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Floppy drive for PS2 model 50z

O

Ogdentechguy

New Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2009
Messages
4
A customer of the company I work for is still using an old IBM PS/2 model 50z for a hotel reservation system. Recently the RAM on the system quit. We replaced it but now it wants us to run Setup*, but the floppy drive is having extreme issues reading disks. We're looking for either a replacement floppy drive or some alternate solution to this problem to get this ancient system back up on its feet. Twice we've ordered a replacement floppy and been promptly issued a refund because they (two different vendors) didn't have the item.

*Specifically, errors 165 and 163. It was 161 instead of 165 at first, but at one point the drive decided to read the disk and I got partway through the setup before it remembered that it was broken, and since then it's been a 165 instead.
 
I would try some simple stuff 1st, clean the heads and make sure everthing is moving freely and lubed and make a new Setup disk.

Download the disk's here! http://www.walshcomptech.com/selectpccbbs/



Ogdentechguy said:
A customer of the company I work for is still using an old IBM PS/2 model 50z for a hotel reservation system. Recently the RAM on the system quit. We replaced it but now it wants us to run Setup*, but the floppy drive is having extreme issues reading disks. We're looking for either a replacement floppy drive or some alternate solution to this problem to get this ancient system back up on its feet. Twice we've ordered a replacement floppy and been promptly issued a refund because they (two different vendors) didn't have the item.

*Specifically, errors 165 and 163. It was 161 instead of 165 at first, but at one point the drive decided to read the disk and I got partway through the setup before it remembered that it was broken, and since then it's been a 165 instead.
Click to expand...
 
Ogdentechguy said:
A customer of the company I work for is still using an old IBM PS/2 model 50z for a hotel reservation system. Recently the RAM on the system quit. We replaced it but now it wants us to run Setup*, but the floppy drive is having extreme issues reading disks. We're looking for either a replacement floppy drive or some alternate solution to this problem to get this ancient system back up on its feet. Twice we've ordered a replacement floppy and been promptly issued a refund because they (two different vendors) didn't have the item.

*Specifically, errors 165 and 163. It was 161 instead of 165 at first, but at one point the drive decided to read the disk and I got partway through the setup before it remembered that it was broken, and since then it's been a 165 instead.
Click to expand...

Even though I love hearing about systems like this still in operation (a couple years back I sent a replacement floppy drive for this model to a power company, but they were tied in because of a specific microchannel adapter), what is preventing them from upgrading to a newer system? They shouldn't be locked in by microchannel hardware on the system to do what the system does. Maybe it is just the needed software is loaded on the system, with no other way to get it on a newer system?

I'm not being anti-Luddite, just wondering why in trying to help...
 
IBMMuseum said:
Even though I love hearing about systems like this still in operation (a couple years back I sent a replacement floppy drive for this model to a power company, but they were tied in because of a specific microchannel adapter), what is preventing them from upgrading to a newer system? They shouldn't be locked in by microchannel hardware on the system to do what the system does. Maybe it is just the needed software is loaded on the system, with no other way to get it on a newer system?

I'm not being anti-Luddite, just wondering why in trying to help...
Click to expand...

Honestly I'm not sure why they cling to this system; my boss told them 4 years ago that they need to upgrade to a more modern system. In my opinion they should have taken this opportunity to do so, but then I'm not them. It's certainly not because they're cheap; this repair is going to be quite costly for them, and while the system is down they're doing reservations by hand. They could readily switch to a new PC with Windows-based reservation software right now and be back up and running.

I've just cleaned the drive as per frozenfire75i's suggestion, and I'll give it another shot soon.
 
Ogdentechguy said:
Honestly I'm not sure why they cling to this system; my boss told them 4 years ago that they need to upgrade to a more modern system. In my opinion they should have taken this opportunity to do so, but then I'm not them. It's certainly not because they're cheap; this repair is going to be quite costly for them, and while the system is down they're doing reservations by hand. They could readily switch to a new PC with Windows-based reservation software right now and be back up and running.

I've just cleaned the drive as per frozenfire75i's suggestion, and I'll give it another shot soon.
Click to expand...

To the power company (they *had* to have a microchannel system by the adapter they used) I tried to get them to move up to a Model 77, which was only six or seven years newer, but much improved in functionality and parts. It was the same story there however, no path on the future, just wanting to get the system running again. I guess the true end will be when (in both cases) the hard drive dies (with the loaded software).

There are possibilities for a floppy drive here...

But a good recommendation from there would be to use that drive to copy the programs to another system (it's coming from a 286-10MHz, so there can't be too many requirements that would be hard to satisfy, even a generic Pentium-level with some kind of backup would probably be fine)...
 
IBMMuseum said:
2.88Mb drives are from 2nd-Gen PS/2s (95xx, not 85xx-series), and will not work in a 50Z...
Click to expand...

IBMM, I respect your authority on the subject, but I've had a couple of ThinkPads that could use either 1.44 or 2.88. Is it just a matter of how it jacks in, a bios variation, or what? I always thought they were all interchangeable, as the 2.88 is back-compatible (reads/writes 1.44).

--T
 
Terry Yager said:
...I respect your authority on the subject, but I've had a couple of ThinkPads that could use either 1.44 or 2.88. Is it just a matter of how it jacks in, a bios variation, or what? I always thought they were all interchangeable, as the 2.88 is back-compatible (reads/writes 1.44).
Click to expand...

ThinkPads are *way* newer BIOS of course, with the 50Z coming out before 2.88Mb drives were designed. The connections are off for starters. Another is that the FDC has to be based around the Intel 82077 to run a 2.88Mb drive (yes, there are PS/2s with 82077, 50Z not one of them, but not designed to run 2.88Mb).

I believe I had tested a 2.88Mb drive on a PS/2 P75 (luggable) that would have been one of that group, and it was able to use it as a 1.44Mb...
 
This is probably of questionable relevance to the questions posed, but I am currently running a 2.4Mb 5¼" drive on a controller which only has support for 1.2Mb - it just sees it as a standard drive.


BG
 
Well I thought I had a workable solution in transferring the data to another PC, but it seems I'm still stuck looking for this floppy drive. Any more ideas?
 
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