Floppy Drive problems

Sim085 · 16 July 2015, 21:45

Hello,

I have an A1200 Floppy Drive CHINON model FZ-354 that all of a sudden stopped working. Yesterday I was copying some disks to CF card. Everything worked fine. Some disks had some errors but that was to be expected.

I then inserted some DOS disks and copied these as well. I wanted to format one of the disks and by mistake I selected the PC0 icon and I formatted without any issue. I then selected same the DF0 icon and formatted. It gave me a strange error that disk was write-protected when it was not. I did not think much so I moved the switch up and again the disk told me it is write protected, so I moved it down and it seemed like it work.

However when I inserted another disk it did not recognise this. Both PC0 and DF0 icons showed with ????

Now when I remove the CF card and try to boot from floppy I can hear some movement but then it stops and I get the start up screen again.

I searched on the net and the problem does not seem to be the switch. When I press the switch (with no disk) it does the same exact noise as when I insert a disk and doesn't boot.

Also I tried another disk drive from an A500 and this worked fine without issue (so I guess it is something with floppy not motherboard).

Does anyone know what might be the issue and if it is fixable.

Franchute13 · 16 July 2015, 21:53

Maybe this will help.
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=71760

ptyerman · 16 July 2015, 21:54

Clean the heads with some isopropyl alchohol or similar making sure to get every last spot, and then wipe them with kitchen towel or similar. Also VERY lightly oil the rail that the heads slide on. If you have access to a can of switch cleaner, carefully spray the write protect switch and manually press it a few times. Of course, do all this with the drive un-powered/disconnected.

Sim085 · 16 July 2015, 22:01

This might sound as a silly question but do I need to open the drive to do this? I am asking as I have already tried to open it but it is much more difficult to open than the Amiga 500 drives...

Quote:

Originally Posted by ptyerman

Clean the heads with some isopropyl alchohol or similar making sure to get every last spot, and then wipe them with kitchen towel or similar. Also VERY lightly oil the rail that the heads slide on. If you have access to a can of switch cleaner, carefully spray the write protect switch and manually press it a few times. Of course, do all this with the drive un-powered/disconnected.

Thanks, I will go through that thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franchute13

Maybe this will help.
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=71760

ptyerman · 16 July 2015, 22:12

Yes, disconnect the drive and take it out of the Amiga, take off the top cover to reveal the heads and gain access to them.

Sim085 · 16 July 2015, 22:40

I really can't see how that is possible without breaking the thing...

Quote:

Originally Posted by ptyerman

Yes, disconnect the drive and take it out of the Amiga, take off the top cover to reveal the heads and gain access to them.

Anyone opened one of these?

Arnie · 16 July 2015, 23:13

Carefully prise the sides free and lift the top cover off. Use a thin, blunt knife or small screwdriver.

Jope · 17 July 2015, 07:46

The FZ doesn't come apart like that.

There are two bronze coloured phillips screws on the sides, then there's one small black phillips on top. Remove these, then the innards slide out of the metal sleeve.

Sim085 · 17 July 2015, 10:33

Thanks to all for the help.

What seemed impossible to me at first showed to be very possible in the end. When looking at the inside I thought that the clips on the side where "U" form. This resulted not to be so..

Anyways, opened it, it was not that dirty but heads did have dust. Cleaned with Surgical Spirit. Placed some oil on motor screw.

WORKED LIKE A CHARM

It is even much more silent than before.

Thanks again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arnie

Carefully prise the sides free and lift the top cover off. Use a thin, blunt knife or small screwdriver.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jope

There are two bronze coloured phillips screws on the sides, then there's one small black phillips on top. Remove these, then the innards slide out of the metal sleeve.

Arnie · 17 July 2015, 14:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jope

The FZ doesn't come apart like that.

There are two bronze coloured phillips screws on the sides, then there's one small black phillips on top. Remove these, then the innards slide out of the metal sleeve.

Very strange, no screws on mine. I'm talking about the outer case, the top part.

Sim085 · 17 July 2015, 15:15

Hello again, as said now the drive recognize both Amiga and PC disks again (PC disks with one whole, i.e. - physically they are the same as the Amiga but files are from PC).

I copied files from the PC disk ok.
However when I tried to format the PC disk (i.e. - selected DF0:???? and clicked Format) I get first a window where I enter the name I want to give to the disk. After this I get a message "Initializing..." (I will try to get screenshot). However I hear nothing from the drive and nothing seem to happy (I waited a minute or two).

