cscullio@ncratl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM (Chris Scullion) (04/08/91)
I've got this 520ST hanging around, gathering dust because the floppy drive is
broken. Thought I'd ask around and see if I can get enough info to fix it.
Here's the problem... turn on the computer, floppy (internal, single sided)
light comes on (can't tell if the motor spins)... won't read the floppy ...
after typical delay (40 seconds, I think), desktop appears, but the floppies
give error message when I try to open them. What I know for sure:
1. The drive mechanism itself is OK (replaced it with a known working drive)
2. The floppy I'm testing with IS formatted (done on my 1040ST)
3. The 520STFM used to have a RAM upgrade which failed (probably unrelated to
this problem).
My guess is the floppy disk controller chip. My next step will be to desolder
it and replace it (I suppose it's easy to identify). Any other suggestions
would be most welcome (I've tried re-seating all the chips I could find).
Thanks
cscullio@ncratl.AtlantaGA.ncr.com
--
Chris Scullion | NCR Corporation 2651 Satellite Blvd., Duluth, GA 30136 |
| (404)623-7352 | VoicePlus 751-7352 | cscullio@ncratl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM |fortinp@bwdls56.bnr.ca (Pierre Fortin) (04/10/91)
In article <18489@ncratl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM>, cscullio@ncratl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM (Chris Scullion) writes: |> Here's the problem... turn on the computer, floppy (internal, single sided) |> light comes on (can't tell if the motor spins)... won't read the floppy ... Try pointing your soldering iron at a different target. I had a similar problem with our club's 1040. Turned out the problem was a bad solder job on the PS' circuit board. Try resoldering the points where the leads from the transformer connect to the board. Based on what I saw with this unit, I would likely re-solder all PSs I come in contact with... To be sure, check the 12V to the drive; you may find that it is either low or non-existant. Good luck. |> |> Thanks |> cscullio@ncratl.AtlantaGA.ncr.com |> |> -- |> Chris Scullion | NCR Corporation 2651 Satellite Blvd., Duluth, GA 30136 | |> | (404)623-7352 | VoicePlus 751-7352 | cscullio@ncratl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM | -- Cheers, Pierre Fortin fortinp@bnr.ca (613)763-2598
wolfram@cip-s06.informatik.rwth-aachen.de (Wolfram Roesler) (04/11/91)
What kind of error message do you get when opening the floppy? To make sure this is not a diskette problem, try to boot without a disk in the drive. Then insert a blank disk and format it. Check if this works and if you can access the so-formatted disk (write desktop.inf to it etc.) Get an external floppy and use it to read a) your original boot disk and b) the disk formatted with the internal drive. If it reads the boot disk but cannot access the newly-formatted disk, the r/w head might be out of alignment. Using the external drive correctly proves the controller is Ok of course. Good luck Okami-san