A-500 - My failing floppy Pt IV
Bit of a break through the drive
works if I lay it upside down.
There must be a short on the motherboard
and so I removed fully the motherboard.
So I checked for dry joints.
Checked the pins.
Checked the tracks.
It is a mystery. The floppy works perfect
when not mounted in the case.
What the **ck is going on ?
And then I noticed the drive was working
without the plastic button fitted.
Interesting !!!!!!
This is not your normal floppy button.
It has an extension piece cus the old
floppy drive had a shorter case.
And so I went deep into the scuzz cave
and pulled out a more trad button.
And she worked. She bloody worked.
Turns out that the plastic ledge on
the other button was stopping the
mechanism from ejecting the button and
so made the computer think there was
no floppy loaded even when there was.
The second smooth button ejected fully.
The button is fully ejected when the
disk is inserted. So if the mechanism
is restricted and cannot eject that
button fully the computer will not
register a disk is present. Note that
the button goes in when a disk is out.
And out when the disk is in.
Clear as mud.
But without and she is clicking like a good'n.
Well I never. It was the button all along.
And to prove it I give you R-Type II.
Time to relax.
The card was working just fine.
And so I updated the trap door notes
and put this A-500 back to bed. My work
here is now done. I like happy endings.
V I D E O S
Outside and Inside the case.
The A-500 finally working
PS: The keyboard is a mystery. Whilst testing
I used an old busted one with a key missing.
