Finally managed to find a plug that could connect my VGA display to the Archimedes, which uses an older 9 pin connector. I switched it on, and it booted up - yay!

And then it died. It started restarting - conking out and rebooting - and then silence and a blank screen. No puffs of smoke, which would have been a bit more dramatic. I guess the PSU has had enough - it was lying dormant for a few years, and I guess that if it has similar problems to BBC Micro PSUs, that was it. A component failed. The case did feel a bit tingly before hand - I’m wondering if there is a short to the case.

So need to ponder what to do next. I’d like to get it running - that was the plan. A bit miffed now. I’d taken it to bits - that is taken the lid off and removed the expansion cards and dusted it with compressed air before hand.

At least there was no release of the magic smoke. There may be hope for it yet. PSU fuse perhaps?

A fuse is a possible cause according to the folk over at the Icon Bar. Consensus is that it could be a capacitor that has died. Apparently, these have to be kept powered every so often, or they can fail. The same will happen to a BBC Micro. There are people who refurb BBC PSUs, but if it’s just a fuse then that will make it less of a problem.

Advice is to take the thing apart - remove all the expansion stuff and try again. However, it seems that the thing to do is to give up and try and find another machine.

I’m also wondering if there are modern power units which can provide the necessary juice needed. That’s a last resort, and possibly a long shot.

Update - the general consensus is that the PSU has died, and getting a replacement will be tricky, if not impossible. It sounds like the HD is unreadable too - dunno why, but probably because of the interface used. The data blocks on the disk must be organised differently to that in the RPC. The only way to get the data out would be to hook it up to another machine of similar vintage and dump it to floppies.

I’ve asked someone I know if he has any thoughts. He’s avery electrically minded, so he _may_ be able to fix it. I’m not trusting the chap on FaceBook who has a spare but wants to be my friend. I’m happy posting to his page - but no further. I’m pretty strict with whom I friend on FB.

The machine will be stored - and I’ll keep an eye out for mending/replacing opportunities.

PSUs from that vintage should be fairly easy to repair by a keen hobbiest.

I’m getting some positive things from this - mostly that the HD in the Archimedes should go in the Risc PC without too much hassle. Waiting to hear from a friend to see if he’s willing to take a look at it.

I know such a person. He sounded interested earlier and asked for circuit diagrams. I am sending him stuff. Hopefully he’ll take it on and have a crack at it. I’ll wheel the machine over to him, and he can get busy with soldering irons. He’ll earn some beer if he succeeds