3.5" 1.44M floppy question

[tif at cpe.UUCP]

Written 11:44 am  Feb 13, 1989 by pawl12.pawl.rpi.edu!woody
>that it might actually be something rubbing at the spindle and creating the
>load squeel. Is it actually destructive to the drive? I will probably end up
>taking it in to get it serviced. BTW: it was brand new!

Chances are you are correct, and it's supposed to be there.  It drains
any static buildup off of the platters.  It's a graphite disc resting on
the spindle.  As the graphite wears, a dimple is formed in the disc and
(hopefully you can deduce the mechanical reasons that) it starts squealing.
If the annoyance is severe enough you can usually move the disc slightly
so it doesn't rest in the dimple and it'll be fine ... for a while.

P.S.	Usually the noise takes several months of continuous operation
	to develop though.

			Paul Chamberlain
			Computer Product Engineering, Tandy Corp.
			{killer | texbell}!cpe!tif