Dying floppy drive

Maren · 03 March 2010, 22:25

Well, apparently (done extensive testing) the floppy drive in my A500 is dying. This thing only reads stuff when it feels like it and that's becoming quite annoying

Now the question: is there someone selling INTERNAL floppy drives suitable for a stock A500? I know I can get an external one and even another A500, but I kind of feel attached to mine so I wouldn't want to replace it or leave any of it's parts damaged forever.

Thanks.

prowler · 03 March 2010, 22:49

I have a spare one arriving soon. Where are you?

dlfrsilver · 04 March 2010, 01:41

i would say France ? lol

cosmicfrog · 04 March 2010, 01:54

day trip on the ferry then hehehe

I`ve just spent the evening sorting out which floppy drives work and which don`t
next job is to replace the dead ones with modified pc ones
http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=397146&postcount=56

8bitbubsy · 04 March 2010, 07:57

Here's a cheap little floppy disk cleaner:
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...roducts_id=276
I bought one of these, and they do wonders.

Maren · 04 March 2010, 12:04

@prowler: Cornwall, but let me first try what cosmicfrog and 8bitbubsy suggested

@dlfrsilver: my avatar, right?

twizzle · 04 March 2010, 12:44

have you also cleaned the floppy disk`s, read /write switch, located front lower left side,?

dlfrsilver · 04 March 2010, 14:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maren

@prowler: Cornwall, but let me first try what cosmicfrog and 8bitbubsy suggested

@dlfrsilver: my avatar, right?

yes your avatar coming from "les mondes engloutis"

paulo_becas · 04 March 2010, 15:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maren

Well, apparently (done extensive testing) the floppy drive in my A500 is dying. This thing only reads stuff when it feels like it and that's becoming quite annoying

Now the question: is there someone selling INTERNAL floppy drives suitable for a stock A500? I know I can get an external one and even another A500, but I kind of feel attached to mine so I wouldn't want to replace it or leave any of it's parts damaged forever.

Thanks.

I have 2 500's and the drives were dead but i manage to get one of them to work, the other was useless.
Have you tried cleaning the heads with alcohol?
It worked for me, rub it really well and wait a few minutes then try it again.
Another problem that i experienced is the switch of the floppy that detects if the floppy disc is write protected,sometimes it started to work by himself without any floppy inserted and other times it refused to work at all, try spraying it with those 'cleaning everything' sprays. If the problem continues try modifying one PC floppy drive, i've modified a few and i can help you out.
Maybe i can send you one if you want.

Check this thread about how to modify PC floppy drives, it looks complicated but it's quite simple.
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=30944

Maren · 08 March 2010, 22:01

Guess what, I carefully wiped all the gunk off the switches and the rest of the drive as twizzle suggested... and it worked! I should have known better, Amiga hardware can't die, it's just lack of maintenance

Thanks everyone for your help

prowler · 08 March 2010, 22:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maren

Guess what, I carefully wiped all the gunk off the switches and the rest of the drive as twizzle suggested... and it worked!

That's great!

(So now I get to keep my spare drive.

)

03 March 2010, 22:25	#1
Maren Banned Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: * Posts: 567	Dying floppy drive Well, apparently (done extensive testing) the floppy drive in my A500 is dying. This thing only reads stuff when it feels like it and that's becoming quite annoying Now the question: is there someone selling INTERNAL floppy drives suitable for a stock A500? I know I can get an external one and even another A500, but I kind of feel attached to mine so I wouldn't want to replace it or leave any of it's parts damaged forever. Thanks.

04 March 2010, 07:57	#5
8bitbubsy Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Norway Posts: 1,711	Here's a cheap little floppy disk cleaner: http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...roducts_id=276 I bought one of these, and they do wonders. Last edited by 8bitbubsy; 04 March 2010 at 08:02.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Floppy drive timings and NTSC floppy unreliability	mark_k	support.WinUAE	6	02 February 2013 22:03
Can I use external floppy drive as internal drive?	Mrs Beanbag	support.Hardware	6	12 December 2012 19:15
Noisy floppy drive or drive not reading properly HD disks?	Old Fool	support.Hardware	4	07 June 2010 15:09
Strange Amiga 1200 floppy drive... PC drive converted to amiga?	jbenam	support.Hardware	8	30 March 2009 19:24
Floppy drive, dying or dirty?	jimbob	support.Hardware	2	29 August 2006 21:07

03 March 2010, 22:49	#2
prowler Global Moderator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Sidcup, England Posts: 10,300	I have a spare one arriving soon. Where are you?

04 March 2010, 01:41	#3
dlfrsilver CaptainM68K-SPS France Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Melun nearby Paris/France Age: 46 Posts: 10,413	i would say France ? lol

04 March 2010, 01:54	#4
cosmicfrog The 1 who ribbits Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: leek, Staffs, UK Age: 56 Posts: 3,557	day trip on the ferry then hehehe I`ve just spent the evening sorting out which floppy drives work and which don`t next job is to replace the dead ones with modified pc ones http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=397146&postcount=56

04 March 2010, 12:04	#6
Maren Banned Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: * Posts: 567	@prowler: Cornwall, but let me first try what cosmicfrog and 8bitbubsy suggested @dlfrsilver: my avatar, right?

04 March 2010, 12:44	#7
twizzle Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: taunton.som.uk Age: 73 Posts: 681	have you also cleaned the floppy disk`s, read /write switch, located front lower left side,?

08 March 2010, 22:01	#10
Maren Banned Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: * Posts: 567	Guess what, I carefully wiped all the gunk off the switches and the rest of the drive as twizzle suggested... and it worked! I should have known better, Amiga hardware can't die, it's just lack of maintenance Thanks everyone for your help

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)