bridger%rcc@RAND.ORG (Bridger Mitchell) (06/23/89)
Charles West noted the importance of adequate cooling. Heat buildup has caused erratic performance in several Kaypro models. In addition to cleaning the fan filter, a good check is to remove the metal cover and run the machine in the open, especially when the ambient room temperature is high. Controller chips can get too *cold* also! When Plu*Perfect Systems was in Idyllwild we had a Kaypro 10 in a minimally-insulated basement office. When powered-op on cold (20 - 30 degree F) mornings it would often report as many as *100* bad tracks. As it warmed up, fewer were reported, and in an hour all was again well. After that, we usually left the machine running overnight! -- bridger mitchell
h3x2@tank.uchicago.edu (andrew abrams shapiro) (06/24/89)
In article <8906231622.AA01389@newton> bridger%rcc@RAND.ORG (Bridger Mitchell) writes: >Controller chips can get too *cold* also! When Plu*Perfect Systems >was in Idyllwild we had a Kaypro 10 in a minimally-insulated basement >office. When powered-op on cold (20 - 30 degree F) mornings it would >often report as many as *100* bad tracks. As it warmed up, fewer were >reported, and in an hour all was again well. After that, we usually >left the machine running overnight! It probably wasn't chips, but the drive itself! In my PC experience, many machines equipped with Seagate 20 or 30 Mbyte drives have serious problems with physics. That is, parts of the drives expand/contract with temperature changes, which, uh, moves the tracks around a little. I've seen a machine that had its HD formatted in an air-conditioned room start to die after it warmed up a little. I suspect in the above case that the disk wasn't formatted under cold conditions, and contraction caused problems until the disk warmed up from the PS/drive motors/etc. So before you check your chips, stabilize the machine at a reasonable room temperature and see if you STILL have trouble... If you don't, I'd be willing to bet the trouble is mechanical, not electronic! --Andy
josef@ugun13.UUCP (06/27/89)
In his response, Andy ??? (h3x2@tank.UUCP) writes: > It probably wasn't chips, but the drive itself! In my PC experience, many > machines equipped with Seagate 20 or 30 Mbyte drives have serious problems ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > with physics. That is, parts of the drives expand/contract with This is not only true for the drives of any specific hardware manufacturer. When I started working with our company some 8 years ago, we used removable disks (who didn't at that time?) and the first hint everybody gave you was to insert a disk pack (remember that word: "disk pack"?), then switch on the drive and have a cup of coffee in order to have the pack at the proper temperature. Josef Moellers paper mail: e-mail: c/o Nixdorf Computer AG USA: uunet!linus!nixbur!mollers.pad Abt. DX-SC 1 !USA: mcvax!unido!nixpbe!mollers.pad Heinz-Nixdorf-Ring Phone: D-4790 Paderborn (+49) 5251 104691 +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | "Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. | | Can You give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out | | death in judgement" | | Gandalf to Frodo in "The Fellowship of the Ring"| +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+