## Review: Advanced Amiga Analyzer

### By: William Near

HARD/SOFTWARE: Advanced Amiga Analyzer v1.11

MANUFACTURER: Wilcom Australia Ltd.

DESCRIPTION: Combination hard/software diagnostic utility for all Amigas

PURCHASED FROM:
Software Hut
313 Henderson Drive
Sharon Hill, PA 19079

(800) 93-AMIGA - orders
(610) 586-5701 - info
(610) 586-5706 - fax

PRICE: I paid US$75.95, this includes $6 S&H.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: The Advanced Amiga Analyzer will work on any Amiga model.

SYSTEM TESTED ON:
Amiga 2000 (Rev 4.4), ECS chip set, GForce '030 accelerator @ 50 MHz., 2 MB CHIP + 8 MB FAST memory, Quantum LPS270S hard drive with Trumpcard Professional controller, Picasso II RTG board, ioExtender, Workbench 3.1

PACKAGING: The hardware, 8 page dittoed manual, and floppy disk of software all came in a bubble wrap envelope.

INSTALLATION: The Analyzer hardware consists of a plastic box (5"x2.5"x1.5") with four port dongles, a joystick port pass-through and eight LEDs (parallel, video, serial and mouse). To conduct the preliminary hardware test you must first power-down your computer and attach the serial, parallel, video, and joystick port dongles (A1000 requires gender changers.) Turn the computer back on and check that all the LEDs are lit. If one or more did not light up then this indicates a problem with the corresponding port(s). If all of the LEDs lit then power-down the computer and remove the mouse and video port dongles. Reattach your mouse and monitor and power-up the computer with the supplied disk in the drive.

TESTING: The Analyzer's software boots up into the Gameport tester screen. From this screen you can see a graphical representation of your mouse and joystick ports. By moving your mouse in all directions and pressing any single or combination of mouse buttons, you will see a light appear in the corresponding pin position(s). The mouse X and Y coordinates are also displayed on this screen. The same happens when moving your joystick in all directions and pressing the fire button(s). If any of the corresponding lights do not light then this indicates a problem with that specific pin on the port. By clicking on any of the graphical representations of the port pins a text box will appear indicating what this particular pin controls and what hardware to check on the Amiga for possible causes of the problem.

It should be noted that the diagnostic information comes from the A2000 schematics. While other models vary, the general chips should be similar enough to allow you to troubleshoot any model Amiga.

There are a series of buttons at the bottom of the main screen. By clicking on any one of these you will be taken to that testing or information screen.

PARALLEL: This screen contains a graphical representation of the parallel port's 25 pins. Each pin may be clicked on to see what it controls and what hardware to check in case of malfunction. A parallel port test is also included. By clicking on the Run Test button you will initiate a parallel port test using the hardware and software of the Analyzer. The test is ended by clicking on the End Test button. Any errors that may have occurred will appear in a window with the complete explanation for what hardware to check. If the test was passed then the window will indicate this.

SERIAL: This screen contains a graphical representation of the serial port's 25 pins. Each pin may be clicked on to see what it controls and what hardware to check in case of malfunction. A serial port test is also included. By clicking on the Run Test button you will initiate a serial port test using the hardware and software of the Analyzer. The test is ended by clicking on the End Test button. Any errors that may have occurred will appear in a window with the complete explanation for what hardware to check. If the test was passed then the window will indicate this.

MEMORY: This screen contains two windows. One window displays all CHIP, FAST and other expansion memory that is installed on your computer. The other window displays any errors that may have occurred during testing. When you click on the Run Test button, a memory test is done on all installed memory. A display at the top of the screen shows which pass number the test is on, as well as the address block and current address of the test in progress. The test is ended by clicking on the End Test button. If no errors were found then a Test Passed requestor will appear; otherwise, the lower window will display the errors that were encountered.

DISK: This screen allows you to test any of up to four floppy drives that are connected to the computer. You can initiate either a READ ONLY or a READ/WRITE test on any of the floppy drives.

The READ ONLY test will only test for read errors on the inserted floppy disk(s) in the drive(s) to be tested. As each track is read from, a green box will appear with the error number encountered, if any. This test will continue until you click on the End Test button.

The READ/WRITE test will check for read and write errors on the inserted floppy disk(s) in the drive(s) to be tested. Each track is tested by performing two write and read tests, and as each track is read from a green box will appear with the error number encountered, if any. This test will continue until you click on the End Test button.

If you encountered any errors while testing the floppy drives then you can click on the ERRS button to see a list of seventeen possible errors.

You may also check the drive alignment for any floppy drive by using the READ/WRITE test on a known good floppy drive and disk. Take the good floppy disk and insert it into the suspect drive and then run a READ ONLY test on this drive. If you encounter any errors then this drive's alignment is questionable.

VIDEO: This screen contains a graphical representation of the video port's 23 pins. Each pin may be clicked on to see what it controls and what hardware to check in case of malfunction. A video port test is not available. The hardware of the Analyzer will only test the integrity of the three power pins on the video port.

CONFIG: This screen will display the following information about the system being tested:

- ROM version
- Agnus version
- Denise version
- CPU
- FPU
- Display (NTSC or PAL)
- Any expansion boards installed
- All memory installed

AUDIO: This screen displays four boxes on the screen (one for each of the four Amiga audio channels) which contain a musical scale. When you click on the Run Test button a scale of notes will be played through each of the four sound channels one at a time. This test will continue until you click on the End Test button. If, during the test, you don't hear some or any of the notes being played then this could indicate a problem with the hardware.

MORE TO COME: This is the most annoying button on the screen! The author tells you how he's constantly trying to upgrade the hard/software. This is all well and good, but he asks that you contact him with any ideas or comments you may have -- he also neglects to give you any contact information In four different locations throughout the manual, software, and readme file. This makes it quite difficult to do.

HELP: This button appears on each of the above testing and information screens. When you click on this button a window will appear which explains the current screen's testing procedure.

DISLIKES: The cables that lead to the various ports could stand to be a bit longer. It is usable now, but 6 more inches of cable wouldn't hurt. The dongles for the ports could use better screws. The ones included need a flat blade screwdriver -- using the thumb screw approach would be much better (the type found on most modern cables.) I would also like to see the inclusion of an Email and/or snail mail contact address for the author. He goes out of his way in asking for suggestions and comments, but doesn't supply the needed information for submitting these suggestions and comments.

SUMMARY: All in all the Advanced Amiga Analyzer is a useful tool. It can be used to analyze your current Amigas or possible purchases of used equipment. It saves you the trouble of opening up the computer to see what boards and chips are installed, as well as eliminating the fear of buying defective, used equipment. The Analyzer can track down 90% of Amiga hardware failures and suggests some very good leads on what parts of the hardware to check. If the Analyzer saves you from making one service visit or from buying one defective, used Amiga, then it's more than paid for itself.