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Apple SuperDrive/HDI-20 Service Source

From RetroTechCollection

The Apple SuperDrive volume of Apple's Service Source is a 21-page service document for the external 1.4 MB SuperDrive and the HDI-20 external floppy drive. The PDF was distilled on 21 November 1995.

Its value is the symptom chart, which is the only one Apple published for an external Apple floppy drive and which is specific enough to be used as a diagnostic aid rather than a parts-swapping list.

The symptom chart, as printed

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Symptom Apple's cures, in order
Drive does not come on; LED flashes once or does not light 1 drive mechanism; 2 external drive cable; 3 LED assembly
Drive reads but does not write 1 verify the drive really is a 1.4 MB SuperDrive; 2 drive mechanism; 3 external drive cable
Drive does not read but LED comes on 1 bad disk; 2 drive mechanism
Drive does not eject disk 1 drive mechanism; 2 eject switch cable assembly
Drive functions but LED does not light 1 LED assembly; 2 drive mechanism
MS-DOS drive does not recognise a disk formatted on the 1.4 MB SuperDrive format all disks on the MS-DOS drive first
Drive reads/writes 800K disks but not HD disks 1 verify the drive is a 1.4 MB SuperDrive; 2 drive mechanism
Drive unable to read, many file transfer errors 1 clean drive; 2 drive mechanism

Two of these are worth pulling out because they are not faults: a drive that handles 800K media but refuses high-density disks is very often an 800K drive that has been mistaken for a SuperDrive, and an MS-DOS machine refusing a disk formatted on a SuperDrive is expected behaviour, not a drive failure.

Contents

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  • Troubleshooting - General, Symptom Charts (pdf pp. 3-7)
  • Take Apart - Top and Bottom Cover, External Cable and Shield, Daisy Chain Interface Board, 1.4 MB Drive Mechanism, Eject Switch Assembly, LED Assembly (pdf pp. 8-19)
  • Exploded View (pdf pp. 20-21)

What this manual does not contain

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No Specifications chapter, so no current draw, seek time or rotational speed for the external SuperDrive is printed here. No Adjustments chapter, no parts list, no schematic, no component values. "Clean drive" is the only maintenance action Apple names, and the manual does not say with what.

Pages that cite this document

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Download: Apple superdrive.hdi 20.pdf