Keneg Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 I got a 1050 drive off eBay. The seller said it works sometimes. Usually when first powered up and then fails later. I tried formatting a diskette and get error 174 repeatedly. Are there any utilities I can download to test the drive? I have an SIO2PC-USB I can use to load things. I already used a cleaning diskette on it. I thought the next thing might be to open the case and clean things up. Especially the drive rails. Any other suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjlazer Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 Does it boot disks? Drive rails can get sticky and cause issues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keneg Posted July 3, 2018 Author Share Posted July 3, 2018 I don’t have any disks for it. I am trying to create some. It seems to try to format about 7 tracks, if the bears mean a track has been formatted. On IBM compatible drives, I have often had to clean and lubriacte drive rails, so that is my first try. Can the drive be used with the top cover off? It would be good to watch what it is trying to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 Can the drive be used with the top cover off? It would be good to watch what it is trying to do. Yes, it can. That's how you can adjust the drive speed potentiometer if it becomes necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrbrevin Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 you can load the 1050 diagnostic atr using your SIO2PC: set drive to #1 and turn it off load the 1050 diagnostic via SIO2PC disconnect the SIO2PC software and power on the 1050 now run the diagnostic and the drive will be tested - the computer is none the wiser! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keneg Posted July 4, 2018 Author Share Posted July 4, 2018 Ok, thanks for the answers. Where do I get the 1050 diagnostic software? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 Ok, thanks for the answers. Where do I get the 1050 diagnostic software? Try this one. 1050 Disk Diagnostics (1983)(Atari).atr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keneg Posted July 4, 2018 Author Share Posted July 4, 2018 Thanks. It passes all tests except the head step/settle. So cleaning the drive rails sounds like a good start. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nezgar Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 With the drive turned off, can you force the head assembly along the rails? See if it feels tight to slide. When done, leave it approximately in the middle, so that it doesn't knock past the last track when you turn it on. Normally, it should seek ahead a few tracks forward then backwards to track 0 when powered back up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keneg Posted July 4, 2018 Author Share Posted July 4, 2018 Ok, that is good to know. I haven’t taken it apart yet. Probably won’t have time until tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 Gotta thank the OP for getting me to dig out the 1050 diagnostic disk .atr. As it happens, my second working drive was running a bit slow (285 RPM). That's only 1%, but still … Opened it up today, adjusted the speed, set it to D1: and then ran the diagnostics. Everything passed. That's nice to confirm. To measure the speed, I used RPM.COM from SpartaDOS 3.2. Since I usually boot into SpartaDOS X for my 1088XEL, it was a handy test that is compatible with SDX. There are also a few hacked versions of Atari DOS that add disk speed measurements to the menu (DOS 2.5f, 2.6f, 2.8f ..). When I took this drive apart to adjust the speed, the speed adjustment potentiometer dial (a little screw on top of the housing) was sealed in green wax, so I had to remove that to expose the screw. I didn't bother covering it with wax again when I was done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Nezgar Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 (edited) I've found that measuring/setting the RPM is best done after the drive has warmed up for a while. Ie, spinning the motor. The motor running 'warms it up' the quickest as that's when the 12V regulator gets it's load. If you calibrate the RPM when it's cold, or if you use a disk with more internal friction, you may find it has changed a few rpm's with different temperature and disk later. I like the sparta RPM.COM since you can run it without leaving DOS - but it might be a little less accurate since it rounds to the nearest integer. The 1050 utils measure to 1/10th of a a millisecond. (They had to be different!?) Utils for Speedy adjust to 1/10th of an RPM. Happy utils measure to 0.5 of an RPM. Edited July 4, 2018 by Nezgar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 I like the sparta RPM.COM since you can run it without leaving DOS - but it might be a little less accurate since it rounds to the nearest integer. The 1050 utils measure to 1/10th of a a millisecond. (They had to be different!?) Utils for Speedy adjust to 1/10th of an RPM. Happy utils measure to 0.5 of an RPM. Yeah, I measured my D1: drive using the Happy utility. It gave me 286.5 RPM. I'm not gonna bother with that one. However, the enhanced utilities gave me an error for RAM #2. Not sure if that's an issue with the cloned boards from Atarimax, or if there's a real problem somewhere. The drive appears to be working fine. Eh, maybe I'll start a new thread and stop hijacking the thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1050 Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 I have error 174 as duplicate file name. Please confirm error number and DOS used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keneg Posted July 4, 2018 Author Share Posted July 4, 2018 I have error 174 as duplicate file name.Please confirm error number and DOS used. It has actually given me different errors at different times. 