T4600C laptop floppy drive repair.

[T4600C]

Hello guys!

The floppy drive on my Toshiba T4600C has failed about a year ago, I finally look it apart and I think that the belt has losened up too much. There was barely any traction at all and it sounded like something was slipping.

Here are some photos, does anyone know if I can buy a belt for it somewhere? I already tried a few others ones but they were too wide and thick.

 

[Krunkthemadman]

Did you ever find a source for the belts. I have 5+ of these laptops all with busted drives from old belts. A couple years back I did a lot of checking into the problem and found an obscure site that said they could manufacture them, they only wanted about $50US for each one.....

 

[Chuck(G)]

It might be worth a try to boil the belt in water for about 10 minutes. Sometimes this tightens up the neoprene enough so that it begins working again.

 

[T4600C]

Did you ever find a source for the belts. I have 5+ of these laptops all with busted drives from old belts. A couple years back I did a lot of checking into the problem and found an obscure site that said they could manufacture them, they only wanted about $50US for each one.....

I think I found a replacement floppydrive on some website, I googled a model number or serial number that was on the original floppy drive.

I didn't buy the replacement, but maybe I will if I know the model again. Could you take some higher-res pictures of the floppy drives?

UPDATE:

pretty sure it looked like this: EME-278TY and/or ZA1042P02

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ZA1042P02-T...120876?hash=item5b21902d6c:g:wQIAAOSwwpdW5AgF

Maybe ask the seller if he has a source for belts? if he refurbishes them...

 

[Krunkthemadman]

I wonder, the sides of the drive don't show any entry marks. I can tell you after pulling a couple of these apart, there will be some indications that it's been opened. Two of the six laptops I have had drives that worked intermittently when I got them, but don't any longer.

 

[kyodai]

Kinda hard to get the exact floppy drive belt, but for some i had luck with using Walkman replacement belts instead. Just measure it and try to get one that is extremely close.

 

[rapurimanka]

Same story. Bought T4700CT in good condition, but the floppy drive has a dead belt and it rusted in my hands. I see some overpriced replacements.

 

[GiGaBiTe]

I've had mixed results printing belts with TPU filament, which is thermoplastic polyurethane. You have to use a smaller than normal nozzle, like 0.1 or 0.2mm vs 0.4 to get a thinner belt profile. 0.4mm can work if a slightly thicker belt isn't a problem.

The problem with TPU is that it's very slick, and unless you get good tension on the belt, it will slip. You can print the belt just slightly smaller to get a tight fit that usually works.

 

[Agent Orange]

I've had mixed results printing belts with TPU filament, which is thermoplastic polyurethane. You have to use a smaller than normal nozzle, like 0.1 or 0.2mm vs 0.4 to get a thinner belt profile. 0.4mm can work if a slightly thicker belt isn't a problem.

The problem with TPU is that it's very slick, and unless you get good tension on the belt, it will slip. You can print the belt just slightly smaller to get a tight fit that usually works.

Question: What do you thing your cost is in printing 1 belt?

 

[GiGaBiTe]

Probably a few cents? A 2.2 lb roll of TPU lasts a long time. There is a limit to the size of belts though because they have to be printed as a cylinder. If you add bends to them to get more length, the belt generally doesn't work.