Problems with the internal disk drive

[scifi]

Guys, I have an Amiga 500 and I have a huge problem with the disk drive.
It doesn't seem to get loading...

When I insert the disk in the drive it starts to growl until it brings me back to the kickstart scene.

The last two months it has started to give me indications that something is going wrong... in the middle of games like Civilization, when the drive was working to load data in order to continue, a cell poped up which said that there was not the disk in the DF0: or the DF0: was not accessible!

Do you think that the drive gave up the spirit or a clean up with a clean-up disk can bring it to life?

Should a common clean up floppy do the work (with the read-write window covered I guess)

[a_petri]

Originally Posted by scifi

Guys, I have an Amiga 500 and I have a huge problem with the disk drive.
It doesn't seem to get loading...

When I insert the disk in the drive it starts to growl until it brings me back to the kickstart scene.

The last two months it has started to give me indications that something is going wrong... in the middle of games like Civilization, when the drive was working to load data in order to continue, a cell poped up which said that there was not the disk in the DF0: or the DF0: was not accessible!

It is also possible that the disk-presence-sensing microswitch of the drive is faulty (filled with dust and dirt during the long years).

Try pressing the left side of the inserted disk *gently* downwards. If the disk starts to load while you press, then most probably the microswitch is the cause of the problem. Alas, it is very difficult or impossible to fix

[scifi]

This "rough" technique was used before and it had been a success, but now even this cannot work...

I believe that you're right... I'll try to clean it up and see what happens

Thanks

[a_petri]

Originally Posted by scifi

This "rough" technique was used before and it had been a success, but now even this cannot work...

I believe that you're right... I'll try to clean it up and see what happens

Thanks

Best of luck!

If nothing else helps, you can try hunting for a replacement.

A500s usually have Panasonic JU-253 disk drives in them. It can be easily replaced with the Panasonic JU-257 (PC 1.44MB HD version, but its external dimensions are completely identical and it is very easy to modify for DD operation).

With a bit of luck, you'll be able to find a PC scrapyard nearby with a big box filled with 3.5" floppy drives, and it is quite probable that there will be several JU-257s among them If nothing else, even a dead JU-257 can be used for getting a replacement microswitch...

[Smiley]

I remember when my a600 drive broke. I took an external drive i had out of its case and put it in......it was such a bodge....worked tho..

only if ure desperate

[Overdoc]

Simply get a can of electornic contact-spray and give a small drop inside the disk-detection-switch.
It will work fine again