Duff A4000 drive, or just duff disks?

04 August 2001, 15:30

Hi,

I've recently acquired an A4000 thru ebay, and whilst testing out my old collection of Amiga software on it I've found 100% of the disks will not read on the Internal, High-Density drive. The drive will however read/write to floppies formatted with this drive.

Could these older disks (That have not been used since May '98) have gone completely? Or could there be a problem with the drive?

It's also worth noting that a PC disk that I tried to read using CrossDOS wouldn't work on the Amiga, but when I tried using my main PC, it would.

Help!

TikTok · 04 August 2001, 16:38

Sounds like the drive heads could be out of alignment. IIRC, this means the drive will be able to read disks created by itself, but not ones formatted in other drives. Any disk created by your A4000 will effectively be "faulty" - but the A4000 can read them because it reads them incorrectly, thus "cancelling out" the error.

Try formatting a PC disk on the Amiga, then try to read it in the PC. If the PC can't read it, I suspect this will be the problem.

I think this can be fixed quite easily using a screwdriver or similar....but you'd better check with someone else first

04 August 2001, 21:03

Thanks Tiktok, I tried formatting a PC disk using the Amiga, and guess what? The PC couldn't read it.

Does anyone have an idea where I could find instructions on how to re-align floppy disk drive heads?

TikTok · 04 August 2001, 21:42

Aminet would be my best suggestion until someone else replies. The "hard" dir may contain some useful information, or you could just do a search. Good luck.

Amiga1992 · 04 August 2001, 22:24

I suppose you formatted it as a PC disk, not in Amiga format, right?

Sorry if that sounds patronising but you never know.

05 August 2001, 01:05

Akira,

Yes - it is in PC format...

... unless I've lost all my Amiga knowledge

04 August 2001, 15:30	#1
dawg Posts: n/a	Duff A4000 drive, or just duff disks? Hi, I've recently acquired an A4000 thru ebay, and whilst testing out my old collection of Amiga software on it I've found 100% of the disks will not read on the Internal, High-Density drive. The drive will however read/write to floppies formatted with this drive. Could these older disks (That have not been used since May '98) have gone completely? Or could there be a problem with the drive? It's also worth noting that a PC disk that I tried to read using CrossDOS wouldn't work on the Amiga, but when I tried using my main PC, it would. Help!

04 August 2001, 16:38	#2
TikTok Registered User Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Malayasia Age: 43 Posts: 657	Heads out of alignment? Sounds like the drive heads could be out of alignment. IIRC, this means the drive will be able to read disks created by itself, but not ones formatted in other drives. Any disk created by your A4000 will effectively be "faulty" - but the A4000 can read them because it reads them incorrectly, thus "cancelling out" the error. Try formatting a PC disk on the Amiga, then try to read it in the PC. If the PC can't read it, I suspect this will be the problem. I think this can be fixed quite easily using a screwdriver or similar....but you'd better check with someone else first

04 August 2001, 21:03	#3
dawg Posts: n/a	Head Alignment Thanks Tiktok, I tried formatting a PC disk using the Amiga, and guess what? The PC couldn't read it. Does anyone have an idea where I could find instructions on how to re-align floppy disk drive heads?

05 August 2001, 01:05	#6
dawg Posts: n/a	PC Format? Akira, Yes - it is in PC format... ... unless I've lost all my Amiga knowledge

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04 August 2001, 21:42	#4
TikTok Registered User Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Malayasia Age: 43 Posts: 657	Aminet would be my best suggestion until someone else replies. The "hard" dir may contain some useful information, or you could just do a search. Good luck.

04 August 2001, 22:24	#5
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,645	I suppose you formatted it as a PC disk, not in Amiga format, right? Sorry if that sounds patronising but you never know.

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