//c repair

You can!

http://www.pcworld.com/article/143520-8/anatomy_of_an_icon_inside_the_apple_iic.html

Tear it apart, clean everything, reseat the chips, reassemble, and hope!

Thanks, that helped. Now, it's starts to boot but stops with the error message "Check Disk Drive". Re-seated the cable, cleaned the drive head but no-go. Looks like a defective drive.

Any where to buy another drive ?

What are you using as your boot disk? It may be bad. The ones you want to use are the DS/DD not HD 5.25s. As long as the 5.25 has a metal hub or ring you have the right disk type. Still the program on them can be bad.
I take it you tried more than one program to boot up?

Also the head still can be dirty. A bad disk can foul it rather quickly. Hey they are all old. Some shed more brown oxide then others. Trying the boot disk and cleaning the head with Isopropol Alcohol and Qtips or bettter yet a disk cleaner disk. Too much (wet) alcohol does not let you have the enough friction to remove any build up. Too much and it glides or the build up or just lets it float on the surface.

Take Care

Tried several floppy's, all function with the //gs. Pretty sure the drive is toast. I'll probably just put the //c 'on the shelf' until something pops up.

The //c also came with the //c video accessories ( rf mod, switch, RCA cable) and something called Video 7. The Video 7 plugs into the //c and converts the video to RGB. No idea if any of this works.

Maybe I can locate a 'parts' //c.

I saw an internal IIc drive show up on comp.sys.apple2.marketplace just the other day:

http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.apple2.marketplace/browse_frm/thread/0bdb279a0b460fb6#

But your drive is probably fine... pull it apart enough to get at the head and clean it with a cotton swab and isopropyl alcohol.

David,

Thanks for the heads up on the drive. I emailed Pete, let's hope it's still available.

I've cleaned the drive head a couple of times, no success. I had the cage off and was watching and it looks like the stepper motor is not moving the head.

The other maintenance factor that these drives require other than having their heads cleaned (use only anhydrous alcohol and cover the Q-tip swab in a nylon stocking) is to have drives speed calibrated. If it's not running at the correct speed, you'll get the same error that you've described.

Mutant_Pie

Checked the drive speed using the strobe markings on the motor, looks ok. I still think the stepper motor, or stepper motor drive electronics, are bad.

I missed the drive for sale, so if anyone has one, let me know at .

Thanks all.

The plot thickens ...

Finally was able to find and read the Apple //c manual and it says how to boot from an external drive, go into the monitor, 7-ctrl p.

At first I hooked up an external 5.25" drive and nothing. Then, I tried a 3.5" drive and the drive light comes on and then nothing. This is the same thing the internal drive does.

So, it probably isn't the drive, it's probably the mother board. I'll take it apart and re-seat the chips, again, but if no-go, it might be time to 'retire' this particular //c.

The plot thickens ...

Finally was able to find and read the Apple //c manual and it says how to boot from an external drive, go into the monitor, 7-ctrl p.

At first I hooked up an external 5.25" drive and nothing. Then, I tried a 3.5" drive and the drive light comes on and then nothing. This is the same thing the internal drive does.

So, it probably isn't the drive, it's probably the mother board. I'll take it apart and re-seat the chips, again, but if no-go, it might be time to 'retire' this particular //c.