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Widget drive

My borrowed widget drive also makes loud click-clack sounds when powered on and off. I assume that's normal?

The guy who I borrowed the Lisa from said initially the drive didn't spin at all. But he physically turned the disk a few times with some tool (sorry, I don't know the details), and after that it started working.

 
I wouldn't assume your widget is broken, until you've connected it to an actual Lisa. Maybe the brake isn't supposed to deactivate until it sees a certain signal from the computer, which it's not getting with your power rig?

 
Does the drive spindle spin freely by hand?  It's possible that stiction is the issue.  If it's stuck, try forcing it to turn.  You've got nothing to lose because your stuck anyway.. literally.  

If it's not that than you either don't have power to the motor connected properly or your motor is gone, unfortunately.  

The other issue I've had with Widgets is the internal lens has come loose.  I had to open my drive and try to glue it back in place.  The drive was a write-off after that.

 
@snuci

Thanks again for your advises! The disk can spin but not lightly... Not sure if this should be the case.

I will look into the motor connection. Maybe I can find documentation about currents, etc to find if something is wrong there.

 
the spindle motor may have hardened grease in the bearings. 

I just recently ran into this problem with a pair of 5 1/4 floppy drives on my IBM 5155. I had to press-out the hubs and clean/repack the bearings. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Mine had the same problem. Many years of no use meant the bearings were stiff. You applied power and quickly gave the spindle a little twist before the motor drivers burned out. I left my drive sitting for a few hours to work the grease around the bearings again and it hasn't had issues starting up since.

While you have an earlier revision drive and I have no idea how its startup differs, here's what you should be expecting out of a Widget.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_tuvrEtdfU

Also, I would put a piece of electrical tape over the quartz window on that EPROM. All you need is a good shot of direct sunlight or a camera flash to scramble a bit or two.

 
Some improvement!

I disconnected the power to the engine and reconnected. Now the disk will try to spin. It moves 0.1 inch and stops(counterclockwise).

I have turned the engine some times by hand counterclockwise also.

Any ideas what to try next?

 
First BIG Success!!!! I got it spinning!

Just by rotating it counterclockwise for some time. I could feel it rolling better and better. Then I switched on power and it started running. Even the brake came lose after 15 seconds, just like it should.

But... I'm not there.. No luck in trying this again. It remains still... :'(  Just one time.......but I made video's.

Maybe it should try to clean the inner side of the motor, but I didn't see any documentation about this.

See  my  movies on YouTube:

Lisa Widget drive started for the first time in years

http://youtu.be/v-OR4VrnNbU

Lisa widget starting up part 2

https://youtu.be/5MeaBP2g37U

Lisa Widget starting up part 3

http://youtu.be/23Aw2moTSuA

 
If you get it going again, let it run for a while, especially in different orientations.

Apocryphal tales say that ProFile drives that screech like a banshee "get better" after running upside down for a while, since the lubricant works its way back into the bearings.

Don't know if that's true, but you don't have much to lose at this point.

 
OK. Started for a second and third time. Now it is running for an hour. I will let it run until I go to sleep.

I should fix the power a bit. Use some ductape( yes techknight...good point... ) to isolate and fix properly. Then I can turn it around, etc.

 
No. the wind up of the drive. You did a video on the drive already running. 

would like to see one from non-powered, to powered up and spinning. 

 
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