Disk II Problems

[Great Hierophant]

I bought a supposedly "working" Disk II off eBay and got it yesterday but it was flaky from the beginning with reading and writing disks.  Sometimes it would not even start the process, with a program saying the drive was busy.  Then it developed an issue where the drive would not even spin the disk.  The only way I could get the disk to spin was by lowering the drive door so the door would barely have enough of a position to remain closed.  Any further and the motor simply won't spin.  The drive belt (an ALPS drive) did not look worn or loose.  The drive door is a bit creaky but it is not misaligned when it is shut.  

 

Even when the disk does spin, programs now always spit out errors like "I/O Error" or "error track $00 when one tries to format a disk.  It is as if the drive head is not moving correctly on the track the stepper motor uses to position it.  It will move in response to a command, but as the disk is unformatted, it cannot read anything.  Could a too light of a clamp cause the r/w head not to make close enough contact with the disk media?

 

There is a Floppy Emu at Drive 1 and it works just fine with my Apple //e.  Nothing else is in the //e at present except an extended 80-column card.

Edited October 29, 2020 by Great Hierophant

[Keatah]

Yep. Seen all that before. Needs some TLC.. Tension adjustments. Head cleaning & alignment test. Lubrication. Application of dielectric grease and contact cleaner. Speed adjust. Pressure pad adjust. A lot of simple things all done in unison. Probably be good for another 10 years afterwards.

 

My childhood Disk II was similarly recalcitrant and intermittent. 2 hours later purring like a confident kitten.

[Great Hierophant]

I think I fixed the issue in the most basic way, by gently and slowly closing the drive door.  Before the disk operation was either unreliable or not functional, now it is reliable.