i-Buddie 4 Desknote Review
- Thread starter Ian
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Good information. The "a screw is a screw" theory does not work on our little machines. Thanks for one of the reasons why. Ive had mine apart several times and always use the "tape" method with sucess.
A928 i-Buddie with WXGA output ; wide screen XGA
Although I read it couldn't be done, it actually can be done: an A928 i-Buddie 4 properly driving an external wide screen LCD monitor.
Limitation: the A928's own LCD will be dead, so this is only useful for a permanent arrangement that uses an external monitor. Have not tried it yet with Windows, but under Linux works 100%.
Required: facility to flash the BIOS rom chip.
The firmware to be flashed (back up the original one):
http://www.dorpstraat.com/A928/A928wxga.rom
Example of adaptation under Debian linux of the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file:
http://www.dorpstraat.com/A928/wxga_mods
This will enable the wide sreen XGA modes like 1440x900 that gives nice results here.
Do this entirely at your own risk; no guarantee, no support.
For the developers and experimenters:
Tools used to do this were
Bios editor AMI version 7.6:
http://www.dorpstraat.com/A928/amibcp76.exe
(DOS application)
Recent video bios from SiS, version 2.30, single graphics channel driver
http://www.dorpstraat.com/A928/sis23001.bin
Latter was used to replace the old, but dual display capable, driver in the last official bios:
http://www.dorpstraat.com/A928/A928_030820.rom
Although I read it couldn't be done, it actually can be done: an A928 i-Buddie 4 properly driving an external wide screen LCD monitor.
Limitation: the A928's own LCD will be dead, so this is only useful for a permanent arrangement that uses an external monitor. Have not tried it yet with Windows, but under Linux works 100%.
Required: facility to flash the BIOS rom chip.
The firmware to be flashed (back up the original one):
http://www.dorpstraat.com/A928/A928wxga.rom
Example of adaptation under Debian linux of the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file:
http://www.dorpstraat.com/A928/wxga_mods
This will enable the wide sreen XGA modes like 1440x900 that gives nice results here.
Do this entirely at your own risk; no guarantee, no support.
For the developers and experimenters:
Tools used to do this were
Bios editor AMI version 7.6:
http://www.dorpstraat.com/A928/amibcp76.exe
(DOS application)
Recent video bios from SiS, version 2.30, single graphics channel driver
http://www.dorpstraat.com/A928/sis23001.bin
Latter was used to replace the old, but dual display capable, driver in the last official bios:
http://www.dorpstraat.com/A928/A928_030820.rom
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David Cai Fixed Another Two
Feedback from a member that has 70+ POSTS, SINCE 2005:
HEY, GUYS AND GIRLS,
David fixed two more of my little piles of crap. My network was up to 4, one got stolen, one toasted but got me by until these two came back. Sending "Mr. Toast" in next. As I've posted before, fast turnaround, fair pricing. Can't go wrong sending these in to David.
AL
Feedback from a member that has 70+ POSTS, SINCE 2005:
HEY, GUYS AND GIRLS,
David fixed two more of my little piles of crap. My network was up to 4, one got stolen, one toasted but got me by until these two came back. Sending "Mr. Toast" in next. As I've posted before, fast turnaround, fair pricing. Can't go wrong sending these in to David.
AL
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second monitor extend desktop
Ok, we were talking about this a while back, finally got a Triton See2 VGA usb adapter. It works, but pointer works poorly on external monitor. When I use second monitor plugged directly into back of laptop, it works great except only option is mirror. When I use the USB adapter I get extended desktop but poor pointer performance. Tried the usual suspects. Anyone can help me with this?
