Emax not loading disks. . .

[AssistantSensei]

Hi,

I just bought an Emax on eBay and I've found that I can't seem to load my disks. It powers up just fine, but when I try to load the Emax OS, it says "Timeout Error!" shortly after. If I load a disk with any banks, it will start loading the disk, but eventually the LCD screen will display some gibberish and then it will go blank, resulting a disk not loading.

I'm wondering if I have to clean or replace the floppy drive. The only problem is, I'm not sure what type of floppy drive I'll need to replace the old one.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: I just want to add a few things. . .

The Emax I have is a standard Emax. No HD or SE.

When I turn it on, it says "E-Mu Systems Inc. - Loading Software". After a second or two, the LCD will display "Please insert disk!" When I put in a floppy with the OS, it will say "E-Mu Systems Inc. - Loading Software" then it will start flashing "Timeout error!" One time I did see "Disk error", but then it started flashing "Timeout error" later.

When I load a disk with banks, the system will click about 10-12 times. I believe that the LCD screen says "E-Mu Systems Inc. - Loading Software" while I'm trying to load the disk. So it doesn't say "Loading banks". After that, then it will display gibberish. Usually at the top half of the LCD screen. I'll get a blank screen after that and I won't be able to do anything else except turning it off.

The type of disks that I used were Pengu DSDD floppies I ordered off of eBay. I'm not sure if they're reliable. I also had to format them and add libraries with EXMP. I'll just add that I installed Omniflop driver, as well.

When I looked in the drive, it was incredibly filthy (including a small dead spider. . . EW!). I cleaned that up a little bit with a cotton swab. I also ordered drive cleaner.

I found out what type of floppy drive I'll need. So if I ever have to order a new one, I'll do that. . .

So that's my update. If there's any piece of info I'm missing, I'll gladly appreciate it.

Thanks!

[gertie]

did u try creating a new os floppy using onmiflop?

[Elmbeatz]

I've NEVER had a "timeout error"...   

[AssistantSensei]

I figured it out. It's working! And I didn't have to buy a new drive. Although, I still want to clean it, since it was nasty in there. . .

The Emax is in much better condition than I had anticipated.

@ gertie: Thanks for the tip. I wasn't able to put the OS on the floppy using Omniflop, but I did format it from there. I also didn't realize that I had to put other banks on the OS floppy. Oops. . .

Thanks for the help!