The Sinclair QL Forum

With a microdrive in slot 1 or 2, running `dir mdv1_` or `dir mdv2_` yields "not found". Running `format mdv1_` or `format mdv2_` yields "format failed". I can hear the drives whirring for a few seconds, the red lights turn on at the same time but reads/formats on microdrives always fail. I have 24 microdrives, 4 of which are the office programs from PSION and I think the other 20 were used for general storage by the car insurance firm my QL used to belong to, they're all in cases labelled "MICROQUOTE by DATALLER". All 24 fail to read/format. Just wanted to know if I was doing something wrong when trying to read the drives or if they've just died of old age.

It's probably, at least in part, due to the disintegrating spongy bit on the cart that pushes the tape against the read/write head. They always fall apart and the little particles can cause issues (other factors can also cause issues, but re-felting is a good start). You shouldn't really run them with the original sponge pieces as it's likely the particles could get taken into the cart and that certainly won't make things any better.

They could also just all be bad/corrupt without the sponge issue, but generally the carts aren't that bad.

Here's my re-felting procedure: http://qxl.win/ql_cartridge_recovery.htm

Chr$ wrote:It's probably, at least in part, due to the disintegrating spongy bit on the cart that pushes the tape against the read/write head. They always fall apart and the little particles can cause issues (other factors can also cause issues, but re-felting is a good start). You shouldn't really run them with the original sponge pieces as it's likely the particles could get taken into the cart and that certainly won't make things any better.

They could also just all be bad/corrupt without the sponge issue, but generally the carts aren't that bad.

Here's my re-felting procedure: http://qxl.win/ql_cartridge_recovery.htm

I see, looking at them there is pretty much nothing left of the sponge, definitely not enough to allow the tape to make contact with the head. I'll take a look at re-felting, thanks .

jcarter1050 wrote:

Chr$ wrote:It's probably, at least in part, due to the disintegrating spongy bit on the cart that pushes the tape against the read/write head. They always fall apart and the little particles can cause issues (other factors can also cause issues, but re-felting is a good start). You shouldn't really run them with the original sponge pieces as it's likely the particles could get taken into the cart and that certainly won't make things any better.

They could also just all be bad/corrupt without the sponge issue, but generally the carts aren't that bad.

Here's my re-felting procedure: http://qxl.win/ql_cartridge_recovery.htm

I see, looking at them there is pretty much nothing left of the sponge, definitely not enough to allow the tape to make contact with the head. I'll take a look at re-felting, thanks .

That's encouraging then, hopefully that's all it is. Bits of sponge are often left behind inside the plastic cart case, bang the empty cases upside-down on a table and see if anything comes out.