Floppy drive problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter Glenn & Cheryll Martin
  • Start date Start date
G

Glenn & Cheryll Martin

I recently had to format my hard drive and reload Win XP Pro in
"Standard PC" mode to use my recording software. I did this about two
weeks ago.

Today, I tried to put a floppy into the drive, and I got a "The
request could not be performed because of an I/O error" message. This
happened several times. So I checked the cables and turned the
computer back on, and now all I get is a "Please insert a disk into
the drive" message, even when there is a disk in there. The disk reads
in my other computer. By the way, I am on Service Pack 1.

Can someone give me some ideas?

Thank you in advance.
remove "nospam" to reply
 
In
Glenn & Cheryll Martin said:
I recently had to format my hard drive and reload Win XP Pro in
"Standard PC" mode to use my recording software. I did this about two
weeks ago.

Today, I tried to put a floppy into the drive, and I got a "The
request could not be performed because of an I/O error" message. This
happened several times. So I checked the cables and turned the
computer back on, and now all I get is a "Please insert a disk into
the drive" message, even when there is a disk in there. The disk reads
in my other computer. By the way, I am on Service Pack 1.

Can someone give me some ideas?

Thank you in advance.
remove "nospam" to reply
Click to expand...

As I was scrolling through I found a good post just moments before opening
this newsgroup and reading your request. The information is well put and
very organized so I'll copy the entire thing here for you. Please thank the
author of the post (not me) should it be the answer you're looking for as it
has been for me in the past:

I had the same problem with 2 XP systems, different floppy manufacturers. I
read a long-time back on this NG a long history of the problem. Essentially
Microsoft KB 309623 says WinXP supports only 1.44MB disk format. 3-mode FD's
capable of reading/writing 720KB, 1.2MB and 1.44MB require special driver
support and support for this feature is not included in Windows XP. See
following:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;309623

The writer (and I can't recall who that was) did some exhaustive research
and found a place for a driver. I downloaded that driver and it cured my
no-format problem on the PC that was giving trouble. Now both PCs can format
and read the floppy disks. Driver link (this is a download only):

http://downloads.viaarena.com/WinXPE/Oct02/XPe_3mflp132_v10.zip

Instructions as outlined in the writer's article:

1. Download driver

2. Unzip the driver - extract the file to a folder.

3. Open Windows XP's Device Manager, expand the "Floppy disk controllers"
heading, and double-click the listing for "Standard floppy disk controller."

4. Click the "Driver" tab, then click the "Update Driver" button.

5. Select the "Install from a list or specific location" radio button and
click the "Next" button.

6. Select the"Don't search. I will choose the driver to install." radio
button and click the "Next" button.

7. Click the"Have Disk" button; then, click the"Browse" button. Browse to
the location that you extracted the files to in Step 2 and double-click the
"VIA3MFPY.INF" file. The, click the"OK" button.

8. You should now have "VIA 3-mode floppy controller" highlighted in the
drivers list. Click the "Next" button to begin the driver file copy. Once
the file copy is complete, your floppy disk drive will access 3 times
(checking all 3 "modes"). This is normal. Click the "Finish" button when the
driver installation is complete.

9a. You may, or may not , have a device labeled "Unknown Device" in
the"Other Devices" heading in Device Manager. If so, continue with step 9a.
If not, skip to step 9b. If you have a device labeled "Unknown Device" in
the "Other Devices" heading in Device Manager, right-click on it and select
"Update Driver." Follow steps 5 through 8 to complete the installation of
"Floppy disk drive" (note that the naming of the driver in the drivers list
in step 8 may be different during this step - this is normal). Once you've
click the "Finish" button, continue on to step 10.

9b. If you do not have a device labeled "Unknown Device" in the "Other
Devices" heading in Device Manager, expand the "Floppy disk drives" heading
in Device Manager and double-click the listing for "floppy disk drive."
Follow steps 4 through 8 to complete the installation of "Floppy disk drive"
(note that the naming of the driver in the drivers list in step 8 may be
different during this step - this is normal). Once you've clicked the
"finish" button, continue on to step 10.

