Zenith Easy

[TrevorG3VLF]

I have a Zenith Easy computer, this has two 3.5 in floppies and a monochrome monitor. I prefered using this for word processing because it is silent.

It now will not load DOS from either floppy. Is there any chance of getting it working again?

Trevor

[SteveCG]

Trevor,

I have found that the grease used in floppy disk drives dries up over the years. I've successfully got such drives working again by carefully opening them and cleaning followed by re-greasing. The worm screw that moves the heads is a favourite place to need a re-lubrication. I used silicon grease because that is pretty non-reactive although others may recommend other options.

Take care not to bend the springy mounts upon which the heads are mounted otherwise you will wreak the drive and most likely any floppy disks you insert into it.

On the matter of your floppy disks I trust that if you pull back the protective flap on them that all you see is a nice uniform smooth surface. If you see a circular mark then the disks may well be fatally damaged by having had a head crash.

[mike_newcomb]

Hi Trevor,

I do not know this pc, but would think it can only boot from the A: drive.

To clean a floppy drive, I take off its cover and blow out any muck, using a hairdryer set to cold and maximum blast. Use a long thin paint brush to assist.

Clean the read/write heads carefully using a bent cotton bud dipped in isopropyl alcohol (liquid in cd/dvd cleaner sets).

If still no success, you could try swapping the drives, but take note of any strap settings if present and if different.

Please advise back on progress.

When all is working, do make sure you have backup copies of all important disks.

Good Luck - Mike.

[TrevorG3VLF]

I think the computer should boot on either drive but the reaction is the same on each. I have a few discs with the operating system on and they all behave the same.

Thanks for the advice

I am not clear how to dismantle and remantle the computer, I may well decide to offer it to a good home which will give me more space.

I do not know what is inside, it is slow for calculations (ECA), posibly an 8086.

I have a few other jobs on at the moment but hope to get round to it before too long. Perhaps I should take note of 'retired' actions.

Trevor

[mike_newcomb]

Hi Trevor,

can you please advise the Zenith Model number. It may be something like EZ-2

Is it one of those shown here?:-

http://oldcomputers.net/zenith-eazy-pc.html

Thanks - Mike.

[TrevorG3VLF]

Mike,

It is the EZ-2

I see that the base is screwed on from underneath so perhaps will not need my big hammer. I wonder if a drive out of another computer will fit for a trial.

$1200 new, that was a lot!

Trevor

[mike_newcomb]

Hi Trevor,

Bear in mind, these drives are double density, although most likely a later (high density) drive will work.

Swopping the drives (just by swopping the interface cables), as I suggested previously is worth a try. Thus A: becomes B: and vice-versa.

The first step I would try is disconnecting/re-connecting the drives' power and interface (both ends is applicable) cables. Have known this procedure cure many faults.

Cleaning of drives as described above is not difficult.

Steve's advice on greasing is good.

I carry a pot of silicon grease but it is expensive. Generally a plumber has some.

Steve any suggestions on where to obtain a small quntity at reasonable cost please?

Good Luck - Mike

[SteveCG]

Sorry, I've no advice on where to get Silicon Grease nowadays. My small supply came with a price in shillings and pence! BTW it is Silicon Grease that I use, not heatsink grease.

Another possible - but expensive - route might be to buy a new floppy drive if the OP does not wish to take his apart. I think I saw one for sale in Maplins not long ago. I would suggest that the OP takes one of his present drives along just to check that the interface connections are the same (I think they are, but I would still check).

[Nickthedentist]

Silicone grease is available readily and cheaply. Have a look on eBay for example, or places like CPC, Farnell and possibly even Maplin.

Nick.

[ChrisCwmbran]

Indeed Maplin do sell it. I have bought it from there in an aerosol form.

[stephen-niall]

As you try to boot it up does the light on the machine flash to tell you its accessing the floppy drive ? (I think its at the front near the power LED) If not then i'd guess its a board error. If so try to swap the drives around and use the different drive before replacing or cleaning the drives.

[DragonForce]

As far as I know, the original IBM PC and their clones would only boot from the A: drive or the C: drive, unless told different via the BIOS. Secondly, those floppy drives will be the DSDD type, maybe even single sided - you can't just replace them with a modern HD type of drive without some interfacing electronics. Modern drives do not have a READY line, the old Shugart type of drive (as used in the BBC micro) had a READY line on pin 1, and pretty much anything from the early to mid 80's used the Shugart style floppy drive.

If you take your drives apart, have a close look to see how many heads there are - if there is only one, then the drive could easily be a 40 track SSSD (single side, single density) device, and repair is the only real viable option. If two heads are found, it's likely to be an 80 track per side DSDD (double sided double density) device - you MAY be lucky and get one of these from a very old PC or an old BBC micro.

Can you remember the storage capacity of your blank, freshly formatted floppies?

SSSD - 180Kb
DSSD - 360Kb
DSDD - 720Kb
DSHD - 1440Kb

[arjoll]

The link in post 5 says they are 720k floppies.

[DragonForce]

Originally Posted by arjoll

The link in post 5 says they are 720k floppies.

So it does. Can't say I followed any links, I just read through the thread