Problem with x68k and xpc-4

[Ale555]

Hello everybody, hope you can help me.
I was playing with my superHD today and suddenly I tried booting something (I suppose it was Pacland) and the xpc-4 did not display the image correctly. So I restarted the system, and now the xpc-4 doesn't seem to recognize the x68k anymore: the input led remains off and I get nothing on screen.
X68k is working correctly (if I connect it to my lcd by a normal vga cable I can see everything and play and so on), and so is the xpc-4: if I connect a Windows computer by a vga cable it displays it and the "analog" led turns red.
What have I done?

[eidis]

 Hi Ale555 !

Could it be that there are bent pins in the cables or connectors ?

Keep the scene alive !
Eidis

[Ale555]

Hi eidis!
Thank you for replying!
I'm going to check, but I'm pretty sure everything is ok... it was working flawlessly until I tried booting pacland...
I keep trying but I can't figure out what the problem is... x68k works like charm with vga cable and xpc-4 reads perfectly a Windows Toshiba... it's so strange...

[eidis]

 Hi Ale555 !

Try clearing SRAM with SRAM_CLR.R and see if it helps.

SRAM Issues
http://gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=x68000:sram_issues

Keep the scene alive !
Eidis

[BlueBMW]

Ocasionally I have to do a reset on the xpc-4.  Look up the menu translation guide.  I think its under options.

[Ale555]

@eidis tried every option, but nothing changed... exept now it asks for a floppy to boot, it doesn't boot from hard disk anymore
How do you change the starting unit?

@BlueBMW already tried it and nothing changed...

[H68k]

Does the Hard Disk make any noise ( the usual whirring, clunking etc) after your X68k is powered on? Try holding down the HELP key just after pressing the power button, this will bring up the SCSI device boot menu that will give you a list of bootable SCSI drives to chose from. it should show up providing everything is in working order with your X68k.

Failing that... the only things I can think of, is the drive has suffered from electrical or mechanical failure or something else has gone wrong down the chain.   

[Ale555]

If I boot from floppy I can access the hard drive, and everything's still there, but it doesn't boot from it.

[H68k]

Can you select the hard disk from the SCSI boot menu on your X68k?

[Ale555]

If I press HELP just before it starts booting from floppy it gives a japanese menu with 9 options...

[H68k]

strange, that seams like the help menu. try holding down the HELP key then press the power button. it should say "SCSI DISK IPL MENU" at the top of the screen.

[eidis]

 Hi Ale555 and H68k !

H68k,

Boot menu only shows up if HELP key is pressed while the X68000 is booting from hard drive. This is not the case. The boot order has changed because of clearing the SRAM settings.

Ale555,

All you need to do is execute switch.x and change BOOT parameter to the ID of your hard disk. Please see the attached screenshot.

Keep the scene alive !
Eidis

P.S. SWITCH.X can be found in BIN directory of your hard drive or HumanOS floppy disk.

Human 68k v3.02 (1993)(Sharp - Hudson)
http://nfggames.com/x68000/OperatingSystems/Human68k/Human%2068k%20v3.02%20(1993)(Sharp%20-%20Hudson).zip

[Ale555]

Thank you eidis, it's booting from hd now! I hope I get to know this system better... Now I'd like to find out what's wrong with my xpc-4...

[eidis]

 Hi Ale555 !

Glad it worked out and sorry for not warning you about the possible consequences of clearing SRAM. Be sure to check out the FAQ.

Keep the scene alive !
Eidis

[Ale555]

Thank you, I'll start by reading the faq!

[eidis]

 Hi Ale555 !

Here is another thing to try:

LCD fix by Neill Corlett
http://nfggames.com/x68000/Mirrors/Neill%20Corlett/x68lcdfix.zip

Keep the scene alive !
Eidis

[Ale555]

Unfortunately I don't have a way to trasfer files from pc to x68k... btw, looking at switch, I could see it only reads 2 mb of ram, when it should be 4 (I have a 2mb module) so it's quite strange unless I have to do something to activate it.
I don't know if the module was faulty since the beginning (I don't have Street Fighter or other 4mb games) or if something has happened Yesterday.
Still no luck with xpc-4: x68k still works perfectly with a direct connection to my tv, and xpc-4 reads every source (pc, apple tv via hdmi-dvi cable), but they keep ignoring each other.

