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Restoring very old IMI hard drive

30-28630-286
edited April 2017 in Hardware
(I didn't see a recent thread for requests like this so I decided to start a new thread)

I bought a 5150 with a very old IMI ST-506 hard-drive that doesn't seem to want to even spin up. Not wanting to throw such a beast out (what might be on it?), I am curious to hear suggestions and recommendations on things to try.

Comments

  • ibmpc5150ibmpc5150
    lol, that is 5MB Hard Drive by Seagate.

    I recommend to contact to VCF (PCs and Clones) if you want to solve the problem abot IMI ST-506.

    http://www.vcfed.org/forum/forumdisplay ... and-Clones
  • SomeGuySomeGuy
    Usually this is because the lubricant has solidified from sitting around. Drives that had more use in their lifetime are more likely to have this problem as the lubricant is also more deteriorated.

    Exactly what model is this?

    Some models have part of the motor assembly exposed (usually under circuit boards), and you can manually rotate the disk until things loosen up.

    You can also try warming up the drive a bit (leaving it sitting unplugged in a hot running computer, or such). That can loosen up the lubricant.

    But don't just try to repeatedly power it up while it is stuck, as circuitry can sometimes overload as it tries harder to get the disk to spin.

    Once you get it to spin up, it may work fine form there on out, but it may also revert to sticking after days/weeks of sitting idle again.
  • 30-28630-286
    The drive seems to be stuck in the bay (the screws have seized) and when I remove the drive I'll get back to reporting on the model and properly rotating the drive. If all else fails I can try a nice thwack to the drive to loosen up the lubricant if that is the problem (the drive lamp is lit during POST so I assume the circuitry is fine)
  • 30-28630-286
    ibmpc5150 wrote:
    lol, that is 5MB Hard Drive by Seagate.

    I recommend to contact to VCF (PCs and Clones) if you want to solve the problem abot IMI ST-506.

    http://www.vcfed.org/forum/forumdisplay ... and-Clones

    It is a IMI 5012H 10MB hard drive for anyone interested and it works fine now. Is there a permanent solution to the lubricant problem?
  • ibmpc5150ibmpc5150
    @30-286

    Oh, Do you also have IMI 5012H 10MB?
    It is also very rare MFM HDD.

    I know IMI ST-506 used on IBM PC 5150, but only limited HDC was required.

    >Is there a permanent solution to the lubricant problem?

    Well, It is very hard to solve this problem on old HDD's motor.
    So I recommend to contact to VCF.
    VCF is more professional forum about Vintage Computer.

    P.S. Please do not quote whole sentence to me next time.
  • 30-28630-286
    I meant it was a "ST-506" interface MFM hard-drive (that's all I knew at the time). Very stupid wording in hindsight.

    It's rare? Eh... I'd trade it for any old working ST-506 hard-drive if anyone really wanted the damn thing.
  • SomeGuySomeGuy
    30-286 wrote:
    Is there a permanent solution to the lubricant problem?
    I've read about people injecting lubricant with a syringe, but I think that only works on certain drives. Otherwise all you can really do it let it run for a while, then let it sit for a month or so, and see if it sticks again.
  • 02k-guy02k-guy
    30-286 wrote:
    ibmpc5150 wrote:
    lol, that is 5MB Hard Drive by Seagate.

    I recommend to contact to VCF (PCs and Clones) if you want to solve the problem abot IMI ST-506.

    http://www.vcfed.org/forum/forumdisplay ... and-Clones

    It is a IMI 5012H 10MB hard drive for anyone interested and it works fine now. Is there a permanent solution to the lubricant problem?

    Run it inverted for awhile. Once it warms up, the lube becomes more fluid and tends to migrate (gravity - path of least resistance and all that jazz).
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