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- Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
- Path: sparky!uunet!paladin.american.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!atlantis.psu.edu!wilbur.psu.edu!vincent
- From: vincent@wilbur.psu.edu (James Vincent)
- Subject: Hard drive light blinks 3 times .. Help
- Message-ID: <5lx1H=7_1c@atlantis.psu.edu>
- Sender: news@atlantis.psu.edu (Usenet)
- Organization: Penn State University, Center for Academic Computing
- Date: Fri, 22 Jan 93 22:37:19 GMT
- Lines: 20
-
- I have a seemingly dead hard drive in an older PS/2 model 30. It is a
- 20 M drive with the controller built into the mother board. I cannot
- low level format it. Norton Disk Doctor can't repair it because it
- it says I need to re-do a low level format. I have a PD version of IBM
- advanced diagnostics that says either the disk is not connected -check
- cables etc.. - or when it does recognize that the disk is there it tries
- to do a low level format, gets to cylinder 611 then reports the format
- failed. The light on the drive blinks a repeating pattern of 3 blinks.
- It only does this sometimes, not always. Other diagnostic software says
- the controller is bad, or controller stayed busy. But I don't think the
- controller is bad because I can use another drive in this machine and
- it works OK. Also the broken drive does not work in another machine that
- has a good controller. IBM technical service says bring it to a service
- place. The service places all say replace it ( at great expense). I would
- really like to try and save this drive. Any ideas? All help is greatly
- appreciated.
-
- Jim Vincent
- vincent@wilbur.psu.edu
-
-