High-Speed Repair

I'd like to know if I now have the record for fixing an Empeg at the fastest speed.

Had to go for a 1hr drive earlier this morning. My Empeg that I was testing with (Waldorf) was currently in the sled, my 'normal' one (Statler) was not. So, I switch them out, and Statler gives me a HD Not Found error. Try a couple resets, nothing.

So, in a hurry, I get off the expressway, jump into a Home Depot and pick up a allen wrench and small screwdriver set. Back on highway. While going 90MPH, I manage to take Statler apart, take out drive shelf, re-seat ribbon cables, test. Still no go. So I end up 'tapping' the side of the HD (can't HEAR if it's actually spinning or not, I had assumed that since it sat unused for a while (~5 days) the head just locked up.) Plug it in, and it worked! I had music for the rest of the trip.

Granted, it probably took alot longer than if I had just stopped, and I couldn't have done it without my shirt pocket, but I never dropped below 80MPH.

I'm proud.
Me.

I do hope this is a joke.

I'm proud.

Me too, because I now have yet another reason why I'm glad I don't live in or near Atlanta.

Now let's see ya resolder the IDE header

That is probably the most dangerous and irresponsible thing to do ever.

It's unlikely that you had sticktion on the HD. You have to leave them for very long periods of time for it to seize up and it mainly affects old drives. I would have the cable and header checked out first. If they prove to be okay then you should replace the HD as you shouldn't trust it with your data anymore.

I have done the [almost] the same thing! (I had a little help )

Situation:

-- Start a 9 hour car trip to visit friends in NYC, carrying 1 passenger.
-- Get a HD not found message for the first time (on this unit).
-- Stop immediately at a home depot, buy allen wrenches.
-- Coach my girlfriend, who is entirely non-technical, through the entire (temporary) repair in no more than 20 minutes. (while speeding!)

I'll have to admit, though, your repair was quite an impressive (if not dangerous) feat.

John

I do hope this is a joke.

Me too. If you'd crashed that empeg could have been seriously hurt. Shame on you.

-Zeke

if it were me i would have just fixed it in home depot. save some money and time

-- Stop immediately at a home depot, buy allen wrenches.

Y'all are a bunch of wussies. I keep a 2.5mm allen wrench in my desk drawer at home, one in my desk drawer at work, and one in the empeg carrying case. If I'd gotten the hard disk error while on a trip, I wouldn't have even slowed down, let alone stopped at a home depot.

Allen wrenches? I replaced all mine with thumbscrews.

-Greg

Me too. If you'd crashed that empeg could have been seriously hurt. Shame on you.

I know, I know. I do realize, now, that it was a very unsafe thing to do - removing the Empeg's VFD protection at high speeds. Next time, I'll just do it in the parking lot.. I'd hate to lose it because I hit a pothole and lost a screw or something..

Me.

I'll have to admit, though, your repair was quite an impressive (if not dangerous) feat.

Seriously, I'll admit - it was NOT the 'safest' thing to do. However, I will add that I was on a four-lane highway in the foothills of the Appalachaions, so the road was just about deserted.

But.. i GOTTA have music.

Me.

It's unlikely that you had sticktion on the HD. You have to leave them for very long periods of time for it to seize up and it mainly affects old drives. I would have the cable and header checked out first. If they prove to be okay then you should replace the HD as you shouldn't trust it with your data anymore.

That's what everyone tells me, but I'm like a HD magnet.. I;'ll have PC drives sieze up on me after a month. For a period a few years back, I went thru about 5 PC drives in the same time period. (At first I got them replaced form the manufacturer. Then I gave up on them and got another brand. That one lasted a little longer.) I soon became really adept at reloading the OS and getting my PC up to working condition in as little time as possible. I soon came to realize that if I don't turn my PC off, they'll last longer.
In my Empegs, I think I've had about 4 different drives that were either dead or on the verge of being so troublesome for the player. (Case in Point: v2.00 was awful to me on one drive I have. Screen would freeze, audio cut in and out, 2-4 times per song. Sometimes it'd completely lock up. With v3.00a3, I still get screen pauses, but the audio never cuts out. This is the drive I replaced the one I just fixed with, and the new one worked BEAUTIFULLY with both v2.00 and v3.00a3. At least, until yesterday.)
Now, I will concede that it was probably NOT a frozen drive, and just a coinkidink that it started working after I did that. But, I was out of ideas. Later today I'm going to be opening it back up and grab a magnifying glass, and look at the IDE header. I know it's NOT the IDE cable - it's very tight.)

Drives just do NOT like me, in general. I'm curious to see how the Karma holds up to my jinx.
Me.

