Access My Dell PC can't access floppy drive

[bandaj]

Hi All,
I can tolerate XP, but this is driving me mad. I need to transfer data to and from and old DOS machine using floppy discs. However, I cannot access the built in floppy, drive A: does not show in My Computer, and shows an exclamation mark in Device Manager. The comments say it cannot load the device driver (Code 39). I have tried uninstall and then re-install, but it's still the same.
I tried an external USB drive, with the same problem.
I can boot DOS 6.22 from the built in floppy, so the hardware is working OK, although I did replace the drive when the problem appeared.
Any suggestions gratefully received before it all goes out of the window (ha ha)

 

[muckshifter]

checked your BIOS?

 

[bandaj]

checked your BIOS?

No, how do I do that? It's a Dell 4550 tower system.

 

[muckshifter]

When the Dell logo appears, tap F2 key until the message ... Entering Setup ... appears. If you miss it, try again.

http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN114872/EN

WARNING: Incorrectly changing the BIOS settings may leave the computer in a state in which the Operating System will no longer start. We recommend that you record the original BIOS settings before you modify them.

just check to see if the A: drive (floppy drive) has been found.

 

[bandaj]

Thanks Muckshifter, I'd forgotten that, haven't had to do it for some time.
Yes the floppy drive is there, correctly identified as 3.5 inch 1.44 MB. If I set the boot sequence to start with A:, it quite happily boots up a DOS 6.22 floppy, so I guess the bios and hardware are all OK.

 

[muckshifter]

... and shows an exclamation mark in Device Manager

this is MS's way of saying it cannot find the correct drivers ... the only floppy drive I've ever had that needed drivers was an LS120 ... it's a PnP device, shouldn't need drivers.

OK, try ...

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/812489

 

[bandaj]

Muckshifter you're a GENIUS. I backed up the registry, then tried the first part of the suggestions, and removed the Upperfilters. There was no Lowerfilters to remove, so I exited and rebooted, and voila! the floppy disc worked, and no exclamation marks in Device manager.
Thats saved me a lot of bother, as I need to email legacy PCB files from my old DOS PC, and the only transfer media is floppy disc. It's really hard being a Dinosaur nowadays.

 

[muckshifter]

Glad it worked ... I'm older than the dinosaurs.