Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!primerd!barry
From: barry@primerd.prime.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Hard Drive Won't Spin Up
Message-ID: <160700053@primerd>
Date: 29 Aug 89 22:20:00 GMT
Lines: 74
Nf-ID: #N:primerd:160700053:000:3875
Nf-From: primerd.prime.com!barry    Aug 29 18:20:00 1989


This morning I turned on my Mac-II and discovered that my internal
hard drive would not spin up.  I had powered the system down last
Thursday because I was going to be out of the office for four days.
I guess this experience is a data point in favor of the "always
leave it on" school of thought.

If the worst happens and I have to replace the drive, I'm in good
shape.  I have a reasonably up to date backup, I copied the files I
worked on last week to floppies (good thing the two technical papers
were due LAST Wednesday and not tomorrow!), and the last thing I did
before shutting the system down was upload to a Prime system a
complete list of all files on the drive.  Nevertheless, I'd like to
extract everything from this drive if at all possible and want to try
all options before scrapping the drive.

The drive is a 40MB Seagate ST-157 (I had thought I had a Quantum!)
that up to now has performed reliably.  I normally kept the system
running but would usually power down a few times during a typical
month. Now,  when I power up, I can see the LED flash brightly a few
times;  it then flashes very dimly, almost too dim to be seen.
Judging from the complete absence of disk noise, the drive is not
rotating.  There are no diagnostics from the Mac.  It puts up the
"give me a floppy" icon and boots properly from the floppy.  The
Apple HD Setup utility did not think a SCSI device was present.

I've tried a number of simple experiments:

    o  I reconnected all cables going to the Seagate, to no
       effect.

    o  I borrowed an external hard drive, connected it to the
       SCSI port, and was able to boot from that external drive.

The Computerland technician who handles the Prime account thought the
problem was related to the rest position of the platters.  He
suggested I look for an external bearing that could be turned
manually (first choice) or try twisting the disk, e.g. with flick of
wrist (second choice).  The purpose of either of these actions was to
move the platters enough to enable the disk to spin.  When I removed
the drive, I couldn't see anything underneath it.  It looked as if
something turnable might be underneath the PC board fastened to the
top of the drive, but I didn't have a screwdriver small enough to
let me remove the board.  I tried twisting the drive, but that
didn't work.

Could this be a power supply problem, e.g. loss of 12 volt supply?
If someone could tell me where to put the probes, I'll make the tests.
If my collegague at work cooperates, I could also try installing the
Segate in his system, which has only an external hard drive.

If any of you have encountered a similar problem, I'd appreciate
hearing your suggestions.  There were a number of postings earlier
this year about similar problems with Quantum drives.  The
recommended solution was to carefully nudge the drive (how hard?
when?).  Heating the drive, e.g. with hair dryer, was also suggested.
Would these also be appropriate for the Seagate?

Finally, if I have to replace the drive, what should I get?
Considering my current situation, I'm not thrilled with the thought
of another Seagate.  I've heard Apple is now using Quantums, but I've
seen a lot of traffic about similar problems with Quantums in SE/30s
and II/CXs. If I have to get a replacement, I'd like to get an 80MB
drive - are the recommendations the same here?

Thanks in advance for any help.  Please respond by mail (post, too,
if you want).  If enough replies come in, I'll post a summary.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barry Wolman                      | barry@s66.prime.com
Principal Technical Consultant    | 492 Old Connecticut Path
Prime Computer                    | Framingham, MA 01701
                                  | 508/626-1700, ext. 4187
------------------------------------------------------------------------