GadgetUK returned to familiar territory with another floppy drive repair, tackling an Amiga 2000 drive that was listed as “may need a clean, not working.” From the start, expectations were low. Though the packaging was solid, the drive had clearly taken a hit at some point.
Powering up the drive brought a small win — it made the familiar clicking noises of a working mechanism. Testing began with the Amiga’s diagnostic software, and surprisingly, the drive booted without issue. It wasn’t perfect — a known bad sector on the disk showed up during read tests — but the drive itself appeared functional.
After confirming the drive worked, the real task began: cleaning. Unlike other models, the Amiga 2000 drive doesn’t have a protective front flap. This design choice might look sleek, but it invites dust to settle everywhere. And this drive was filthy — layers of dust, fibers, and grime covering every surface. Cotton buds, IPA (isopropyl alcohol), and patience were the tools of choice for the cleanup.
Once cleaned, the next mission was installing the drive into the Amiga 2000 alongside the existing one. What should have been a simple upgrade turned into a frustrating multi-hour battle with cables, jumpers, and the Amiga’s specific wiring quirks.
The challenge stemmed from the floppy drive cable — an Amiga-specific cable that features a twist on pins 4, 5, and 6 to control drive selection and LED activity. Get this wrong, and both drive LEDs light up at the same time — a clear sign that something isn’t right.
After plenty of trial, error, and a lot of swapping cables and jumpers, everything finally worked: df0 (the primary drive) and df1 (the new drive) operated independently. The experience, however, was far from enjoyable. Drive alignment, cable routing, and cramped working space pushed the process into the realm of endurance testing.
To make matters worse, a few disks were corrupted during the process, likely due to both drives initially being set to the same drive select setting. Lesson learned: double-check jumper settings before powering up.
Once operational, the reward was a fully functional Amiga 2000 with dual floppy drives, making disk copying far easier. Plus, the final touch was playing a new Amiga RPG, purchased after seeing it featured on Jamie Morgan’s YouTube channel. The game ran perfectly, providing a fitting reward for hours of effort and troubleshooting.
