CharlieFrown Report post Posted May 7 Hi, I have two 51W floppy drives, which have the same issue - do not respond at all, no spinning, no clicking, checked the eject motor gears and seems ok. Cleaned the head. Nothing. Nada. No idea what I should do next. Maybe the stepper motor is dead? BTW I used two different yellow striped cables. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lowlytech Report post Posted May 7 The limit switches at the front of the drive, make sure they don't need a spray of deoxit maybe. I don't know for sure, but I figure one of the switches is to tell the system a disk has been inserted. Otherwise I know all the drives I have gotten needed disassembled and relubed. Just followed these instructions for the drive from my SE/30 and it is now working great. https://wiki.68kmla.org/Floppy_drive_lubrication Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bibilit Report post Posted May 7 Yes, two switches, one for disk detection (right IIRC) , the other one for write protection. The disk carrier is pushing the switch when falling down. So pushing the switch down manually is a first step for troubleshooting your drive (should spin the motor) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CharlieFrown Report post Posted May 12 do you think I could use 800k drive from the SE with my Plus? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dog Cow Report post Posted May 12 Yes. You can also put an FDHD SuperDrive in the Plus and it will function as an 800K drive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crutch Report post Posted May 12 43 minutes ago, Dog Cow said: You can also put an FDHD SuperDrive in the Plus and it will function as an 800K drive. @Dog Cow something tells me you will know the answer to this: if I replace the IWM chip on a Plus with the SWIM chip from an SE FDHD (which as I recall has the same package) and put a SuperDrive in the Plus, would it work? Or do I maybe need to upgrade the ROM too, if that’s even possible. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LaPorta Report post Posted May 12 As far as I know, IWM and SWIM are not pin compatible. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dog Cow Report post Posted May 13 (edited) 8 hours ago, Crutch said: @Dog Cow something tells me you will know the answer to this: if I replace the IWM chip on a Plus with the SWIM chip from an SE FDHD (which as I recall has the same package) and put a SuperDrive in the Plus, would it work? Or do I maybe need to upgrade the ROM too, if that’s even possible. Yes. The upgrade from 800K to SuperDrive requires a new ROM too. ROMs were socketed on the logic board just for this eventuality. As far as I know, the only two Macintosh models which had an official Apple FDHD upgrade path were the Macintosh SE and the Macintosh II. See also: SE w/FDHD and lower price, August 1989 Edited May 13 by Dog Cow Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crutch Report post Posted May 15 On 5/12/2019 at 11:25 PM, Dog Cow said: Yes. The upgrade from 800K to SuperDrive requires a new ROM too. ROMs were socketed on the logic board just for this eventuality. As far as I know, the only two Macintosh models which had an official Apple FDHD upgrade path were the Macintosh SE and the Macintosh II. See also: SE w/FDHD and lower price, August 1989 Thanks! So if I replace the IWM on my Plus with a SWIM, and steal the ROMs from an SE FDHD (or an SE/30?), and swap out the drive, the Plus could use a SuperDrive? I’m not sure why but I kind of l like the idea of a Plus that can read HD disks. In theory I would think one could assemble an appropriate PTCH resource, stick it in the system file and not need a ROM upgrade. (I assume it was the Disk Driver that changed.). However I suppose nobody would ever have created such a PTCH, since getting a FDHD required a SWIM anyway so might as well just pop in some new ROMs while you’re in there ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LaPorta Report post Posted May 15 Still uncertain as to if that will work on the plus itself though. I’m not sure the IWM is the exact same physical chip a in the II and SE. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
olePigeon Report post Posted May 15 I wonder if someone could make an IWM to SWIM adapter for the Plus by looking at the pinout on the SE and II. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dog Cow Report post Posted May 15 5 hours ago, Crutch said: I’m not sure why but I kind of l like the idea of a Plus that can read HD disks. There were 3rd-party high density floppy drives. Applied Engineering made HD drives for Apple IIgs and Macintosh. Look into the AEHD+ Drive. AE Plus Drive Version 3.5 External Floppy "High Density for all Macs including Plus, SE and II" From the 68000 Mac FAQ: ...QueComp (tel: 612-623-0903) should have out-of-business Applied Engineering AEHD+ Drives for $99 (you may find one cheaper from flea markets or user groups). Resurrect your old Plus or SE that does not have a SuperDrive without having to replace the board in the computer (impossible on the Plus; expensive on the SE). AE made three external floppy disk drives for Macintosh and Apple II computers: 1. AEHD+ Drive - SuperDrive Compatibility for the Mac Plus, SE and II. 2. AEHD 3.5" Drive - 1.44MB Drive for SuperDrive Equipped Macs. 3. AE 3.5" 800K Drive - 800K Drive for Macintosh and Apple II Computers. The AE HD+ can read/write/format 1.4MB floppies on 800K floppy based compact Macs. The Mac II requires an optional (not included) AE floppy interface to use the AE HD+, since the Mac II case does not have a built-in external floppy connector. A major drawback is that the AE HD+ cannot be the startup disk drive; not as a 1.4MB floppy and not even as a 800K floppy. The other drawback is that you've got to have the AEHD+ extension (takes 32K on disk) to use the drive even as a 800K floppy drive (i.e. you must startup off another drive that contains the AEHD+ extension). AEHD+ extension is compatible at least with System 6.0.7 and 7.5.5. There also used to be Drive 2.4 from Kennect Technology that plugged into the floppy port of a MacPlus and allowed it to use 1.4MB disks. It could also format them to a proprietary 2.4MB size. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crutch Report post Posted May 15 Thanks! I know about the AEHD+ and have had an eBay alert on that for a while now. I’ve yet to see one for sale anywhere. (Anyway I’d much prefer an internal SuperDrive aesthetically, but still, would love to have an AEHD+.) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CharlieFrown Report post Posted May 22 Despite lubricating and cleaning the drives, they show no signs of life. Checked those switches too. Any ideas? If my IWM chip is bad will I be able to boot from external drive? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dog Cow Report post Posted May 23 On May 22, 2019 at 8:04 AM, CharlieFrown said: Despite lubricating and cleaning the drives, they show no signs of life. Checked those switches too. Any ideas? Have those two drives ever worked for you? On May 22, 2019 at 8:04 AM, CharlieFrown said: If my IWM chip is bad will I be able to boot from external drive? Unlikely. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LaPorta Report post Posted May 23 This is a lot easier if you have another computer to test the drives with that you know works. Do you? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites