On Sat, Jan 2, 2021 at 2:03 PM Chris Zach via cctalk <cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > > I am dealing with this a *lot* with all these disks from Bob's basement. > The problems seem to be three categories: > > 1) Disk does not spin up at all. So far it's all been sticking motors, > they don't have a lot of start up torque at all. For the first 4 disks > (ST412, Quantum 30mb, and two ST506) I was able to remove the bottom > board, turn the disks manually (clockwise) while applying power to spin > them up. The motor will start to turn, then as you continue to spin it > with your finger it will go faster as the oils distribute themselves. >
Sometimes, the "stuck drive" problem can be overcome by a gentle "whack" with the handle of a screwdriver or other non-metallic object to the side of the hard drive, (hopefully) in the direction of spin of the hard drive. I have done this a few times on 5.25 inch hard drives at least. With success, Procedure: with the drive powered up, hold it, and gently give it a whack on the side, in the direction you think it should spin. If it doesn't work after one or two tries, try something else. Caveat: this might affect your drive negatively. HTH -- Regards, Torfinn Ingolfsen