bc@njitsc1.njit.edu (Bill Cheswick) (07/10/87)
In article <1115@rayssd.RAY.COM> lfr@rayssd.RAY.COM (Larry F. Rogers) writes: > >After harassing my dealer for several months, I finally had my disk >replaced with a Miniscribe. It works just dandy, although its a >tad slower and makes a bit of a whining noise (sort of like your >ear's ringing). I'm not sure if this is a problem with the drive >or if the power supply is straining (if anyone has seen this, please >let me know), but it does not affect the drive functionally. > I have had that problem with my Miniscribe. The disk has worked flawlessly (literally) for two years otherwise. I talked to a guru at Miniscribe, and he told me what the problem is: a grounding brush on the bottom of the disk's motor. This sounded ominous to me, but it turns out that it is rather harmless and easily fixed: - remove the disk from the PC (I suggest a backup, first :-} - gently remove the circuit board from the disk. This required unplugging several connectors. - You will see a small springy copper contact that presses against the hub of the drive motor. That contact vibrates and produces a squeal. It is used to drain static charge. You can do almost anything to dampen the squeal: bend it a bit (which didn't work for me), wrap a little rubber band on it, glue something to it, etc. I glued a little bit of insulation from a telephone wire under it. The squeal is gone. (The guru said that the newer disks now use a conducting fluid in the bearings to drain the static.) For my money, the Miniscribe hard disks seem to be about the best around. They are fast and almost as tough as the Core disks, which cost a LOT more. BTW: I have the 44Mb AT version. Bill Cheswick ARPA: cheswick@jvnca.csc.org The Cygnherd of Morristown UUCP: bellcore!argus!njitsc1!bc
enchant@oliveb.UUCP (Dan Crocker) (07/14/87)
> You can do almost anything to dampen the squeal: bend it a bit (which
Just be sure that the tab still makes a good contact with the spindle
motor or you will have trouble.
Dan
--
Here comes the supernatural anesthetist
If he wants you to snuff it
All he has to do is puff it
He's such a fine dancer