Post by thec64user on Aug 3, 2023 18:42:02 GMT
Hi,
I'm a C64Mini user here in Canada. Just got mine a week ago [$69 CAD, went up from $60 CAD a few months ago.]
Anyway, I'm just readying a C64 Mini for some relatives who might appreciate it.
Today, though, after about an hour of usage, I started experiencing strange glitches.
It started with freeze-ups during game starts, which required me to shut it down. However, the problem worsened when I tried to start it back up.
Instead of going to the Carousel as normal, it just showed the boot screen, played the sound, and then froze to black. Just black. It wouldn't load, and it wouldn't even turn off. So I had to pull the power cord.
When powering it on, the black-screen happened several times, until I removed the external USB thumbdrive. After I removed the USB stick, it would power on and boot correctly about half the time.
However, it still would freeze on startup frequently. So I also disconnected the joystick. This allowed it to boot more reliably. Then, it was okay with booting with the USB joystick attached. But still not the USB stick. So I add the USB stick after booting, which seems to work.
Once the signs of glitches start after some minutes of usage, I noticed telltale signs. For example, in Galencia, instead of loading the game, it just goes to the (actual) C64 boot screen and says "READY." Whereas on a clean boot with no USB stick, Galencia loads properly.
After reading here and other places about this issue, it seems as if it may be a power supply issue. I am using a wall-cube phone charger. It's 5V 3a with USB-A, which the cable is. Now, the charger may be under-spec for all I know. So I am ordering one rated specifically for the C64 Mini. But it's also the case that it probably can't handle the load from 2 USB devices on its own. So I will also order a powered USB hub to use the USB stick.
Do you think this is a power supply issue, or do I have a faulty unit? It wasn't malfunctioning a few days ago when it was in stock form. Today, I installed the latest 1.6.1 update. It seemed to be working fine, and recognized the USB stick I put in [which is the same one that installed the update.] So from a software standpoint, it seems very capable. But maybe it is being undervolted / underamped or something. Should I wait for the new power supply, or do you think I should try and return it?
I'm a C64Mini user here in Canada. Just got mine a week ago [$69 CAD, went up from $60 CAD a few months ago.]
Anyway, I'm just readying a C64 Mini for some relatives who might appreciate it.
Today, though, after about an hour of usage, I started experiencing strange glitches.
It started with freeze-ups during game starts, which required me to shut it down. However, the problem worsened when I tried to start it back up.
Instead of going to the Carousel as normal, it just showed the boot screen, played the sound, and then froze to black. Just black. It wouldn't load, and it wouldn't even turn off. So I had to pull the power cord.
When powering it on, the black-screen happened several times, until I removed the external USB thumbdrive. After I removed the USB stick, it would power on and boot correctly about half the time.
However, it still would freeze on startup frequently. So I also disconnected the joystick. This allowed it to boot more reliably. Then, it was okay with booting with the USB joystick attached. But still not the USB stick. So I add the USB stick after booting, which seems to work.
Once the signs of glitches start after some minutes of usage, I noticed telltale signs. For example, in Galencia, instead of loading the game, it just goes to the (actual) C64 boot screen and says "READY." Whereas on a clean boot with no USB stick, Galencia loads properly.
After reading here and other places about this issue, it seems as if it may be a power supply issue. I am using a wall-cube phone charger. It's 5V 3a with USB-A, which the cable is. Now, the charger may be under-spec for all I know. So I am ordering one rated specifically for the C64 Mini. But it's also the case that it probably can't handle the load from 2 USB devices on its own. So I will also order a powered USB hub to use the USB stick.
Do you think this is a power supply issue, or do I have a faulty unit? It wasn't malfunctioning a few days ago when it was in stock form. Today, I installed the latest 1.6.1 update. It seemed to be working fine, and recognized the USB stick I put in [which is the same one that installed the update.] So from a software standpoint, it seems very capable. But maybe it is being undervolted / underamped or something. Should I wait for the new power supply, or do you think I should try and return it?
