Floppy drive problem with new power supply

The original 200-watt power supply in my 7-year-old Micron desktop was working fine, but just for fun I decided to buy and install a new Antec 250W PS with what they call a Smart Fan that adjusts to ambient temperature and is quieter.

The installation went fine until I booted up and got a "Diskette drive A error" warning during POST. I checked to see if a connector was loose. No problem there. Thinking maybe I had installed one incorrectly, I switched the strap-type cable's vertical orientation and rebooted. This time the warning said "Incorrect Drive A type - run SETUP. "

I've checked both cables, wire and strap, and the connections seem solid. The wire connector seems to fit only one way, and the strap connector fits either of two ways and I get the error messages either way.

All the other internal parts -- CD-ROM, HD, etc., -- work OK. Sounds through the mini-speakers seem a bit louder. It's just the floppy drive that's a problem. When I insert a diskette and try to open it, My Computer takes a much longer time than usual to appear and even longer to open the floppy drive, at which time the "A:\ is not accessible. The device is not ready." warning appears.

According to Device Manager, "This device is working properly." Well, it's not working properly at all.

If it helps, I'm using Windows98, both power supplies are Baby AT form factor. The old PS was 200W and 5A@115V, while the new PS is 250W and 6A@115V.

Any ideas what the problem might be?

 

Hi Bobbo,

If you can, test the floppy drive contoller. We've had them die suddenly when any hardware in the box is changed. (There seems to be no rhyme or reason, it just happens—twice with our machine and it seems to happen to many others as well.)

Sorry, I don't know how to test them myself, but when they stopped working on us, every component of the computer had a different opinion of the state of the floopy drive, sort of like what you're describing.

I hope this helps, or at least takes one unknown out of the problem for you.

 

deathgrip: Sounds promising. But where IS the floppy-drive controller?

I did a Google search for floppy-drive controllers and read several interesting articles, but now I'm left wondering if the controller is a part of the drive unit itself or whether it's on the motherboard or if it's part of the IDE controller card that my HD is cabled to.

Anyone else know how to test the controller?

One of the articles I found in the Google search talked about the Setup BIOS needing to be fiddled with after some hardware installations. When I first saw the "Incorrect Drive A type - run SETUP" warning, I looked there and everything appeared to be OK. Another article mentioned going into Device Manager and removing the floppy drive entry there and then rebooting so the computer would recognize the drive correctly. Is that something I need to do?

I'm on very new ground with this problem, so I'm grateful for any assistance.

 

Bobbo,


I think that deathgrip may be referring to the row of pins on the motherboard where we plug the floppy in. These are what most people seem to refer to as controllers although from my knowledge the controllers on hd's and floppys are built into the units themselves. The connector on the M/B is merely the interface for the unit to interface with the motherboard and BIOS.
Someone correct me if I'm worng here I don't know of any way to test the controller - usually if the controller goes it means your buying a new whatever the control is attached to.

The card your HD plugs into shouldn't have anything to do with your floppy unless your floppy is plugged into it.

Can you connect the old P/S and see if the floppy performs normally? If it does I would check the voltages from the new P/S that supplies the floppy. If it works fine you may have a bad P/S. If it still acts up with the old P/S back in the case, may simply mean the floppy drive itself is dying.

 

Oof! I wish I new where it is and how to test it. I will ask a few people in person and see what specifics I can find out (I hope someone else can help you sooner, for your own sake.)

Everywhere I've looked (and everyone I've talked to) until today have known exacly what and where it is. In the mean time, try the links in #2 below, especially the MS one.

[Everything below here are leads. I know the physics theories of how computers work, but that's a far cry from any tech knowledge.]

If it helps you (or anyone else tuning in) I know one thing and have found some others:

1) Both Toshiba and Compaq have been in or are in legal trouble because thier floopy contollers failed to detect errors on the laptops they sold. (go to pcworld.com and search the site for "floppy controller ", I'm sure you'll find the news.)

2) At google, I searched "test floppy controller ", and here are a few of the results:
<http://www.accurite.com/FloppyPrimer.html>
<http://www.bioscentral.com/postcodes/landmarkbios.htm>
<http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q131690>

Again, I hope someone can help you soon. I'll get back to you (and everyone else!) as soon as possible with whatever information I find.

Good luck! Back soon.

 

iceolated: After looking over the schematic of the motherboard in my computer's owner's manual, I rechecked the ribbon-cable from my floppy drive to its source, and as you say, there's a pin-type connector there on the motherboard. The connection seems good. The other end of the ribbon, the drive end, had gotten rather beat up and raggedy, so I used one of the connectors farther back along the same ribbon and slid it home to what seems a solid connection. Restarted, and again got the "Diskette drive A error" warning.

Putting the old power supply back in is a natural idea for checking whether the new one is defective. Unfortunately, I had to cut the wires at the on-off switch to remove it, so unless I do some soldering and reconstructing, that option is out, sadly.

