Need NeXT Optical Drive Information

I have recently installed a 4 GB Seagate disk drive that I purchased from Rob @ BlackHoleInc.  It came with 4.2 Openstep Installed.  Everything looked great except.  Tonight I tried to list what was on one of my Optical Disks.  I have tried three different disks.  I am able to fully insert the Optical disk into the slot. When I do this it makes a loud attempt as if it was trying to read it.  It is a whinny noise, that stops everything but the optical drive from continually making speed up and slow down noises, like it wants to read.  My question, are there drivers for the optical drive on the old original disk that was broken, and in the creation of the new Seagate drive, were optical drivers omitted? If so where can I get drivers for the Optical Drive.  Thanks in advance for any help.

Guy

Optical drive support is built in so there are no drivers required.  I suspect your optical disk has died all of the rest of ours has.

Quote from: "blackcube"I suspect your optical disk has died all of the rest of ours has.

:cry:

If you can hear the OD trying to access the data - you are probably better off than most of us w/ "dead OD's". It very likely just needs a cleaning. There were some cleaning cartridges made for them - although they are hard to find now - and I never used one, so I wouldn't know if they even do what they are supposssed to do. Spraying canned air in there may help - or it may make things worse - I don't know.

If it were my OD - and it was doing what you are describing] - I would [only] just keep [patiently] trying to re-load the disk again and again - until it would "hopefully" clean  itself - and read the disk.

blackcube
kenjay

Thank you both for the replies. Is there any test at all? Have the disks themselves become unusable. I have one new shrink wrapped disk that I have not tried yet. Years ago when I placed the Cube in storage, I was aware the hard disk had errors, but AFAIK the optical worked great.  Is there a place that can repair it, or should I just forget it.  Thanks  again.

Guy

Quote from: "guydestefano"blackcube
kenjay

Thank you both for the replies. Is there any test at all? Have the disks themselves become unusable. I have one new shrink wrapped disk that I have not tried yet. Years ago when I placed the Cube in storage, I was aware the hard disk had errors, but AFAIK the optical worked great.  Is there a place that can repair it, or should I just forget it.  Thanks  again.

Guy

AFAIK, there is no one that will touch the optical drive for service.  That being said, you might try Ron Fronberg on ebay.  Not long ago, he had some cleaning kits for optical drives.  He also had some NIB optical drives that were NOS parts from Bell Atlantic but reports were even they were mostly DOA when installed.  Also on Peak, it seemed there was a document on cleaning an OD.  I'll search and see if I archived that one.

UPDATE:   From the NEXT faq -

CLEANING THE OPTICAL DRIVE -- EASY METHOD

You will need:
      
   a flashlight
   several (probably at least 10) long (~8 in.) Q-tips
   a pen

Insert the pen in the optical drive door about 1/2 in., until the
door flap is wedged open. Angle the flashlight so that you can see
all the way into the drive. Insert a Q-tip in the door and remove
any dust you see by rotating the Q-tip gently. (NOTE: the Q-tips
should be entirely dry, not soaked in water or alcohol.)  Change
Q-tips as they become dirty. When you have removed most of the
visible dust, locate the laser platform, a black rectangle behind
the silver, round spinner mechanism. Using a clean Q-tip, rotate as
before, GENTLY touching the laser platform to remove the dust
accumulated there.

This method will remove the worst of the dust buildup. It also has
the advantage of not requiring a major disassembly of the cube and,
because of its simplicity, it is highly unlikely that anything will
go wrong. This method can also be used on the partially disassembled
cube when cleaning the cube (described below), at which time you
will have a slightly better view into the drive.

CLEANING THE CUBE

We will describe cleaning the cube before discussing the second
method of cleaning the optical drive, since both procedures require
disassembly of the cube.

Even though some disassembly is required, this procedure is not
technically very demanding. Cleaning the cube is highly recommended
for everyone.

