Bally Alpha 2 32/22 Hard drive issues?

[Delma]

A few updates so felt I should start a new thread. I've been struggling with a couple machines over the past month. One machine more than the others and i'm now just in total confusion as my knowledge of these machines isn't very high.


ISSUE: 3 Machines that used to load properly with all video cords, VGA's, etc. attached and in the right place stopped working from an inspection (I wasn't there) when the inspector killed the breaker. All got stuck on loading Alpha OS screen.


SOLUTION: Temporary solution and on total accident I forgot to to plug in the video cord when putting CPU back in and like magic.....went passed the loading screen and let me setup the game. Not sure why this worked but it fixed 2 of the 3. In the words of "idesign" if it aint broke don't fix it right. Ultimate firelink games are V32 anyhow and only use one screen so hey i just left it be....


The 3rd has got me totally confused. So thinking ok maybe its the game.
STEPS TAKEN
1. Cleared the machine
2. Factory reset the machine
3. Installed 370C Bios
4. Installed UFL- Glacier Gold


I'll get back to the next steps after explaining what happened then. So after those 4 steps and turning the machine on.....it looks like im in luck. Games loads past Alpha OS screen and let's me set up. I'm jumping for joy!! At last.....but not so fast. After playing the game for 2 mins....Fatal error red box pops up turn the key to reboot. I turn the key and boom this time during the loading process goes straight to black screen. System halted. The pictures of these errors are posted below.


5. Paid a "Bally tech to come see if he could wrap his mind around it. He worked on it for a bit and left saying he'd ask his business partner what the error means. Next morning tells me it's the hard drive.
6. put new hard drive in CPU.
7. Repeated steps 1-4 but with Route 66 as the game. and got the same resuts but this time i didnt get my hopes up after playing for 2 minutes before getting the fatal error red box.
8. Without a new hard drive, repeated steps 1-4 but installed MJSS, an actual V32/22 game. Can't lie on this one....got pretty excited. game played all night and all morning with 0 issues. Then boom same red box error. turned to reset and the game has been playing from this morning until tonight with no issues. The box has not popped up again so far.


QUESTIONS
Soooo why is this machine playing MJSS without lag and only one error so far? Is this due to game size as MJSS is only 2GB and the smallest game i've loaded so far to my knowledge? If this error truly is because of the hard drive then what is making the hard drive corrupt? Brand new hard drive and same issue. If it not the hard drive then what is it? Though the other two are working with just one video cord plugged in....why when both are plugged up( what i think is properly) do they still not go any further than loading Alpha OS screen? I have more hard drives on the way. One has a games thats properly working in a alpha 2. So I'm going to swap hard drives, clear and see what happens. I'm convinced that will fix the error. But if that's the issue why have I never gotten a fatal fault on the other 2 machines? No errors at all just stuck on loading OS if not booted with only one video cord. Just can't wrap my head around this.


Any help from anyone would be appreciated.

[RVC]

In all the images an authentication error is shown in a different file, this is generally because that file could not be read from the hard disk, it could be probable that only a small portion of the hard disk is damaged and for that reason when installing a  game that requires less disk space can run without errors

[jakah440]

could be a possible overheat issue on the CPU or video card since it happens after a period of time. it looks like you had the same problem after replacing that hard drive?


If it is an overheat issue. Make sure the CPU fan and the Video card fans are spinning. If they are it is possible that the thermal paste between the CPU and the heatsink has dried out and no longer working properly. This can happen on the video card GPU as well. Cleaning off the old paste and reapplying new should help.

[Delma]

In all the images an authentication error is shown in a different file, this is generally because that file could not be read from the hard disk, it could be probable that only a small portion of the hard disk is damaged and for that reason when installing a  game that requires less disk space can run without errors

When you say hard disk are you just using different terms or are you talking about something different from the hard drive? It is of my belief that the hard drive is corrupt in some sort of way. Thus I have 3 more coming.


Justin, you are correct. The hard drive did show error on a bigger UFL file before I placed the smaller MJSS on it with very little errors. You’re advice is great and I am going to look into that as well most certainly. Something I did not know to check so again educating me. However to better troubleshoot the problem I’m going to stick a fresh hard drive with a grease pink ladies, a working smaller 2GB game in there. Clear it, set the game up and see what happens.


I’ll update once I do that. Thanks for all the help guys. It’s appreciated!!

