Repairing an EIII in the UK

[lubb]

The error code list is also in the user manual, but the error message you mention is not listed there.

I am only a hapless dilettante, but I do not think that "dusting" contacts is enough... There might be a strong oxidation on them. When I was rescuing my non-booting EIII, I used a cotton swab damped with a contact cleaner. It quickly became black with dirt!

Please, keep in mind, I cannot guarantee the procedure is technically correct, but it helped to me...  At least I believe so...  

Be extremely careful when manipulating with anything inside the unit! Above all, follow the "anti-static" rules, and MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT EXCHANGE POSITIONS OF THE RIBBON CABLES GOING TO OUTPUTS ! YOU WOULD BURN CIRCUITS !

[Gordon]

Sorry, I should have made it clear that the contact were bright and shiny, so I didn't want to take the risk of zapping anything unnecessarily. Your advice is good... I labelled all the ribbons and drew a plan before disconnecting, and wore an anti-static wristband.

I'm actually very encouraged by the SYSTEM ERROR !  UND message. I'll try to find a compatible HDD and see what happens next. Does anyone have any suggestions for drives?

Thanks,

Gordon.

[lubb]

Proven Drives for an EIII:

Seagate ST51080N 1GB
Maxtor MXT 540S 540MB
Quantum XP31040W 1GB

I have also tried successfully two Quantums ProDrive LPS (100 and 500 MB).

But it could hardly help when your machine is not able to boot from floppy disk based OS...