I recently wrote here about my sick pc and A drive problems. Well, I didn't want to be a cheapskate so I brought it in to my local shop and they sold me a new cpu, motherboard and harddrive for $500. However, I still can't get my A drive to work!!!! And that was all that was wrong in the first place!!!

The cables are connect 100% correctly. I am trying to install the driver for my DLink router so I can get online. The driver is on a floppy. The floppy works on other computers. On mine is says:
The disk in drive A is not formatted, do you wish to format it now?

I should not say yes to that or it will be ruined, am I right?

What can you suggest. The guys at the shop said the a drive was ok.
They are closed now till monday and I am s.o.l. it seems.

Any suggestions please and thank you?

DO NOT tell it to format the disk. You will lose the data on the disk if you do.

I would go to a computer or office supply store and buy a floppy drive for $10 - $20 and try that. If it works, I would be on my way in to see the computer repair man first thing Monday AM.

Good luck,

Paul

I won't reformat.
I have put other A drives into this computer that work in other computers to no avail.
I have a brand new cable too. The A drive is the second one I bought as the first one quit......and its quite new.
They light up and whirl...but can't read.
What the ...??????

Just out of curiosity, is the BIOS set for a 1.44MB Floppy and not that crazy Japanese option that is listed in some BIOS settings?

Paul

I don't know how to check the BIOS setting. Can you advise me pls?

To be sure, read the manual that came with the mobo. If you didn't get one try hitting the del (delete) key as the system first boots. Don't make any changes without being sure what you are doing as you can really screw things up in here. And if you don't have it, get the manual from the repair shop asap.

Paul

I am going now to try to put two computer side by side and connect my cables and wires to the a drive in the other computer without removing it to save time, and try to load the driver that way.

You paid $500 bucks for a HD, Mobo, and CPU? I hope you got something ultra fast for that kind of money.

1800 mhz cpu
60 gb hard drive
any good?

Pentium 4 1.8 w/HSF 512K cache $141
60 GB WD HD $ 91

Total: $232
or

AMD Athlon XP 2200+ w/HSF $166
60 GB WD HD $ 91

Total: $257


The most expensive motherboard you can get that will take the AMD or P4 is about $150 bucks retail, bringing the maximum total to $407. I'm assuming you paid a boatload for "testing", which apparantly wasn't that good. I'm interested to see what the brand/model on all these parts you got were.

I am talking about Canadian dollars, are you?
I also got a motherboard, keyboard & mouse.

Install a new floppy drive. They are easy to install and as said in the post above they cost less than $20.

Norm

Norm

i tried that...see my post #9

Sounds like you need a new floppy drive, or possibly the data cable connected to it.

JP

a new one wont help...i have borrow 3 A drives from family computers that do work and they wont work in my computer
the cable is only hours old.

I just installed a working A drive from another computer and it says drive A is not accessible. This is what it says about my original A drive still in my computer too. And on both of those the green light comes on and stays on.
The second A drive I have installed works physically (light comes on then goes out, it whirls). That ones says the disk is not formatted.
My best guess it that the wires of my power source must be defective to the A drive. There is only one white plastic clip to connect to the A drive from the power source that fits so I can't try another.
Would that makes sense?

If the green light comes on and stays on, it means that the cable is ribbon cable is upside down. The red stripe should be the furthest away from you if you open up the side of the case, and on the motherboard the red stripe should be on the left hand side looking straight at the board.

thanks...I'll take a look right away
right now I am trying to transfer the floppy driver files onto a cd on my son's computer

OK...if I can't get any results by fiddling around with things myself....do you know if the computer store will give me a refund on those components I just bought? I feel they were nice but unnecessary as they did not fix my problem.

I may as well return the parts I paid $500 for. Would that be store policy to refund money on parts installed?

They saw you coming and grabbed you for everything they could think of that had nothing to do with your problem...do you think they are now going to part with what was once your money?

Anytine the LED stays on with a floppy the cable is backwards. The A: drive must be connected after the twist at the very end of the cable. We covered all this in your original thread, if my memory is working.

Shelly

I've been busy.
I fixed the cable - it now says "disk is not formatted".
I copied the files onto a cd from the floppy
I tried to install the driver from the cd
It wanted windows files
I have no windows 98 SE disk per se, but a NEC recovery disk that has W98 SE on it but when I take out the driver cd and pop in the recovery cd it can't find the files and there is no way to browse accurately to direct it to the windows part of the cd
I have been into the system tools/system info and see under components that my DLink adapter is disabled
I went into Network and System in control panel...forget which one had "enable" and clicked it
It says my DLink is not working properly
On my new motherboard there is a SiS 900 Fast Ethernet Adapter and THAT driver won't install properly! it goes to 75% and stops. I tried several times.
But, I am mixed up now .... network under control panel
..what should it be saying? pop3 or Sis900 or DLink 530???? or what?
Pass the aspirin pls...

