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Macintosh SE miniscribe revive

leshazen

Active member
Hi, I’ve been restoring a Macintosh SE, 800k 20SC machine. So far I’ve removed the PRAM battery, cleaned the inside, got the floppy drive to accept and boot off a 6.0.8 floppy. Without the floppy inserted the machine just boots to the floppy with a question mark.

I’m thinking the drive could have a case of “suction” and other problems… The led does blink iirc 4 reds.

I plan on removing it, any special tips on how I should go about getting it working again. I want to clean the pcb and make sure there are no burnt components. Also I was thinking about putting a drop of oil in the steeper motor for the head positioning.

Any other suggestions?
Thanks!

I don’t want to put in a scsi2sd etc unless if I can’t get this to work.
 

Phipli

Well-known member
Hi, I’ve been restoring a Macintosh SE, 800k 20SC machine. So far I’ve removed the PRAM battery, cleaned the inside, got the floppy drive to accept and boot off a 6.0.8 floppy. Without the floppy inserted the machine just boots to the floppy with a question mark.

I’m thinking the drive could have a case of “suction” and other problems… The led does blink iirc 4 reds.

I plan on removing it, any special tips on how I should go about getting it working again. I want to clean the pcb and make sure there are no burnt components. Also I was thinking about putting a drop of oil in the steeper motor for the head positioning.

Any other suggestions?
Thanks!

I don’t want to put in a scsi2sd etc unless if I can’t get this to work.
Whatever you do, don't move the sensor on the end of the stepper motor.
 

leshazen

Active member
Whatever you do, don't move the sensor on the end of the stepper motor.
Sounds good, what kind of oil would you recommend? Just one drop. Should I power it up externally on its side how many times should I plug it in to let the oil penetrate enough
 

Phipli

Well-known member
Sounds good, what kind of oil would you recommend? Just one drop. Should I power it up externally on its side how many times should I plug it in to let the oil penetrate enough
I'd start by working out what the LED error code is :)

Miniscribes are notoriously unreliable. I have one that doesn't spin up but moves freely. I need to have a look at it some time to work out why.
 
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