A500 floppy issues

30 October 2012, 03:07

Hi, after digging out my a500 for some retrogaming i discovered that the drive would detect read/write errors on most disks. often times i could move past with a retry. i also have a cdtv with floppy and verified the disks would work using it. I would like to use the a500 seeing as the cdtv does not have joystick ports. after a little more testing i determined:

Symptoms:

1)upon getting wb1.3 and using the duplicate (diskcopy) function the disk would begin to copy. ie read from source
2) the drive would then begin to write to the copy and appear to be succesfull until it wwould try to verify the copy
3) after this even when rebooting it would not want to read as well as it did during an earlier boot
4) powering off and coming back it would be back to its initial state of (mis)functioning
5)games such as lotus II would crash to kickstart screen or "software failure" screen

Options?

Would a replacement drive for an a600/a1200 from amigakit be compatible in an operational sense. perhaps with a little modification? does this sound like another problem ie a power issue or a cia chip issue?

any help is appreciated

TjLaZer · 30 October 2012, 04:27

Get a floppy disk cleaning kit with alcohol solution to clean heads. That usually gets it working.

I just bought a replacement floppy drive for my A500 on eBay for $24. It fits the case whereas the ones from Amikit that are PC modded ones, do not fit very well and eject button wont line up.

02 November 2012, 01:49

thanks for the feedback. was unable to find a cleaning kit other than on amazons website. with shipping it was comparable in price to one of the brand new drive units. at this point i may open her up and attempt a manual cleaning or alignment.

any one have any tips? I have seen the x-copy alignment method. it seems easy enough.

Smakar · 02 November 2012, 08:20

I also had issues with my internal floppy drive when I first took it out of storage after 18 years. I had ordered a replacement drive and while waiting for it I:

- disassembled my A500 and floppy drive,
- thoroughly cleaned the heads with cotton swabs and an alcohol solution (old kit I had for cleaning tape cassette players),
- reseated the CIA chips,
- reseated the tape drive cables.

I haven't had an issue since (past 6 months) and now have a spare drive

.

30 October 2012, 03:07	#1
putz2k1 Posts: n/a	A500 floppy issues Hi, after digging out my a500 for some retrogaming i discovered that the drive would detect read/write errors on most disks. often times i could move past with a retry. i also have a cdtv with floppy and verified the disks would work using it. I would like to use the a500 seeing as the cdtv does not have joystick ports. after a little more testing i determined: Symptoms: 1)upon getting wb1.3 and using the duplicate (diskcopy) function the disk would begin to copy. ie read from source 2) the drive would then begin to write to the copy and appear to be succesfull until it wwould try to verify the copy 3) after this even when rebooting it would not want to read as well as it did during an earlier boot 4) powering off and coming back it would be back to its initial state of (mis)functioning 5)games such as lotus II would crash to kickstart screen or "software failure" screen Options? Would a replacement drive for an a600/a1200 from amigakit be compatible in an operational sense. perhaps with a little modification? does this sound like another problem ie a power issue or a cia chip issue? any help is appreciated

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30 October 2012, 04:27	#2
TjLaZer Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Tacoma, WA USA Age: 52 Posts: 1,927	Get a floppy disk cleaning kit with alcohol solution to clean heads. That usually gets it working. I just bought a replacement floppy drive for my A500 on eBay for $24. It fits the case whereas the ones from Amikit that are PC modded ones, do not fit very well and eject button wont line up.

02 November 2012, 01:49	#3
putz2k1 Posts: n/a	thanks for the feedback. was unable to find a cleaning kit other than on amazons website. with shipping it was comparable in price to one of the brand new drive units. at this point i may open her up and attempt a manual cleaning or alignment. any one have any tips? I have seen the x-copy alignment method. it seems easy enough.

02 November 2012, 08:20	#4
Smakar Amiga Fan in Phoenix Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Phoenix, AZ USA Age: 66 Posts: 60	I also had issues with my internal floppy drive when I first took it out of storage after 18 years. I had ordered a replacement drive and while waiting for it I: - disassembled my A500 and floppy drive, - thoroughly cleaned the heads with cotton swabs and an alcohol solution (old kit I had for cleaning tape cassette players), - reseated the CIA chips, - reseated the tape drive cables. I haven't had an issue since (past 6 months) and now have a spare drive .

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