Thanks Rick for clarifying my somewhat ambiguous description of how to dislodge a stuck voice coil mechanism.
On Sat, 24 Feb 2024, 12:13 pm Rick Bensene via cctalk, < [email protected]> wrote: > Just make sure when you torque the drive as mentioned that you rotate it > in as close to the same axis of rotation as the platter(s) spin as > possible, as any other direction of torque could cause the head(s) to > impact the platter(s) with more energy than desirable, especially if the > head(s) are positioned over data areas. > > Sometimes the actuator will not fully park when the drive is last powered > off, especially if things are already gummy. That can leave the heads over > area of the disk where data or servo information is recorded, potentially > causing damage that may not be repairable (without opening the sealed > area), and likely ruining part or all of the data on the drive (if you care > about what's on it) even if the positioner is "unstuck" by the torque. > > I have successfully (at least temporarily) resurrected some old Maxtor > XT-1140 (ST-506) drives using this "twist" technique. My experience shows > that the technique only works a few times and then it quits working. Thus, > if you do get the drive running and care about the data that is on it, > before powering it up, get it connected up to a system that you can use to > reliably archive the content, because once you power it back down, it may > get stuck worse than it was before. > > I have not tried "cooking" the drive as also mentioned. > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Tom Hunter via cctalk [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Friday, February 23, 2024 6:25 PM > To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts < > [email protected]> > Cc: Tom Hunter <[email protected]> > Subject: [cctalk] Re: RD54 Maxtor XT-2190 w/one long meep > > It may be that the voice coil positioner is stuck due to some hardened > grease. > If that is the case, you could try holding the drive in your hand and > flick your wrist hard several times to try to dislodge a possibly stuck > voice coil. > Alternatively you could flick the drive against something soft like your > thigh or a rubber mat. > Finally you could try to gently heat the drive to about 60 degrees C and > then immediately before cooling connect it up to exercise the now hopefully > loosened voice coil mechanism. > > On Sat, Feb 24, 2024 at 8:15 AM Jacob Ritorto via cctalk < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > On Fri, 23 Feb 2024 at 19:01, r.stricklin via cctalk < > > [email protected]> > > wrote: > > > > > voice coil positioner. > > > > > > Yikes, so that's an "open the lid" situation, bear? Any "how to" > > advise / docs / anecdotes out there as I begin searching? > > >
