I've had
the same results with 8,5.25 and 3.5
media.
They all work well for me, I keep the drive
clean
and dust bunny free and problems are rare.
Which is the best way of cleaning the drives?
Dishwasher.
Just kidding.
I typically will remove the drive from the
computer/case, take off any covers, and blow/vacuum
out any dust bunnies, fuzzies and debris from the
inside of the drive. I've found all sorts of junk in 5
1/4" drives - labels, bits of paper, business cards,
write protect tabs, coins, etc.
To clean the heads, I use a q-tip with isopropyl
alcohol and carefully clean them - you want to be
careful not to bend them, that'll make your problem
worse... Check to make sure that there isn't any
damage or gunk on the rails the head rides on too.
Those stupid "cleaning disks" are a nice and lazy way
of doing this, but they aren't nearly as effective as
a good manual cleaning. Plus, if your drive is full of
dust (and I've seen some ferocious dust bunnies), then
it's not going to help that. It's also a good idea to
clean the dust off the optical index hole sensors (5
1/4" drives) while you're in there. Also clean the
clamp/spindle ring on 5 1/4" drives.
-Ian
