Re: Recalibrate Disk Drives?

[tgates@isd.net (Tom Gates)]

> Avoid sticking _anything_ into a disk drive except a diskette--in this
> case a "cleaning diskette" made from a mildly abrasive absorbent
> polyester material.  Radio Shack probably still has them.  You put
> a few drops of solvent on the inner "disk" and then insert it into the
> drive and run it for a few seconds.  (You can do this by trying to
> "boot" from the cleaning disk.)
> 
> Be sure to only open the bottom "head access" hole, since the
> presure pad doesn't like even mild abrasion, nor getting wet.  ;-)
> 
> -michael


Michael makes a "very" good point here. If you do not already have a
single-sided cleaning disk for an Apple II disk drive, be "VERY"
careful with what kind of cleaning disk you do put in the drive. 
Since the two-sided drives for the PC equipment were the
"latest/greatest" most all 5 1/4" cleaning kits will have a two-sided
cleaning disk. They will have both the top and bottom exposed to the
internal abrasive cleaning material.

If the top access area is not covered, trying to clean an Apple
single-sided drive can (usually will) cause the pressure pad to be
ripped off the read/write head arm.  This will no longer place
pressure on the top side to keep the real disk media in contact with
the read/write head on the lower portion of the arm.

An in worst cases, the piece the pressure pad would be glued to "will
still" put pressure on the disk media, but without the pad in place,
it will start to scrape the top disk surface. Eventually ruining the
disk.  And if you happen to have disks you've punched a second notch
in so you could write to both sides, you'll destroy your second side
almost immediately.