Mac 128K Disk "X" blinking icon and other questions

[Macart]

Hello, I'm resurrecting my old beloved Macintosh 128K and recently had it reramed by Charles at Maccaps. After buttoning things back up and turning on the power, I noticed my disk drive had the "click of death" and unplugging the rear sensor from the logic board and cleaning it didn't correct the problem. I ordered another used internal 400K drive from an ebay seller, removed the logic board from it, and installed it on the original internal drive ensuring the connections were cleaned, lubricated, and secure. The computer now makes a bong sound on startup and the disk drive no longer exhibits the "click of death". However, the monitor screen shows a disk icon with a question mark in it and when I put an original MacIntosh 128k system disk in the drive it spins it for a short time and then the drive ejects it. A blinking "X' then appears in the disk icon on the monitor screen. This occurs with the other Apple software disks I've inserted as well. I've cleaned the drive head gently with alcohol and a q-tip and that made no difference. I do not have an external 400K disk drive and the software disks I inserted were original Apple System and software disks and not ones I had formatted on another drive with a different head alignment.

I do not have a battery installed and cannot find any information that would indicate that one is necessary to boot this computer. If this is the problem, then please let me know. That is an easy fix.

The "new" used 400K drive from which I got the logic board is a Sony Model OA-D34V-22, No. 1136443 with a date of September 1985. It has a rectangular sticker on the stepper motor. My original drive is a Sony Model OA-D34V-02, No. 639916 with a date of June 1984. It has a rectangular label on the stepper motor. My MacIntosh 128K was built in week 32. I'm not sure if the "new" logic board is having a conflict with the ROMs on the MacIntosh's motherboard. Perhaps one of you could give some insight to this.

I am performing the disk drive tests with the computer case removed, the disk drive plugged into the motherboard and resting metal-to-metal on the MacIntosh's chassis. The drive was always very clean with no visible dust or corrosion and has been cleaned and lubricated with Deoxit. The head was cleaned with alcohol after the drive cleaning and lubrication.

Nothing has been recapped in this computer or disk drive.

If the battery and disk drive logic board are not the issues, do I have a possible head alignment issue and, if so, how is that rectified? Or is there another problem I have not considered?

Thank you so much for your expert help!

 

[tanaquil]

What are the version numbers on your ROM chips? Do the numbers end in A or B? If A, the simplest fix is to swap the ROMs to a B version. They are available on eBay (off and on) for about $60-80. 

If B, I wonder if the logic boards on the two types of Sony drives may not be fully compatible. Assuming you have B ROMS, maybe you should try installing the 22 drive as an intact unit as shipped. 

The documentation out on the web makes a big deal about the square sticker, but I am working on a project experimenting with a bunch of non working 22 drives and one with no suffix (OA-D34V), and the differences between the no suffix drive and the 22 are substantial, while the square and round stickers show up on both drives. Where the 02 fits in the sequence I am not sure although it certainly seems closer to the 22. I’m planning a post on this soon. 

 

[Dog Cow]

The "new" used 400K drive from which I got the logic board is a Sony Model OA-D34V-22, No. 1136443 with a date of September 1985. It has a rectangular sticker on the stepper motor. My original drive is a Sony Model OA-D34V-02, No. 639916 with a date of June 1984. It has a rectangular label on the stepper motor. My MacIntosh 128K was built in week 32. I'm not sure if the "new" logic board is having a conflict with the ROMs on the MacIntosh's motherboard.

Unlikely.

I am performing the disk drive tests with the computer case removed, the disk drive plugged into the motherboard and resting metal-to-metal on the MacIntosh's chassis.

This is more likely your cause of suffering. The CRT emits radiation which adversely affects the floppy disk drive. You need to completely reassemble the Macintosh, with the metal enclosure over the floppy drive, before you test the disk.

 

[Macart]

Excellent responses. Thank you so much. I will check on my ROMS's and also completely assemble the computer prior to testing the drive again. If the problem persists, I will install the "new" drive with its logic board and see if that works. I will keep you posted.

 

[Macart]

Dog Cow...I followed your advice, completely reassembled the Macintosh, and it worked like magic. I inserted the system disk and the computer asked to do minor repairs on it which I OK'd. The disk then worked and ejected fine. I then inserted the MacWrite/MacPaint disk and it, too, opened and ejected without a problem.

I'm a happy man. Thank you! BTW...I do have the 1983 "A" ROM's so that seems to prove that at least the logic board from an OA-D34V-22 drive will work with them.

It looks like I now have an untested drive sitting here (but purchased as a working drive) and a logic board from the original drive that is suspect. What to do. It would be nice to have the right parts back in bed with each other, but I'm not sure what a cost-effective course of action would be to accomplish that...or if it really matters.

One more question as it has been many many years since I've used this Mac and I have its mate, a Mac Plus, sitting on a shelf in a nice Apple carrying bag that I may want software for. Is is possible to make copies of the System and MacWrite/MacPaint software from the 128k Mac to run on that machine (if indeed it runs...I haven't checked)? Is it possible to make copies without an external drive since I don't have one?

Thank you for your responses!

 

[Dog Cow]

One more question as it has been many many years since I've used this Mac and I have its mate, a Mac Plus, sitting on a shelf in a nice Apple carrying bag that I may want software for. Is is possible to make copies of the System and MacWrite/MacPaint software from the 128k Mac to run on that machine (if indeed it runs...I haven't checked)? Is it possible to make copies without an external drive since I don't have one?

Yes. Your Apple System disk and MacWrite/MacPaint disks will run on the Macintosh Plus too. You can make copies with a single drive in the Mac 128K. Prepare for a lot of floppy-swapping, though!

Do you remember how to copy disks in the Finder? Insert the blank disk in your internal drive to receive the copy, then press Command-Shift-1 to eject it. You should see the greyed-icon left on the desktop. Now insert the original, source disk. Drag its icon onto the grayed icon. This will start the disk copy, and you'll probably need something like 8 swaps (at least that many, if I recall correctly) to complete the copy.

 

[tanaquil]

Good news, glad it worked! 

Since you have the A ROMs, keep an eye out for unexplained weirdness. My incompatible floppy drive seemed to work at first but then started throwing a host of inexplicable errors. Hopefully you won’t have that problem. 

I wonder if Apple found it easier to just update the ROMs than to track down which floppy drive (parts) worked and which didn’t. Fun fact, the OA-D34V seems to be exactly the same as the floppy drive used in the Lisa, except the Lisa drive has stubby little feet on the bottom. 

 

[Macart]

Thanks for the disk copy tips!

Yes, good news. I'll keep an eye out for weirdness, Please, no weirdness. Wish there was a way to figure out what was wrong with the original logic board. Could be something very simple or...

It sure is rewarding to see it working again. Thank you both so much for your help.

Now...let's see if the Mac Plus wants to play nice.