Shelly
My son thinks that my OS (W98 se) is the culprit. He says I should get WXP.
He downloaded drivers and my computer won't even recognize them.
Do you think this could be the prob?

Thanks.

What city do you live in?

Am I correct in assuming you have tried more than one floppy disk?

Mark099!

Does the disk work in your other computers? Have you tried copying the disk and installing the drives from the newly created one?

Neil

============================================


In the computer world, there’s a right way, a wrong way, and the Mac way. The Mac way is essentially the same as the wrong way, except it’s much faster and on a much larger scale.

yes..see post #23
Thanks.

I live in Mississauga, Ontario.
I have tried two DLink disks but you are right that I should try more. However, those two DLink disks work fine in my son's computer.
I was able to transfer the files from the floppies to a cd on his computer.
The DLink driver install program can read those files (I even tried putting them on my hard disk and directing it to look there).
But it wants windows files and it cant find them on the recover disk I have. My computer came loaded with windows 98se and I have the manual and key number. The recovery disk has W98 se on it.
Thanks.

You might find them in C:\Windows\Cabs

BTW, that was in USD, so in Canadian money thats like 8 gagillion bucks.

one component was $85
one was $115
one was $135 (hard drive)
keyboard/mouse combo $40
cheap speakers $10
Labour $45
plus tax....all Cdn.$

$1 US = $1.60 Cdn.

About the same as a Euro $.

Well, they are going to get it laid back in their laps on Monday morning....I can't use the A drive or get online. The very problems I had to start with.
I trusted them.

$45 CD for putting that all together is actually a pretty good deal. Too bad they didn't diagnose the problem correctly.

My friend perc, the A drive problem has nothing to do with the componants that you bought and as Shelly said 'they saw you coming'. Don't get too upset here as that is why you came here, to learn as did I. Thanks to this forum I have learned more than I bargained for. Let's find your problem shall we?

First off, did you turn the cable around as has been stated above? Red strip goes to pin number one on the floppy drive. The drive should show you where that pin is on the case. Second, did you go into the BIOS (delete key on most MB's) and check to see that you had the right settings for the floppy? This is a start.

PS Make sure the cable is hooked up correctly to the MB too. Let's fix this annoying A drive prob, shall we?

Stranger than life

Just be patient and return the dang thing to the shop on monday with the floppy disk. You keep mentioning the one disk...does it do the same for any floppy disk?

Also the win files are probably in C:\windows\options\cabs not just cabs. A lot of OEMs and shops install from the HDD and that's the path I have seen most common. Also you can do a find while it is looking for the files and let the find locate them and then browse to where they are.

The shop will probably take care of the problem without more expense.

Yeah, do a find (Winkey+F) for *.cab. If it finds a folder with a big mess of them, there you go - note that location and do your CD driver install again, pointing it to that folder when it asks for the Windows files. Have you said if other floppies work in that drive?

Amen Crazy Baby!
Yes...let's fix this sucker!
Here is my lastest effort:

Installed Windows XP


That fixed my driver problem for the DLink router and I am now typing online from my new super computer. My son was right and I thank him. My new keyboard and mouse work too...with USB connectors.
This baby is humming...

OK...are you sitting down? (of course you are...duh!)

GUESS WHAT STILL DOESN'T WORK? MY BLESSED A DRIVE.
My son Mike tried a few other floppies in it and it says "disk is not formatted...do you want to format it now?"

Nope.

XP device manager says it is working ok and enabled. But it still is acting weird. The cable is as advised: red stripe away from me, red stripe on left side at m/b, and using connector past the cable twist.

I have asked before how to do the BIOS thing. Someone said Windows Key and ??? I'll have to check that post again. But I could use some guidance.

I don't feel so bad about the $500 bucks now.....in fact my son wants to trade hard drives with me...his is only 30 GB. Yes....he will get it.
Thanks for all help offered. But we ain't finished yet guys.
Are you all ready for XMAS? There are still two shopping days left so don't panic.

Are you using formatted floppies?
Have you tried saying "Yes"?

>"disk is not formatted...do you want to format it now?"
>
>Nope.
>

I have used OEM driver disks (DLink Adapter Driver disk)
My son has tried a newer one that he has made himself that was formatted.
I will experiment with that suggestion though....
thanks

Question for you, I don't have time to read every single reply here.. Have all the disks that you have tried in the "broken" floppy drive been used FIRST in one of the other floppy drives? My idea is that one of the other drives might have a head alignment issue, which will cause exactly the problems that you are having. Try a brand new, unformatted, fresh out of the box floppy on YOUR computer first, then try it on one of the others, then try it on yours again.. (format it on your A drive).