[jakah440]

yup hard drive and disk the same.
also might be a power supply issue since it started after being shut off with the breaker. it might have weakened a component in the supply that is causing "dirty" power and causing issues.


Let us know.

[Delma]

Alright, it's officially not the hard drive. Glad I didn't get my hopes up this time. Placed new hard drive in CPU last night, cleared the machine, and things ran smoothly I'd say almost 24 hours. Then boom fatal error again . At this put I'm going to attempt to check the paste on the heat sink as the fans are working properly. Not sure what I'm looking for but ill do the best I can and update.

[jakah440]

might try swapping cpu's into another machine and see if the problem follows the cpu.
might help solve if it is the cpu or a power supply problem.

[RVC]

What game are you installing, if it is too big you need to expand the RAM memory

[Delma]

Grease pink ladies....fairly small game in comparison to UFL games and surely Monopoly millionaires huge 25GB size.


I'll put the cpu inside a different machine and see what happens.

[Delma]

Still having the same issue with this machine. I am going to change the power supply and see if that changes anything.


Justin, if you have a moment can you post pics on where I need to look for the paste that could possibly be dried out? Video card and GPU....Just not sure where to look. I have an extra power supply that i'll try tonight and post update but I'd like to do both suggestions while I have the machine down.

[Delma]

New Power supply.....Same issue. We can cross that off as well. Doesn't even boot all the way up for me to set machine up now. So far I've changed video card, hard drive, power supply, and changed games to no avail. Not sure what the problem is with this machine.

[jakah440]

So did you move the CPU to a different cabinet? Did the problem follow the CPU? Trying to figure out if it is a problem in that cabinet or in the CPU or ?

[Delma]

Ok let me explain this I have 9 V32/22 machines. 8 of them are now fully functional and are in operational daily. This one isn’t. I don’t have a spare machine to put this cpu in to test. I’ll also explain 2 more things


1. Customers around here are of the belief that rooms around here clear and reset machines nightly so it makes them avoid machines that have the preset mini’s minors majors and megas. That may be true for other rooms as I’ve tested the theory myself and walked into rooms as soon as they opened and sure enough they have all been cleared. Keep in mind I’m talking about 3-4 machines. I have 9 and I choose to let mine build until they hit. People see a major at 7-800 bucks they sit down immediately.


2. The system I use for accounting purposes uses the master numbers daily. Disregarding the clearing of the machine on the floor, inside the system is a whole process to reset a machine down to 0 and has to be done at a certain time or there’s no way of keeping up with accounting for that day. Which isn’t the end of the world. It’s just one day.


That said, If placing this cpu in another working machine will let me know the problem, I’ll bite the brick and do it. Just want to know I’ve exhausted all other options.

[idesign]

Just picking up this topic but did you try a spare CPU.  Surely with the operation you have going you must have backup CPUs for the machines.

[Delma]

Nope. I’ve had a post on here WTB for CPU’s for months now. I haven’t been able to buy spare CPU’s. I know I need them. I just haven’t found anyone willing to sell them.

[idesign]

Well, I'm betting the CPU is causing the problem.  I seen them selling on ebay for high prices but there have been several up there for sale.  Crazy pricing going on due to the shortage.

[Delma]

Yeah seems to be pretty hard to find but I’ll look on eBay. I just always ask here first. At this point I just need extras.

[Delma]

Well, I'm betting the CPU is causing the problem.  I seen them selling on ebay for high prices but there have been several up there for sale.  Crazy pricing going on due to the shortage.

If you were a betting man you’d be rich!


Update: So I did go ahead and bite the brick and take a CPU out of one of the least played machines that doesnt have multiple progressives (MJSS) and yes it fired up and played without hiccup. I’ve been playing it now for 3 hours. Money spent on hard drives, video cards, different gaming software, power supply, when it’s been the CPU the whole time.    All this has made me realize that I do need extras even more than I already believed which I have since yesterday been able to obtain.


Thanks to everyone who provided assistance on this. Once CPU’s arrive it’ll be a great day for me to finally be able to post a pic with all 9 of these machines up and running. Thanks again guys.

[Delma]

Actually wasn't the CPU on this. It was the topper. The way this was setup was for a 32/22 game. When I put a UFL (V32) game back on the machine I noticed topper had nothing displayed and kept flickering between input methods. Bought a new topper and haven't had an error since.