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Re: Best way to send 800k disk to IIgs???
Andy McFadden wrote:
Ed Eastman <noone@nowhere.net> wrote:
Try cleaning the drive. Get some Everclear or other NOT_ISOPROPANOL
alcohol and use a q-tip applicator to 'scrub' the heads. This will
require a screwdriver and removal of several screws to do it right. (I
like to see the drive heads when I am cleaning them so I don't miss
removing any crud.
<snip>
3.5" drive heads should be sturdier than CD recorder heads, and since they
come in physical contact with the disk, they need to be cleaned occasionally.
Don't use anything but 99% pure alcohol -- 90% isn't enough.
Actually, 3.5" heads are physically much sturdier than CD heads,
because CD heads are lenses mounted on voicecoils (for focusing).
Any alcohol without oil will work fine. (Rubbing alcohol is
isopropyl alcohol plus water plus oil.)
You could even use vodka, since the principal impurity is
water, and that will evaporate just fine. Head cleaner
(Radio Shack) or Freon cleaner (still have some?) will work
even better, since it is designed for this purpose.
The objective is to dissolve the binder used in floppy disk
coatings, which is the source of the "gunk".
Moisten the Q-tip, don't soak it.
BTW, you _did_ format the floppy, right? If you can format
a floppy and then verify the disk (Copy II Plus), then the
odds are that the drive is working.
-michael
Music synthesis for 8-bit Apple II's!
Home page: http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/
"The wastebasket is our most important design
tool--and it is seriously underused."