[comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc] HD Problems

steve@chama.unm.edu (Steve Jorgensen-S) (09/04/90)

I am not sure this is the correct place to put this message, but
I am having some hard disk problems.  I have an Epson Equity I+
XT compatable, with a miniscribe 3650 hard disk.  Now, this is
my problem.  Tonight when I turned it on, instead of spinning up,
the LED on the front of the drive flashed 4 (maybe 5) quick blinks
of red, then one long blink, and finally two sets of 3 quick blinks.
I am assuming this is some sort of error code, and unfortunately
I don't have the manual for the drive.  So, could some kind soul with
a miniscribe 3650 manual please tell me what the error code means so
I can maybe fix it.  Thanks in advance.

					Steve

--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steven Jorgensen		|  "Come sweet slumber and shroud me in thy
Electrical and Computer Eng	|  purple cloak, huh doesn't even rhyme."
University of New Mexico	|  -- Max Headroom 

steve@chama.unm.edu (Steve Jorgensen-S) (09/04/90)

	Oops, forgot to include my email address in last post.
	Please email responses to steve@chama.unm.edu
--
Steven Jorgensen		|  "Come sweet slumber and shroud me in thy
Electrical and Computer Eng	|  purple cloak, huh doesn't even rhyme."
University of New Mexico	|  -- Max Headroom 
Internet: steve@chimayo.unm.edu |

ralphs@halcyon.wa.com (Ralph Sims) (09/04/90)

steve@chama.unm.edu (Steve Jorgensen-S) writes:

> I am having some hard disk problems.  I have an Epson Equity I+
> XT compatable, with a miniscribe 3650 hard disk.  Now, this is
> my problem.  Tonight when I turned it on, instead of spinning up,
> the LED on the front of the drive flashed 4 (maybe 5) quick blinks
> of red, then one long blink, and finally two sets of 3 quick blinks.

It appears you may lose the boot track of the drive.  This is a common
problem with the 3650.  Here's something to do (keeping your data
intact is about a 15% chance):

Remove the printed circuit board from the drive, or at least free it
enough to get to the stepper motor.  On the shaft of the motor is a
metal 'flag' that rotates through a black plastic yoke.  The yoke
contains an optical sensor, the beam of which is broken by the flag
as the boot track and the heads come into alignment.  What has
happened is that the flag has moved slightly on the shaft, or that
something else has caused a misalignment.  Rotate the flag until it
comes up into the yoke and note where it is.  Slightly loosen the
set screw holding the flag and ever-so-slightly rotate it around the
shaft until it is about 1/3 through where the light beam would be
(the light source and the sensor can be seen by shining a light
into the yoke).  Tighten the screw firmly, replace the pc board and
try the drive.  This may take a half-dozen or so tries.  If you're
lucky, everything will align exactly where it should, and your data
will be intact, but this is not usually the case.  When you do get
the drive to come up, do a new low-level format, etc.  There's a
certain 'feel' to all of this, but keep at it.

> I am assuming this is some sort of error code, and unfortunately
> I don't have the manual for the drive.  So, could some kind soul with

This is not in the manual, and techs at Miniscribe don't want to
talk about it.  If all else fails, a hard drive repair shop and ~$150
should take care of it.  I've had to do this with two 3650's over the
past three years.

kgallagh@digi.lonestar.org (Kevin Gallagher) (09/10/90)

In article <20Pyo2w163w@halcyon.wa.com> ralphs@halcyon.wa.com (Ralph Sims) writes:
>steve@chama.unm.edu (Steve Jorgensen-S) writes:
>
>> I am having some hard disk problems.  I have an Epson Equity I+
>> XT compatable, with a miniscribe 3650 hard disk.  Now, this is
>> my problem.  Tonight when I turned it on, instead of spinning up,
>> the LED on the front of the drive flashed 4 (maybe 5) quick blinks
>> of red, then one long blink, and finally two sets of 3 quick blinks.
>
>It appears you may lose the boot track of the drive.  This is a common
>problem with the 3650.  Here's something to do (keeping your data
>intact is about a 15% chance):
>
>[stuff deleted]
>The yoke contains an optical sensor, the beam of which is broken by the flag
>as the boot track and the heads come into alignment.  What has happened is
>that the flag has moved slightly on the shaft, or that something else has
>caused a misalignment.
>[stuff deleted]
>
>> I am assuming this is some sort of error code, and unfortunately
>> I don't have the manual for the drive.  So, could some kind soul with
>
>This is not in the manual, and techs at Miniscribe don't want to
>talk about it.  If all else fails, a hard drive repair shop and ~$150
>should take care of it.  I've had to do this with two 3650's over the
>past three years.

Well the error code IS in the manual and it describes a different problem.
Here's how you interpret the red LED codes:

	0 = 0.5 second flashing
	1 = 0.5 second continuous on
	between digits = 0.5 second off
	between repeat cycles of code = 1.0 second off

There are 16 possible error codes, given as 4-digit binary numbers.  The
pattern described by Steve Jorgensen yields a 0100, which is code 4.
According to the manual, a code 4 is an "Index pulse not detected during
spinup".  (If the problem were as Ralph Sims describes, you should be seeing
code A (1010), which is: "Track Zero interrupter misadjusted".)

It sounds like the index detector is bad on your drive.  The manual states
that the

     3650 is designed to use an optical or magnetic detector located inside
     the spin motor housing.  As the motor rotates, the detector translates a
     black mark on the housing into an index pulse on connector J6 pin 1.
     
     Some motors use an external reluctance transducer device that is mounted
     to the drive baseplate, and detects the passage of a hole in the spin
     motor housing that is not magnetic.  As the hole passes the detector, an
     index pulse is generated a J7 pin 2.

     Since both types have a hole in the motor housing, it is possible to
     repair the built-in optical detector by removing the wire at J6 pin 1,
     adding an external detector and connecting it to J7.  (Refer to Section
     8.2 for the replacement procedure.)

Good luck!