By Dan Carmichael — originally published in COMPUTE!’s Gazette Issue 2, August 1983
This month we’ll talk about the proper care, handling, and maintenance of disk drives, diskettes, cassette recorders, and tape cassettes.
Everyone who has worked with computers for some time knows the empty feeling of having lost a valuable program or data file. It might have been stored on a cassette tape that was creased when it became entangled inside the cassette recorder. The program is lost forever, along with the time it took to create it.
While some may take it for granted, data storage and retrieval may be one of the more important aspects of computing. After all, think of how inconvenient it would be for the computerist if there were no storage media. To run your favorite program or game, you would have to retype it every time you sat down at your keyboard — that or leave your computer on 24 hours a day. Or consider how large and expensive a computer would have to be if you couldn’t retrieve data from an external device such as a disk drive, and it all had to be stored inside the computer.
Because input and output storage devices are so crucial to computing, the proper handling and care of these devices is especially important.
Cassette Decks And Tapes
Although quite a bit slower than disk drives, cassette decks are dependable storage devices. The obvious advantage of cassettes is cost — about $65 for the new Commodore C2N cassette deck compared to about $350 for the Commodore VIC-1541 disk drive. Also, blank cassette tapes are relatively inexpensive, small, and easy to store in their protective plastic cases.
When using cassette decks, it is important that you follow the manufacturer’s instructions. For instance, Commodore recommends that you place the cassette deck at least two feet away from your TV set or monitor. Never place the cassette next to or on top of the TV. This is because most TVs, radios, and monitors emit magnetic fields and radio frequency signals (called RF). These fields and signals interfere with the normal operation of the cassette deck and might cause errors while saving or loading programs with the VIC. Another important point to watch is temperature. As is true with all computer equipment, do not expose the cassette deck to extreme hot or cold temperatures or moisture. These can be most damaging.
Cleaning the cassette deck heads, capstan pinch roller (the little black rubber roller inside the cassette deck), and tape guide is also important. Commodore recommends that you clean the deck after every 10 to 20 hours of use. You should refer to the instruction manual for complete instructions, but these additional tips may help. Never use alcohol or any solvent that might hurt or damage the plastic or rubber parts in the deck. It is recommended that you use a regular tape cassette head cleaner. These cleaners are widely available at audio stores. When applying the cleaner, do not use the type of cotton swab that is so soft it will leave particles of cotton on the tape heads. Even a tiny speck of cotton on the head can cause tape errors. After cleaning, you should always wait a few minutes before inserting a tape cassette into the deck to be sure that any remaining cleaner has dried. The head cleaning solvent could damage the magnetic tape.
The type of magnetic tape you use is also very important. As is true with audio applications, the better-quality magnetic tapes will give you better performance. For most purposes, audio quality tapes found at your local stereo store will suffice for data recording purposes. Commodore recommends that you do not use digital-quality recording tapes. Digital-quality tapes are often advertised as being specifically for use with computers, and are sometimes referred to as certified tapes. Also avoid magnetic tape with other than normal bias, such as high bias chromium dioxide tape.
The latest Commodore manuals suggest using cassettes that are 12 to 30 minutes in length, warning that longer tapes can strain the recorder. Commodore also recommends rewinding the tape back to the leader before placing it in its protective plastic case. Leaving the magnetic tape exposed could subject it to damage. Remember to always store tapes in their plastic cases.
Disk Drives And Diskettes
Floppy disk drives are the most efficient medium for data storage and retrieval with home computers. Disk drives such as Commodore’s VIC-1540/1541 provide reliability, speed, and ease of operation. But the disk drives and diskettes are very delicate and demand the utmost in care and handling. Here are some hints and tips that should help you achieve many years of error-free performance.
Although there is very little the untrained person should do to the disk drive, there are few minor things the home computerist can perform. One is keeping the drive clean. Disk drive cleaning kits are available at your local computer shop. These kits contain instructions on the care of disk drives, cleaning fluid, and special floppy diskette that is composed of cloth-like material. To clean the disk drive, you place a little cleaning fluid on the cloth diskette, then insert it into the disk drive. As the diskette spins, it acts as sort of spinning cotton swab, cleaning the magnetic heads in the drive and any other surface that comes into contact with the floppy disks. Although the instructions recommend that you use the cleaning kit once week, for most home applications once month should do.
Another bit of preventive maintenance you might perform at home is removing the dust from inside the disk drive. The easiest way to accomplish this is to carefully remove the cover from the disk drive and blow out the dust with compressed air. You can purchase canned compressed air at your local camera store. This air is specifically made for removing dust. However, there is word of caution to be observed here. If the canned air is handled wrong, it can spray moisture that could harm your disk drive. Read all directions carefully, and keep the can level at all times. Never use vacuum cleaner or any other such device to remove dust. This maintenance should be performed about once every six months.
Unlike most manuals, the 1541 manual does not warn that opening the disk drive cover will void the warranty. In fact, it recommends opening the drive for other purposes, such as changing the device address number for multiple-drive systems.
Using And Storing Diskettes
Commodore 1540/1541 disk drives can store up to 144 directory entries and 174,848 bytes on each floppy diskette. Should one of your diskettes be come damaged, it would take a lot of work to recreate this much information. This is why the handling and storage of floppy diskettes is so important.
When handling floppy diskettes, observe the following lips. Always keep the diskette in its protective sleeve. Even if you remove the diskette from the drive for a brief second, return it to its protective sheath before laying it down. Never touch the shiny (magnetic coating) part of the diskette, because the oils on your fingers could contaminate it. Don’t bend the diskette. If it should become even slightly bent, it will not spin properly in the disk drive. Always insert it and remove it from the disk drive carefully. Never force it. Always store diskettes at least 12 inches away from the TV set or any other magnetic source. Always store diskettes in a vertical position; never stack them atop each other. Store them away from direct source (if heat, or any other temperature extremes. Most manufacturers of floppy diskettes recommend that you store them between 50 and 125 degrees Fahrenheit (10 to 52 degrees Centigrade).
If you observe these rules, your data storage devices should supply you with many years of enjoyable, productive performance.