[Suns-at-Home] Ancient shoeboxen

[Charles Lindsey]

I have a couple of ancient Sun Shoeboxen, each with a 110MB Disc and a  
QIC-24 tape drive.

The discs appear not to rotate (probably gummed up with years of non-use).  
One hears various clicks etc, which seem to indicate that it makes about 3  
attempts to start and then gives up. I have tried giving a good clout with  
a hammer, but no improvement. Prob-SCSI recognises the device, but format  
declines to recognise the existence of that disc. Any suggestions? With  
othing to lose, I might even try opening up the disc.

The QIC-24 suffers from a pinch roller where the rubber has turned into  
sticky goo (I have 3 such drives, and they have all gone that way, so it  
seems a generic fault). I have been offered new pinchrollers at  
£17+carriage+VAT, which seems a touch high. Is that a reasonable price? I  
have a couple of ancient tapes that I need to read, but once that is done  
the shoeboxen are no further use to me (but might be to a collector af  
antique Sun stuff). If anybody here would be interested in them  
(Manchester, UK), then I might go to the trouble of buying 2 pinch rollers.

I also have a genuine 'dimple-top' B&W monitor with spares and various  
other relevant bits and pieces which I might be wanting to part with in  
the next week or so.

-- 
Charles H. Lindsey ---------At Home, doing my own thing------------------------
Tel: +44 161 436 6131                       
   Web: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/~chl
Email: chl@clerew.man.ac.uk      Snail: 5 Clerewood Ave, CHEADLE, SK8 3JU, U.K.
PGP: 2C15F1A9      Fingerprint: 73 6D C2 51 93 A0 01 E7 65 E8 64 7E 14 A4 AB A5