User avatar
Hook
Ottawa, Canada

Posted Mon Nov 22, 2021 8:19 am

I've recently acquired a very clean A4000D that has been recapped and it runs great. It's also in great cosmetic condition.

However, the internal floppy drive does not read any disks. The motor spins, the head sounds like its trying to read, but it gives up after 4-5 seconds. I am thinking misaligned heads perhaps? Is there a how-to or a troubleshooting guide somewhere I could try? I know I could replace it with a modified PC floppy drive but would love to keep the original drive.
20211122_091341.jpg

User avatar
intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Mon Nov 22, 2021 8:47 am

I can't answer your question, but that has to be one of the cleanest looking A4K's I've ever seen. Congrats!

User avatar
Hook
Ottawa, Canada

Posted Mon Nov 22, 2021 9:27 am

Thanks! It looks yellowish, but it's because of the lighting. There's really just the spacebar that has yellowed a bit.

User avatar
Zippy Zapp
CA, USA

Posted Mon Nov 22, 2021 9:31 am

Have you taken the floppy drive apart, cleaned and lubricated the rails and the drive screw? And then cleaned the heads with either a floppy disk cleaning disk or a cotton swab and some 91% IPA?

Sorry if you have done this already but it is the first thing I do with a floppy drive when I get it. I have brought back a few with simple maintenance.

If that doesn't do it the other thing I look at is the drive capacitors as sometimes they are a leaking mess.

User avatar
rzazar
Northern Virginia

Posted Mon Nov 22, 2021 12:38 pm

If you are using High-density floppy disks put tape on the second notch, on the right side of the disk. see if it resolve the issue.
I had the same issue with my A4000 floppy drive and putting tape on my floppy disks resolve it.

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User avatar
Hook
Ottawa, Canada

Posted Mon Nov 22, 2021 2:00 pm

Zippy Zapp wrote:
Mon Nov 22, 2021 9:31 am
Have you taken the floppy drive apart, cleaned and lubricated the rails and the drive screw? And then cleaned the heads with either a floppy disk cleaning disk or a cotton swab and some 91% IPA?

Sorry if you have done this already but it is the first thing I do with a floppy drive when I get it. I have brought back a few with simple maintenance.

If that doesn't do it the other thing I look at is the drive capacitors as sometimes they are a leaking mess.
It has been cleaned, but I have not checked the capacitors. Will report back later!

User avatar
A1-X1000
Toronto, Canada

Posted Wed Nov 24, 2021 7:01 pm

@v rzazar

was just about to say that lol I ordered OS3.2 disks that came without the HD notch covered and it took me half an hour to figure out what was happening :D some tape and all was good <3

User avatar
A1-X1000
Toronto, Canada

Posted Wed Nov 24, 2021 7:04 pm

Hook wrote:
Mon Nov 22, 2021 2:00 pm
Zippy Zapp wrote:
Mon Nov 22, 2021 9:31 am
Have you taken the floppy drive apart, cleaned and lubricated the rails and the drive screw? And then cleaned the heads with either a floppy disk cleaning disk or a cotton swab and some 91% IPA?

Sorry if you have done this already but it is the first thing I do with a floppy drive when I get it. I have brought back a few with simple maintenance.

If that doesn't do it the other thing I look at is the drive capacitors as sometimes they are a leaking mess.
It has been cleaned, but I have not checked the capacitors. Will report back later!
yup I'd replace the caps no matter how they look! Had an internal floppy in my 1200 Tower that started acting up last year ..sometimes it worked great and next day it would only recognize 60% of disks...cleaned, lubed and all looked ok but still issues then changed the caps even though they still looked like brand new and voila issues solved

User avatar
Hook
Ottawa, Canada

Posted Tue Nov 30, 2021 4:29 pm

rzazar wrote:
Mon Nov 22, 2021 12:38 pm
If you are using High-density floppy disks put tape on the second notch, on the right side of the disk. see if it resolve the issue.
I had the same issue with my A4000 floppy drive and putting tape on my floppy disks resolve it.

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Thanks, this was *exactly* the problem. Tested the drive with a low density floppy and it worked right away. So I guess I know what I'll be doing tonight - putting tape on every HD floppy I have!

Cheers!

User avatar
Zippy Zapp
CA, USA

Posted Sat Dec 04, 2021 9:12 am

Wow that is cool. I guess I just assumed you were using DD disks. My bad.

What has been your experience using HD disks? I mean since they are not the same media have you had any issues besides the need to cover the hole on newer Amigas?

I have a few HD disks that I received from a big lot of Amiga disks I bought and they were not readable on my A500's drive but were on my converted PC drive well sort of and with errors. I typically stick to DD disks because I already own a ton of them. I experimented using HD disks in the past and found that they seemed to develop errors quickly. Of course, in fairness, some of the DD disks I made did the same thing...





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