alexis@ccnysci.UUCP (Alexis Rosen) (05/12/89)
This could be a very serious issue, of at least as much concern as the faulty power supplies in the Mac 512/Plus, or it might not. But I'm concerned because Quantum has a history... read on. In article <2557@phred.UUCP> jeffp@phred.UUCP (Jeff Parke) writes: >After seeing the second replacement 40 MEG drive put in an SE/30 in a >month, and hearing about similar problems from others I work with, I >though it would be interesting to query the net about the prevalence >of this problem. > >The symptoms: > >The HD select light on your SE/30 (or other SE) blinks in a different- >than-normal way when you turn the unit on. You may hear a "clicking" >sound of the HD head moving once or twice. You won't hear the normal >sound of the disk spinning. You can boot the machine from a floppy after >the boot software gives up on reading the HD. HD Setup and other SCSI >software cannot find the HD at all. > >The problem: >The HD is not spinning. > >One "cure": >You deliver a small physical shock to the machine and the HD spins >up and everything proceeds normally. Or if it is really stuck, you warm the >computer up to 80 or 85 degrees and then it responds to a "kick start". > >If you have had these kinds of problems with internal SE hard discs, please >write me directly at address below. I will summarize for the net in a few >weeks. > >...uw-beaver!pilchuck!phred!jeffp {Jeff Parke} Okay, here's the history. Apple used Quantum's 5.25" 40MB and 80MB drives in 1987 and 1988. So did lots of third-party companies, such as Jasmine and CMS. One or more manufacturing runs of the 80MB unit (Q280) were defective. The problem was that grease would drip down onto the spindle of the drive, and when the drive was powered down for a while the grease would solidify. This caused exactly the same symptoms that Jeff described above, and was amenable (for a period of time) to the same solution. Eventually, things got so bad the drive couldn't be "kick-started" at all, at any temperature. Quantum recalled many units from CMS and probably from many other companies as well (though I only know for sure about CMS). They did NOT, however, make the recall public, and it only applied to drives not yet resold to dealers or end-users. I have had to return a number of these drives for service. Recently, CMS started screwing around, and when I inquired further I found out about the recall. I called Quantum and they refused to replace the unit free, even though it was known defective and they had issued a recall on that entire run. Needless to say, I was not pleased by that. Now the new 3.5" Quantum Pro-80 and Pro-40 seem to be quite good, but if they are susceptible to the same problem as the older 5.25" units, I don't want to have anything to do with them. To adapt an old phrase, screw me once and it's bad luck, but screw me twice and I'll never buy from you again... So I too am very very interested in the results of this survey. Since Jeff is doing one already, mail to him, not me, and when he posts his summary we'll know a little more. Let's hope it's not so bad- there are LOTS of those quantums out there... --- Alexis Rosen alexis@ccnysci.{uucp,bitnet} alexis@rascal.ics.utexas.edu (last resort)
alexis@ccnysci.UUCP (Alexis Rosen) (05/13/89)
In article <1961@ccnysci.UUCP> I wrote: >This could be a very serious issue, of at least as much concern as the faulty >power supplies in the Mac 512/Plus, or it might not. But I'm concerned because >Quantum has a history... read on. > > [long description of problems with Q280s] Well, I just talked today with Charles McConnathy, president of MicroNet, and I have some negative data to report. He says that he has taken back very few of the Pro-series Quantums, and he has sold quite a few of them. I'm glad to hear this, since I've got one coming in my IIx... Maybe it's not so bad after all. --- Alexis Rosen alexis@ccnysci.{uucp,bitnet} alexis@rascal.ics.utexas.edu (last resort)
jackd@copper.MDP.TEK.COM (Jack Decker) (05/15/89)
My SECOND (!) 40 Meg Sony hard drive just went out on my SE 30 tonight. I gotta tell you folks, this is getting old . . . jack decker Tektronix