Ok, we were talking about this a while back, finally got a Triton See2 VGA usb adapter. It works, but pointer works poorly on external monitor. When I use second monitor plugged directly into back of laptop, it works great except only option is mirror. When I use the USB adapter I get extended desktop but poor pointer performance. Tried the usual suspects. Anyone can help me with this?
booting the A928 from a USB pen drive
To share my experiences:
1. go into BIOS with the USB pen-drive inserted and select as first boot device USB RMD-FDD
2. use a recent (fast) pen drive / memory stick; some older ones may not work and make the system hang
3. apply a special formatting to the drive which makes it appear as a ZIP drive (partition # 4) while also allowing partitions for your OS; I used an image with tricked bootsector and partition table that comes with Puppy linux and can be put on the drive using the linux dd command and uses the syslinux boot loader put on a FAT partition #4; then put the linux kernel there which will find the rest of the OS on another partition to be defined and formatted (point 4 here). Alternatively if hooked to Windows you can find on the net a program made by HP that formats USB pen drives using FAT .
4. create another partition #1 with the filesystem of choice; I used ext3. Put the OS file system there.
5. edit syslinux.cfg so to boot your OS
The A928 can now boot with just DDR RAM and the USB pen drive and no harddisk and no CD/DVD to do certain specific tasks. E.g. I use one with Debian linux and the Asterisk telephone PBX software on it and two ISDN adapters as a telephone exchange combining fixed line and internet telephony. Works fine, is rock stable, silent, and no moving parts (apart theoretically from the fans but they don't get activated as the CPU has little to do and the A928 stays very cool doing this sort of task).
To share my experiences:
1. go into BIOS with the USB pen-drive inserted and select as first boot device USB RMD-FDD
2. use a recent (fast) pen drive / memory stick; some older ones may not work and make the system hang
3. apply a special formatting to the drive which makes it appear as a ZIP drive (partition # 4) while also allowing partitions for your OS; I used an image with tricked bootsector and partition table that comes with Puppy linux and can be put on the drive using the linux dd command and uses the syslinux boot loader put on a FAT partition #4; then put the linux kernel there which will find the rest of the OS on another partition to be defined and formatted (point 4 here). Alternatively if hooked to Windows you can find on the net a program made by HP that formats USB pen drives using FAT .
4. create another partition #1 with the filesystem of choice; I used ext3. Put the OS file system there.
5. edit syslinux.cfg so to boot your OS
The A928 can now boot with just DDR RAM and the USB pen drive and no harddisk and no CD/DVD to do certain specific tasks. E.g. I use one with Debian linux and the Asterisk telephone PBX software on it and two ISDN adapters as a telephone exchange combining fixed line and internet telephony. Works fine, is rock stable, silent, and no moving parts (apart theoretically from the fans but they don't get activated as the CPU has little to do and the A928 stays very cool doing this sort of task).
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Mr Toast back
Just got #3 back from David, not the usual melted pin problem, had to replace several IC chips. Working great. PS Anyone read my post on dual monitors?
Just got #3 back from David, not the usual melted pin problem, had to replace several IC chips. Working great. PS Anyone read my post on dual monitors?
advice needed
I intend to buy the buddie soon as a used item but i am concerned about the burnt power cord and overheated cpu.
Can anyone here give me some advice?
I know it is 6yrs too late but better late than never.If no one has a working model,then,i think the 2nd hand model is not worth buying.
Any advice is ok with me!
Thanks
neilsheddan said:
I intend to buy the buddie soon as a used item but i am concerned about the burnt power cord and overheated cpu.
Can anyone here give me some advice?
I know it is 6yrs too late but better late than never.If no one has a working model,then,i think the 2nd hand model is not worth buying.
Any advice is ok with me!
Thanks
@laptopca
If you buy a i-Buddie you will only enjoy it when the internal power circuit has been repaired and a new CMOS battery been placed. Additionally probably some studs that fixate heatsinks onto the motherboard will need to be soldered back on; not difficult. And do clean the CPU heatsink and make sure it is in good thermal contact with the CPU. I normally remove the conducting foil and just use a bit of heat conducting paste.
The unit then stays very cool and even at full continuous CPU load the i-Buddie only makes modest fan noise.
The repair is not just the power connector and loose pin. They are just the symptoms of an underlying problem: the internal power circuit (that converts the incoming 18 V DC to the various lower voltages needed by CPU, memories and circuits) turns unstable due to ageing of the electrolytic capacitors and a somewhat weak power converter circuit design to start with that is sensitive to that ageing.
