Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!ucsd!ogicse!plains!puklich
From: puklich@plains.UUCP (Blayne Puklich)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: No Disk Eject in 512K Mac
Message-ID: <3115@plains.UUCP>
Date: 13 Jan 90 04:30:11 GMT
References: <2713@ucsfcca.ucsf.edu>
Reply-To: puklich@plains.UUCP (Blayne Puklich)
Distribution: na
Organization: North Dakota State University, Fargo
Lines: 34

In article <2713@ucsfcca.ucsf.edu> paul@ucsfccb.UUCP (Paul Green) writes:
>A collegue has an old Mac 512K (upgraded from a 128K)
>which has recently developed a problem in ejecting
>floppy disks. Both his internal and external floppy
>drives no longer eject disks, but he is still able to
>by sticking a paper clip in the manual ejct hole. He
>says that he hears a mechanical noise when the Mac is
>"trying" to eject the disks.
>
>Does anyone have an idea what has happened? Is it coincidental
>that both internal and external drives have malfunctioned at the
>same time?

This isn't really a concidence thing.  What may be occurring is that the two
drives may have disk carriages (for lack of a better term) that are getting
on in years.  This means is that after a while, the spring which brings the
carriage back up to eject the disk is so weak that it can't do the job.  So,
you need to either replace the spring or stretch it a bit.  At the place I
work at we see this occasionally, and the "stretch the spring" trick has been
applied in a few cases, and it seems to work.

As far as a "home" remedy, I can't subscribe (ack) one.  I myself haven't
had one of those drives apart, so I don't know what to do.  But, maybe this
will give you a general idea as to what *may* be happening with the two
drives.

Hope this helps at least a little.

||+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++||
|| Blayne Puklich      puklich@Plains.NoDak.EDU      "I think I'm going    ||
|| NDSU ACM Vice-Chair nopuklic@Vaxosaur.NoDak.EDU      bald..."           ||
|| NDSU, Fargo, ND     This space intentionally left  -- Rush, from Caress ||
|| (701) 237-4408                blank.                  of Steel, 1975    ||
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