Conference hydra::amiga_v1

    yes, you can use a third party "internal" drive.  The easiest way to
    open up the 500 to find the exact make and model of the drive you have.
    Then hunt for that drive at the pc shops.
    
    3.5" 720K drives are a standard ibmpc hardware item now, but there
    seems to be no standards when it comes to the location of the eject
    button or which side the connector is on, or even if there are any
    controls to affect the speed of the drive.  At least if you have
    the dead drive you can compare it to what's in the pc shop to see 
    if it would fit with minimal hassle.
    
    With 1.3 you can only boot from DF0:, not the external drive, unless
    you modify the hardware so that the drive select for 0 goes to the
    external drive.
    
    Dave

    	Thanks for the good info. It seems inexcusable that the local shops
    don't have replacement drives. I guess they are not willing to sell
    anything but the official Comodore replacement parts, which seem to be
    on back order everywhere.
    

RE:.1

Not to be a fuddy-duddy or something like that...

I had an A500 drive go up in a puff of smoke (literally!). I have
only seen the drive once (it was a mitsumi model) and other drives
would not work. The physical casing, eject lever location, and
slot alignment would not fit the A500 case. It turned out the drive
from my A1010 fit into my A500.

For a long time I ran a IBM compatible 720K floppy in the 1010 using
the supplied faceplate and leaving the 1010 faceplate off. Finally I
butchered a Chinon drive case to fit the 1010 case and faceplate and
this is what I use now. I do not think the Chinon would work in the
A500 at all.

Conclusion: for a replacement your best bet is likely commodore.

	Thanks,
		-SES

    	The guy at Memory Loaction said the internal drive for the A2000
    was the same as the A500 drive. Since your  A1010 drive fits, then
    hopefully, Comodore only uses one drive type. The next question is whether
    3rd party drives might have some differences that work in the A2000 but 
    not in the A500. I guess I will take the old drive with me for comparison.
    
    	Anybody know about adjustments? I seem to recall reading about a
    program you can use to adjust drives some time ago. 

    Yes there is a program you can use to do the drive adjustment. 
    But if your drive is NOT running at all then you are out of luck.
    Also the cost of a new drive should be in the $100.00 range and
    Chinon does make a drive that will fit (as does just about everyone).
    The cost of an alignment disk is just about the cost of a drive
    anyway and the ONLY adjustment on the little puppies is a (very)
    small timing screw (no skewing).  It is FAR CHEAPER to just get
    another drive.  The installation is not difficult and should take
    a beginning technition only about 1/2 hour to accomplish and R&R.
    
    TOPGUN

    	For the record, the drive in my '500 is a Chinon F354. The TORX
    driver it takes to open the case is 5/64". Probably 2mm would work.
    I am working with another drive, but haven't gotten it to read data
    successfully yet.
    
    	Surprisingly, when I reinstalled my original drive, I found that
    I can get it to work sporadically by reinserting the diskette
    until it seats properly. Perhaps one of the registration pins that engage 
    the indentations in the bottom of the diskette is jammed.
    

    	After calling enough shops and being told by each one that the A500
    drives are different, I finally began to believe it. Apparently, the
    eject button is longer and there are other minor mechanical
    differences. I was getting quotes ranging from $160 to $180 for a real
    A500 drive.
    	Finally, I calle  the Software Hut Inc in Philadelphia (advertised
    in the back of Amiga World). The quoted $165, but $110 if you trade in
    your old drive. I ordered it late wednesday afternoon and it arrived
    on friday. You send in your old drive AFTER you receive the now one.
    	They carry lots of Amiga replacement parts, and you can't beat the
    service. The order line is 1-800-848-0079.

    	Just an FYI. -.2 or so mentioned D5 in Woburn. I understand that
    Dave has closed up shop in favor of working out of a back room at the
    Memory Location. re -.1 I've dealt with that Mom&Pop in Philly, got
    good service and a good price. I called the Software Hut and asked them
    to hold an item (limited supply) until they got my check and it
    cleared. They obliged and I have my new toy.