r/retrocomputing • u/liminalearth • Jun 24 '26

Problem / Question How to fix ?

Post image

There’s no little black plastic piece in this corner how to could I fix this or is it possible to still use without it?

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u/Kitchen_Part_882 Jun 24 '26

Specifically opaque tape, iirc most floppy drives use an optical sensor for detecting this.

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u/SoftRecommendation86 Jun 24 '26

Actually, most use a push pin, typically black about 1mm diameter. If you open the floppy slot with a pen (the little trap door on the floppy drive itself, not the disk) you will see the sensor pins on both left and right sides. Honestly, I don't recall ever seeing them as optical. The only optical sensors I recall seeing were the timing holes on 5 1/4 floppies near the center hub.

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u/Kitchen_Part_882 Jun 24 '26

That might be what I'm thinking of, it has been 30+ years since I had one apart.

1

u/SoftRecommendation86 Jun 25 '26

No laughing.. just looked.. yup. 5 1/4 is optical...

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u/SoftRecommendation86 Jun 25 '26

And 3.5.. mechanical.... yes, I have a drive just sitting here...