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From: tribby@hpindwa.cup.hp.com (David Tribby)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: Re: Sideer Hard Drive CRASH! (can adat be retrieved?)
Message-ID: <54240033@hpindwa.cup.hp.com>
Date: 28 May 91 17:45:04 GMT
References: <9105241438.AA04600@tyrell.CFSMO.Honeywell.COM>
Organization: HP Info Networks Div/Cupertino CA
Lines: 41

ottoh3@CFSMO.Honeywell.COM (Otto Heuer #3) writes...
>Hello,
>     My Side D4 40 MB Hard Drive (First Class Peripherals) crashed a few
>days ago.  
>     * For the first time in three years, it didn't say "heads parked -
>       power down"; it just went to a black screen and didn't take any input
>     * I powered down to let it cool down (guessing that might be the problem,
>       thought I had only been on for an hour or so)
>     * An hour later, I turned the computer back on, but there was no response
>       from the hard drive. No whirring of the motor/fan, no lights... nothing.
>     * I powered back down and brought over a friend with a volt meter-every-
>       thing checked out ok.
>     * During one power-on, the hard drive started, but never made it up to
>       full speed. Something smelled like it was hot, so powered back down.
>
>     Now, the questions:
>     * What do the experts here think is wrong?  Power supply, head crash,
>       other?
>                --Otto "HACK-MAN" Heuer

I don't qualify as a Sider expert...just another customer who had a similar
problem with an older 10MB drive a few years ago. In my case, something had
gone bad in the power supply. A friend with a variable power supply (that
could produce a lot more current) brought it over and connected it up and
got the drive spinning again.

In experimenting with the Sider, we determined that it required maximum
current to get the drive spinning at startup. If the power supply cannot
deliver the full amount right then, things will start to smoke! My 10MB
Sider has two output connectors from the power supply...one to the run
the drive and the other to power the electronics. There seems to be a
switch that gives all the power to the drive for the first few seconds,
then turns on the other output. We figured that switch must have quit
working consistently; when it started up, there wasn't quite enough
amperage to run both the electronics and the drive, so the drive never
started spinning and the power supply destroyed itself.

Although your symptoms sound different from mine, there's quite a bit of
similarity. I'd suggest trying a different power supply.

-- Dave Tribby