Here is a typical troubleshooting guide for floppy drives;
users.powernet.co.uk
Basic Troubleshooting Procedures:
These are general troubleshooting steps that may resolve or more accurately diagnose numerous floppy drive problems.
Boot to a floppy diskette: One of the first things to do is to see if the system will read a floppy diskette. Booting to a floppy diskette is one of the easiest ways to do this. Exit Windows. Place #1 MS-DOS Setup diskette into drive A: and reboot the system. If the system boots into a screen that says, "Welcome to Setup," press the F3 key on the keyboard. This prompts the system to ask you if you want to exit setup. If you have MS-DOS version 5.0, press the Y key and then the Enter key to exit. If you have MS-DOS version 6.0 or higher, press the F3 key once again to exit.
Format a floppy diskette: Once you have been able to boot to a floppy diskette successfully, another good test for the floppy drive is to see whether it formats a diskette. At the A:\> prompt, type:
c:
and press Enter. This will take you to the "C:\" prompt. Type:
path=c:\dos
and press Enter. Remove the MS-DOS diskette from the A: drive. Place a blank diskette into the A: drive and type:
format a:
The screen prompts you to insert a blank diskette into the drive and press Enter when ready to proceed. A warning that all data on the diskette will be lost will appear on the screen. Press the Y key and then press Enter to proceed with the format. Once the diskette is done formatting, press the N key in response to formatting another diskette.
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. By following the above procedures, you "booted clean" which means you bypassed the system files that load software applications as the system boots.
Resolving Floppy Drive Problems:
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. Refer to your User's Guide on how to enter the CMOS or Setup program. Once in the Setup screens, check the floppy drive(s) identification. Check 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.
Loose or poorly connected cables: 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. Since there are no locking clips that hold the floppy cable in place, the floppy drive cable needs to be reseated. Power down the system, remove the case screws from the back of the system, and take the outer case shell off the system (see the Gateway 2000 System Guide that shipped with your system for additional information). Orient yourself with where the back of the floppy drive is inside of the system. 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, grey ribbon cable. The red, yellow and black cable is the power lead. The flat, grey ribbon cable is the data cable that needs to be reseated first. Firmly pull the cable straight off the back of the floppy drive and press it firmly back in place the same way you took it off. Make sure you pull the connectors, not the cable. Follow the cable down to where it connects to the system board. Firmly pull the cable straight off and push it back on the same way that you took it off. Power up the system and try to boot to a floppy diskette and format a floppy diskette as mentioned on the previous page. If you are still unable to do these things, power down the system, 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 previous page.
Newly added hardware: 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 included in the tape backup unit kit.
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.
1. "Diskette Drive 0 Failure" or "Diskette Drive 1 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.
2. "Not ready reading drive A" or "Not ready reading drive B" - 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.
3. "Invalid drive specification" - This error can be caused by incorrect CMOS settings including the floppy drive not being identified at all.
4. "Invalid media type" - This error may occur if you are trying to format a diskette that is defective or of a media type that is incompatible with your floppy drive.
5. "Error selecting drive" - This error occurs primarily in Windows when you attempt to access the floppy drive without a diskette inserted. This error can occur with some operating systems such as Norton Desktop or PC Tools; often these programs have updates to correct the problem.
6. "Non-system disk or disk error" - This error occurs if you have a diskette other than a bootable floppy diskette or the #1 MS-DOS setup diskette in the floppy drive as you boot up the system. If you have a bootable diskette in the drive and still receive this error, the cable to the floppy cable is loose or defective.
Always make sure that the diskettes that you are attempting to use are high density, good quality diskettes. 90% of floppy drive problems are caused by badly fitting floppy disk shutters, catching on the heads |
