ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built.
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3 1/2" = light mode
5 1/4" = dark mode
got some time to take the drive out again and clean it again. i ended up having to remove this entire sliding side plate because there was still some old crusty lubricant. it is much better now. i also lubricated the head stepper worm gear.
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got some time to take the drive out again and clean it again. i ended up having to remove this entire sliding side plate because there was still some old crusty lubricant. it is much better now. i also lubricated the head stepper worm gear.
much better, it actually formats the disk! BTW this 3 1/2" format is very odd. 600 rpm, 66 tracks, 16 sectors per track, single-sided, 270K capacity, 256 byte sectors.
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much better, it actually formats the disk! BTW this 3 1/2" format is very odd. 600 rpm, 66 tracks, 16 sectors per track, single-sided, 270K capacity, 256 byte sectors.
why all this work? i need to work with some very early 3 1/2" disks. this example has an oval window but more surprisingly, the disk shutter must be opened manually before you put the disk in the drive!
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why all this work? i need to work with some very early 3 1/2" disks. this example has an oval window but more surprisingly, the disk shutter must be opened manually before you put the disk in the drive!
and it actually reads! at least, it recognizes the LIF volume label. the filesystem is for a different type of computer, so the HP85 doesn't show any files.
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why all this work? i need to work with some very early 3 1/2" disks. this example has an oval window but more surprisingly, the disk shutter must be opened manually before you put the disk in the drive!
@tubetime Verily, it is not a micro floppy disk.
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@tubetime You say “worse,” but all of this sounds awesome.
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ahh, the HP 9133A - the largest and heaviest external 3 1/2" floppy drive ever built. let's get it working! 🧵
@tubetime Boy howdy, this thread is quite the read! But back in the day where things were slow and relatively simple, things were more fixable, too. There's no squeal that lube can't fix--just don't get it on where the data is. I marvel at the post talking about head crashes "from time to time" but resuming use after each time. Good ole days. Anybody perchance own an old computer that used bubble memory? In my lifetime, I've seen only one of those in person. -
and it actually reads! at least, it recognizes the LIF volume label. the filesystem is for a different type of computer, so the HP85 doesn't show any files.
@tubetime
It's beautiful, that you for sharing your work.It's a great pallet cleanser in this dark age
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why all this work? i need to work with some very early 3 1/2" disks. this example has an oval window but more surprisingly, the disk shutter must be opened manually before you put the disk in the drive!
@tubetime @vwestlife oh cool! I recently picked one of these up. Thankfully the drive in mine spins, havent gotten around to pulling the data off yet.
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why all this work? i need to work with some very early 3 1/2" disks. this example has an oval window but more surprisingly, the disk shutter must be opened manually before you put the disk in the drive!
@tubetime Hey, @nanoraptor, I didn't know you worked for HP!
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and it actually reads! at least, it recognizes the LIF volume label. the filesystem is for a different type of computer, so the HP85 doesn't show any files.
@tubetime wow. Are those actually using the MMFM encoding?
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why all this work? i need to work with some very early 3 1/2" disks. this example has an oval window but more surprisingly, the disk shutter must be opened manually before you put the disk in the drive!
@tubetime lots of the oldest sony 90mm (3.5 inch) disks were like this regarding the shutter being opened manually, but i'm not sure if this is an OEM sony disk or not because I don't know about the oval shaped hole
I can tell you I don't think the oval is necessarily allowed by ECMA-147 (the only standard document I've seen that's publicly available free of charge for 90mm/3.5 inch floppy disk design). From the standard it says the window corner radius should be 0.5mm ± 0.1mm, so I think that makes this diskette non compliant. -
@tubetime lots of the oldest sony 90mm (3.5 inch) disks were like this regarding the shutter being opened manually, but i'm not sure if this is an OEM sony disk or not because I don't know about the oval shaped hole
I can tell you I don't think the oval is necessarily allowed by ECMA-147 (the only standard document I've seen that's publicly available free of charge for 90mm/3.5 inch floppy disk design). From the standard it says the window corner radius should be 0.5mm ± 0.1mm, so I think that makes this diskette non compliant.@wyatt this disk predates the standard
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@wyatt this disk predates the standard
@tubetime well yes obviously, i'm just saying i don't think the standard allows for disks that look like this so compatibility with later drives isn't something i can guarantee -
why all this work? i need to work with some very early 3 1/2" disks. this example has an oval window but more surprisingly, the disk shutter must be opened manually before you put the disk in the drive!
@tubetime Oh wow I remember those. You had to pinch the corner to close the shutter (there's a spring inside that does it). Didn't last as HP went to the standard Sony spec that Apple used.
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@tubetime Oh wow I remember those. You had to pinch the corner to close the shutter (there's a spring inside that does it). Didn't last as HP went to the standard Sony spec that Apple used.
@david this one doesn't have that, oddly. but i really do like the pinch-to-close ones.
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@tubetime wow. Are those actually using the MMFM encoding?
@JennyFluff iirc it is still just MFM
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@david this one doesn't have that, oddly. but i really do like the pinch-to-close ones.
@tubetime So the shutter just kind of slid open/closed? OK I do not remember those, but the HP machines of I guess 1982-3-4 did use the pinchy ones. I worked in the campus computer store which sold HP, DEC, IBM and Apple.
And I still remember the “snik!” sound those pinchy ones made!
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@JennyFluff iirc it is still just MFM
@tubetime I am wondering as the greaseweazle host software has support for it for some HP drives.
I have not seen any of these in the wild and it's something I want to eventually support in #RecoveryWhiskers
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why all this work? i need to work with some very early 3 1/2" disks. this example has an oval window but more surprisingly, the disk shutter must be opened manually before you put the disk in the drive!
@tubetime that gives a different meaning if you talk about a head crash.
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