User`s guide

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From: John L. Graham
008- How do I fix a false Write Protect?
I recently ran into this problem with a Disk II. It insisted the disk was
write protected. I checked the write protect switch, but it was okay. I pulled
all the chips out of the analog board inside the drive, cleaned the contacts
with a clean pencil eraser (one was _really_ dirty, almost looked burnt) and re-
installed them. Voila! The problem went away.
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From: Rubywand
009- My 800K, 3.5 Disk Drive is no longer working on my
IIGS. When a disk is inserted the drive tries to read it
and then locks up the entire system forcing me to do a 3
finger reboot. Any suggestions on where to start
troubleshooting?
If you have a SCSI interface card plugged into your GS, you may have run
into a bug which seems to affect setting up of the diskette port. (See the next
question and answer.)
Try cleaning the heads using a Head Cleaner Diskette, such as a paper
diskette + cleaning solution kit from Radio Shack. (See Q&A 004.)
In a few rare cases, a drive may actually have globs of dust inside which
end up interferring with its operation. You can shine a flashlight into the slot
to check for a heavy dust buildup. The safest way to clean out dust is to open
the case and the drive and remove the dust. However, you can try inserting a
small cheap plastic artist's paintbrush (slightly dampened) into the slot and,
with a flashlight, _lightly_ sweeping around to pick up dust. ("Lightly" means
you do not push or snag on anything,
especially the R/W heads.) Blow into the slot and do another sweep with your
brush.
If cleaning does not seem to help, try wiggling the drive cable while
attempting to CAT a known-good, unprotected diskette in the drive. If wiggling
helps, you are likely to have a bad cable or a GS plug with a loose connection
to the motherboard.
Try formatting a diskette. A drive which can format and R/W diskettes it
has recently formatted but cannot read most other diskettes probably has heads
which have become misaligned.
Set your boot Slot to Slot 5 and try power-up booting a couple bootable
ProDOS diskettes known to be in good condition. If you can boot a variety of
disketts, including commercial game, etc. diskettes, the odds are pretty good
that your drive is okay.