Floppy drive inoperative after disconnect

[Jim H.]

OK, I had to borrow the floppy drive cable from my Win XP machine to
temporarily use on a friends PC (he didn't have a cable and we wanted to do a
clean install of Windows 98.)

When I put the cable back into my machine (Yes, it's connected properly!),
the floppy (A drive is not recognized. The light on the front panel doesn't
blink or anything. When I go into the BIOS setup, the order has (Removable
Media) as the first choice, then my C: drive second. The A: drive does not
appear in Windows Explorer nor does it appear in my device manager. Power
cable is connected firmly, too.

This seems like such a simple problem to fix but I'm stumped. Yes, I know
there is the possibility that my floppy is smoked but really, all I did was
turn off my machine, unplug the data cable and after a few hours use on
another machine, plugged it back into my machine.

Yes, I did power up my machine while the cable was out. Could this have
caused XP to turn off looking for the floppy?

 

[Bob Harris]

Once you say that the BIOS can not see the floppy, then that points to a
hardware problem, not an XP problem.

Even if there was no operating system installed, the floppy drive should be
detected by the BIOS. Note that the BIOS should detect the drive, even if
no floppy is inserted.

Re-check both signal >>and<< power cables to the floppy. Also, check the
screw(s) that hold the floppy in place; it is possible that they serve as a
ground, that is, part of the electrical circuit. If all are tight, then get
a new floppy drive.

 

[Jim H.]

OK, I finally solved my own problem. I went back into the BIOS setup and saw
where the floppy drive (the BIOS called it a "Legacy Floppy Drive")
capability had been disabled. This must have occured when I booted up while
my floppy drive data cable was out of the machine. Seeing no floppy, the BIOS
must have automatically turned the capability off. All I did was to re-enable
it and Viola! It now works fine.

PS: Bob, please resist the temptation to suggest trying something that has
already been clearly stated as tried.

 

[M.I.5¾]

Once you say that the BIOS can not see the floppy, then that points to a
hardware problem, not an XP problem.

Even if there was no operating system installed, the floppy drive should
be detected by the BIOS. Note that the BIOS should detect the drive, even
if no floppy is inserted.

Re-check both signal >>and<< power cables to the floppy. Also, check the
screw(s) that hold the floppy in place; it is possible that they serve as
a ground, that is, part of the electrical circuit. If all are tight, then
get a new floppy drive.

But first, try a new cable because that is the bit that you disturbed. It
is quite possible that the cable got damaged when you removed it from your
friend's PC. You should be able to find a friend with a few in their junk
box if you don't have one of your own.