10. Reboot your PC. This should let you know if all of your hard work
REALLY paid off. Check the Device Manager one last time to be sure that you
now have the"VIA 3-mode floppy controller listed under the "Floppy disk
controllers" heading. Put a file on a floppy in Win98 (or another non-SP OS)
and you should now be able to access it in Windows XP (and vice-versa)
without issue. You made it!

If this helps anyone, the credit isn't mine -- I wish I could recall the
originator. There was much more background given about his research
including another web site. Unfortunately I only have the printed out
document. If there is any further interest in the entire article I would be
willing to scan and post it.

ghawthorn said:
cannot read floppies made with w98 on my wXP home. Anyone else have that
problem?
Click to expand...

Again, keep in mind that the post is not mine, it's from a Gene Hora and was
in microsoft.public.windowsxp.newusers though I couldn't have put the answer
better myself.

Galen

--
"My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me
the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am
in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial
stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for
mental exaltation." -- Sherlock Holmes
 
Hi Galen,

I did exactly what you posted, and now my computer takes forever to
boot up, and the drive still doesn't work. So I removed those drivers,
and the system boots normal again, but the drive still does not work.

Do you have any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance.
remove "nospam" to reply
 
Is the drive recognized in the device manager? By any chance, at any point,
did the floppy cable get unplugged, and plugged back in? Some floppy drives
do not have a notch which ensures that 'cable 1', usually marked by a red
stripe on the floppy cable, corresponds to 'pin 1' on the drive. Also, any
chages in BIOS settings? There are a few floopy modes to choose from in most
BIOS settings.

Worth a shot...
 
In
Glenn & Cheryll Martin said:
Do you have any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

Other than hardware (cables or drive itself) none other than the BIOS
suggestion given to you already. The "usual" fix is the drivers. If they
made your PC boot slower but work on other three mode drivers that makes me
think that hardware is more likely your issue if it's recognized at all in
the hardware device manager.

Galen
--

"My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me
the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am
in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial
stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for
mental exaltation." -- Sherlock Holmes
 
This floppy driver is only for VIA chipsets.


Galen said:
In

As I was scrolling through I found a good post just moments before opening
this newsgroup and reading your request. The information is well put and
very organized so I'll copy the entire thing here for you. Please thank
the author of the post (not me) should it be the answer you're looking for
as it has been for me in the past:

I had the same problem with 2 XP systems, different floppy manufacturers.
I
read a long-time back on this NG a long history of the problem.
Essentially
Microsoft KB 309623 says WinXP supports only 1.44MB disk format. 3-mode
FD's
capable of reading/writing 720KB, 1.2MB and 1.44MB require special driver
support and support for this feature is not included in Windows XP. See
following:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;309623

The writer (and I can't recall who that was) did some exhaustive research
and found a place for a driver. I downloaded that driver and it cured my
no-format problem on the PC that was giving trouble. Now both PCs can
format
and read the floppy disks. Driver link (this is a download only):

http://downloads.viaarena.com/WinXPE/Oct02/XPe_3mflp132_v10.zip

Instructions as outlined in the writer's article:

1. Download driver

2. Unzip the driver - extract the file to a folder.

3. Open Windows XP's Device Manager, expand the "Floppy disk controllers"
heading, and double-click the listing for "Standard floppy disk
controller."

4. Click the "Driver" tab, then click the "Update Driver" button.

5. Select the "Install from a list or specific location" radio button and
click the "Next" button.

6. Select the"Don't search. I will choose the driver to install." radio
button and click the "Next" button.

7. Click the"Have Disk" button; then, click the"Browse" button. Browse to
the location that you extracted the files to in Step 2 and double-click
the
"VIA3MFPY.INF" file. The, click the"OK" button.

8. You should now have "VIA 3-mode floppy controller" highlighted in the
drivers list. Click the "Next" button to begin the driver file copy. Once
the file copy is complete, your floppy disk drive will access 3 times
(checking all 3 "modes"). This is normal. Click the "Finish" button when
the
driver installation is complete.