You will need:

   FOR DISASSEMBLY:
   a large clean towel
   the NeXT screwdriver tool (in the tool kit accompanying the NeXT)

   FOR CLEANING:
   a vacuum cleaner with soft bristle attachment
   2 small clean cloths, 1 slightly damp

Lay the towel on the floor or other large flat surface. Put the NeXT
cube on the towel. Disconnect all the cables from the back of the
cube. Then, using the NeXT tool, remove the four screws on the back
of the cube, and gently pull the back panel off and let it drop onto
the towel. Put the screws aside in a safe place. The back panel
contains the fan. Remove the cord to the fan by pulling gently.
Using the vacuum cleaner with bristle attachment, vacuum the fan
and the inside of the back panel. Then put the back panel safely
out of the way. Grip the metal strips on the edge of the mother
board and GENTLY pull out the mother board enough to expose the
cable(s) (about 1/4 of the way out). There will be an initial
resistance as it snaps out of place, after which it should move
easily. Do NOT touch the components of the mother board. There will
be a cable attaching the board to the optical drive, and another
attaching it to the hard drive if you have one. Gently pull out the
cable(s) by tugging on the strap in various locations. Carefully
remove the mother board, again making sure that you do not touch
the components, and put it safely aside. Now, again using the NeXT
tool, remove the two silver screws at the bottom of the middle
section, inside the cube. (They are slightly out of view.) Place
one hand on top of the cube and two fingers in one of the holes
under the top of the middle section (they are also slightly out of
view). Tug with your two fingers until the middle section ``pops''
out, and then gently pull the middle section entirely out. Vacuum
the OD entrance or wipe it with the dry cloth. Then put aside the
middle section aside for now, and vacuum the inside of the cube.
Also turn the cube over and vacuum the vent on the bottom.

At this point, you may clean the OD, either by the easy method (just
take the middle section, place it on the towel, and then follow the
instructions given above) or by the radical method (described below).
The radical cleaning is preferred if you desire a thorough cleaning
of the OD, or if the easy method has failed to restore a
non-functioning OD to operation. If you ordered an internal dust
filter, this is the time to install it (after the OD cleaning, if
you intend to clean the OD. Installation instructions are included
with the filter.)

Now, you start reassembling the cube. Take the middle section and
wipe it with the damp cloth to clean it, then dry it with the dry
cloth. Then gently place it on the grooves visible on the bottom of
the cube, and gently slide it back into the cube. It should click
into place when it is all the way in. If it does not, make sure that
the two holes near the bottom screw holes of the middle section are
aligned with the pins of the cube, and then push a little harder
(and perhaps tip the cube forward a bit), until it clicks. Replace
the two screws at the bottom with the NeXT tool. Next, take the
mother board and slide it in along its grooves about 3/4 of the way.
Reconnect the OD cable (and the hard drive cable, if you have one)
being very careful NOT to bend any pins, to the mother board, and
then slide the board the rest of the way in, until it clicks into
place. Take the back panel, reconnect the cord to the fan, and the
replace the panel. Replace the four screws with the NeXT tool. Using
the damp cloth, wipe the outside of the cube. Dry with the dry cloth.
Then reconnect all the cables at the back, and you are done.





CLEANING THE OPTICAL DRIVE -- RADICAL METHOD

Warning: Although this method definitely gets the OD cleaner than
the easy method, it does require a good deal of complicated, and
possibly difficult, disassembly. There is also more risk of damage,
should you make a mistake. This method is only recommended for those
who are confident in their ability to take apart the NeXT and put
it back together.

In addition to the tools for cleaning the cube, you will need:

   a Phillips screwdriver
   a pair of needle-nose pliers
   a lot (probably around 30) regular Q-tips
      (long Q-tips are not needed)

Go through the disassembly described under ``Cleaning the Cube'' up
to the point at which cleaning the OD is suggested. At that point,
put the cube aside, and place the middle section, top side up and
with the OD entrance facing you, on the towel. At the back of the
middle section, disconnect the black power cable (on the left) and
the black rectangular cable (on the right) from the optical drive.
There will be two screws on either side of the OD, in holes marked
``O'' (for optical drive, as opposed to the H-hole for the hard
drive). Remove the rear screw on each side using the NeXT tool.
Then, insert two fingers in the OD entrance to support it (these
four screws are what holds the OD up, so when they are all removed
it will fall a bit unless it is supported.) Next, remove the front
screws on either side, making sure that you do not let the OD drop.
Then gently pull the OD out. Put the rest of the middle section
aside for now.

Place the OD right side up on the towel (this is the side with the
sticker and with four screws on top forming a rhomboid, rather than
a rectangle as on the other side). Using the Phillips screwdriver,
remove the four screws on top of the OD, and then lift the front up
and back all the way. Prop it in this position (the NeXT tool is
quite useful for this), being careful as it has a tendency to snap
shut. Be very careful NOT to touch any of the components attached
to the top. Take a Q-tip and remove dust by gently rotating it.
(NOTE: As with the easy method, the Q-tips should be completely
dry.) Change Q-tips as they become dirty, and make sure to get
between the cables at the back (although, again, do not touch the
components on the top.)

