| __________ _ _ __ _________ _!_ __ ____ : : .\___/\ /________/\__ _____|_/\___ \AnF | | ::\/ / /\/ / /\/ / \:: | | ::.\__________/ \_________/ \__________/\: | | .: :\ \ /\ \ /\ \ \ | | :::.:\_________//\\________//\\_________/ | | | EXPANDING YOUR A4000/030 Typed for LSD by Rodders and Tra Taken from Aniga Format See IMPORTANT NOTE at end of Dox before attempting anything William Blake once said : "The palace of wisdom lies on the road of excess." However, he wasn`t trying to build a ray-traced Angel in 2Mb of memory or produce a VistaPro animation of Hell with only 20Mb of disk space. With an Amiga, you can never have too much. If you want to use your A4000/030 for some serious work, one of the first things that you will have to do is to think about expanding it. Although 2 or 4Mb of memory and 80Mb of disk space may sound like a lot, once you start loading in your programs and generating your 24-bit IFF files, it will soon get eaten up. The A4000 uses SIMMs (Single In-line Memory Modules), which are located in five sockets on the front left side of the motherboard. The first slot (located closest to the centre of the board) is for the Chip RAM, and the remaining four are for Fast Memory. This gives you a maximum of 18Mb of memory (2Mb Chip, 16Mb Fast). If you want to expand further, you will need to use a Zorro card with space for more memory. SIMMs are an industry standard, therefore getting hold of them shouldn`t be a problem. However, you should ensure that you obtain the right type of SIMM, which is the 72-pin, 32-bit variety. Although most SIMMs will fit into the slot, some double-sided models will not fit, so you must ensure that the ones you are purchasing have been tested in an A4000. The more common 8-bit SIMMs used on PCs won`t work in an A4000, so don`t buy these. You should also ensure that the memory is the right speed so that when the CPU asks for the contents of a memory location, the chips can present it within the required time. The SIMMs should have a speed of at least 80 nanoseconds. Faster SIMMs can be used, but you won`t see any great performance increase. Commodore have recently started selling A4000s with only 1Mb of Chip RAM fitted, due to the rising price of memory. If you have one of these, your first step should be to upgrade your Amiga to 2Mb of Chip RAM, to get the maximum power out of your machine. This can be done by removing the 1Mb SIMM fitted in the factory, and replacing it with a 2Mb one. This is all that you need to do, and you can reuse the 1Mb SIMM to give you a total of 4Mb of memory (2Mb Chip, 2Mb Fast). The next step is you should take is to look into adding some extra Fast RAM to your machine. This is where the fun starts. The Fast RAM sockets on the A4000 can only cope with 1Mb or 4Mb SIMMs, and you can`t mix the two types. Therefore, if you expand your machine to 4Mb of Fast RAM using 1Mb Simms, you won`t be able to expand it any further unless you remove all of your SIMMs and replace them with 4Mb models. What this actually means is that you have to decide how far you are likely to want to expand your machine in the future. Obviously that will depend on the type of work you will be doing, just don`t limit yourself too much - most people end up needing more than they think at first. If you aren`t going to want to go beyond a total of 6Mb, you should get hold of some 1Mb SIMMs and use these. If you`re likely to want to expand beyond 6Mb, or think you may at some point in the future, you should use 4Mb SIMMs. A single 4Mb SIMM is more expensive than four 1Mb SIMMs, but it does mean you can add more memory at a later date. Unfortuately, it also means that you will have a couple of spare 1Mb SIMMs floating around, since you won`t be able to use both the 1Mb and the 4Mb SIMMs at the same time. If you know anybody else who has a A4000, you may be able to sell these to them, as long as they don`t mind be limited to 6Mb. Quoting specific prices for SIMMs has been deliberately avoided in this article because they are currently extremely unstable. A `trade disagreement` between Japan and the US has lead to a price rise, and many companies are having difficulties getting hold of stocks of many types of SIMMs, including those used in A4000s. Hopefully, these problems will soon be sorted out and the price of memory will start to fall, as more chips become available. In the meantime, shopping around is a good idea, as long as you know exactly what you`re looking for. FITTING SIMMS TO YOUR A4000 - A STEP BY STEP GUIDE 1) The two screws which hold the top cover are located at the top left and right corners at the rear of the A4000. Unscrew these, and lift off the cover. DO NOT remove any other screws, as these all hold other bits of the computer together. 2) The RAM chips on the A4000 are located on the front lefthand side of the motherboard, if you are looking from the front of the case. The Chip RAM is located in the socket closest to the Zorro sockets. 3) To remove a SIMM, gently push the two plastic clips on the side outwards, and pull the SIMM forwards. Then once it is clear of the two side clips, pull it upwards, and clear of the socket. 4) To fit a SIMM, push the SIMM down vertically into the socket. When it`s located in the slot, push it backwards until the two plastic clips on the side hold it firmly in the socket. 5) This Jumper determines which size of SIMMs are fitted to your machine. With 1Mb SIMMs, the jumper should be over the two lefthand pins. With 4Mb SIMMs, move the jumper over the two righthand pins. Then replace the cover and run a program such as AIBB to test RAM. HOW TO FIT A ZORRO CARD Most peripherals designed for use with the big box Amigas fit into one of the Zorro slots located inside the case. Fitting one of these cards is a simple procedure, which we describe below. The first thing to do is to decide which slot the card is going to fit into. If you`re fitting a video card such as the OpalVision or Video Toaster, you`ll need to fit it into the Video slot, Which is the bottom one. Other cards should fit into any other slot, but you should check a few things before fittings. If you already have any cards fitted, check that a new card won`t touch any others. Some cards have bits which stick out and could cause a short circuit if they touch other cards. You should also make sure that all the cards have enough space for some ventilation, as cards can often get very hot after a few hours use. Once you`ve picked a slot, take off the cover and follow the instructions below... 1) First remove the cover from your Amiga and decide which slot you want to fit your card into. Then remove the screw holding it on to the blank plate. DO NOT lose the screw - you may need it later. Put both the screw and the plate in a safe place, as you may need the plate if you ever decide to remove the card. 2) Fit the Zorro card by pushing it gently, but firmly, into the slot, lining up the board with the plastic guides and pushing the edge into the connectors. If it`s the first time a card has been fitted, a fair degree of force may be required, but be careful not to bend the card. Once the card is in the slot, fix it in with the screw previously used with the blanking plate. Finaaly, replace the cover and test the card with the software which accompanied it. ****************IMPORTANT NOTE********************** STATIC STRIFE Static electricity can kill silicon chips. Just by walking across a room you can easily generate several thousand volts of static electricity, which will quickly disperse through the nearest convenient conductive object. If you`re unlucky, this could be your precious Amiga. And while it`s passing through your favourite computer, it could be frying your FPU or mashing your memory chips. The best thing to use is a anti-static wrist strap. We strongly recommend that you invest in one - they are available at good electronics shops, or from any electrical components mail order catalogue. Connect one end to your wrist and the other to something large and metal, such as a radiator or filing cabinet. This will ensure that any static charge lingering in your body will be quickly dispelled. If you haven`t got an anti-static strip, there are several simple precautions which can help reduce the risk. Before touching your Amiga, touch a nearby radiator or other large metal object, which should dispel any lingering charge. Don`t forget to also ensure that your Amiga is unplugged before you open it, and that you don`t eat or drink near your computer. Few things can do a computer more harm than a cup of coffee! END!