onymouse@netcom.UUCP (John DeBert) (09/16/89)
A friend's Mac SE has recently decided to reject all the floppies put into it. Each one put in is pushed back out. There is an icon of the floppy with an "x" and a question mark in it when this happens. Nothing about this seems to be mentioned in the manuals and the store wants him to pay for service to get it figured out. Before he ends up spending money on this - has anyone any ideas about what's happening? Please reply by mail, if possible, Thanx, JJD onymouse@netcom.UUCP
SEWALL@UCONNVM.BITNET (Murph Sewall) (09/17/89)
On Fri, 15 Sep 89 20:28:11 GMT you said: >A friend's Mac SE has recently decided to reject all the floppies >put into it. Each one put in is pushed back out. > >Before he ends up spending money on this - has anyone any ideas >about what's happening? Wouldn't it make more sense to ask the Macintosh group (perhaps you did, but the address headers don't show any indication)? info-mac@sumex-aim.Stanford.Edu Murph Sewall Vaporware? ---> [Gary Larson returns 1/1/90] Prof. of Marketing Sewall@UConnVM.BITNET Business School sewall%uconnvm.bitnet@cunyvm.cuny.edu [INTERNET] U of Connecticut {psuvax1 or mcvax }!UCONNVM.BITNET!SEWALL [UUCP] (203) 486-5246 [FAX] (203) 486-2489 [PHONE] 41 49N 72 15W [ICBM] The opposite of artificial intelligence is genuine stupidity! -+- I don't speak for my employer, though I frequently wish that I could (subject to change without notice; void where prohibited)
emerrill@tippy.uucp (09/17/89)
/* Written 3:28 pm Sep 15, 1989 by onymouse@netcom in tippy:apple */ >A friend's Mac SE has recently decided to reject all the floppies >put into it. Each one put in is pushed back out. >There is an icon of the floppy with an "x" and a question mark >in it when this happens. Nothing about this seems to be mentioned >in the manuals and the store wants him to pay for service to get >it figured out. (The mailer bounced this so I can't reply via email, like you requested. Sorry.) This either means that the drive couldn't read the disk or it couldn't read the system files on the disk. Make a copy of the original system disk (on another Mac) and try it. If this doesn't work, try getting a disk drive cleaning kit (3.5" version, obviously), which will contain a disk that has a cleaning type material in it instead of magnetic media. _________________________________________________________ | | | Eric Merrill tippy!emerrill@newton.physics.purdue.edu | | | | Disclaimer: | | If you think I'm serious, that's your problem! | |_________________________________________________________|
brianw@microsoft.UUCP (Brian Willoughby) (09/22/89)
In article <127500047@tippy> emerrill@tippy.uucp writes: > >/* Written 3:28 pm Sep 15, 1989 by onymouse@netcom in tippy:apple */ >>A friend's Mac SE has recently decided to reject all the floppies >>put into it. Each one put in is pushed back out. > >This either means that the drive couldn't read the disk or it couldn't >read the system files on the disk. Make a copy of the original system >disk (on another Mac) and try it. If this doesn't work, try getting >a disk drive cleaning kit (3.5" version, obviously), which will contain >a disk that has a cleaning type material in it instead of magnetic media. Disk drive cleaning kits do more damage than good, thier use is not recommended. Disk drives do not need cleaning under normal use, and the use of those dd cleaning kits is like using sandpaper on your drive heads (i.e. they are too abrasive). DD cleaning kits are merely gimmick items aimed at consumers who don't know better by experience. In fact, cleaning kits for VCRs (and possibly CD cleaners too) are just as abrasive, and end up putting more wear on the mechanism than a long period of normal use. You might think that a cleaning kit would be a good idea if the drive were known to be contaminated (such as inserting a diskette with Coke on it), but in this case you would be better advised to have a professional disassemble the drive and clean it completely. Brian Willoughby UUCP: ...!{tikal, sun, uunet, elwood}!microsoft!brianw InterNet: microsoft!brianw@uunet.UU.NET or: microsoft!brianw@Sun.COM Bitnet brianw@microsoft.UUCP
gwyn@smoke.BRL.MIL (Doug Gwyn) (09/23/89)
In article <7804@microsoft.UUCP> brianw@microsoft.UUCP (Brian Willoughby) writes:
-Disk drive cleaning kits do more damage than good, thier use is not
-recommended. Disk drives do not need cleaning under normal use, ...
-cleaning kits for VCRs (and possibly CD cleaners too) are just as
-abrasive, and end up putting more wear on the mechanism than a long
-period of normal use.
This strikes me as utter hogwash. Every magnetic media handler
manufacturer I've dealt with has recommended periodic cleaning.
