Flashing LED on old Quantum HDD PCB

[Windmill]

Tim <tim@tim.tim> writes:

In article <LvIuB5.HnK@freebie.onetel.net.uk>, spam-no-
spam@Onetel.net.uk.invalid says...
I have an old 5.25" Quantum Bigfoot CY6.4 hard drive which I want to
use in an old PC.

It was working some months ago when I hooked it up to a USB adaptor on
a Ubuntu PC and backed up its contents.

But now it isn't recognized by the OS (various old Linux and new Ubuntu
Linux versions), neither on the old PC nor on the USB adaptor.

'dmesg' shows info for a different drive (which works), but nothing for
the Quantum drive.

There's a little green SMD LED on the PCB which is steadily lit at
first (and the BIOS displays its capacity, C/H/S, etc. so can obviously
read the drive) but which then begins to flash repeatedly in a pattern
of 8 flashes - short pause - 10 flashes.

Not sure if that could be something built into the firmware, or some
pattern of repeated access attempts by the kernel.

I've tried it jumpered as master and as slave, and with an old 40
conductor ribbon cable and a new 80 conductor cable, on its own and
with a CDROM drive. But nothing works.

I'm puzzled. Is the LED a disk activity light? There's something about
one I/O line being sometimes shared as a 'slave select' and a 'disk
activity' line, but I can't see what that would have to do with the
problem.

I have a very vague and possibly unreliable memory of having to tinker
a bit, or do something special, when the drive was new, but no clear
recollection.

Going to see if I can find any HD diagnostic program which might report
something, but meanwhile, does anyone know what the flash pattern
indicates?



Yup sounds like a stuck drive. Those bigfoots did that a lot, as did the
earlier Seagates.

As mentioned by another, just rap the drive on it's side, and it should
let go. Be aware however, that the stuck head may pull off the magnetic
material when it breaks loose. Normally we did this as a last ditch
effort to get the data off of the drive before tossing it out.

I'll bear that in mind if the drive sticks again.
Was going to buy a small cheap drive to use for an old PC on which I
planned to run my first Windows system (so I could use a couple of old
programs which Wine can't handle). Then prices soared, so I dug out
this old Quantum drive.
It won't be a tragedy if I lose it completely.


--
Windmill, TiltNot@Nonetel.com Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

 

[Windmill]

dplatt@radagast.org (Dave Platt) writes:

In article <LvKw0C.Ho7@freebie.onetel.net.uk>,
Windmill <spam-no-spam@Onetel.net.uk.invalid> wrote:

Thank you for that. I had already backed up the drive (though I wish I
had also backed up all the partition tables, or done an image backup of
the entire drive) so I have the data.
If I can't find an explanation of the flash code, I'll try the rapping
technique.

An approach I find more effective in dealing with "stiction" problems
in older hard drives (and somewhat gentler on the drive):

- Set it down gently, flat, on a smooth table-top.

- Grasp it on both longer sides (i.e. across its short axis) with
one hand.

- Rotate it sharply, without lifting it from the table, by "snapping"
your wrist.

Often, the inertia of the platters will "break free" whatever is stuck
(head-to-platter or shaft-to-bearings).

I agree with others, though... a drive which has stictioned itself
once is probably not to be trusted. If you get get it to spin up,
make another set of backups immediately. If you want to keep using
it, leave it spinning... it may stick again if it's powered down for
some time.

Many thanks. I held off on more violent unsticking methods until I
knew more, then used your method. Worked perfectly, with little force
needed.
--
Windmill, TiltNot@Nonetel.com Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

 

[Windmill]

Cydrome Leader <presence@MUNGEpanix.com> writes:

You mean tap the drive into the side of a trash can.

Oddly I have a 12GB bigfoot on my desk, I use to keep a pile of papers
from blowing away.

That was pretty much what I had in mind when I disconnected the drive a
few months back. But the floods in Thailand changed my mind.


--
Windmill, TiltNot@Nonetel.com Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

 

[Windmill]

"Ian Field" <gangprobing.alien@ntlworld.com> writes:

Had a drive once I had to use longer cables and park it on the desk so I
could clout it with a screwdriver handle immediately after pressing the on
button.

Took a fair bit of skip raiding to find a replacement that started without
'help'.

Funnily enough the old PC it's going into came from the same place....


--
Windmill, TiltNot@Nonetel.com Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

 

[Franc Zabkar]

On Tue, 6 Dec 2011 12:08:24 GMT, spam-no-spam@Onetel.net.uk.invalid
(Windmill) put finger to keyboard and composed:

Used to work on ancient mainframes long ago ...

Ditto.

If I can just find my glasses.

That too.

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.