ken@cs.rochester.edu (Ken Yap) (12/27/89)
My friend's 6300+ just broke down. She turned it on and the ROM diagnostics stopped when it tried to access the hard disk. Then she smelled something burning so she turned it off. I opened it up for a look and it appears that the hard disk motor is fried. I disconnected the power from the hard disk and it didn't make any more smells. Also the computer tried to boot from the floppy so the rest of the machine seems ok. The disk a half-height 5.25" unit marked Olivetti XM5220/2 and holds 20 Mb. There are two cables, one 34 connector, one 20 (?) connector to the disk controller. Do you agree with my diagnosis? Is the disk drive interface standard enough that one can plonk a similar 20 Mb unit and have it work (i.e. have you had to do this kind of replacement)? Recommendations for drives and places to buy them please? Alternatively, if the cost of finding a replacement disk and service charges are too high, I thought she might unplug the hard disk and put in a hard card instead. Is this feasible? Which hard cards work with the 6300+? Something else which hasn't been working for much longer is the clock. I suspected the NiCd had shorted (the computer had been idle for a year or two) and indeed I measured just 1.6V across the 3 cell pile. Is it just a matter of plonking in a replacement pile or is the problem more subtle? Somebody else asked a similar question but we don't get the 6300 group, whatever that is. Please email unless you think others might be interested. I'll summarize upon request. Many thanks in advance for any information you can provide. My friend has gotten used to working on her computer and she misses it. Ken ken@cs.rochester.edu ..!rochester!ken
emmo@moncam.co.uk (Dave Emmerson) (12/29/89)
In article <1989Dec26.220943.14476@cs.rochester.edu>, ken@cs.rochester.edu (Ken Yap) writes: > [deleted symptoms] > The disk a half-height 5.25" unit marked Olivetti XM5220/2 and holds 20 > Mb. There are two cables, one 34 connector, one 20 (?) connector to the > disk controller. > > Do you agree with my diagnosis? Is the disk drive interface standard > enough that one can plonk a similar 20 Mb unit and have it work (i.e. > have you had to do this kind of replacement)? Recommendations for > drives and places to buy them please? > Sounds right. It's probably a rebranded drive, perhaps a NEC, but you should be able to swap in most popular ESDI type drives without needing a new controller. Which one depends mostly on her budget, and even on her DOS version. Most recent drives can be considered reliable enough for most purposes, if you read this group much, you'll have some idea as to which ones to avoid. > Alternatively, if the cost of finding a replacement disk and service > charges are too high, I thought she might unplug the hard disk and put > in a hard card instead. Is this feasible? Which hard cards work with > the 6300+? > Spec-for-spec, hard cards should cost a bit more, you're buying the controller too. I think they're a few db noisier too, not to mention needing one or two slots, and you need another complete hardcard to add another drive... On the other hand, they ARE easy to install. > Something else which hasn't been working for much longer is the clock. > I suspected the NiCd had shorted (the computer had been idle for a year > or two) and indeed I measured just 1.6V across the 3 cell pile. Is it > just a matter of plonking in a replacement pile or is the problem more > subtle? Somebody else asked a similar question but we don't get the > 6300 group, whatever that is. > They're not all that reliable after two or three years. If you can get a similar one and you're sure it's a NiCd, not a Lithium type, then yes, plonk it in, and give it 12 hours to charge up. Hope that helps, Dave E.
bill@ssbn.WLK.COM (Bill Kennedy) (12/31/89)
In article <333@marvin.moncam.co.uk> emmo@moncam.co.uk (Dave Emmerson) writes: >In article <1989Dec26.220943.14476@cs.rochester.edu>, ken@cs.rochester.edu (Ken Yap) writes: >> [deleted symptoms] >> The disk a half-height 5.25" unit marked Olivetti XM5220/2 and holds 20 >> Mb. There are two cables, one 34 connector, one 20 (?) connector to the >> disk controller. [ some more deleted ... ] > >Sounds right. >It's probably a rebranded drive, perhaps a NEC, but you should be able to >swap in most popular ESDI type drives without needing a new controller. ^^^^ I hope Dave meant ST-506 MFM drives, I'm not aware of an ESDI controller or drive that will work in a 6300 or 6300 PLUS. That series of machines preceded the IBM PC-AT and doesn't use the same bus layout so XT bus cards must be used. Perhaps there is an XT bus ESDI card, but the one that Ken is referring to is ST-506 MFM (I'm quite sure of that). In any event, she'll need a new controller for an ESDI drive, most any old MFM drive should work with the controller she has. There are only eight drives that work reliably with Simul-Task on the PLUS, but I've not heard of any drive problems with DOS using the BIOS on the controller card. [ ... ] > >Spec-for-spec, hard cards should cost a bit more, you're buying the controller >too. I think they're a few db noisier too, not to mention needing one or >two slots, and you need another complete hardcard to add another drive... >On the other hand, they ARE easy to install. The slots in the PLUS' backplane are farther apart than on an XT or AT, so the additional space shouldn't be a problem. Dave's right about the expense, but it's an alternative. Another alternative is ACT Magnetic Technology, Inc. 4 Wrigley Irvine, CA 92718 714-770-6575 800-251-2849 800-992-2849 (CA) I have not used them recently, but they have a flat rate to refurb hard and floppy disk drives. The flat rate includes heads and platters if need be (and isn't any less if not needed). If I recall correctly, they rebuilt 20Mb half height drives for about $125, turned them around in five days and had a 120 day warranty (I had to use it once). They are professional and reliable, worth the time to call. [ clock battery stuff ... ] -- Bill Kennedy usenet {attctc,att,cs.utexas.edu,sun!daver}!ssbn!bill internet bill@ssbn.WLK.COM or attmail!ssbn!bill
emmo@moncam.co.uk (Dave Emmerson) (01/03/90)
In article <1255@ssbn.WLK.COM+, bill@ssbn.WLK.COM (Bill Kennedy) writes: + In article <333@marvin.moncam.co.uk+ emmo@moncam.co.uk (Dave Emmerson) writes: + +In article <1989Dec26.220943.14476@cs.rochester.edu+, ken@cs.rochester.edu (Ken Yap) writes: + ++ [deleted symptoms] + ++ The disk a half-height 5.25" unit marked Olivetti XM5220/2 and holds 20 + ++ Mb. There are two cables, one 34 connector, one 20 (?) connector to the + ++ disk controller. + [ some more deleted ... ] + + + +Sounds right. + +It's probably a rebranded drive, perhaps a NEC, but you should be able to + +swap in most popular ESDI type drives without needing a new controller. + ^^^^ I hope Dave meant ST-506 MFM drives, I'm not + aware of an ESDI controller or drive that will work in a 6300 or 6300 PLUS. + [ ... ] Oops! Quite right! I've got ESDI on the brain just lately. Sorry folks normal service will be resumed as soon as possible, do not adjust your sets. Dave E.