TROUBLESHOOTING FLOPPY DRIVE PROBLEMS

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POSSIBLE CAUSES OF FLOPPY DRIVE PROBLEMS

1. Diskette is damaged.
2. The system's CMOS settings may be incorrect.
3. The ribbon cable that goes from the back of the floppy drive to the system board or controller may be bad or the connection may be loose.
4. The power connector to the floppy may be loose or disconnected.
5. Conflict within the system with some newly added hardware or software.
6. The drive may be damaged.

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The following are general troubleshooting steps that may resolve or diagnose floppy drive problems.

1. TRY TO BOOT SYSTEM WITH A KNOWN WORKING BOOTABLE FLOPPY
    DISKETTE:

2. TRY TO FORMAT A FLOPPY DISKETTE:

Another good test for the floppy drive is to see whether it formats a diskette.

1. Start your computer, or if already in Windows, restart your computer.
2. When you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press the F8 key, and hen choose Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu. Your computer should then the boot to the command prompt C:\>
3. Place a blank diskette into the A: drive
4. Type format a: and press enter

If you are able to complete both of these tests, the problem may be with the diskette that you are trying to read or write to. Another possible cause may be new software that you added to the system. Following the above procedures allowed you to boot clean, bypassing the system files and software applications that load as the system boots to Windows 95.

RESOLVING FLOPPY DRIVE PROBLEMS:

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FLOPPY IDENTIFICATION IN CMOS:

If the floppy drive is identified incorrectly in CMOS, you will probably be unable to boot to or format a floppy diskette. You should check your CMOS to verify that the proper drive settings correspond with the correct drive type (i.e., 3.5 in., 1.44MB is the current standard for diskette drive 0 or diskette drive A). If you have a Pentium or PCI system, check the security section of the CMOS and remove the supervisor password if one has been set. The supervisor password causes the floppy drive to display error messages identical to those usually associated with a defective floppy drive or cable.

1. As soon as your computer begins to re-start You should see a message "Hit DEL if you want to enter setup"., begin pressing the <DEL> key until you enter the CMOS setup.
2. In CMOS use the arrow key to highlight Standard CMOS Setup and press <ENTER>.
3. Be sure the options for Drive A; and Drive B: You can modify the settings by highlighting them with the arrow key and using the <PAGE UP> or <PAGE DOWN> keys. The current standard setup is:

Drive B : None

1. Press <ESCAPE> to exit Standard CMOS setup.
2. Highlight Save settings and exit and press <ENTER>.

If you have checked the CMOS settings and the settings are correct, the problem may be a poor connection between the floppy drive and the system board or controller.

NOTE:

In the following examples, make sure you pull the connectors, not the cable.

1. Power down the system and remove the system case.
2. Orient yourself with the back of the floppy drive inside the system.
3. Follow the front of the floppy around to the inside of the system. On the back of the floppy drive you will find a red, yellow, and black cable and a flat, gray ribbon cable. The red, yellow and black cable is the power lead. The flat, gray ribbon cable is the data cable that needs to be reseated first. Firmly pull the cable straight off the back of the floppy drive (pull the connector, not the cable) and press it firmly back in place the same way you took it off. If it has become completely disconnected you will need to re-connect it. Make sure the end of the ribbon cable with the red stripe is towards the floppy power connector.
4. Follow the ribbon cable down to where it connects to the system board. Note how it is oriented and firmly pull the cable straight off and push it back on the same way that you took it off. If it has become completely disconnected you will need to re-connect it. A good general rule to follow is to make sure the end of the ribbon cable with the red stripe is oriented the same way as the other large ribbon cables connecting to the motherboard.
5. Power up the system and try to boot to a floppy diskette and format a floppy diskette as mentioned on the previously. If your problem is solved, power down system and put the system case back on and you are done. If you are still unable to do access your floppy drive proceed to the next step.
6. Power down the system again and pull the red, yellow, and black power lead off the back of the drive (pull the connector, not the cable). Replace it with another available power lead that appears similar to the one originally on the drive. Power up the system, and try to boot to a floppy diskette and format a floppy diskette as mentioned on the previously.

If you have recently added any hardware such as a tape backup unit, sound card, scanner, network card, etc. to the system, try removing these items from the system one at a time. Each time you remove an item, try to boot to a floppy diskette and format a diskette. If the floppy works, it is possible the hardware that was added may be conflicting with the floppy drive. Re-configure the new hardware, and try replacing it to see if the problem persists.

FLOPPY DRIVE LIGHT STAYS ON CONTINUOUSLY:

If the light on the floppy drive(s) stays on constantly from the time the system is powered up, the data cable on the system board or controller card may be on backwards. Power down the system and locate where the data cable is attached to the system board. Once you have located it, pull the cable off gently (pull the connector, not the cable). Turn the cable around 180 degrees and put it back onto the system board. Power up the system to see if the lights stay on continuously.

If you started experiencing floppy drive problems after adding a tape backup unit, try using the additional floppy cable that came with the tape backup unit kit. Instructions for this operation are usually included with most tape backup unit kits.

ERROR MESSAGES:

You may receive some of the following error messages when trying to access your floppy drive. The error messages can often pinpoint a specific problem.

Diskette Drive 0 Failure

This error is usually seen as the system boots up. Check the CMOS to make sure that the drive(s) are identified correctly. If that does not correct the error, open the system and reseat the floppy drive cable. If that still does not correct the error, try another floppy cable.

Not ready reading drive A:

This error may be caused by incorrect drive identification in CMOS. Check to make sure that the drive(s) are identified correctly. This error can be caused by not having a diskette in the floppy drive(s) when you try to access it. If the floppy cable is poorly seated, this error will often occur. If you have a Pentium or PCI system, this error may occur if you have the supervisor password enabled in the CMOS.

Invalid drive specification

Invalid media type

Error selecting drive

Non system disk or disk error