PS. thank you for your help

EDIT: I have an old screenshot made some days ago and on booting memfree correctly read 4 mb of ram...

EDIT2: I changed the settings under switch and now reads the 4mb correctly... so the problem isn't there...

[Ale555]

I'm starting to think the problem is in the xpc-4, if I don't manage to accomplish something by playing with the settings (that would be very strange since I always used it by simply connecting it, and it would work straightforward) I'm afraid I fried something.
There's a voice in the main menu that says "special" in katakana, then if I go in the voice immediately below "component" and start playing with the settings (there are four: HV, Y, G and CS) the xpc-4 starts to sense the x68k, the "analog" led lightens up but cannot establish a stable connection.
Sorry to bug you with this problem but it's just in case someone finds himself in the same situation...

EDIT: I think I have come to a conclusion. Now xpc-4 doesn't get Windows pc signal anymore. I think something has happened to some controller chip or something.

[Ale555]

Just an update.
Today I got my new xpc-4 and everything works well, I feel like I can see again
Still I can't explain how I managed to burn my analog input, I'll run some test... is it possible I fried the xpc-4 just by exchanging cables? Or maybe I fried ONE cable?

[Opethian]

No Ive heard of other people with XPC-4 frying the VGA input. open it up maybe you will see a burned trace or something inside?

[Ale555]

As soon as I have the time, I'll try.
What puzzled me is the fact that if I connect a digital input it works, so they must take different paths when they enter the xpc-4.

[Psygnosis8]

Anybody ever have a problem like this with the xpc4 on an LCD TV?(See photo)

It happened once before and it just magically corrected itself.  Now it won't go away and I don't know what to do.  I've tried resetting the xpc-4 but no dice.  Any suggestions?  This is really frustrating.

[skpstmgs]

Have you tried the auto-scan? First menu option, hit OK, press right to go the the middle option, then hit OK. From the pic it looks like it's not scanning the correct range for the picture.

[Psygnosis8]

Yeah, I tried that, but it didn't do much.  Resetting the X-PC4 multiple times eventually did the trick. 

So bizarre.  It happens every so often, particularly when I'm turning the machine on and off a lot for testing.  I wonder what causes it.

[Psygnosis8]

So, a little update on this.  When my X68K was working, I noticed that certain games would boot up at an oddball resolution and cause the XPC-4 to freak out.  However, resetting the XPC consistently fixes the problem.  In case anyone else is having that issue, try this.

[Ale555]

Mine went totally black screen, so I don't think I had the same issue.
It died after some more testing, so I had to buy another one.

[eidis]

 Hi Ale555 !

Try opening it and see if there is a blown fuse, faulty capacitors or some other noticeable damage.

Keep the scene alive !
Eidis

[Ale555]

Thank you eidis! I'll try as soon as I can!

[Opethian]

So, a little update on this.  When my X68K was working, I noticed that certain games would boot up at an oddball resolution and cause the XPC-4 to freak out.  However, resetting the XPC consistently fixes the problem.  In case anyone else is having that issue, try this.

what is your output resolution? I have the least amount of problems with 640x480

[Psygnosis8]

I've been using 1920x1080 because it fills the screen more. I should try it at 640x480, though.

[Opethian]

you must be using the DVI out and not the VGA out then I assume. I never had much luck with the DVI out with any games that switch resolutions even in the menu. Like in SF2' in the video menu. if I go through the list on DVI the XPC usually locks up or need to be reset. in VGA its usually fine. but that might be also that im using mine on a CRT and not an LCD. Many factors here...

[Psygnosis8]

I'm actually using VGA out but it is an LED tv.  There's a limited number of resolution modes, I think, so some games don't play nice with it.  The important ones do, however, so I'm pretty happy with it overall.