Also check the screws holding the drive to make sure they are not too long or too tight putting the drive in a bind.

Edit: Just loosen the screws a little

LilJoe

Kinda like a car mechanic. You need to find someone you can *trust* to work on your pc.

Gravity....not just a good idea, it's the law!
My Magic

Hi Joe
I have taken the screw right out but it still says "not formatted".
I had another A drive install just sitting down beside the computer connected with the power cord and the cable and that was a drive that worked in another computer minutes before.
Meanwhile, I guess you don't need floppies too often nowadays....

Joe
Just tried a brand new floppy disk...stuck it in the drive, went to Drive A and it gave the familiar message: disk in drive A is not formatted, do you want to format it now?

Yes.

Result: Windows was unable to complete format.

Next....the bios thingy....

ok...I don't have any new ones at home but can get one at work tomorrow and bring it home to play with
thanks

Did you ever go into the BIOS and check to see if it was set for a 1.44 floppy and not a 740.?

LilJoe

Here is a good one for what it is worth.

I once had about the same problem.

You may have aleady tried this. Didn't see it in any of the post.

Fixed mine by removing all the cards from the MB that wasn’t absolutely necessary. Ater doing that my A drive worked perfectly.
Started plugging the cards back in one at a time.
It was discovered once the audio card was plugged in my A drive refused work.
I think it had something to do with post or checking the expansion slots or something like that while booting.

Anyhou that audio card seemed to work and do its thing perfectly but caused my A drive to malfunction.
Replaced it and all was well.

I am not sure that would be the case here because I have a brand spanking new motherboard with everything integrated on it and the problem was there before the new m/b and still exists.

Agree?

With all thats been tried do you think it might be the floppy drive controler drivers that may be bad

He had a new motherboard put in.

LilJoe

Not since its a fresh install of a new OS. And its kind of hard to fuck up the drivers for a floppy, even if they were FUBAR, they would just reinstall themselves every time he starts windows.

Missed that about the new mobo so iff the drives work in other units but not in this one and its not the drivers or the controller the only thing left is the caBLE ITSELF or did I miss where they tried different cables.

He has a new cable. this will probably be a bios issue.WALDO

Walter A Robertson

This might be a little crazy and I've been afraid to post this on the account that it is, in fact so crazy. And none of my suggestions at this site ever seem to be of any help, but this thread has gone on long enough and I'm sure that perc is at the end of his rope. I read this article in the help & how-to section of the January 2003 issue of Computer Shopper and I'm going to retype the question as it was printed.

Here it goes:

Question:

My laptop's floppy drive will read or write only to solid-colored and translucent floppy disks. When I insert a desk with a black shell, I get an error message telling me the disk is not formatted. When I try to format the disk, it says the floppy is damaged. I've replaced the floppy drive, and it still won't read black disks. Is my computer just bored with black disks and looking for some spice?

Answer:

This problem is a new one to me, but I have a theory about the cause and a possible workaround. Some drives detect the presence of a floppy disk using a tiny mechanical microswitch, while others use optical detectors. Yours may be the latter type. My guess is that the black housings don't reflect enough light for the drive to detect them. Take some colored electrical tape and experiment by adhering it along the sides of the floppy shell. The tape may help the drive detect the dark disks.

End of article.


This seems crazy to me, but it probably couldn't hurt to try it. I feel pissed off about your PC repair shop and I didn't even spend the $500. Hope this helps!

Visit the Basement

I had a mobo which required an activation in the bios whenever the floppy drive was changed or disconnected. I had to go into the BIOS and on the first BIOS screen where the time and drives were listed, had to scroll down to the flopy drive and press enter and enable or somehoe activate it. Made me absolutely crazy trying to figure that one out. I finally took it to a local computer shoppe(Oh the humiliation!!!). The guy who helped me tried ALL the same things I did and only found the solution on a whim...after exhausting all the normal suspects.
We had both gotten to the point the floppy controller was the last remaining suspect if we couldn't fix it. It wasn't the controller.

I suggested the BIOS settings back around post #10. I would have hoped that it was checked by now. Maybe not, though.

Paul

I haven't been told HOW to do the BIOS thing yet. Can you talk me through it please?

BTW....sorry but I am female, not male.

LOL

PS...I just went into Windows Help menu...."BIOS" is not in the index and a search failed. Are you really sure there is such a thing?



Edit:
Found this in PC911 files:

The hazards of BIOS flashing
As described earlier, the BIOS is a crucial component of your computer since it is always the first program that runs when you turn the machine on. If the BIOS does not run, the machine cannot boot. Therefore it is very important that a BIOS upgrade is performed properly. If it fails, it can permanently ruin the BIOS, resulting in your computer becoming a door stop. Common reasons for BIOS flashes gone bad are power failure during the flashing process, and flashing the BIOS with an incorrect BIOS version. Because of these dangers you do not flash a BIOS just for shits and giggles, but only if there is a very good reason.