(Tape drives, disk heads, etc.)SEWALL@UCONNVM.BITNET (Murph Sewall) (09/25/89)
On Fri, 22 Sep 89 21:45:50 GMT you said: >In article <7804@microsoft.UUCP> brianw@microsoft.UUCP (Brian Willoughby) > writes: >-Disk drive cleaning kits do more damage than good, their use is not >-recommended. > >This strikes me as utter hogwash. Every magnetic media handler >manufacturer I've dealt with has recommended periodic cleaning. >(Tape drives, disk heads, etc.) Periodic cleaning by a technition or using a 'head cleaning kit?' Everyone I've talked to on the subject (mostly techs and repair people -- most of whom were NOT trying to sell me something) have said that the kits do more harm than good. That is NOT saying that cleaning, aligning, and other servicing isn't recommended. In my personal experience, disk head, VCR heads, casette tape heads, etc. run a LOT of hours before truly needing cleaning (assuming normal care and storage of media). Murph Sewall Vaporware? ---> [Gary Larson returns 1/1/90] Prof. of Marketing Sewall@UConnVM.BITNET Business School sewall%uconnvm.bitnet@cunyvm.cuny.edu [INTERNET] U of Connecticut {psuvax1 or mcvax }!UCONNVM.BITNET!SEWALL [UUCP] (203) 486-5246 [FAX] (203) 486-2489 [PHONE] 41 49N 72 15W [ICBM] The opposite of artificial intelligence is genuine stupidity! -+- I don't speak for my employer, though I frequently wish that I could (subject to change without notice; void where prohibited)
brianw@microsoft.UUCP (Brian Willoughby) (09/26/89)
In article <11134@smoke.BRL.MIL> gwyn@brl.arpa (Doug Gwyn) writes: >In article <7804@microsoft.UUCP> brianw@microsoft.UUCP (Brian Willoughby) writes: >-Disk drive cleaning kits do more damage than good, thier use is not >-recommended. Disk drives do not need cleaning under normal use, ... >-cleaning kits for VCRs (and possibly CD cleaners too) are just as >-abrasive, and end up putting more wear on the mechanism than a long >-period of normal use. > >This strikes me as utter hogwash. Every magnetic media handler >manufacturer I've dealt with has recommended periodic cleaning. >(Tape drives, disk heads, etc.) I probably didn't make myself exactly clear, as I subsequently explained to the person who raised the original post. Its not that I think cleaning is *never* necessary, but that consumer oriented cleaning kits are not acceptable tools for doing so. I'm not saying that because of how it 'strikes me', but because of professional advice and personal experience. I have had several reports both in NC and WA from VCR repairmen who have had units in their shop for repair which were damaged by excessive cleaning. The cleaning was recommended by the manufacturer of the cleaning kits, not of the equipment itself, and they usually recommend to clean too often. Also, I was advised before I purchased my Apple Disk II to never to clean a floppy drive. I have never had any trouble, except as related to speed (but I don't let school children use my Apple, that could make some difference). Regarding tape heads, those need a great deal of cleaning, but much less so now that I use quality cassettes. Take my advice as you will, but I wouldn't rely on the makers of consumer oriented cleaning kits for their version of how often to clean magnetic media-based equipment. Ask the manufacturer of the unit, or the person who would be repairing your unit, what the recommended product would be for periodic cleaning and how often to use it. Better yet, have a professional clean your VCR or drive once a year if you really think it needs it. On one hand, you're up the creek if you damage your equipment with improper cleaning tools, I'm sure the cleaning kit manufacturers don't mention your warrenty. On the other hand, you might save a buck. I don't really care because I don't stand to make or lose a penny, no matter what you do. I made my post because I was advised to never clean floppy drives, and during eight years of use I have NEVER NEEDED TO. If someone can tell me why my drive still works without cleaning, then I'd be glad to learn somthing. I will admit that cassette decks need to be cleaned by hand, and it may not seem logical that VCRs or floppy drives don't need that, but just ask your local VCR repairman for a few horror stories. Incidently, the original poster, who sparked my followup, sent me mail concerning how he uses q-tips and alcohol (I would prefer professional tape cleaning fluids with rubber conditioning ingredients) to clean his cassette tape heads. That's the method I use for cassette decks, too, but it doesn't retract the fact that I've had good performance from all four of my drives (3.5 and 5.25) without the use of any cleaning kits. Brian Willoughby UUCP: ...!{tikal, sun, uunet, elwood}!microsoft!brianw InterNet: microsoft!brianw@uunet.UU.NET or: microsoft!brianw@Sun.COM Bitnet brianw@microsoft.UUCP
emerrill@tippy.uucp (09/27/89)
/* Written 12:17 am Sep 26, 1989 by brianw@microsoft in tippy:apple */ >The cleaning was recommended by the manufacturer of the cleaning kits, not >of the equipment itself, and they usually recommend to clean too often. >Incidently, the original poster, who sparked my followup, sent me mail >concerning how he uses q-tips and alcohol (I would prefer professional >tape cleaning fluids with rubber conditioning ingredients) to clean his >cassette tape heads. That's the method I use for cassette decks, too, I use the commercially available, wet cleaning kits for my drives, but I have never cleaned them more than once a year! I think the packages recommend once a week or something truly outlandish like that. BTW, I use the professional cleaning fluids w/rubber conditioning for my personal tape decks, but at work where Iwe've done mass duplication of tapes, we just use q-tips and alcohol to clean the heads--a lot cheaper and almost the same results... _________________________________________________________ | | | Eric Merrill tippy!emerrill@newton.physics.purdue.edu | | | | Disclaimer: | | If you think I'm serious, that's your problem! | |_________________________________________________________|