Here is a summary from last week.
I had 2 dead Quantam 104 MB Disk Drives. Apparantely it is a well known
and documented problem. There is even claim of a program which will fix
them and later disclaimers that the program is no good.
Anyway, they wouldn't show a label on boot up, or give valid information
on a probe-scsi, or anything.
The solution I used was from 'tom_conroy@3Com.COM'. This got both of my
drives working in short order.
Here is the Summary.
----------------
From: tom_conroy@3Com.COM
Subject: Problems with Quantum 104 Disk Drives in SS1
The popular theory is that the disks get stuck and the motor just doesn't
have the torque to get them spinning again. This tends to happen after long
periods of running with the drive a little warm. When the disk stops,
the lubricant used tends to thicken up a little bit ...
You might try rotating the disk rather than slapping it around. It tends to
be just a little kinder and gentler. The technique is to remove the disk from
the pizza box, hold it parallel to the floor with your hand above (kinda like
palming a basketball) and spin it back and forth a few times to het the
rotating parts unstuck.
trc
Tom Conroy tom_conroy@3Com.COM
NSD Engineering SysAdm Group Tom Conroy:NSD:3COM
3Com Corporation
Santa Clara, CA (408) 764-5133
----------------
From: mark@deltam.com
Subject: Problems with Quantum 104 Disk Drives in SS1
I would caution you that abusing a drive could void any warranty that
you may have left.
There are several problems that could cause the problem you describe.
The best case is a stubborn, sticky head. The worst case is a dead
drive. I will go based on the most common occurance: A sticky head.
There is a lubricant in these drives that becomes very viscous when
the drive is cold. This causes problems getting the drive to spin up.
Sometimes gently tapping the case with power applied can release these
sticky situations. As I stated above, be careful not to apply too
much zeal in your tapping. You could damage the drive further.
A better solution is to raise the temperature of the drive gently
prior to powering it up. This will thin the lubricant and should
allow the drive to spin. Be careful not to over do this either. You
could burn something out by getting it TOO hot.
Other solutions involve removing the drive from the Sun box and
twisting it suddenly in the plane of the platters. This torquing
motion can sometimes get the spindle loose enough to work when power
is applied. Be careful not to drop the drive. The resulting G-force
is a bit more than most drives can tolerate. :-)
I wish you luck in your attempts to get these drives working. As a
point of recommendation: Now that you know these drives are problem
children, you should leave them spinning once they are restarted.
This will avoid the problem you encountered this time. Leaving the
drive spinning is less of a danger than trying to get them started
again.
--Mark Galbraith Voice: +1 510 449 6881--
--Software Engineer FAX: +1 510 449 6885--
--Current Products Department UUCP: uunet!deltam!mark--
--Delta Microsystems, Inc. Domain: mark@deltam.com--
----------------
From: sgf@cfm.brown.edu
Subject: Re: Problems with Quantum 104 Disk Drives in SS1
Don't whap it.
Hold the disk in one hand with the spindle axis parallel to the floor.
Rotate the disk back and forth around the spindle axis at around 2 cycles
per sec. for 3 or 4 seconds (rotations should be through about 45 degrees,
or about what your wrist will comfortably rotate without moving your elbow
or forearm....), ie, in one second: back,forth,back,forth.
I've found this to be 100% successful with sticky disks (whapping is more
damaging and less reliable...).
-s
(if you want to, hold it with the spindle axis normal to the floor, but
it's more difficult to isolate the rotation that way...)
----------------
For those who also are interested, the manufacturing dates of the
affected drives are April 1, 1989 thru December 31, 1989. The program
("quantum") returns the following output for my disk:
# ./quantum /dev/rsd0a
QUANTUM P105SS 910-10-94A.1 08/31/89
serial number: 912010523 (12/01/1989, 0523)
----------------
From: earl@division.cs.columbia.edu (Earl Smith)
Subject: Problems with Quantum 104 Disk Drives in SS1
I don't have the post, but what I've done is to sync the disks, and then
to lift the SPARC on my hands about finger height, and then drop it off my
fingers. Get your fingers out of the way fast. This has worked for me,
numerous times.
earl smith
earl@cs.columbia.edu
----------------
From: uunet!ext_adm!jmcgrath (John Mc Grath)
Subject: Re: Problems with Quantum 104 Disk Drives in SS1
Gleaned from a reply from 'uunet!ext_adm!jmcgrath (John Mc Grath)'
For those who also are interested, the manufacturing dates of the
affected drives are April 1, 1989 thru December 31, 1989. The program
("quantum") returns the following output for my disk:
# ./quantum /dev/rsd0a
QUANTUM P105SS 910-10-94A.1 08/31/89
serial number: 912010523 (12/01/1989, 0523)
Frank P. Bresz |PCD Simulators Department, Westinghouse Electric Corporation
fpb@ittc.wec.com|My opinions are mine, WEC pays big money for official opinions
uunet!ittc!fpb |Member of the League for Programming Freedom (LPF)
+1 412 733 6749 |For more information on the 'LPF' send mail
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