On Thu, 8 Apr 1999, Mike Ford wrote:
> Coincident with all this chatter on floppy drives I have run into a streak
> of uncooperative drives. I happen to be using macs with 3.5" Sony
> mechanisms, but my question is somewhat general. What do you do with floppy
> drives that need repairs?
<...>
> Do any of you fix your floppies?
Yes. As much as I can at least. The drive electronics are beyond me but
mechanically I can mend most problems. The issue with the Mac drives
usually tends to be the lubricant that gets gooey over time. You must use
an electronic cleaner like Blue Shower or similar to wash away the gooey
lube, then re-lube it with a suitable lubricating element (I don't
know...sewing machine oil?) This usually unsticks the eject mechanism.
Careful with these damn Apple (Sony) 3.5" drives though. If you don't
treat them properly when you're cleaning them they will come down with
this wierd condition where they will constantly recalibrate when you apply
power, as if the drive doesn't know its reached the head stop. Seems to
be some sort of electronics issue. One other person I know has
experienced this problem as well.
Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar_at_siconic.com
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Received on Thu Apr 08 1999 - 05:37:14 BST