In 2003 Chris Lawson published detailed instructions on cleaning a floppy drive. I saved the directions knowing I or someone else would need this information.
Cleaning Floppy Drives Originally published 14 March 2000 as a Mac Daniel column for Low End Mac. Revised slightly 22 June 2003. Q: How do I clean/lubricate/repair the floppy drive in my Mac? A: Once you open the Mac and remove the floppy drive and bracket assembly, remove the drive from the bracket by unscrewing the four (or fewer, depending on how responsible the last person to work on the floppy drive was) screws. To clean the drive, use a can of dry compressed air. You can find this in various sizes at your local office supply store, probably in the electronics section. Just ask for canned air. Point the air stream out of the drive, and clean from back to front, so that you don't pack dirt around the heads and sliders. Once you have the major chunks of dust and dirt out, you'll probably need to lubricate the drive. Lubrication points are the two gold-toned discs in the slides on the top of the drive mechanism, on the left as you face the front of the drive. They're partially covering slots in the slider mechanism. A very light lube should also be applied to the four guide posts on the sides of the drive which guide the floppy-holding mechanism down to contact the spindle motor and heads. They're barrel-shaped metal pieces, about 3/16" long and 1/8" diameter. Lube the bottom side and the metal they rub against. The four sliders in the bottom of the disk insertion area should also be lubricated. These are hard to get to, but you can probably reach them with a Q-Tip soaked in lubricant or with the tip of a small straw. (Never transfer toxic lubricants such as WD-40 or Liquid Wrench by mouth.) I prefer using Liquid Wrench or WD-40 at first, because it loosens up the hardened and thickened grease that is already on the drive. Allow the penetrating oil to soak in for a few minutes and cycle the drive (as explained below) while it's soaking in. Once the old grease is thoroughly loosened and dissolved, and any excess wiped off, a thin coat of lithium grease or machine oil can be applied. A brief note of caution: do NOT use bio-based lubricants like corn oil or butter. I tried this in a pinch once, and not only did the corn oil go rancid, but it turned to glue after about two weeks. Cycle the drive several times by pushing an old disk into it and then manually ejecting the disk (push the metal tab on the right side of the drive at the front). Once it snaps down with a good solid motion, you've got it lubed enough. The drives can also be cycled without using a disk (800K and 400K drives are easier than 1.44 MB drives, due to an interlock on the 1.44 MB drives), but I'll leave working out this method as an exercise for the reader. copyright 2000-2004 by Chris Lawson > On May 7, 2019, at 12:55 PM, Jeff Walther <t...@prismnet.com> wrote: > > > > On Tuesday, May 7, 2019 at 8:58:22 AM UTC-5, Philip wrote: > Picked up a Macinotsh SE from a Craigslist seller. He said it was totally > dead, but sure enough, I got it home and it powered right on. Hard drive > still works and everything. > > I am really looking for a keyboard, mouse, and a working floppy drive, but if > you have anything else that's interesting, I am open to possibilities. > > Depending on what's wrong the floppy drive may be fixable. With age, the > lubricant turns to glue. If you remove the floppy drive and carefully > clean the mechanical parts that are meant to slide along each other (mainly > on the two narrow sides of the mechanism) with alcohol, and then relube with > something like a light lithium grease, it may start working again. There is > also a gear assembly that may need cleaning. Don't force the mechanism into > motion as the teeth often break off of those gears wtih age. There are 3-D > printed replacements available out there somewhere. > > Keyboard and mouse must have an ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) interface. The > connector looks a lot like an S-video connector. Unfortunately, this is also > quite similar looking to PS2 connectors and Microsoft Bus Mouse connectors. > > Jeff Walther > > > -- > You received this message because you are a member of the LEM Swap group. > To post to this group, send email to lemswap@googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe, send an email *from your subscribed address* to > lemswap+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com > LEM-Swap is not a discussion list; it is for buying & selling Mac stuff. > Reply directly to the person who posted, never to the list. > Software piracy is illegal and not allowed on LEM Swap. Except for freeware > and software originally provided with computers, no software is to be left on > hard drives unless the original installer (not a burned copy) is included, > along with any required registration number, password, etc. > Shipments valued at US$100 or more should be insured, and shipments valued at > US$25 or more should be shipped so they can be tracked. > See the list FAQ http://lowendmac.com/2014/lem-swap/ > <http://lowendmac.com/2014/lem-swap/> > for guidelines on postings, feedback, and dispute resolution. 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To post to this group, send email to lemswap@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe, send an email *from your subscribed address* to lemswap+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com LEM-Swap is not a discussion list; it is for buying & selling Mac stuff. Reply directly to the person who posted, never to the list. Software piracy is illegal and not allowed on LEM Swap. Except for freeware and software originally provided with computers, no software is to be left on hard drives unless the original installer (not a burned copy) is included, along with any required registration number, password, etc. Shipments valued at US$100 or more should be insured, and shipments valued at US$25 or more should be shipped so they can be tracked. See the list FAQ http://lowendmac.com/2014/lem-swap/ for guidelines on postings, feedback, and dispute resolution. Seller feedback at http://groups.google.com/group/swap-feedback --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "LEM Swap" group. 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