[comp.sys.att] Busted Harddisk

rps@homxc.UUCP (07/08/87)

In article <613@homxc.UUCP>, rps@homxc.UUCP (R.SHARPLES) writes:
> 
> HELP!! HELP!!
> 
> Well, it finally happened, 4 days out of warrenty, my Seagate ST-225 gives
> up the ghost.  It didn't crash, it just failed to start spinning.  It is 
> getting power from the computer and the controller is working, the motor
> just doesn't turn.  
...
> I believe that the reason the motor doesn't turn is because the
> electronics on the bottom of the 225 have fried, not because the motor
> or platters are bad.  My idea is to swap the circuit board on the bottom
> of the drive with the one on the bottom of another 225 I have.
...
> 
> Russ Sharples
> homxc!rps
> 

GOOD NEWS!  The act of removing the circuit board and reinstalling it
fixed the harddisk!  It must have been a loose or dirty connector on the
PCB, a loose wire on the connector block, or the motor was stuck in some
strange postion where it could not get started (doubtful).  Of course, I am
now worried about the thing dying again while writing out data or something,
I'll have to see.  I will back it up daily for a while.


Russ Sharples
homxc!rps

NOTE:

The above in NO WAY reflects the opinions of AT&T.
These opinions are my own and the results of un-scientific and 
highly irregular analysis methods.

sheldon@quest.UUCP (Scott S. Bertilson) (07/09/87)

  I have had this problem repeatedly with 2 of 7 7300s I have used over
the last year and a half (with Miniscribe 20 Meg drives).  We try to
leave the machines on all the time to avoid this.  Failing that, I
have found (after the hassle of opening up the machine a couple of
times and pushing on the spindle to free it) that I can turn the
power on and give the machine a good whack perpendicular to the
axis of rotation of the disk...both machines are working well (I've
done it twice on 1 and once on the other).  The first time I figured
out what was wrong and pushed on the spindle, I found that it took
more than a light push to free it.  I worried that the drive
might be ruined, but this has been going on for more than 6 months
now with no catastrophes.
  The other machines seem to have no problems with this sort of thing.
				Scott S. Bertilson
				Minnesota Supercomputer Center Inc.
				(affiliated w/University of Minnesota)
-- 

Scott S. Bertilson   ...ihnp4!quest!sheldon or scott@uc.msc.umn.edu