. Gotta get it working!!

Question.. If anyone else has a "German" 128, can they tell me if it has a couple of extra wires tagged onto it..

Doesn't look like anything commodore has done.

Also if you do have a "German" unit.. Does pressing the CAPS/ASCII key give you a higher res (much nicer looking) font??

Out of memory error in 64 mode indicate a faulty RAM chip. If you have a spare RAM chip, just piggy-back in on to each RAM chip powering up in C64 mode to figure out which ones faulty.

I have a Gernam C128D. I can't recall any extra wires tagged onto it. That C128D is in storage but I'm curious about eh high res font so I'll test the CAPS/ASCII key.

[RodHull]

Do you mean piggy-back without removing the old chip?

[Mangelore]

Do you mean piggy-back without removing the old chip?

As strange as it sounds yes. Bend the legs of the new RAM chip so that it slides on top of the old chip. I've done it before and it works! Just make sure that all the pins make contact with the old chip on the board. When you find the faulty RAM chip, it's best to cut it out with a fine cutting tool (cut the legs as close to the chip as possible (not the board). Then with the assistance of another person remove the leftover IC pins from the board by heating the solder side and at the same time someone else can very gently pull the pins out with small pliers. Then use a solder sucker tool to remove any left over solder (again one person can heat the socket pins while the other sucks the solder out). Then solder an IC sokcet in place of the faulty RAM chip, and insert the new chip. It's easier than it sounds...


The following link will be of assistance.
http://personalpages.tds.net/~rcarlsen/cbm/memory.txt