>In the 40 pin connector of the 1GB hard disk, pin 39 is initially high. When
>the motor stops spinning, this pin briefly goes low and then goes high
>again. But connecting this pin to Gnd or +5V through a 1K resistor did not
>make the motor spin continuously.

>Any new thoughts on the matter?

>Bala

1. Pin 39 is called "drive active / slave present"  so it is used
to detect a second drive at powerup and also run the little drive
light on the front of the computer.

2. ATA (IDE) says that the drive should give up after 30 seconds
if it can't complete a diagnostic or detect the slave drive.
 ** Thought: if you have the controller board still on the drive,
 make sure it isn't jumpered to expect a second drive.  Western
 Digital is famous for this...has a "solo" position.

3. Pin 1 on the interface is the  -RESET signal.

Barry

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