BB3/Blade never changes into graphics mode (blue background) from text

[surg30n]

Hello all! I am hoping someone can help with an issue I am having.

I have a BB3/Blade that most of the time will start properly and when it does the Linux boot text shows properly but when it is supposed to switch to graphics mode/blue background I loose all video (no signal, displays go into power save mode). I have already had the MPU and/or video card swapped (sent the whole MPU in) for the same reason shortly after I bought the cabinet, so I went ahead and bought a whole new MPU with everything (but JUR and BIOS) and swapped that in and that still had trouble. I have tried swapping the video cards between the MPUs with little success. Can someone tell me what is going on when it tries to switch to graphics mode that makes it fail while it works in text mode? In searching the forums there is a lot about the video cards being prone to failure, but what is the repair method for these failures?

If it matters, the backlight on the touchscreen/primary display also went bad, I can see the text when shining a light on it so I would think the MPU sees the monitor correctly. Any help on how to fix/replace the backlight would also be appreciated.

Thanks!

[rickhunter]

Do you have a spare power supply?  The system will draw more power once the the graphics mode engage, your power supply might be borderline.

[surg30n]

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately I do not have a spare power supply for the cabinet, but do have ATX computer power supply, though I doubt the wiring is compatible. I had tested the voltages (5, 3.3, 12) on the MPU when I turned on the machine, but can keep testing them through when the video mode changes to see if any drop off.

Would there happen to be a wiring diagram for converting an ATX power supply?

[rickhunter]

You should be able to source a power supply, they are not that expensive.  The power supply is the same as the ones used on the bb2 cabinets.

[surg30n]

I was able to get another power supply but I have the same problem. In addition, sometimes the machine doesn't even start as in the initial screen with WMS logo and specs of the computer/drives won't show. I have to turn it off an back on a couple times before that initial screen will show and then continue to boot, but then the machine never switches over to graphics mode. Any other thoughts on what can be causing this?

[rickhunter]

When it just hangs in the "text mode" what is displayed on the screen. Also usually when the machine doesn't POST (WMS logo, etc), it is an mpu issue.  If the mpu is good, as long as it is getting the power from the aux power connector on the side, it will POST.

[surg30n]

When it fails to go to graphics mode/launch X Server does the entire Linux boot process but then it says something about GMBUS time out falling back to bitbang a dozen times and then the screen goes blank and the monitors lose signal. I bought another whole MPU with video card and have swapped the MPUs entirely and even each video card around to the other MPUs with no luck. In one of the configurations I couldn't get it to POST at all not matter how many times I turned it off and back on.

[rickhunter]

Do you know for sure that the MPU or graphics cards you are getting are in known working order?  It still sounds like you have video card issue.  A failing to POST MPU is probably a bad Adastra board (the daughtercard that cointains the CPU/RAM).

[surg30n]

I acquired another MPU (with video card) that supposedly works yet I cannot get it to work in my machine. I setup a bench test area with spare backplane, spare power supply, and power harness and dvi computer monitor and cannot get any combination of these MPUs and video cards to seemingly display on the DVI output. I have reseated all the tings I can (Adastra board, RAM, video card, BIOS, etc). Most combinations will output a VGA signal (which cannot be seen in the cabinet unless I hook up a monitor on the floor) that shows the system booting. Even without the VGA I can see the LEDs flashing on SSD and CF cards so I know it is loading. Am I that unlucky that I have 3 bad video cards? What else can I do to diagnose what the problem is? Will the machine not display anything if both monitors are not hooked up or if they are not the type in the cabinet? What about with the VGA connected?

[rickhunter]

In all this, I've forgotten to ask, what exactly are you trying to run on this.  Provide game Program ID and OS card information.  I'm assuming you are running a clear before you have tried to install a game?

[surg30n]

Finally got the part I needed. Yup, I did run a clear before each of the games I tried. The one I was trying specifically to load was Wily Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (S9C4) and OS is 4069. The issue ultimately ended up being that I needed a new video card. I went through 3 of them from various eBay sales (either in a MPU or by itself) and no combination would work. I finally found a new one for sale and that did the trick. Now I have almost enough spare parts (even after returning items) to build another machine! Needed a new touch screen monitor since the backlight went out in the original (the caps were bad, but replacing them hasn't helped, will need to work more on tht). Built power supply wiring harnesses and meter delete plug as well. Maybe I will build a desktop BB2 to have some variety of games.

Does anyone know a place to get these video cards repaired? Seems a shame for how much they are and how they make the entire machine useless without them.