Chris Bull
Level 3 (770 points)

Q: My iici is stuck trying to read a non-existent floppy

I am resurrecting a iici which contains some special hardware and software for studying chemical kinetics. It wouldn't start (like ten years ago) and I assumed a dead power supply. Now suddenly I need it to work. Found out (Thank you Google) about the Aztec trickle problem (http://www.shobaffum.com/iici/trickle.pdf), got out the soldering iron, added the diode, and now it successfully boots up from the harddrive!

 

However, it tries to read a non-existent floppy in the floppy drive and fails repeatedly so I can't use it. Got to be a problem with the floppy drive. Does this problem have known fix, or should I just disable the floppy drive?

 

Chris Bull

Mac OS X (10.5.8), also Beige G4/542; IIci and others

Posted on Mar 6, 2013 6:14 PM

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Chris Bull

Q: My iici is stuck trying to read a non-existent floppy

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  • by mtgmackid,

    mtgmackid mtgmackid Mar 6, 2013 6:53 PM in response to Chris Bull
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 6, 2013 6:53 PM in response to Chris Bull

    Most likely the floppy drive is stuck in the downward position (as if it had a disk in it).

     

    Try taking out the floppy drive and pressing the emergency lever to the right of the floppy drive's front.

     

    -J

  • by Appaloosa mac man,

    Appaloosa mac man Appaloosa mac man Mar 8, 2013 11:24 PM in response to Chris Bull
    Level 5 (4,330 points)
    Mar 8, 2013 11:24 PM in response to Chris Bull

    Chris,

     

    Disabling the drive by pulling the power connector would be the fastes fix.  You can eliminate the possibility of the drive being in the closed position by inserting a straightened paper clip into the hole provided for ejecting disks manually.

     

    By the way, if you can find a recycler that saves older mac computers, you should be able to replace the drive for a nominal cost.

     

    Jim