Re: Failed 5.25" Disk Drives

["Bill Garber" <willy4SPAM6pa@comXcast.net>]

"Dave Althoff Jr" <dalloff@gcfn.org> wrote in message
news:bmgu6u$s7e$1@acme.gcfn.org...
> Michael J. Mahon (mjmahon@aol.com) wrote:
> : >Probably a bad analog board.  I know that is the problem with one of my
5.25
> : >disk drives.
>
> : That's a safe assumption, since, apart from the cable, the analog board
is
> : the only thing "connected".
>
> : The question is, what failure on an analog board can cause the same
> : failure on other, daisychained, analog boards?  I don't recall hearing
> : about such a virulent problem with these drives before.
>
> A long shot, but...
>
> Aren't the 5.25 drives electrically similar to the Disk ][?  I know they
> use the same interface, just with a different pin configuration...

Electrically, yes, operationally, yes, but connectivity to the actual
mechanism may be different, although one person has stated that
they used a drive from an Apple 5.25 drive in a DuoDisk, which
does make sense. I'd have to have them all open in front of me to
be sure though.

> Do the newly toasted drives toast good drives?  I wonder if this is the
> same as that chip-death you get in a Disk ][ when you don't get the
> connector plugged in right...

I had 2 Apple 5.25 drives on a IIc+ and one day neither one would
write to a disk. Then I tried them individually and both worked by
themselves. I suspect that the daisy chain circuit is the culprit. Now
I need to try them on another machine to be sure. I do have 2 Disk II
drives on the same machine using the "Y" adapter and they both read
and write to anything including each other, so that sort of confirms
that daisy chain theory.

> --Dave Althoff, ][.
>   Who actually prefers the Disk ][ to the 5.25 drive...

I do actually. So far I find them more reliable and much quieter.

Bill @ GarberStreet Enterprizez };-)
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Email - willy4SPAM6pa@comXcast.net
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