HD Floppy Pron

LamboJay

Member
AmiBayer
Joined
Jul 26, 2010
Posts
335
Country
USA
Region
Charlotte, NC
So my floppy drive has been acting weird...
In the middle of reading it would prompt to replace the disk. Figure out it was still there, read some more and prompt again. Plus it would constantly re-try reads. You know that sound they make when there is a disk error. :Doh: It was unusable.
Internal A3K HD floppys are hard to find so I wanted to do everything I could to get this one working again.
I tore it down and wow! look at the dirt build up! No wonder it doesn't work right. Cleaned every thing up paying close attention not to damage the heads. Hooked it up on the desk to test it out before putting everything back together and success! (y) It works great. DD and HD floppies read/write perfectly.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0103 (Medium).JPG
    IMG_0103 (Medium).JPG
    135.6 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_0105 (Medium).JPG
    IMG_0105 (Medium).JPG
    118.9 KB · Views: 1
  • IMG_0101 (Medium).JPG
    IMG_0101 (Medium).JPG
    138.1 KB · Views: 1
  • IMG_0099 (Medium).JPG
    IMG_0099 (Medium).JPG
    107.8 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_0109 (Medium).JPG
    IMG_0109 (Medium).JPG
    126.9 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_0114 (Medium).JPG
    IMG_0114 (Medium).JPG
    138.3 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_0118 (Medium).JPG
    IMG_0118 (Medium).JPG
    107.1 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_0127 (Medium).JPG
    IMG_0127 (Medium).JPG
    89.1 KB · Views: 1
Good job LamboJay (y) I must say the 3000 case looks immaculate too.

I think I have to do something similar to two of my floppy drives. May I ask what you used to clean your drive, especially the head area?

Thanks,
Ed.
 
Thanks Ed. I gave the whole unit the once over with some spray circuit board cleaner. Then used Q-tips and alcohol to clean the heads.

The 3K is in great shape. Just needed a bit of cleaning and I gave it some retrobright love. I should probably post a thread for that too.
 
This error is caused by the disk inserted switch sensor: because the dirt inside it (or even outside it, as in this particular case) it stop working or start to get intermittent.

You did the right thing. Cleaning the A3000 from time to time is absolutely necessary because the poor ventilation design of the unit.
 
@Lambojay, Cool, thanks for the info. That sure is one nice looking machine. I hope to get a "Big box" Amiga one day :)

All the best.
 
Congrats on the fix :)

Unfortunately, I'm not as lucky, I have two HD floppy units that seem to be dead, no response at all from them (motor, led, etc.).
 
Great stuff LamboJay, Your A3000 Looks lovely too! I'd like one at some point :)
 
switch sensor.

Over very long periods of time these sensors can also become worn too;

Top switch - responsible for informing Amiga a floppy disk is present upon insertion by depressing.

Symptoms: No longer fully engages thus the slightest movement causes 'Insert Disk' DOS prompt. Sometimes the vibrations from head movement can trigger too.

Bottom switch - write enable/protect.

Symptoms: 'Write protect/enabled' DOS prompted reported incorrectly.

Solutions: Swap out switch unit or (in my case) raise the switch unit to compensate the difference of height. (Card, silcone, hot glue etc..)

Skippy.
 

Attachments

  • FDDswitch.jpg
    FDDswitch.jpg
    21 KB · Views: 0
@rkauer, skippyar: Good info.

Thanks for the compliments on the A3K guys :D
 
Back
Top Bottom