On Tuesday, December 31, 2013 11:18:29 AM UTC-5, Tom Frikker wrote:
Thank you all for the detailed replies! To clarify:
The black dust was located around the graphite spindle, as suggested above. I have since cleaned it all off.
I have opened the drive and seen the platters: they seem perfectly clean with no scratches. I promptly put the cover back on (I don't wanna screw THAT up at least).
NEVER open the sealed portion of a hard disk unless you have the proper tools, atire and a Class 1 clean-room to work in! Whether or not it kills the drive instantly, you have certainly contaminated the internals with a large number of particles that can cause permanent damage. If you have any data on there that you care about, get it off quickly. I don't want to be the bringer of bad tidings, but that drive's days are now surely numbered.
Interesting thing happened last night: I was powering on the ProFile last night to check the time until startup (1:23, by the way). When I turned it on again after that, thick white smoke started to pour out of the power supply. I promptly shut everything off, unplugged everything, and took the cover off the PSU. There is a small, flat capacitor (I think) near the edge of the board near the power cord attachment. This component says 0.1uf on the top, and upon further inspection, the whole side of it had been blown off (the whole thing now smells terrible, like something had been burned). Does anyone know what this component is, and if so, where I can buy a replacement? As long as I can get the part, I can re-solder it and everything.
That's the so-called "X2" line capacitor, perhaps the most common failure item on classic computer power supplies. It's getting so I clip that part out immediately before powering up a new "old" unit on the bench. Others may have varying opinions, but I generally don't bother replacing them and have not had any issues as a result. I believe they are intended to cut down on potential coupling of switching noise into the AC mains. They sure do stink when they go!