A500 FDD making horrible squeaking noise, won't boot

shadowbolt05 · 19 December 2018, 17:39

Hi, so I finally got my A500 to power up, albeit with no video cable. When I put in the Workbench disk to test the FDD, it loaded okay the first time, with a horrible squeaking noise coming out at the end. So, I powered it off and removed the disk. Second time around I put the disk in and the squeaking came back immediately. I could hear the heads moving, trying to read the disk, but it wouldn't do anything and the drive activity LED went off.

I'd imagine that it may be a motor problem, but I thought I'd get help here anyway. The drive is a Chinon model from sometime in 1989.

matburton · 19 December 2018, 23:14

Hey shadowbolt05,

First-up are you sure it's the drive that's squeaking and not the disk?

Do you have any other disks to try? They don't have to be bootable, just pop-them in and see if they squeak the in the same way.

Daedalus · 20 December 2018, 10:57

Yeah, disks that have gone mouldy or have otherwise become contaminated will squeak and squeal when inserted in a drive. Be careful with this, as often these disks will leave contamination on the drive heads which can cause failure to read good disks, and can even damage otherwise good disks if it's bad enough. Check the disk(s) you were trying for staining or contamination on the medium, and if it's anything other than pristine I would strongly recommend cleaning the heads before you do much else.

shadowbolt05 · 20 December 2018, 17:59

To matburton: I've tried three disks, all genuine Amiga. It always squeaks. When I tried a different disk though, no squeaks. So yep, it's the disks.

To Daedalus: It's the disks. I can't see any contamination within the disks through the access hatch on them.

Thanks for the help!

19 December 2018, 17:39	#1
shadowbolt05 Beginner Amiga Person...? Join Date: Dec 2018 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 9	A500 FDD making horrible squeaking noise, won't boot Hi, so I finally got my A500 to power up, albeit with no video cable. When I put in the Workbench disk to test the FDD, it loaded okay the first time, with a horrible squeaking noise coming out at the end. So, I powered it off and removed the disk. Second time around I put the disk in and the squeaking came back immediately. I could hear the heads moving, trying to read the disk, but it wouldn't do anything and the drive activity LED went off. I'd imagine that it may be a motor problem, but I thought I'd get help here anyway. The drive is a Chinon model from sometime in 1989.

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19 December 2018, 23:14	#2
matburton Registered User Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: Cambridge Posts: 136	Hey shadowbolt05, First-up are you sure it's the drive that's squeaking and not the disk? Do you have any other disks to try? They don't have to be bootable, just pop-them in and see if they squeak the in the same way.

20 December 2018, 10:57	#3
Daedalus Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Dublin, then Glasgow Posts: 6,369	Yeah, disks that have gone mouldy or have otherwise become contaminated will squeak and squeal when inserted in a drive. Be careful with this, as often these disks will leave contamination on the drive heads which can cause failure to read good disks, and can even damage otherwise good disks if it's bad enough. Check the disk(s) you were trying for staining or contamination on the medium, and if it's anything other than pristine I would strongly recommend cleaning the heads before you do much else.

20 December 2018, 17:59	#4
shadowbolt05 Beginner Amiga Person...? Join Date: Dec 2018 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 9	To matburton: I've tried three disks, all genuine Amiga. It always squeaks. When I tried a different disk though, no squeaks. So yep, it's the disks. To Daedalus: It's the disks. I can't see any contamination within the disks through the access hatch on them. Thanks for the help!

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