HP Repair parts needed (urgently...)

From: Frank McConnell <fmc_at_reanimators.org>
Date: Wed Sep 8 10:54:11 2004

Jay West wrote:
> THAT'S what I should have been doing, getting a maintenance contract. Ok,
> I'm off to call HP's customer care line, and get set up on a maintenance
> contract for two 2100's, 2748, 7900, 7970, etc. Cool! Sure will save me a
> bundle in buying old parts on ebay! *GRIN*

Of course, what I was really trying to point out was, Bob's problem
is classic computing as it really was 20 years ago when you could
actually get a maintenance contract.

There's three things I can think of that go wrong with 7970s:

(1) the hub release tabs break
(2) the heads wear
(3) the lamps burn out

We had 7970Es in several-times-daily use, for reading and writing data
transfer tapes and for backups. For each drive in that sort of use,
about every 18 months we'd start having excessive trouble reading
and/or writing tapes, and this would turn out to be due to having worn
the heads down. First time the CEs would be able to readjust the
drive electronics to work with the somewhat worn head, the second time
they would have to replace the head. Lather, rinse, repeat until 1600
BPI nine-track is no longer the preferred medium.

And the lamps burn out. HP eventually did a field upgrade that
replaced the lamp panel with an LED panel. Apparently this was
cost-effective for HP in that it meant not having to spend CE time on
replacing burned-out lamps. But I note some 7970s escaped the upgrade
and still have lamp panels.

-Frank McConnell
Received on Wed Sep 08 2004 - 10:54:11 BST