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N00b Portable Questions - HD noise, screen, power...
Posted by: desertrout on 2020-05-19 15:51:27 Finally managed to fire up a M5120 I had sitting for a long time (~15 years), and had never had running since it came into my possession. It starts with a M5140 adapter, but is clearly in need of some attention (recapping, batteries). But at the moment, I'm wondering about two specific things and if they're normal: 1. The screen seems really dark. Is that normal for these non-backlit portables? It's really hard to see. Am I missing a brightness adjustment? 2. the Conner 40MB is pretty loud just while running - a persistent high-pitched whine. Here's a vid (It's louder in the vid than to my naked ear, but it gives you an idea of what it sounds like): Other things you may want to know: mainboard needs recapping: clearly some leakage, which I've thoroughly cleaned up, but not any damage at first blush (I haven't put it under a microscope yet). Plan to recap next month when I get some time. needs new batteries: I'm still using the original battery but it's clearly toast - replacement is on order. Also - I just discovered - needs a new 9V... I assumed it was fine because it looks new, but I decided to test it and, yeah, it's showing 1.5V... the HD suffered from the common disintegrating seal issue: I took it apart and cleaned it all out, which was super gross. There wasn't any goo on the platter. I put the case back together without a new gasket, but will later... depending on whether or not I can / need to address this noise issue. I would LOVE some expert insight into what might be going on here...
Posted by: 16bitsofabus on 2020-05-20 02:08:34 1) Screen is reflective...if you angle it in the sun/bright light correctly it will seem alright but it will always be somewhat dim...to almost unreadable depending on ambient conditions. Make sure your head is not in the way of the light to the screen. 2) Seems normal...old drives just sound like that. As long as it spins up and doesn't make a loud whine instead of spinning up, you're fine.
Posted by: LaPorta on 2020-05-20 02:35:03 The "Portable" Control Panel holds the brightness setting. However, it is set pretty high by default usually, so there may be another issue.
Posted by: desertrout on 2020-05-20 09:55:28 OK - thanks. I saw the 'brightness' slider in the portable control panel, made a marginal difference. I'll try viewing it in different conditions - perhaps it's just my office. The drive does seem to spin up just fine. Once I get the data off I'll feel better though. I'll open it up again and run it - I want to check out the bump stops anyway.
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