Changes
added link to Noels retrolab video on how to make a pin replacement
This is probably one of the most frequently asked questions here in the forum, so I thought I'd make a short guide to address it...
Chances are, you've lost the write-pin while you were changing the belt. It's a small metal pin that senses the position of the write-protection tab on the inserted disk and if it's missing all disks will seem to be write-protected to the computer. But before you go crawling around aimlessly on that patterned carpet, here's what you are actually looking for:
[[image:PinPos.JPG|600px|center]]
If you really lost your pin, check out the link at the end of this page.
However, this might not be your problem. There are several versions of the Amstrad 3in drive and not all of them used a physical pin, some used optical sensors. So how do you tell if your drive had a pin in the first place?
Bryce.
== If you lost the pin ==
If you really lost the pin you can make a replacement from a simple paper clip. Noel's Retrolab has documented the process in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gX1cnZR6nM&t=500s
[[Category:DIY]]
