Josh, IIRC, you need to have an 8" floppy in for the testing.
cctalk-request at
classiccmp.org wrote:
Subject:
HP 9885M troubleshooting tips
From:
Josh Dersch <derschjo at mail.msu.edu>
Date:
Tue, 26 Jun 2012 21:16:48 -0700
To:
General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Hi all --
Picked up a (mostly) complete HP 9885M (8" floppy drive) set up for my
HP 9825 computer. I have the 9885M drive itself, a 98032A interface,
and the "Flexible Disk Drive" ROM pak for the 9825. I am unfortunately
missing the "9825A Disk System Cartridge" tape (hp p/n 09885-90035).
Any ideas if this has been archived anywhere? I haven't found it in my
searches. (Not that I currently have any means to get it onto my
9825...) Looks like this is actually required in order to format disks.
Sigh...
Unfortunately, the drive appears to be failing the built-in diagnostic;
there's a single LED that goes on when the test starts and it's supposed
to go out within a minute if the diagnostic's passed. The LED on mine
just stays on permanently. Unfortunately that's the -only- diagnostic
indicator on the unit. I've read through the service manual and unless
I'm missing something it doesn't really describe how to go about
narrowing down the problem. There's a flowchart that basically says "if
the light doesn't go out, it's a problem with the controller in the
drive unit" which seems fairly obvious...
The service manual mentions a diagnostic on the tape, but I don't have
this to aid me. Anyone have any experience with these drives? Any
pointers for starting out? (I've checked the obvious things -- the
power supply voltages look good, etc).
Thanks as always,
Josh