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Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 alpha 5/22/85; site cbosgd.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!db
From: db@cbosgd.UUCP (J. Muir)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: Aligning MAC disk drives
Message-ID: <1567@cbosgd.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 22-Oct-85 04:06:49 EDT
Article-I.D.: cbosgd.1567
Posted: Tue Oct 22 04:06:49 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 23-Oct-85 05:32:16 EDT
References: <877@voder.UUCP> <437@harvard.ARPA>
Reply-To: db@cbosgd.UUCP (J. Muir)
Distribution: net
Organization: The Bohemian Grove
Lines: 29

In article <437@harvard.ARPA> tomczak@harvard.UUCP (Bill tomczak) writes:
>>.... a call to Apple customer service in Cupertino, CA 
>>informed me that they recommend that one **NOT** use head cleaning kits.
>
>Yow!!!!!  I just bought one of these little 'money eaters' and 'cleaned'
>my disk drives only once with it.  Did they say why you shouldn't do this
>or what the consequences would be?  I just thought the disk drives would
>be like any other magnetic data transfer equipment (tape drives, etc.).
>
>Am I going to regret having done this even once??
>
>Paranoically....
>
>Bill tomczak@harvard.{ARPA, UUCP}


The only reason I've heard for not cleaning disks is that cleaning can
supposedly cause more damage to the heads than the dirt it's supposed to
remove.  The truth of this claim depends, in large part, on the abrasive-
ness of the cleaning disk.  Presumably some abrasion is necessary to
remove crud, but too much will cause damage.  There is also the concern
about the cleaning disk and solution smearing dirt back onto the head.

What to do?  The sources I've heard suggest simply waiting until problems
come up before cleaning the heads (i.e., don't fix it until it's really
broke).  I'm not sure I'd put it off that long, but I have cut back on
head-cleaning (from once a month to whenever I feel like it).

Dave Bursik/..cbosgd!db