External IBM PC 5.25" Drive

[bond007clone]

Hi,

Recently, I've been trying to get some data off a few 5.25" floppies I
have. I found out that there was an External IBM PC 5.25" Drive
created in the 1980s. However, it has a 37-pin male connector. A
37-pin female connector is not found on modern PCs. Is it possible to
buy something such as an adapter that one can connect the 37-pin male
connector to a parallel port adapter and then hook the device into the
parallel port? Or would this create all sorts of problems? If it
helps, I'm running Windows XP Home Edition but also have access to the
first version of Windows 98.

 

[CJT]

Hi,

Recently, I've been trying to get some data off a few 5.25" floppies I
have. I found out that there was an External IBM PC 5.25" Drive
created in the 1980s. However, it has a 37-pin male connector. A
37-pin female connector is not found on modern PCs. Is it possible to
buy something such as an adapter that one can connect the 37-pin male
connector to a parallel port adapter and then hook the device into the
parallel port? Or would this create all sorts of problems? If it
helps, I'm running Windows XP Home Edition but also have access to the
first version of Windows 98.

I think it would be easier to hook a drive up directly to the floppy
controller in your PC.

 

[Folkert Rienstra]

Hi,

Recently, I've been trying to get some data off a few 5.25" floppies I
have. I found out that there was an External IBM PC 5.25" Drive
created in the 1980s.

However, it has a 37-pin male connector.

So likely it only needs a DB37-F bulkhead connected floppy cable.

A 37-pin female connector is not found on modern PCs.

I have a similar case that came with a DB25-M connector and con-
nected with 36-pin centronics inside to an additional circuit board.
Presumably this was the LPT version.

Is it possible to
buy something such as an adapter that one can connect the 37-pin male
connector to a parallel port adapter and then hook the device into the
parallel port?

So likely not.

Or would this create all sorts of problems?

That depends on how that type originally was to be used.
If is was parallel port then the 37-pin is odd.

 

[bond007clone]

Yes, but the problem with that is that the other connector (not the
power supply connector) requires a different cable than the one that
hooks up the 3.5" drive. Typically, I think this cable has two
connections - for different drives. Doesn't it need a different
controller for this kind of adapter?

http://www.geocities.com/bond007clone/floppy_2.JPG

 

[CJT]

Yes, but the problem with that is that the other connector (not the
power supply connector) requires a different cable than the one that
hooks up the 3.5" drive. Typically, I think this cable has two
connections - for different drives. Doesn't it need a different
controller for this kind of adapter?

http://www.geocities.com/bond007clone/floppy_2.JPG

Cables are readily available. Almost anybody who has been dealing
with computers for a while has a junk box full of them. See your
local computer geek.

 

[Peter]

Recently, I've been trying to get some data off a few 5.25" floppies I

have. I found out that there was an External IBM PC 5.25" Drive
created in the 1980s. However, it has a 37-pin male connector. A
37-pin female connector is not found on modern PCs. Is it possible to
buy something such as an adapter that one can connect the 37-pin male
connector to a parallel port adapter and then hook the device into the
parallel port? Or would this create all sorts of problems? If it
helps, I'm running Windows XP Home Edition but also have access to the
first version of Windows 98.

Find an older computer which still has 5.25" floppy drive. Transfer files
over the LAN.

 

[bond007clone]

Thanks! Will check it out. One last question. Can a 1.2MB 5.25"
drive read 360K 5.25" disks without problems or is a 360K 5.25" drive
required?

 

[CJT]

Thanks! Will check it out. One last question. Can a 1.2MB 5.25"
drive read 360K 5.25" disks without problems or is a 360K 5.25" drive
required?

It should work.

 

[Rod Speed]

(e-mail address removed) wrote

Recently, I've been trying to get some data off a few 5.25" floppies I have.

Nothing like living life in the fast lane...

I found out that there was an External IBM PC 5.25" Drive
created in the 1980s. However, it has a 37-pin male connector.
A 37-pin female connector is not found on modern PCs.

It wasnt found on the original PCs either.

That was used on some of the earliest laptops.

Is it possible to buy something such as an adapter that one
can connect the 37-pin male connector to a parallel port
adapter and then hook the device into the parallel port?
Maybe.

Or would this create all sorts of problems?

It is technically possible, that's basically what those laptops did.

If it helps, I'm running Windows XP Home Edition but
also have access to the first version of Windows 98.

Best to have it internal instead.

 

[Rod Speed]

(e-mail address removed) wrote

One last question.

We'll see...

Can a 1.2MB 5.25" drive read 360K 5.25" disks without problems

That gets complicated. It should read ok, just
make sure you never write to the floppy, that
causes problems because it writes a narrow track
down the middle of the old wide track and then you
wont be able to read the floppy properly in a 360K drive.

or is a 360K 5.25" drive required?

Nope.

 

[Arno Wagner]

Hi,

Recently, I've been trying to get some data off a few 5.25" floppies I
have. I found out that there was an External IBM PC 5.25" Drive
created in the 1980s. However, it has a 37-pin male connector. A
37-pin female connector is not found on modern PCs. Is it possible to
buy something such as an adapter that one can connect the 37-pin male
connector to a parallel port adapter and then hook the device into the
parallel port? Or would this create all sorts of problems? If it
helps, I'm running Windows XP Home Edition but also have access to the
first version of Windows 98.

You need to connect the drive inside that external case directly to
the floppy cable in the PC, since that ecternal case likely had some
special pin-out and may even require a special adapter. 5 1/2"
floppies should still work on modern mainboard-integrated floppy
controllers. The bus-protocol has not changed.

Arno