Am I doing something wrong?

As for this ... mine did not have either (has a screw at the bottom holding a plate which is covering the bottom of the drive). However I found several FZ models on the internet before posting here when looking for a solution.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arnie

Very strange, no screws on mine. I'm talking about the outer case, the top part.

Jope · 17 July 2015, 17:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arnie

Very strange, no screws on mine. I'm talking about the outer case, the top part.

Are you sure you don't have the slimline FB model? Is yours very old? The older ones are different again..

The fz doesn't actually even fit in the A1200 case. :-)

Or did I mix them up? I quickly answered with my phone, that is a bit disaster prone. :-)

Ok, gis says I did. Sorry! :-)

ElectroBlaster · 25 July 2015, 03:17

In my Amiga travels I have encountered two types of Chinon drive!

A deep/phat model that came in nearly every A500 I have ever seen apart from the odd A500+, also Commodore external disk drives (unsure which model?) but a black version came out for the CDTV.

Anyway it means the A500 variant is easy to strip down, the A600 version is a PITA! I have one here that does not work. I do intend stripping it down and seeing if there is a bad capacitor lurking inside it. Hoping so! I have fixed a bunch of old Teac drives by simply soldering in a new capacitor and giving all the internals a good clean and service.

16 July 2015, 21:45	#1
Sim085 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: N/A Posts: 962	Floppy Drive problems Hello, I have an A1200 Floppy Drive CHINON model FZ-354 that all of a sudden stopped working. Yesterday I was copying some disks to CF card. Everything worked fine. Some disks had some errors but that was to be expected. I then inserted some DOS disks and copied these as well. I wanted to format one of the disks and by mistake I selected the PC0 icon and I formatted without any issue. I then selected same the DF0 icon and formatted. It gave me a strange error that disk was write-protected when it was not. I did not think much so I moved the switch up and again the disk told me it is write protected, so I moved it down and it seemed like it work. However when I inserted another disk it did not recognise this. Both PC0 and DF0 icons showed with ???? Now when I remove the CF card and try to boot from floppy I can hear some movement but then it stops and I get the start up screen again. I searched on the net and the problem does not seem to be the switch. When I press the switch (with no disk) it does the same exact noise as when I insert a disk and doesn't boot. Also I tried another disk drive from an A500 and this worked fine without issue (so I guess it is something with floppy not motherboard). Does anyone know what might be the issue and if it is fixable.

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16 July 2015, 21:53	#2
Franchute13 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Argentina Posts: 281	Maybe this will help. http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=71760

16 July 2015, 21:54	#3
ptyerman Registered User Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Worksop/UK Age: 59 Posts: 1,328	Clean the heads with some isopropyl alchohol or similar making sure to get every last spot, and then wipe them with kitchen towel or similar. Also VERY lightly oil the rail that the heads slide on. If you have access to a can of switch cleaner, carefully spray the write protect switch and manually press it a few times. Of course, do all this with the drive un-powered/disconnected.

16 July 2015, 22:12	#5
ptyerman Registered User Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Worksop/UK Age: 59 Posts: 1,328	Yes, disconnect the drive and take it out of the Amiga, take off the top cover to reveal the heads and gain access to them.

16 July 2015, 23:13	#7
Arnie R.I.P Smudge 18-08-16 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Leicester/UK Age: 66 Posts: 3,968	Carefully prise the sides free and lift the top cover off. Use a thin, blunt knife or small screwdriver.

17 July 2015, 07:46	#8
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,882	The FZ doesn't come apart like that. There are two bronze coloured phillips screws on the sides, then there's one small black phillips on top. Remove these, then the innards slide out of the metal sleeve.

25 July 2015, 03:17	#13
ElectroBlaster Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Exeter, Devon, UK Age: 49 Posts: 1,712	In my Amiga travels I have encountered two types of Chinon drive! A deep/phat model that came in nearly every A500 I have ever seen apart from the odd A500+, also Commodore external disk drives (unsure which model?) but a black version came out for the CDTV. Anyway it means the A500 variant is easy to strip down, the A600 version is a PITA! I have one here that does not work. I do intend stripping it down and seeing if there is a bad capacitor lurking inside it. Hoping so! I have fixed a bunch of old Teac drives by simply soldering in a new capacitor and giving all the internals a good clean and service.

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