Sounds serious. It also said the BIOS resides on a m/b chip.
I think I'd rather have no A drive than ruin my new m/b!!!

"Every time you turn your computer on or re-boot it you may have noticed a prompt that states Hit F1 for setup or Hit delete to run setup. This prompt is your key to getting into the BIOS setup program. Some BIOS setups must be entered by pressing a special key combination (DEL, ESC, CTRL-ESC, or CRTL-ALT-ESC) at boot time, while still others allow you to enter setup at any time by pressing CTRL-ALT-ESC

If your computer doesn't present you with anything like this, you may be able to find out how to get into the BIOS setup from the documentation you received with your computer or it's motherboard. Consult the documentation to find out how to proceed."3telo4

Well, your profile says you're a male...so which is it? It don't really matter, I don't guess. We are all family here...no need to fake your gender.

As far as your floppy drive goes. I can only see four possibilities...motherboard, cable, floppy drive, or BIOS.

>>
>>BTW....sorry but I am female, not male.
>>

>Well, your profile says you're a male...so which is it? It
>don't really matter, I don't guess. We are all family
>here...no need to fake your gender.
>
>As far as your floppy drive goes. I can only see four
>possibilities...motherboard, cable, floppy drive, or BIOS.
>
>>>
>>>BTW....sorry but I am female, not male.
>>>
I am female...I should know.
My husband was using my computer at some point and this was the name he picked.
BrendaCanada

"Some drives detect the presence of a floppy disk using a tiny mechanical microswitch, while others use optical detectors. Yours may be the latter type. My guess is that the black housings don't reflect enough light for the drive to detect them. Take some colored electrical tape and experiment by adhering it along the sides of the floppy shell. The tape may help the drive detect the dark disks."

Whoever wrote that hasn't a clue of how floppy drives work,or how disks are made.

Shelly

I typed it for nothing!? :'( It was alfred poor's help and how-to section. I thought it was a little crazy, but it couldn't hurt to post it I guess.

Visit the Basement

Two mainboards with a BIOS issue... I doubt it

Before we get into the BIOS settings, does the green light on the floppy drive still stay on?? If so your cable is still on wrong, if not BIOS here we come!

To get into the BIOS settings....
Reboot your computer

Immediately press and HOLD the delete key, if windows boots up try a different key. It may be F1, F2 or any combination but the most common is delete. You can also look in your new motherboard manual and find which key it is.

Once you get into the BIOS settings, use the arrow keys to navigate though the menus. You will be looking for the floppy drive (A drive) setting and make sure it is set to 1.44mb. If not, set it to 1.44mb and "exit BIOS saving changes". If no changes were made or you are unsure of the change you made "exit BIOS without saving changes".

Let us know what you find and we'll go from there.

craiggEMT

We're NOT talking about flashing your BIOS perc. That's something entirely different.
Just follow Craig's instructions above and see where you end up.

ok...I will later tonight after last minute xmas shopping.
sounds easy enough.
Thanks a lot!

OK...just did the BIOS check.
Floppy IS set at 1.44 3-1/2
Is that the end of the line?

In case you didn't see my other post, I tried to format a brand new empty disk and it said windows could not complete the format.

Is there any chance there is one bad wire in the power cord?

Thanks.

That could cause a problem.

Behind every good computer... is a jumble of wires 'n stuff.

What is the light on the floppy doing while you're attempting to format? Is it green all the time or is it going on periodicly?

No refrigerator magnets on or near the case? No other adapters/transformers/big electrical appliances nearby? Tried the system in another location? Clutching at straws here, these come from my "if all else fails" section...

_________
Do not assume anything

Ok the one thing that I didn't see anyone address here.

Is the floppy you are trying to access using the same OS that you can read it on in another system?

Most of the rest is sound advice... And what wasn't has already been pointed out.

This is the only avenue that I didn't see anyone take. If the floppy is formated in WinNT (WinNt 4.0, Win2k, WinXP) then a Win9x system will not read it and tell you its not formated.

"Tell me and I'll forget. Show me and I'll remember. Involve me and I'll learn."

Thanks for the info Wakko. Interesting thought process. BTW perc dear (female version ), if you can't find a solution than please contact those here that can. As we can't be there to solve your problem than there are some here that will be willing to do it in person (the PC in front of them thing). Personaly, I would even be willing to pay freight (at the reduced cost between US and Canada) to help out. If there are any other takers that you respect more than that is how we wil get this thing solved. IMHO A drives are the most simplistic particulates of a computer and should be dealt with thusly. I am sure you can find your solution cheaper than you have thus far. I am under the impression that you have used this situation to upgraded your PC which is good, but let us get this thread fixed shall we.

Stranger than life