After you have finished removing dust, you must disconnect two orange
ribbon cables at the back left of the OD which connect the top to
the bottom. Using the needle-nose pliers, gently pull out the two
white tabs on these cables, then gently pull the ribbon cables out.
Then slide the tabs off the ribbon cables. Put the tabs aside and
gently lower the top, making sure the ribbon cables are entirely
inside the OD.

Turn the OD over (leaving the entrance facing you), and remove the
four screws on this side (now the ``top'') with the Phillips
screwdriver. Gently lift up the front of the top facing you. You
will not be able to lift it very far, as the top is connected to
the inside by two cables. Lift up the top enough to expose the
cables, and then gently disconnect the 5-pin connector on the top
left and the 3-pin connector on the bottom middle. Now you can remove
the entire top. Prop it open with the NeXT tool, and remove the dust
from top and bottom by rotating the Q-tips. Gently touch the laser
platform (a black rectangle which will be attached to the ``top'')
with a clean Q-tip to remove dust.

When you have finished removing the dust, lower the top most of the
way, re-attach the 5-pin connector to the top and the 3-pin connector
to the bottom (do this very gently, being careful NOT to bend the
pins). Close the top and replace the four screws using the Phillips
screwdriver. Then turn the OD over again, and lift the top back up
(again propping it open so that it does not snap shut). Pull out
the ribbon cables. Slide each tab over the appropriate ribbon cable
(size will make it obvious which tabs and cables go together), and
then carefully push each cable back into its slot, until there is
no silver metal showing. Then gently push the tabs back in. Again,
do NOT touch the circuit board on top. Close the lid, making sure
that the ribbon cables are inside, and replace the four screws with
the Phillips screwdriver.

At this point, put the middle section back on the towel, again with
the front facing toward you. Wipe the top of the power supply (at
the bottom of the middle section) with the damp cloth to remove
fingerprints. Then dry with the dry cloth. Then slide the OD back
into the middle section. Again with your finger inside the OD
entrance, move the OD until the front screw hole in the OD is aligned
with the front hole marked ``O''. Then replace the front screw using
the NeXT tool. Now repeat this process for the front screw on the
other side. Then replace the rear screw on each side. Reconnect the
power cable (4-pin connector) and the rectangular cable to the back
of the OD (again, do NOT bend the pins.) Now, you should reassemble
the cube, as described under ``Cleaning the Cube''. (If you have an
internal dust filter, you will probably want to install it before
reassembling the cube.)

blackcube

Thank you very much for the detailed instructions. Before I wrote, I did do a google search, but had no luck.  I really appreciate all of your time and help.  This week end I will purchase the longer q-tips and try the       easy way.  If that does not work, I will give the second method a try.
After that,  I will join the crowd, and it shall become a great conversation piece.  Thanks again

Guy

There's a program that can help with recovering an optical disk if it gets corrupted.  It's available here:

http://www.nextcomputers.org/NeXTfiles/Software/Diagnostic_Utilities/OD-Recovery.tar.gz

It looks like the issue was resolved in later versions of NEXTSTEP and OPENSTEP but the readme file has some good OD information nonetheless.

Quote
Your OD has been trashed. You mount it and all you get is the system
claiming that this is a brand new disk and that it wants to initialize
it, now. You panic because You have not done any backups and all of
your past three months worth of work is on that bloddy OD.

What do you do?

Well, First, what has happened... You inserted your disk. It was either
dirty or the optics in the head assembly were dirty or something. Either
case, the system could not read the label on your disk. Up pops the panel
asking if you want to initialize it. You push Cancel, of course, and
out pops your disk, but not before the system marks this disk as having
been seen before and it does that by updating the Label. Oops, there
is no label. Well, that's ok, we'll just have to create a new label and
we'll mark the accompanying bits maps as having not been written before.

This second act of clearing the bits maps is what trashes the disk. All
of your data is still on the disk, it just that now the system thinks
that none of the sectors have been written before and must be initialized
before being used.

So, How to fix:
   1) Write a new correct label.
   2) Reset all of the bit maps to make the system think that
      every sector has been written to before.
   3) Fsck the disk.
   4) Eject
   5) Remount
   6) Copy your data off to someplace safe.
   7) Re-initialize the disk.


