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I tried a ton of combinations of flipping the control and data cables around on the controller and drive, but the one thing I didn’t try is connecting the data cable to the other header (there are two), just because I don’t think it’s the right one. I’ll definitely try it though when I get back...

I believe my system should work similarly to yours, as I’m using a WD1003-WA2, which as far as I know works similarly to the stock controller. I’ll have to test. I’m not quite sure what you mean by this. Can you elaborate? What’s the minimum requirement? I’ll have to try that. Currently out of...

I recently found two Seagate MFM hard drives (Seagate ST-251, Seagate ST-225) in a storage unit and I’m trying to get them to work with my IBM PC AT. Both drives make their startup sounds, but give hard disk errors in the BIOS. Because I have a BIOS with the ability to low level format, I tried...

An update on this: I was able to get the drive working, but it did require me to program new BIOS chips. I chose to use the AMI 286 BIOS because it has a built in setup utility and also a diagnostics program. The drive needed to be low level formatted in the diagnostics program to be recognized...

I haven’t. I don’t have any 5170 BIOS chips on hand right now. I could drag a broken 5170 that I have out of storage and use the ones from it, maybe, but I wonder if they’d work with the third-party HDD controller. As far as I know, the computer worked when it was put into the attic 25 years...

Seems like it just displays that message whenever it can’t boot to something, including when there’s no drives at all to boot from. It also does it when there’s no disk in the A: or B: drive with the hard drive disconnected, and of course if you insert a non-bootable disk.

The message still appears when power is physically disconnected from all drives, so it doesn’t seem like it comes from the boot sector. HP Support also claims that “The Non-System Disk Error or Disk Error message might appear when the computer BIOS cannot find a bootable operating system on...

Hi all, I received an IBM PC 5170 as a donation recently and just got around to checking if it works and restoring it if necessary. I did a quick check of the condition under the cover (it was attic stored in hot North Carolina summers for at least 25 years) and found it to be very good, only a...

Hi, I've been using TASM 3.2 to assemble files just fine for a while now, but today I'm having a very strange issue. I have a batch script set up that runs TASM to assemble a couple of files for a Z80. Thus, I have the table file "TASM80.TAB". For organization reasons, I have TASM in a...

I’ve got an Apple II Plus that I’ve completely restored and cleaned, but the only problem is with the drive interface card. The PROM in socket P5 is destroyed. Seems like it went up in smoke at some point and it’s cracked. It has the part number “341-0027-00” and is copyright Apple ‘79. Finding...

A quick update: I just finished applying and cutting the decorative foil, and I’m very pleased with the results. It looks just like the original! Here’s a photo:

My friend owns an Apple II Plus that he has kept in storage for many years. He recently took it out, but found that many keys didn’t work, or typed multiple characters, etc. He let me restore it for him. The keyboard is a strange type that seems to be rare. It’s the same as the one in this post...

Hey everyone, About a year ago, I picked up an 8" floppy disk drive on eBay, with an exclosure. The enclosure takes in wall power, puts it through a transformer, and rectifies the resulting AC into two DC voltages using a PCB. The recification PCB is what I'm interested in. I don't know exact...

Hey, Until recently, everything seemed to be working just fine on the drive. I tested my cable to see if there were any shorts (none) and I tested the head with a grounded wire, and it didn’t move (but it tried). I lubricated every piece that the head slides across, and it moves a lot easier...

Here I am again. I’ve completely repaired the drive, new belt, capacitors and everything. I also crimped my own IDC cable to connect to my Zenith Data Systems Z-100. The drive powers up and the spindle rotates, and if connected to the computer and a disk is installed, the head “clamps down”...

The switch looks good, thanks. I’ll be sure to measure it. Here’s a photo of the information on the drive, made by Magnetic Peripherals, Inc, which was a subsidiary of CDC. I drew over the image to make the stamped-in numbers more readable:

Hey, Just today, I got my hands on this cool 8” drive that I plan to use with my Zenith Data Systems Z-110 to transfer data between 5.25 and 8 inch disks. When I bought it, I already knew that it was very dirty, and that it was also missing two capacitors for the power circuitry, which I have...

There’s definitely some bloom on bright images, but it’s hard to tell as I can’t get it very bright. My brightness is always at max. I’ll attach some images at various brightness and contrast settings. The one with the 2 monitors shows both at max brightness. The image starts to noticeably blur...

Hello, I have an IBM 5154 EGA monitor that’s in great condition, but the picture is dim and out of focus, no matter how much I adjust the flyback transformer. I was wondering if there’s a way that I could repair the monitor, or, if not, see if I could find a replacement tube to put into the...

Turns out that Parity Boot was in fact the issue. I’ll try to disinfect it.