Re: How to open a SUN CDROM drive box?

[Ethan Dicks]

On Fri, Jul 22, 2016 at 1:23 PM, Mattis Lind  wrote:
>> There are a couple of locking tabs on the sides in the back corner.
>> You poke at them through the holes in the outer shell.  They look
>> decorative.  Two of them are not.
>
> That did the trick! Thanks! I think I never would have found out by
> myself...

Excellent!

>> > The drive doesn't seem to work properly. Either I need to get it working
>> > somehow or replace it with a new (512 byte block capable) drive.
>
> It can eject the caddy. But I am not really sure it actually rotates. Maybe
> some lubricant has became a little too sticky over the years. The activity
> LED lights up when the caddy is inserted and then goes dark after some very
> low noise inside.  Nothing more happens and the SUN machine just sits there
> doing nothing.
>
> BTW. It is a SONY drive.

If you have a modern machine with SCSI, you could try it there.  I
think a Linux box would give you better error messages, but even a
Windows machine could tell you something.

I'd be looking in my logs for the report that it's on the bus, and any
traffic that occurs on insertion or when you try to mount the media,
and see if lights blink then, etc.

OTOH, it's probably not hard to find an old Sony or Plextor mech to
drop in there, as long as it has the 512-byte jumper set (ISTR there
are some drives that's it's a solder-blob option).

-ethan

Re: How to open a SUN CDROM drive box?

[Mattis Lind]

>
> There are a couple of locking tabs on the sides in the back corner.
> You poke at them through the holes in the outer shell.  They look
> decorative.  Two of them are not.
>
> Once you depress one, lift lightly on that back corner and it should
> move up 1mm-2mm.  Do the other corner and the back of the lid should
> tip up towards the front.  It has some large plastic tabs on the front
> edge that act as a hinge, then it pops off, exposing the innards.
>

That did the trick! Thanks! I think I never would have found out by
myself...


>
> > The drive doesn't seem to work properly. Either I need to get it working
> > somehow or replace it with a new (512 byte block capable) drive.
>
> Could be a lot of things, but a new drive would probably solve most
> problems.  It also depends if the problems are on the SCSI side (won't
> respond, is at wrong unit number, etc.) or the optical side (can't
> read any media) or in between (can't eject caddy...)
>

It can eject the caddy. But I am not really sure it actually rotates. Maybe
some lubricant has became a little too sticky over the years. The activity
LED lights up when the caddy is inserted and then goes dark after some very
low noise inside.  Nothing more happens and the SUN machine just sits there
doing nothing.

BTW. It is a SONY drive.

>
> -ethan
>

Re: How to open a SUN CDROM drive box?

[E. Groenenberg]

Mattis,

Seen from the front, use a pencil or whatever fits in the holes and
count 3 (or 2) holes from the back of each side and push it gently in.
There is a notch on each side which locks the cover.

Regards,

Ed
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On Fri, July 22, 2016 16:35, Mattis Lind wrote:
> I am probably too stupid to not understand how to get into this box:
>
> http://i.imgur.com/7KXKP2l.jpg
>
> Before I break some parts of the old plastic I better ask...
>
> What is the procedure to open this up?
>
> The drive doesn't seem to work properly. Either I need to get it working
> somehow or replace it with a new (512 byte block capable) drive.
>
> /Mattis
>

Re: How to open a SUN CDROM drive box?

[Ethan Dicks]

On Fri, Jul 22, 2016 at 10:35 AM, Mattis Lind  wrote:
> I am probably too stupid to not understand how to get into this box:
>
> http://i.imgur.com/7KXKP2l.jpg
>
> Before I break some parts of the old plastic I better ask...
>
> What is the procedure to open this up?

There are a couple of locking tabs on the sides in the back corner.
You poke at them through the holes in the outer shell.  They look
decorative.  Two of them are not.

Once you depress one, lift lightly on that back corner and it should
move up 1mm-2mm.  Do the other corner and the back of the lid should
tip up towards the front.  It has some large plastic tabs on the front
edge that act as a hinge, then it pops off, exposing the innards.

> The drive doesn't seem to work properly. Either I need to get it working
> somehow or replace it with a new (512 byte block capable) drive.

Could be a lot of things, but a new drive would probably solve most
problems.  It also depends if the problems are on the SCSI side (won't
respond, is at wrong unit number, etc.) or the optical side (can't
read any media) or in between (can't eject caddy...)

-ethan

How to open a SUN CDROM drive box?

[Mattis Lind]

I am probably too stupid to not understand how to get into this box:

http://i.imgur.com/7KXKP2l.jpg

Before I break some parts of the old plastic I better ask...

What is the procedure to open this up?

The drive doesn't seem to work properly. Either I need to get it working
somehow or replace it with a new (512 byte block capable) drive.

/Mattis