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IBM PC destroying floppy disks
- Thread starter nestor
- Start date
It's sad, but I'm going to guess that a jacket on a floppy disk snagged the head when it wasn't fully raised. So now the head is mangled and horribly out of position, and it's eating diskettes as it goes.
If you look inside with a flashlight you should be able to compare the two drives and see the problem.
If you look inside with a flashlight you should be able to compare the two drives and see the problem.
geneb
Veteran Member
Because of head alignment issues, etc. You may be better off just replacing the whole drive. (Unless of course you've got a source for new heads and an alignment disk & oscilloscope to adjust the drive after the new head is installed)
g.
g.
Do you have head cleaning disk?
My drive also destroyed many of disks.
Of crouse the head alignment must be incorrect.
I always solve this problem with head clearning disk by using ImageDisk 1.18
http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/img54306/imd118.zip
My drive also destroyed many of disks.
Of crouse the head alignment must be incorrect.
I always solve this problem with head clearning disk by using ImageDisk 1.18
http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/img54306/imd118.zip
Chuck(G)
25k Member
It's not clear from your photos, but it's very likely that one of the head supports has broken. If that's the case, then you'll have to find a replacement head assembly and install it. Getting close on azimuth is probably good enough since Tandon was never fussy in that respect (I sometimes wondered if they checked it at all). But alignment will have to be performed.
The damage to the disk is consistent with catching the edge of the head on the media.
On the other hand, if there's just a bit of foreign material (e.g. decayed foam) gunking things up, you might just luck out by removing it, cleaning the heads and giving things a spin.
If I were you, I wouldn't toss the drive just yet. Remove the PCB and see what you can see.
The damage to the disk is consistent with catching the edge of the head on the media.
On the other hand, if there's just a bit of foreign material (e.g. decayed foam) gunking things up, you might just luck out by removing it, cleaning the heads and giving things a spin.
If I were you, I wouldn't toss the drive just yet. Remove the PCB and see what you can see.
And this is what I can see:
You are right, the upper head support has broken. I'll try to glue it with epoxy resine...
Chuck(G)
25k Member
Give it a try--and then inspect the head position in the carriage frame to make sure that you haven't messed things up. This is the first time that I've seen that particular part break on a TM-100. The common weakness seems to be the pin retainer in the door latch itself. Often, it will break out of its plastic retainer, leaving you with a drive door that won't close--and a 2 cm long "mystery" pin lying on your desktop. I've found that it's easiest to repair those by replacing them with some sheet brass bored and bent to match.