5 Oct
2007
5 Oct
'07
10:43 a.m.
On Thursday 04 October 2007 14:59, Tony Duell wrote:
Heh. I have a whole box of those drives, pulled out of various systems. I
never did get around to acquiring an alignment disk for them, or for 8"
drives either, for that matter, as there wasn't any demand for such back
when. These days I'm not sure I could find one if needed.
Do folks still
consider drives worth aligning these days? If so I guess
I'd consider that worthwhile to have, otherwise probably not.
Actaully, considering the 'quality' of new PC 3.5" floppy drives, I
consider an exerciser and alignment disk essential if you want to use
those. Some of them come pre-mis-aligned ;-) There are a number of types of drives used in vintage
computers that are
no longer available, so it makes sense to be able to repair and align
them. I just wioh I'd bought a 3" alignment disk (and for that matter an
8" one) when they were available.
You imply here that they're not. I don't know, not having looked. I know
that with the 3.5" drives, I can buy new ones way cheaper than my time to
repair them is worth, if you can even get enough repair info on them to do
anything useful. Working on the older stuff is another matter entirely
though.
It also seems to make a lot of difference which brand of drive you get. I've
had spectacularly bad luck with some of them, like for example the Alps
drive that let the magic smoke out the first time I powered that particular
system up...
--
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space, ?a critter that can
be killed but can't be tamed. ?--Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
-
Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James
M Dakin