Me too, because I now have yet another reason why I'm glad I don't live in or near Atlanta.

I will tell everyone on the board here, and anyone else that cares to listen - If you're not 120% confident in your driving at high speeds, don't come to Atlanta.

I live about 35 miles north, in the foothills. Right now, my job is inside "the perimiter". The average speed down the I to get to my office, during non-rushhour traffic is around 90MPH.
The perimiter, jokingly referred to as the "Atlanta Motor Speedway", averages about the same, with 50% more traffic.
Yes, it's extremely dangerous. I know - I almost got seriously hurt in an accident. (I'll also add here that, I was a "professional driver" that you see on TV - when I lived out in Colorado.) The lefts lanes, in particular, because you drive no farther away than 5-6 feeth from a 8-foot high cement wall. There's no where to go.

This is one of the reasons I'm looking for a position up near me, or even more up north. I cannot stand traffic - too many individual items on the road to keep track of.

Noting scares me more when, up ahead, you see a large cloud of brake and rubber smoke. You know you had better stop there, or you're more than likely toast.

Now, don't get the wrong impression - it's not all fast. Hell - during rushhour, you'll never get above 30MPH.

When I did this fiasco, I was on a state divided highway, even closer to the mountains. There was no traffic on the road.

Me.

Do you keep everything near an MRI magnet or something?!? That has got to be the worst luck in HDs ever

four-lane highway in the foothills of the Appalachaions, so the road was just about deserted.

Heh... I was thinking you were going around 285, usually you get passed if you're going any slower. But I suppose had you been on 285 you would have wrecked for sure.

I won't condone unsafe driving, but uh, yeah, I keep a wrench in my case.

Heh... I was thinking you were going around 285, usually you get passed if you're going any slower. But I suppose had you been on 285 you would have wrecked for sure.

Hell no. I don't even bother LOOKING at my radio on THAT road. That's the highway I got creamed by a small car while it was trying to occupy the same space as a semi-truck..
I may be reckless, I ain't suicidal.

Me.

Do you keep everything near an MRI magnet or something?!? That has got to be the worst luck in HDs ever

I know, I know. I don't even OWN any refridgerator magnets! (And I've seen friends KEEP magnets on their cases!) I'm tellin' everybody - HD's just /hate/ me. ::)

FTR, it's been working fine now since then, off overnight, on and off for quick stops, etc.. Not a single glitch. Very strange.

Me.

Umm... You been sticking something over the hole that says "DO NOT COVER"?

Or do you live in a very frequent earthquake zone and have been rattling your drives to death?

Very crappy mains supply in your house?

If not then it's a mystery

I would have to say that is strange, especialy in laptop drives because the heads are not even on the platers when they are off.

Yeah. That's why I said it was really unlikely. Sticktion only happens if the heads park onto the platters and accumulated crud and grease glue it down. The spindle motors in modern HDs are also very reliable.

It is a lot more likely there is a bad connection somewhere and generally shifting it around temporarily fixes it.

You been touching the platters on that photo? It's covered in dust and marks

I'm very surprised that case modders still think it's a good idea to cut windows into the top of the drive. They also always wonder why the drive kills itself after a few days!

I keep a 2.5mm allen wrench in my desk drawer at home, one in my desk drawer at work, and one in the empeg carrying case.

You're such a geek!

but you're our geek

In reply to:

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You been touching the platters on that photo? It's covered in dust and marks

---

Yea, the funny thing is this drive did fail due to the head sticking, it came out of a creative nomad zen. What I think caused it was somhow the platters stoped spinng before the head was able to park, the zen only gives the drive 3.6v to run on so I am suprized they dont fail more often.

Bizarre I've never had a drive stick or seize up. A few issues where it would just crap out and refuse to read properly but they all spun up fine. I've got a IBM 60GXP actually, I wonder if it'll die...

I'm sure at some point I've read the literature that drive manufacturers pump out and they all make a big deal of the fact that even with a power loss, the heads should park properly. They apparently can use the back EMF from the motor coils to force the heads to park. These are normal laptop drives though so the one in the Zen might be different.

I wish people that make drives would be more considerate and use a single screw type. It's annoying when ripping this stuff apart to have to rummage around for some miniscule Torx bit

You're such a geek!
but you're our geek

Awwwwwww....

/me gets a warm fuzzy.

where do you get your warm ones?
i have a stock of cold ones, but they always act weird when i nuke them

Where the heck would you get a fuzzy one anyway?!? (We had better be talking about beer you know )

I think you're talking about ones, right?

i thought we were talking about weepuls

or, perhaps, tribbles