80sAtariboy

the head mechanism on rails doesn't move at all. Just a spin of the circular spindle and then tops on start up. I suspect the stepper motor is dead or ceased. There is a little jerk on initial power up as if the head wants to move on start up. Not sure if it is a logic chip or side board issue?

Hi All I need your collective knowledge please. I purchase an 810 off ebay and the seller was a bit cagy and non responsive to questions so I knew what I was up for. I took a chance on it and purchased it anyway. I got it today, plugged it in and turned it on. The drive busy and power light come on, the drive spins for a few secs and then stops with busy light off. Connecting it to the 800 computer and start up - nothing happens. So I took the lid off and basically the head assembly just sits there - it jerks a little on start up as if it wants to move. Any advice on how to fix? Is it the stepper motor? or some logic chip? The computer doesn't seem to acknowledge the 810 is connected. I connect other peripherals to the SIO port and it works so its not the 800 computer. Is this drive fixable - I love the design and want to give it another lease of life. It is the MPI drive mechanism. Thanks for any advice.

thanks for the advice. Really handy to know. My PIA is faulty in the 800U and I replaced it with a working one from an Atari 800XL for now, till I get a replacement.

Thanks to all who gave advice. I replaced the PIA from a working 800xl and installed it in my 800U. Now port 1 works as it should with the right movement registering. I actually put the PIA from the 800U into the 800xl and got the same fault - no right movement registering. So it was a faulty chip in my 800U when I purchased. I will order a replacement in anycase. Thanks to All for the advice. Nice to know there is a wealth of knowledge from Atari fans all over the World!

Hello All I was hoping if someone had any advice on old Atari's 8 bits. I recently purchased a 1979, Atari 800, Vintage and it works fine except for one thing. Joystick port 1 will not register a right move. Left, up and down work fine. I replaced the whole Joystick Jack incase it was a broken pin but still the same problem. I know Pin 4 is right on the 5 pin row. The traces seem fine but I was wondering if there is a failed capacitor. I see a whole row of capacitors behind all the Joystick ports 1-4. Does anyone have any advice please what else I can do? I am an amateur and do not have any meters or service manuals. thanks

@TGB1718 Thanks! Yes getting adept at desoldering now. I'm only an amateur who likes to tinker and revive old 8bit computers, working again (Amstrads, Spectrums to Atari's). I grew up with the 400 and 800XL in the UK, so have an affinity for Atari' s, as they are very Americana! @Nezgar I'm afraid the old CPU was not salvagable, lost a few legs in extraction but I doubt it would have worked. I agree with @flashjazzcat. It's binned now. My 800XL had a red screen fault originally and once I replaced the CPU, it was working. So from that experience when the XEGS went into gray screen fault, I suspected a failure of the CPU from experience. Still do not know why it failed as I know the power supply is a stable USB source. I have also added heat sinks to the CPU this time, as for some reason the 6502 seems a point of failure. Thanks again all! Another XEGS lives on! Such a nice design and the pastel buttons are kind of cheerful!

Just to let you all know that I replaced the CPU 14806 and it worked! I had to desolder and then socket the IC, but atleast its working again. Thanks to all for your pointers and advice.

@Nezgar. Thank you for your post and advice. I have ordered a replacement CPU chip already and will see if that does the trick first. I actually went back and felt if the chips were hot and the CPU is hotter than the RAM and other ICs, so I am hoping this is the fault. Once I replace this and if there is a problem with the ROM then I will take up your offer. I understand the ROM chips on XEGS are different to XL/XE as I guess they have built in Missile command. Appreciate your reply. Thanks and will update soon on progress.

@mimo. thanks for the reply and pointer. Appreciated. I will try to replace the CPU first as I have a feeling it is gone. As in the vid - I hope it is not the ROM.

Can someone please give me pointers on where to troubleshoot please. My XEGS which I recently purchased boots up to gray screen with a tone that is muffled. It worked fine when I got it and loaded Zybex and then it seems to crash after a while. I switched it off and then on restart this gray screen started. I am using a new USB power source cable, which I use for other 8bits (800xl etc), so I know the electric source is clean. I tried the RF out and its also giving gray screen with tone. It seems to be stuck in some sort of memory corruption. The chips are not getting hot from what I can feel as I opened the system up. Does anyone think the 6502 CPU has gone? I recently sorted out my XL with a bad CPU as it has a red screen on start up (RAM ICs were ok). Maybe my CPU has gone as the RAM on the XEGS is not showing signs of heating. Perhaps it is the Freddy or GTIA chip? Any advice would be great from the community. thanks

hello Can i place an order for the "aga cart"? i am based in UK. thanks.