Run the new disk program with a labeling and set the now cleared bitmaps
to Written and write a new label. Below is a sample run to illustrate. You
will use the new bitmap command to set all of the bitmaps to written and you
will re-label the disk.


wallingford 504# ./disk.NEW -l omd-1 /dev/rod0a
disk name: Canon OMD-1
disk type: removable_rw_optical
Disk utility
disk> ?
commands are:
       init    initialize disk
       eject   eject disk
       read    read from disk
       write   write to disk
       verify  verify data on disk
       rw      read-after-write
       rwr     read-after-write random
       look    look at read/write buffer
       set     set read/write buffer
       label   edit label information
       host    change hostname on label
       name    change disk label name
       boot    write block 0 boot
       bad     edit bad block table
       bitmap  edit status bitmap      <<<< New Command
       stats   print drive statistics
       zero    zero drive statistics
       abort   toggle abort on error mode
       vers    toggle label version
       help    print this list
       ?       print this list
       quit    quit program

disk> label
label information: print, write? write
enter host name: wallingford
writing disk label

disk> bitmap
status bitmap: read, print, edit, change, write, stats? read   <<<< Read in existing bitmaps.

disk> bitmap
status bitmap: read, print, edit, change, write, stats? print   <<<< Having just written a new
first sector? 0                     <<<< label, the first N sectors
# of sectors? 100                  <<<< truely have been written.
#       status: (U=untested, B=bad, e=erased, w=written)

    0  wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
   64  wwwwwwwwwwwwwUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU         <<<< As can be seen here

disk> bitmap
status bitmap: read, print, edit, change, write, stats? stats   <<<< and the Stats command show
100.0% untested,  0.0% bad,  0.0% erased,  0.0% written      <<<< this to be true as well.

disk> bitmap
status bitmap: read, print, edit, change, write, stats? change   <<<< This changes a range of
change a range of bitmap entries            <<<< bitmaps.
first sector? 0
# of sectors? 999999                  <<<< Since we do not know how
must be between 0 and 246960               <<<< sectors there are, insert
# of sectors? 246960                  <<<< a very large number and
u=untested, b=bad, e=erased, w=written? w         <<<< have it tell us.

disk> bitmap
status bitmap: read, print, edit, change, write, stats? write   <<<< Write to disk.
writing bitmap

disk> bitmap
status bitmap: read, print, edit, change, write, stats? stats   <<<< Confirm. 100% of the
0.0% untested,  0.0% bad,  0.0% erased, 100.0% written      <<<< sectors have been written.
disk> q





wallingford 508# fsck /dev/rod0a            <<<< This fails since the first SuperBlock
** /dev/rod0a                     <<<< has been trashed.

CANNOT READ: BLK 8
CONTINUE? y

THE FOLLOWING SECTORS COULD NOT BE READ: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,



wallingford 509# fsck -b 16 -y /dev/rod0a         <<<< So specify the second good
Alternate super block location: 16            <<<< SuperBlock. Use -y to answer all
** /dev/rod0a                     <<<< questions with a Yes.
** Last Mounted on
** Phase 1 - Check Blocks and Sizes

CANNOT READ: BLK 215496                  <<<< This will Happen a Lot and
CONTINUE? y                     <<<< the console will have tons of
                        <<<< messages. Like:
      od0a: read recover (ECC) block 243417 phys block 246137 (19532:0:9)
      od0a: read recover (ECC) block 243417 phys block 246137 (19532:0:9)
      od0a: read recover (ECC) block 243417 phys block 246137 (19532:0:9)
      od0a: read recover (ECC) block 243417 phys block 246137 (19532:0:9)
                        <<<< So just answer all questions with
                        <<<< a Yes.
THE FOLLOWING SECTORS COULD NOT BE READ: 215496,

CANNOT READ: BLK 216224
CONTINUE? y

THE FOLLOWING SECTORS COULD NOT BE READ: 216224,

CANNOT READ: BLK 218920
CONTINUE? y
THE FOLLOWING SECTORS COULD NOT BE READ: 218923,

THE FOLLOWING SECTORS COULD NOT BE READ: 221120,
CANNOT READ: BLK 239264
CONTINUE?
THE FOLLOWING SECTORS COULD NOT BE READ: 239264, 239266, 239267, 239269,

CANNOT READ: BLK 239272
CONTINUE?
THE FOLLOWING SECTORS COULD NOT BE READ: 239272,

CANNOT READ: BLK 240744
CONTINUE?
THE FOLLOWING SECTORS COULD NOT BE READ: 240744, 240747, 240751,

.
.
.
.