9a. You may, or may not , have a device labeled "Unknown Device" in
the"Other Devices" heading in Device Manager. If so, continue with step
9a.
If not, skip to step 9b. If you have a device labeled "Unknown Device" in
the "Other Devices" heading in Device Manager, right-click on it and
select
"Update Driver." Follow steps 5 through 8 to complete the installation of
"Floppy disk drive" (note that the naming of the driver in the drivers
list
in step 8 may be different during this step - this is normal). Once you've
click the "Finish" button, continue on to step 10.

9b. If you do not have a device labeled "Unknown Device" in the "Other
Devices" heading in Device Manager, expand the "Floppy disk drives"
heading
in Device Manager and double-click the listing for "floppy disk drive."
Follow steps 4 through 8 to complete the installation of "Floppy disk
drive"
(note that the naming of the driver in the drivers list in step 8 may be
different during this step - this is normal). Once you've clicked the
"finish" button, continue on to step 10.

10. Reboot your PC. This should let you know if all of your hard work
REALLY paid off. Check the Device Manager one last time to be sure that
you
now have the"VIA 3-mode floppy controller listed under the "Floppy disk
controllers" heading. Put a file on a floppy in Win98 (or another non-SP
OS)
and you should now be able to access it in Windows XP (and vice-versa)
without issue. You made it!

If this helps anyone, the credit isn't mine -- I wish I could recall the
originator. There was much more background given about his research
including another web site. Unfortunately I only have the printed out
document. If there is any further interest in the entire article I would
be
willing to scan and post it.



Again, keep in mind that the post is not mine, it's from a Gene Hora and
was in microsoft.public.windowsxp.newusers though I couldn't have put the
answer better myself.

Galen

--
"My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me
the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am
in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial
stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for
mental exaltation." -- Sherlock Holmes
Click to expand...
 
In
Yves Leclerc said:
This floppy driver is only for VIA chipsets.
Click to expand...

Having only one old computer with XP on it with the outdated three mode
floppy I dug it out and (I don't/won't own a VIA) it's an Intel i845GV in a
Dell Dimension 2400. I did mention it was old. The current drivers didn't
allow for a floppy to be formatted. I downloaded and installed these same
drivers. I rebooted. I formatted a floppy. What does this mean? It means
that it works for me though it may not work for the everyone it's the only
floppy drivers that I've known right off hand that cure the XP Floppy Blues
unless your setup specifically offers a single mode for the floppy. Which,
thankfully, many do though still others do not. Beyond that I'm not sure
what to say unless it's a hardware issue and floppy drives tend to be pretty
sturdy creatures though their ribbon cables don't last forever if there's
been a lot of movement inside the case.

Galen
--

"My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me
the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am
in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial
stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for
mental exaltation." -- Sherlock Holmes
 
Hello all,

Today for fun, I set my BIOS to boot from the A drive first. I
inserted a Data Lifeguard disk from Western Digital. It DID boot from
the disk. I cancelled the install and got the A prompt. I typed DIR,
and it read the disk. I exited to Windows, and tried to read the disk.
Didn't happen. Explorer and Device Manager do recognize the drive.

Thanks again for all the help.
remove "nospam" to reply
 
Glenn & Cheryll Martin wrote:
| Hello all,
|
| Today for fun, I set my BIOS to boot from the A drive first. I
| inserted a Data Lifeguard disk from Western Digital. It DID boot from
| the disk. I cancelled the install and got the A prompt. I typed DIR,
| and it read the disk. I exited to Windows, and tried to read the disk.
| Didn't happen. Explorer and Device Manager do recognize the drive.
|
| Thanks again for all the help.
| remove "nospam" to reply

That disk is a PCDOS diskette. Also windows default is to hide
system files.
 
Hello all,

Today for fun, I set my BIOS to boot from the A drive first. I
inserted a Data Lifeguard disk from Western Digital. It DID boot from
the disk. I cancelled the install and got the A prompt. I typed DIR,
and it read the disk. I exited to Windows, and tried to read the disk.
Didn't happen. Explorer and Device Manager do recognize the drive.

Thanks again for all the help.
remove "nospam" to reply
Click to expand...

This is a known sp1 issue for many folks.

Install sp2.


Have a nice one...

Trent

Budweiser: Helping ugly people have sex since 1876!
 
Back
Top