What is the difference between the red and yellow striped cables for the floppy drive in a Mac Plus? I've seen comments about needing the correct one depending on the model of drive that you use. They look the same, but apparently have a couple of pins that are not connected on one of them? How important is that for the different drives?
Anonymous
User login
Please support the defense of Ukraine.
Direct or via Unclutter App
Active forum topics
Recent content
Navigation
No Ads.
No Trackers.
No Social Media.
All Content Locally Hosted.
Built on Free Software.
We have complied with zero government requests for information.
You need to use the yellow striped cable if you have a drive marked MFD-51W-03. It will continually try to eject the disk if the red cable is used. If the drive is marked MFD-51W-10, you should use the red cable.
The red-striped and yellow-striped floppy drive cables in the Macintosh Plus differ in wiring and compatibility with Sony 3.5" floppy drives. The red-striped cable is designed for early 400K and some 800K drives, with certain pins missing basketball stars, which may prevent later drives from functioning correctly. In contrast, the yellow-striped cable is wired for newer 800K and 1.44MB drives, though the Mac Plus itself does not support 1.44MB disks.
Using the wrong cable can lead to drive malfunctions, including read errors or failure to operate. If replacing or upgrading a drive, ensure the correct cable is used to avoid compatibility issues.
No damage would be done if you use the wronge cable, right? If I'm not getting the correct behavior, then changing the cable may address the issue. I'm getting a MP-F51W-23 since my -03 has a failed motor.
It can't cause any damage, it just won't work properly. I don't have data on the -23, but I guess it's "strapped" or hard-jumpered to the same pin functions as the -03.
The reason for all these varied cables is that Apple needed to ship these drives for use with different systems. For the Apple II, they needed a physical eject button; not so for the Mac. The first Macs also drove the spindle speed from the logic board; all later machines control it internally.