FDD graphical test utility

[RickNel]

In a thread here I can no longer find, somebody posted a link to a video of a conference presentation on 400/800k drive maintenance.

The presenter had up on screen a neat full-screen GUI utility that showed the status of many parameters on the target floppy drive, and disk under test. It looked like a professional service tool of the 68K vintage.

Does anyone know what that utility program might be, and how it might be obtained?

Rick

 

[RickNel]

Corrections to above post! [Too late to edit]

I misremembered - the link was posted in a different forum. I found it. The utility was Photonix II, a ProDos program that, when I looked again, seems to have been just a fancy disk copy and format utility.. None the less, any comments on Photonix?

So my question should have been and now is: Does anyone know of utilities that can be run on a Compact to test the function of floppy drives?

eg I want to be able to force motor to keep spinning, heads to keep reading, without going straight to disk eject if there is a data-read problem. I've used utilities like this in DOS and CP/M environments to test signals on the pins.

Rick

 

[riversclosehouse]

I would also be interested in such a utility. The floppy on my Mac Plus was working flawlessly until yesterday. :b&w:

After inserting an ancient 800k disk (Leisure Suit Larry... I know...). There was some swishing noise to be heard. :-/

Now it ejects ALL floppies immediately, including the 6.0.8 boot disk :disapprove:

I'm VERY disappointed. Any ideas ?

Thanks!

 

[RickNel]

If that swooshing noise could also be described as a kind of chuffing noise, and if it is not the normal disk-spinning sound but comes from the analog board (put your ear to the left-hand side of the cabinet to locate it), then that noise will probably be the over-voltage protectors working, which indicates a short circuit. See reference in your other thread about the Bourns filter.

Rick