I just bought a brand new hd for my empeg. It's a IBM Travelstar DJSA-220.
At home everything is working ok. But in the car (at around 120km/h), the player suddenly stops playing for a few seconds, then everything is ok again. Sometimes the player stops forever, so I have to pull it out from the dash to restart. Just before the breaks, the hd make some noise like a ticking. Semse like the player can't read from the disc! I think the problem is the vibration during driving.
If I shake the player at home a little bit, I get the same behavior. With the original IBM DARA-218000 disc I don't have the problem.
Has anybody other the same problem with this kind of IBM hd? I think Empeg is using the same typ of disc, isn't it? I tried it out with two different additional discs. So I don't think that both of them are defect. Is the DARA disc better than the DJSA?
Is there maybe a mounting problem?

Thanks for the help

When you shake the disk drive, a rattling noise is normal. It even says so on the disk label.

However, if you hear a rhythmic ticking noise during regular operation of the disk drive (when you're not shaking it), you could be looking at a drive that's either already bad or ready to go bad.

When my 4gb disk drive started making that noise several months ago, it failed completely within five minutes after I heard the noise the first time. It's time to write down your EQ settings, make sure all your MP3s are ready to re-install, and start looking at pricewatch.com.

It is also possible that you've got a loose cable or a loose slave jumper, so check those.

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Tony Fabris

I first thought that the disk is defect. So I sent it to IBM witch replaced the disk. I now have another one.
I find it strange, that the disk has problem to read data during driving. (the ticking) I don't have a special car, so I think it should work. With the original disk I had never problem during driving.
If this is a common problem, I think other people must have the same.

My mp3 are ready to reinstall. :-) The disk is nearly empty at the moment.

Does the player get very hot in the car when it's running? For instance, do the heater ducts run close to the player in the dashboard?

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Tony Fabris

I don't think it's a temperature problem. The player gets warmly but not hot. The problem starts short after I start driving.

Perhaps you should check the cabling, then, that's about all I can think of. Also check the wiring to make sure it's getting enough juice to run both drives.

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Tony Fabris

Kind of a re-post: Are there any IBM drive model numbers to avoid? I see quite a few different model numbers for the 30gig. Some say that it is only 25 gig after being formatted?

12gig Mk. II BLUE
Detroit, MI USA
www.PfeifferBeer.com

You should stand-off the HDD with an M3 washer on each screw between the drive and the cradle. Some DJSA220's are very sensitive to pressure on the bottom of the spindle, and the insulation below the drive can cause problems - others are just fine without.

We've only seen this issue on the 220, not any other size drive though.

Hugo

Wow, this is important information, thanks! I'll stick that in the FAQ right now.

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Tony Fabris

Thanks for the help.
I just added the washer.
I'll post the results by friday evening, after my next trip with the car.

What is a M3 washer? Are they a common item?

12gig Mk. II BLUE
Detroit, MI USA
www.PfeifferBeer.com

3mm washer, that's about 1/8th of an inch, referring to the diameter of the hole in the middle. Basically, find some small flat washers the right size for the screws to go through.

Rob

I you buy a BMW M3, you should also consider hiring someone for cleaning your vehicle...

Frank van Gestel

I think it's a lot better now. I had one short music break (about 2s) during my trip. I never heard that ticking sound from the harddisk. (Perhaps the music was to loud?!?)
But now I don't know if the washer or the new hd solved the problem. I don't want to open the player again to test.

I hope everything is working now. So I can start uploading my music collection.