Apple IIc Disk Drive - External into internal? (Yes!)

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Apple IIc Disk Drive - External into internal? (Yes!)

Just a quick question...does the external Disk IIc drive have the same "guts" as the internal drive in the Apple IIc? I.E., would it be possible to remove the Disk IIc mechanism from its external case and then use it to replace the internal drive in a IIc system? I ask because my IIc has an ailing internal drive (I presume it's some sort of mechanical alignment issue, it only reads when the system is physically flipped upside-down and even then only sporadically), and it's appearing much easier to find external IIc drives on eBay than internal ones.

Thank you.

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Re: Apple IIc Disk Drive - External into internal?

Hello torindkflt,
in general the external drive is similar to the internal drive, but not exactly same....
internal drive has partitial other cables than external drive....

but if it´s alignment problem you might read this page and the following pages:
http://www.appleii-box.de/H084_1_AppleIIDiskService1.htm

Although this pages treat the DISK II some small part is related to the drive at the IIc
and in general a lot of the information is valid to the drive of the IIc too and it´s service....
the big difference is only at the head positioning performed not by positioning disk but
by stepping motor. But speedadjustment is similar and headcleaning is also same....

speedyG

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Re: Apple IIc Disk Drive - External into internal?

... yeah, and one more thing.

If you have the opportunity, check the drive in a second //c. In one of my //c, the IWM was not working any longer and checking the drive in another machine could have saved me a lot of trouble.

Good luck!

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Re: Apple IIc Disk Drive - External into internal?

Yes they are exactly the same mechanism.

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Re: Apple IIc Disk Drive - External into internal?

I do not have a second IIc to try the drive on, however I did try connecting an older Disk II external drive to the internal connector on the IIc, and it worked perfectly fine, so I presume the disk controller electronics are fine and it's the drive itself that's got issues.

I was just checking for future reference, this will be a later project. Right now I'm focusing most of my attention on fixing up my II Plus.

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Re: Apple IIc Disk Drive - External into internal?

Just a little quick update regarding this...the mechanism from the external Disk IIc drive can indeed be repurposed as the internal drive on a IIc. I didn't need to make any changes to the drive itself. Just unhook the data cable, unscrew it from the external case, screw it into the IIc, then hook the data cable back up, quick and simple. Wanted to post this little tidbit for any future Googlers.

FYI, I also decided to install the faulty internal drive into the external case, so basically what I did was just swap the two drives around. This will allow me to work on the faulty drive at my leisure without having to open the IIc back up.

However, repairing the faulty drive may be questionable...it is quite badly corroded inside, as if it's been exposed to moisture. I'm surprised it even works at all, albeit only when flipped upside-down! Oh well, no big loss if I cannot fix it. My primary goal of giving my IIc a working internal drive has been achieved.

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