CANNOT READ: BLK 241952
CONTINUE?
THE FOLLOWING SECTORS COULD NOT BE READ: 241952, 241953, 241954, 241955, 241958,

CANNOT READ: BLK 241960
CONTINUE?
THE FOLLOWING SECTORS COULD NOT BE READ: 241960, 241967,

CANNOT READ: BLK 243424
CONTINUE?
THE FOLLOWING SECTORS COULD NOT BE READ: 243424, 243425, 243426, 243427, 243428, 243429, 243430, 243431,

CANNOT READ: BLK 243432
CONTINUE?
THE FOLLOWING SECTORS COULD NOT BE READ: 243432, 243433, 243435, 243437, 243438, 243439,
** Phase 2 - Check Pathnames
** Phase 3 - Check Connectivity
** Phase 4 - Check Reference Counts
** Phase 5 - Check Cyl groups
BLK(S) MISSING IN BIT MAPS
SALVAGE?

CANNOT READ: BLK 228472
CONTINUE?
THE FOLLOWING SECTORS COULD NOT BE READ: 228472,
CG 317: BAD MAGIC NUMBER
WRITING ZERO'ED BLOCK 228472 TO DISK

CANNOT READ: BLK 231896
CONTINUE?
THE FOLLOWING SECTORS COULD NOT BE READ: 231896,
CG 322: BAD MAGIC NUMBER
WRITING ZERO'ED BLOCK 231896 TO DISK
.
.
.
.
CANNOT READ: BLK 242680
CONTINUE?
THE FOLLOWING SECTORS COULD NOT BE READ: 242680, 242681,
CG 337: BAD MAGIC NUMBER
WRITING ZERO'ED BLOCK 242680 TO DISK

CANNOT READ: BLK 243416
CONTINUE?
THE FOLLOWING SECTORS COULD NOT BE READ: 243416, 243417,
CG 338: BAD MAGIC NUMBER
3029 files, 80134 used, 152932 free (1052 frags, 18985 blocks, 0.5% fragmentation)
WRITING ZERO'ED BLOCK 243416 TO DISK

***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****



Now the disk can be ejected and re-mounted.

wallingford 513# disk -e /dev/rod0a
disk name: Canon OMD-1
disk type: removable_rw_optical
wallingford 514#

Note: the mount point that you may have had has been changed to omd-1.
Now go and copy your files off, re-initialize the disk and copy them
back. The disk is still good and simply cleaning the disk before
re-initializing it will make the disk re-usable for a long time.

   Thanks
   Cal

p.s. This is fixed in 2.0, I've heard.

Nitro

Thanks for the reply.  I think I am making a small amount of progress.  yesterday, when I left the Optical disk in the drive, It was hung in the middle of the load process, never completed.  After using a can of compressed air, ( Could not locate 7 +/- inch q-tips ), I left the disk in, and after a number or spinning up then slowing down noises, it completed the loading process. Entered U/N & P/W and home page was displayed. Mouse worked, not frozen like previously.  I still did not see any type of device Icon to where I could do a directory listing on the device.  I think it knows something is there, but does not recognize it as an optical device.  I have tried kenjays advice and let it spin for a while, no luck. Will keep plugging away, curiosity continually gets me in trouble.  Thanks again.

Guy

"I have tried kenjays advice and let it spin for a while"

No - I didn't suggest doing that - "spin for awhile".

I said ...  "I would [only] just keep [patiently] trying to re-load the disk again and again - until it would "hopefully" clean itself - and read the disk".

keywords: patiently / re-load.

kenjay

Sorry for the misunderstanding.  I have allowed it to run for periods of more than few minutes at a time.  It sounds like it spins, gets stonger, then slows down, and then it does it again. As if it is in a loop trying to read. It always loads into the drive with no problems.  But has never ejected out.  I eject the disk by using a small screwdriver in the hole above the drive, and it does come out smoothly.  I will do as you suggest.  Thank you for pointing out my error.  

Guy

guydestefano,

Doing what I suggested doesn't guarantee success in anyway. I just know from 'experience' that it worked once or twice [out of 50 or so]. Those things [OD's] are just too unreliable and can't be trusted. Even when you think you have a good one - it will fail [in one way or another] at some point.

They are heart breakers :cry: