Troubleshooting an IBM 5155 - (portable personal computer)

[Kelly Leavitt]

More on the saga of getting the DS/DD drive working in this machine...


I borrowed a tape demagnetizer (Radio Shack doesn't carry them anymore) and
picked up some anhydrous isopropyl alcohol ($3.55 US for a pint).
Demagnetizing and cleaning the heads has done the trick. I now have two
genuine IBM (Qumetrak 142) disk drives running nicely. On the plus side, I
now also have a 30MHz scope. A fellow ham has given me one that he was not
using, with the understanding that if he needs it back he can have it.

The big question is what am I going to do with a full pint of alcohol? I
have some 8" drives to finish refurbing, but then I'll still have 99.5% of a
pint left.

Thanks for all the help.


Kelly