I made a mistake. I accidentally formatted a disk using 80-track settings with Parados utility and once it went past track 40, it started making a strange noise. I turned it off, but it was already too late. Now it gives a “write error” or “read error” when accessing the disk drive, and the stepper motor travels the full distance from one end to the other. Any ideas?
Update:
-If I try to format using Parados *without* verification, the stepper motor advances normally track by track. When I try to read the disk afterwards—for example, by running a directory command—it returns a “Read error.”
- If I try to format using Parados *with* verification, it moves back and forth across the full range starting from the current track; it throws a write error on every track and repeats the process (canceling/retrying) from track 39 down to 0.
Is it possible that the issue is actually reading—whether it’s the read operation itself or the verification of what was just written (as happens during formatting with verification)?
How should I proceed in this case?
I’m quite lost, as I had suspected the stepper motor rather than the head, and I don’t know what to check next.
Is the drive high density capable? It might be choosing high density and cpc can’t understand it but the floppy controller might have been ok with that.
I originally thought the drive might be double stepping but that would be consistent when formatting and reading/writing.
If after formatting a disc (no verify), can you do cat and it shows something?
use data format, and then save a very small basic program. the basic program will fit on track 0 so avoid the stepping. if that all works then it might be stepper motor issue and maybe needs the rail cleaning.
oh also are the heads clean?
Thanks.
The drive does not support high density. It is a DS/DD 48 dpi unit with forty tracks per side.
It was working fine until I made the mistake of going past track 40.
I haven’t managed to get it to write even an empty file.
The heads aren’t easily accessible—the drive is like a turtle, enclosed on all sides—but I don’t think they are dirty.
can you use your fingers on the stepper motor screw drive to move it back to track 0 carefully?
If that doesn’t make any difference then stepper motor might need recalibration and that is outside my knowledge
I moved the stepper motor back to the starting position; it moved smoothly, but the problem persisted.
I also located the heads—they are beneath a small plate held in place by a screw. I removed the plate, cleaned the heads with an alcohol-soaked swab, and it then formatted, wrote, and read without issues. I turned it off, waited twenty seconds, turned it back on, and it was still working.
I turned it off and on again a while later, and it stopped working…