144 and 173 most often. Hopefully, cleaning the drive rail will clear things up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox-1 / mnx Posted July 5, 2018 Share Posted July 5, 2018 This may be obvious but make sure the disks are the lower density ones, like "DD". "HD" disks won't do. When doing a format-without-verify on those it may even look like they would work but they just don't. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keneg Posted July 5, 2018 Author Share Posted July 5, 2018 I tried to fix it tonight. Broke off the pad that presses the disk against the head. Anyone know if/where I can get one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrbrevin Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 get one out of an old cassette tape - it is the same material. there is a guide somewhere on the web but it appears to be straightforward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillC Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 I tried to fix it tonight. Broke off the pad that presses the disk against the head. Anyone know if/where I can get one? Best Electronics lists it in their catalog addendum, I don't know if it's the complete part or just the pad. They do have a minimum order of $20 + shipping, and Brad can sometimes be difficult 810 / 1050 Felt (Rabbits hair) round pusher pad for the upper head assembly arm. CO17511 $3.00 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keneg Posted July 6, 2018 Author Share Posted July 6, 2018 (edited) I tried to call and then email Best Electronics today. No answer and got an undeliverable message back. I used a piece of self stick felt to replace the pad. I ran the drive with the lid off. It starts and spins, steps 39 times, pauses and then repeats a few times before giving an error 173. I ran diagnostics speed test and it gives a time of zero ms. Is it using the index hole for this test? I am thinking the sensor may be bad. Where can I get the diagnostics disk that is required to fully test the drive? Edited July 6, 2018 by Keneg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 (edited) Where can I get the diagnostics disk that is required to fully test the drive? Here it is. If you have another device you can boot the computer from, use this ATR with your 1050 set to D1: but powered down. Once the .ATR has booted, disable or unplug the device you used to boot the Atari, turn on your 1050 and run the diagnostic. 1050 Disk Diagnostics (1983)(Atari).atr Edited July 6, 2018 by DrVenkman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keneg Posted July 7, 2018 Author Share Posted July 7, 2018 Here it is. If you have another device you can boot the computer from, use this ATR with your 1050 set to D1: but powered down. Once the .ATR has booted, disable or unplug the device you used to boot the Atari, turn on your 1050 and run the diagnostic. I have been doing that. It looks to me like you need a known good disk in the drive for most of the tests to work. I don’t see a sensor for the index hole. There is a bracket that looks like it could hold something, but I don’t see any unused place to put anything in. Does the drive use some other means to tell where the first sector is? I haven’t removed the shield, but the chips I see are socketed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrbrevin Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 atari does not use the index hole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 thin oil drop on each rail... no grease! upside down duster lightly sprayed on suspect thermal components are of some use... don't forget to check power rails for proper voltage and rpms... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keneg Posted July 7, 2018 Author Share Posted July 7, 2018 thin oil drop on each rail... no grease! upside down duster lightly sprayed on suspect thermal components are of some use... don't forget to check power rails for proper voltage and rpms... I cleaned the rails using isopropanol,on a q-tip and rap then used sewing machine on another q-tip to lubricate them. The head is stepping nice and quiet. The seller said it worked sometimes. I have noticed a change in how it acts cold vs warm. I probably have a chip problem. Guess I will download the service manual and try troubleshooting when I have time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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