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From: kgallagh@digi.lonestar.org (Kevin Gallagher)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
Subject: Re: HD Problems
Message-ID: <957@digi.lonestar.org>
Date: 10 Sep 90 04:25:21 GMT
References: <1990Sep4.024255.10703@ariel.unm.edu> <20Pyo2w163w@halcyon.wa.com>
Organization: DSC Communications, Plano Tx.
Lines: 59

In article <20Pyo2w163w@halcyon.wa.com> ralphs@halcyon.wa.com (Ralph Sims) writes:
>steve@chama.unm.edu (Steve Jorgensen-S) writes:
>
>> I am having some hard disk problems.  I have an Epson Equity I+
>> XT compatable, with a miniscribe 3650 hard disk.  Now, this is
>> my problem.  Tonight when I turned it on, instead of spinning up,
>> the LED on the front of the drive flashed 4 (maybe 5) quick blinks
>> of red, then one long blink, and finally two sets of 3 quick blinks.
>
>It appears you may lose the boot track of the drive.  This is a common
>problem with the 3650.  Here's something to do (keeping your data
>intact is about a 15% chance):
>
>[stuff deleted]
>The yoke contains an optical sensor, the beam of which is broken by the flag
>as the boot track and the heads come into alignment.  What has happened is
>that the flag has moved slightly on the shaft, or that something else has
>caused a misalignment.
>[stuff deleted]
>
>> I am assuming this is some sort of error code, and unfortunately
>> I don't have the manual for the drive.  So, could some kind soul with
>
>This is not in the manual, and techs at Miniscribe don't want to
>talk about it.  If all else fails, a hard drive repair shop and ~$150
>should take care of it.  I've had to do this with two 3650's over the
>past three years.

Well the error code IS in the manual and it describes a different problem.
Here's how you interpret the red LED codes:

	0 = 0.5 second flashing
	1 = 0.5 second continuous on
	between digits = 0.5 second off
	between repeat cycles of code = 1.0 second off

There are 16 possible error codes, given as 4-digit binary numbers.  The
pattern described by Steve Jorgensen yields a 0100, which is code 4.
According to the manual, a code 4 is an "Index pulse not detected during
spinup".  (If the problem were as Ralph Sims describes, you should be seeing
code A (1010), which is: "Track Zero interrupter misadjusted".)

It sounds like the index detector is bad on your drive.  The manual states
that the

     3650 is designed to use an optical or magnetic detector located inside
     the spin motor housing.  As the motor rotates, the detector translates a
     black mark on the housing into an index pulse on connector J6 pin 1.
     
     Some motors use an external reluctance transducer device that is mounted
     to the drive baseplate, and detects the passage of a hole in the spin
     motor housing that is not magnetic.  As the hole passes the detector, an
     index pulse is generated a J7 pin 2.

     Since both types have a hole in the motor housing, it is possible to
     repair the built-in optical detector by removing the wire at J6 pin 1,
     adding an external detector and connecting it to J7.  (Refer to Section
     8.2 for the replacement procedure.)

Good luck!