I've described in an earlier post how to correct this; it is not difficult but requires soldering some components onto the motherboard and in order to do so complete disassembly of the unit is necessary. That involves a multitude of screws of a variety of sizes that need be put back correctly. Again not difficult but it requires some discipline.
Done all that a nice desktop PC results that operates silently and is very stable. I have 5 of them operational and they never fail. At the cost of second hand ones one can afford to give them dedicated tasks and operating systems.
The memory can be upgraded to 1 GB and the CPU to 2.8GHz.
If you don trust yourselve with the above kind of thing I would not recommend buying one as the power problem is a systematic design error and /or component quality deficiency.
If you buy a i-Buddie you will only enjoy it when the internal power circuit has been repaired and a new CMOS battery been placed. Additionally probably some studs that fixate heatsinks onto the motherboard will need to be soldered back on; not difficult. And do clean the CPU heatsink and make sure it is in good thermal contact with the CPU. I normally remove the conducting foil and just use a bit of heat conducting paste.
The unit then stays very cool and even at full continuous CPU load the i-Buddie only makes modest fan noise.
The repair is not just the power connector and loose pin. They are just the symptoms of an underlying problem: the internal power circuit (that converts the incoming 18 V DC to the various lower voltages needed by CPU, memories and circuits) turns unstable due to ageing of the electrolytic capacitors and a somewhat weak power converter circuit design to start with that is sensitive to that ageing.
I've described in an earlier post how to correct this; it is not difficult but requires soldering some components onto the motherboard and in order to do so complete disassembly of the unit is necessary. That involves a multitude of screws of a variety of sizes that need be put back correctly. Again not difficult but it requires some discipline.
Done all that a nice desktop PC results that operates silently and is very stable. I have 5 of them operational and they never fail. At the cost of second hand ones one can afford to give them dedicated tasks and operating systems.
The memory can be upgraded to 1 GB and the CPU to 2.8GHz.
If you don trust yourselve with the above kind of thing I would not recommend buying one as the power problem is a systematic design error and /or component quality deficiency.
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Review after 7 years
I just found this website today. It is great! I thank doddel for his info. I bought my I buddie 4 on 5/4/02. I had no problems with it untill 2 months ago when the connection started acting up. The original power supply would have a startup problem if left in a cold car but once it was at room temp it was fine. I see some had the feet break off these are fine. Changed the battery about a year ago. I have a desk that I cut a hole in under the computer and put a fan. This thing runs 24/7 most of the time. The CD/DVD/RW is a bit funcky once in a while but I am always haveing trouble with CD writers.
I just found this website today. It is great! I thank doddel for his info. I bought my I buddie 4 on 5/4/02. I had no problems with it untill 2 months ago when the connection started acting up. The original power supply would have a startup problem if left in a cold car but once it was at room temp it was fine. I see some had the feet break off these are fine. Changed the battery about a year ago. I have a desk that I cut a hole in under the computer and put a fan. This thing runs 24/7 most of the time. The CD/DVD/RW is a bit funcky once in a while but I am always haveing trouble with CD writers.
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Welcome to the board.johnydii said:
Not sure about the BIOS, do you think you need an update?
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After having my A928 useless for 4 years (almost trash it), with a melted power cable and broken power jack, among other problems, I found this forum and decided to contact David Cai. He fixed it in a professional and inexpensive way, gave me some advice and even fixed other problems the desknote had without additional charge. If you have a power system problem he is the right person. DC SYSTEM, Tel: (416) 788-6788 (e-mail address removed)
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Happy4ever said:
Hi ya Happy4 ever
Welcome to the forum...Please do yourself a favour and edit your post and remove your phone number and e-mail address, unless you lie getting spammed and prank called..
A more recent firmware (for m.board version 4) can be downloaded from ECS'site.
http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Downloads/DownloadFile.aspx?catid=1&driverid=2019&areaid=2&LanID=0
Also one finds there a flash program utility.
http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Downloads/DownloadFile.aspx?catid=1&driverid=2019&areaid=2&LanID=0
Also one finds there a flash program utility.
Albroswift
I have an ibuudie 928a for sale
Do you need a 5th
contact (e-mail address removed) thanks