Fixed the floppy!!!

d_b · Post by **d_b** » Sat Feb 16, 2002 12:27 pm

Gots me a XP333 and want to update the bios. Since my floppy doesn't want to work can I boot to a cd with bios .bin and flash utility on it? Or do I have to tear this new system apart and figure out why the floppy doesn't work? I hate gloppies, they suck.

Thanks for helping a moron

Dan

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Sat Feb 16, 2002 1:21 pm

Risky if possible at all. Better to fix the floppy.

bluewhale · Post by **bluewhale** » Sat Feb 16, 2002 1:57 pm

I never use a FD to update a MB BIOS, unless there isn't a FAT partition on the HD. FD's are too unpredictable IMSHO. if there is a FAT partition just copy the files there, boot to a clean W98 session and run them.

Paul

PreDatoR · Post by **PreDatoR** » Sat Feb 16, 2002 1:58 pm

be sure u got the floppy cable on the right direction and its enabled in the bios.... And d_b if your board came with the 11/29 bios and is a ver 2.1 stick with it... There are a bunch of bugs with the newer bioses for this board... I got my 1700+ stable on my XP333 at 1.7 Gig 11x155

d_b · Post by **d_b** » Sat Feb 16, 2002 2:02 pm

floppy cables is on right and it's enabled in the bios. i have the 11-29 bios so I will take your advice and stick with it. thanks Pred

PreDatoR · Post by **PreDatoR** » Sat Feb 16, 2002 3:54 pm

d_b one time i thought i had the flopy cable the right direction and according to the way they normally go the marked wire on the ribbon towards the power connector it was right... But it wouldn't work so just for shits and giggles i switched them around and what do ya know it worked. Was a new floppy drive and don't know why it was like that but it was. Might be worth a try ya never know

Busby · Post by **Busby** » Sat Feb 16, 2002 3:57 pm

In my experience most floppies require PIN1 to be facing away from power connector, unlike HDs and CD-ROMs that want pin1 towards power.

d_b · Post by **d_b** » Sat Feb 16, 2002 4:15 pm

The thing with this floppy and cable is that the mobo and the floppy drive each have a notch, like those on hard drives. the cable also has a notch at both ends. So it will only fit 1 way. The end of the cable with the twist goes to the drive, correct?

Thanks

bluewhale · Post by **bluewhale** » Sat Feb 16, 2002 4:28 pm

9.9 times of 10. I remember having to cut that tab off cables a few times but... that's over 10 years or more, so ... say: did anyone suggest trying another cable? Or do what I do on site sometimes: find another system to strip the part you need from then return it. ( neighbor have a PC? ) A number of my old customers were non-profits: sometimes you have to make do.

PreDatoR · Post by **PreDatoR** » Sat Feb 16, 2002 5:01 pm

I've had to cut that tab off a couple of times when it wouldn't work.. its worth a try.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Sat Feb 16, 2002 5:23 pm

yes the twist is on the drive end.

The givaway is usually the drive light. If the drive light stays on all the time then you have the cable reveresed on the drive.

The key is always correct on the mobo end but the key on the floppy drive is often incorrect. Most floppies don't actually have a key for the connector - there's on indent in the case but that's not a key.

You may also have a bad ribbon or drive. Got one you can swap out of another unit?

I would feel MUCH better installing a bios from a hard drive rather than a CD. Most bios installers warn not to have ANY background apps running when you flash, and you have to install MSCDEX and a CD-Rom driver to read a file off a CD.

Format a small bootable partition on the drive and copy the files there.

However if the floppy port isn't working, it's not worth bothering with all this - you may have a defective mobo.

d_b · Post by **d_b** » Sat Feb 16, 2002 6:17 pm

Nooooooooooo, don't say defective mobo, I just got it yesterday.

The drive light is off and comes on when I put in a disk and click the floppy icon. I then get a message saying "please insert a disk into drive A:". The drive works, at least it did when I pulled it from another system yesterday. I have another drive I can try and about 20 floppy cables laying around.

Thanks for the help y'all

bluewhale · Post by **bluewhale** » Sat Feb 16, 2002 10:43 pm

if you have a known good Floppy then it has to be the cable or controller. ( or diskette

)
Possible long shot: in CMOS is the 'switch floppy drive' enabled? Perhaps with only one FD on the chain that's the cause ( OK, grasping for straws here )

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Sun Feb 17, 2002 2:00 am

Also (seen this a few times) check to see if your floppy drive is setup as a 1.44mb or some other size in the BIOS menu. Might be set wrong.

d_b · Post by **d_b** » Sun Feb 17, 2002 9:43 am

Fixed it

One of the pins on the drive was bent. My hands don't function well in tight spaces, well some tight spaces anyway.

The one thing I don't like about this Enermax case is you cant remove the front cover without unscrewing 6 screws, which are not plced very well. So I tried to plug the cable in with the drive mounted. Obviously it didn't work very well

Thanks for all your help....I really appriciate it