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TRS-80 / Tandy external hard drive question.

Chromedome45

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I have an external TRS80 Hard drive that I am having issues with. Not sure if controller inside the hard drive enclosure is acting up or the Hard Drive itself.
When issuing the command to load driver I answer the questions about number of heads, tracks etc. and my model 4 just hangs with a flashing letter "H"
in the upper right hand corner. Anyone know what's going on? Any ideas suggestions welcome.
 
I did replace the drive also but I think it is bad. So that I why I am getting the flashing "H". It's trying to talk to the drive but getting no response from it.
 
If you replaced the drive, did you deal with the three wires attached to the original drive? There's an article about bubble repair
 

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  • TRS-80 HD Bubble Repair.pdf
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Is green active light on which means drive ready?
if not did you test bulb? Drive will not show ready to TRS-80 is bulb is missing or bad.
Not only that but it needs to be correct bulb. This bulb is providing an important electrical function other than just a light.
 
Green light is on. And so is red without button being pushed in. I tested the Seagate ST-225 which was the drive I was going to use on my 486 with MFM controller
it didn't even see it. Got error message no Hard drive detected. Tried with 2 separate controller boards. Drive type set to 2 in BIOS. Drive sent back to seller.
 
Check the wiring on the switch then. It should only be on when pressed. It is a push button switch. When out, the light should be off and there should be no continuity through the switch.
 
So, when you wire it back up, does it behave the same? Push off, push on? With it off do you get the same error?
 
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