Editing Atari STE General Maintenance (section)

== STE-Specific Reset Issue ==

A well-known issue on the STE is failure to reset properly on power-on. Symptoms include the machine sometimes booting and sometimes showing a white screen, requiring multiple power cycles. This is caused by the electrolytic capacitor in the reset circuit (part of the RC network that holds the 68000 in reset during power-up) losing capacitance with age.

The fix is to replace the reset circuit capacitor. The voltage across this cap is typically 10V–63V depending on board revision. Replacing it with a fresh, high-quality capacitor (check value on your specific board — typically 22 µF or 47 µF) resolves the intermittent reset problem.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=2175 |title=STE no reset on power up issue fix |publisher=exxos Forum |access-date=2026-03-27}}</ref>

This fix also applies to STFM, Falcon, and Mega ST machines with similar reset circuits.