I'm wondering if I could just interchange the wire-type cables coming from the PS (the new one) that go to the CD-ROM drive and those that go to the floppy drive. The actual connectors used are different sizes, but each set of wires has two connectors, one is larger and the smaller one is like a pigtail coming from the larger one. Could I just switch them and see if that makes the floppy drive work and the CD-ROM not work?

deathgrip: The links you mention refer to sites with articles I'd just read, including the ones about SETUP and error warnings. After another restart, I went into SETUP and saw that the diskette type is shown correctly, Floppy Check is enabled, and so is Diskette Controller.

Another visit to Device Manager shows Floppy Disk Controller "working properly. "

So what does that leave us?

 

Couple of thoughts. Boot into safe mode and go to device manager, remove your floppy drive and reboot. If that doesn't work, recheck your cabling and try a new ribbon cable. Note: your floppy has to be on the connection after the twist in the cable unless you have multiple floppy drives and thats quite doubtful. Yes, you can use either of the small flat four pin connectors coming from your power supply. The best choice is to try another floppy drive in your machine or, go buy a new floppy drive. If you are a good shopper - less than $10.

 

Bad news. The floppy controller is hard-wired into the motherboard. Note the few "ifs" in the next paragraph.

The tech I found this out from suggested that *if* all else fails (replace the floppy drive itself, try software and firmware diagnostics, etc.) get the board checked by a tech. If it is the controller, you might have to replace the mother board.

This was about all I could coherently get from him at the time (I was driving him to the airport at 5 AM for his honeymoon).

Sorry BOBBO, that's all I can do.

Well, if you happen to know a tech, I understand that the promise of a good, homemade meal decreases the monetary expenditures for a board diagnostic considerably. Great recipes I *can* supply.

 

Boy, there are some really strange things going on here.

I restarted in Safe Mode, went to Device Manager, and removed the floppy drive entry there. But it didn't do any good. Went in there again, and this time I went into Floppy Drive Controller, and found not one but TWO entries for a floppy drive there. In Properties/Resources, both said "This device isn't using any resources because it is not currently enabled or has a problem." I removed one of those entries and again restarted, still getting the A:\ drive error warning. When I opened My Computer, this time I found one floppy drive under A:\ and a second one under F:\ instead of the CD-ROM drive that's usually there. Curious, I put a floppy in the drive bay and opened the F:\ version. It worked!

Thinking all was fixed and I just needed to reassign some drive letters, I restarted but got that darn A:\ drive error message again. I opened My Computer (still a very slow task) and found just one floppy drive entry there this time, under A:\, but when I tried to open it, my system hung. Had to do the Ctrl+Alt+Del thing to get out of My Computer. Went into DM to remove that floppy listing again, but on restart got the A:\ drive warning yet again. Opened My Computer (still very slow, which I should have seen as a warning), tried to open the A:\ drive and this time the system not only hung, it froze. Had to restart, then wait for the automatic ScanDisk check after a crash. There's still just one floppy drive listed in My Computer now, but it definitely does not like being clicked.

I noticed something during those numerous restarts. The green light in the faceplate of the floppy drive does turn on briefly during POST, so apparently power is getting to the unit. I sometimes also heard a lot of noise coming from the drive, rapidly repeating thud sounds as though it was trying to work but couldn't. So I take all that to mean that the problem isn't in the new power supply, or in the power cable between it and the floppy drive, or even in the connections at either end of the ribbon-cable. Since the drive seemed to actually work that one time, when a second floppy drive was listed in My Computer under F:\, I'm now left wondering just where the problem still is. Your thoughts?

 

Boot into safe mode and remove all Floppy drives listed in device manager. Maybe I should have said that before - just assumed you'd know. Reboot and if your drive still acts up, go buy a new one. Based on your last post, your cabling is correct.

 

Rockster2U: In Safe Mode I went into DM and removed the entry for the floppy drive and also the floppy drive controller. In addition to the floppy drive entry was one for a GENERIC IDE DISK TYPE01. I suspected that was another name for a floppy but wasn't sure, so I left it alone the first time. Restarted in Normal Mode, got the Drive A:\ error warning, opened My Computer and waited 38 seconds for everything to appear (which I now take as a warning to not mess with Drive A:\ there). Looked in DM and found the GENERIC IDE DISK TYPE01 entry was now changed to GENERIC NEC FLOPPY DISK.

Rebooted into Safe Mode, went into DM again, and this time I removed all the floppy drive and floppy drive controller entries. Restarted in Normal Mode, got the A:\ warning. Opened My Computer, just as slow, but this time it had both the A:\ floppy and the F:\ floppy again, and again the F:\ version worked. I don't understand that. Can that be happening because I need a new floppy drive, or does it mean I don't need a new one?

In DM, I noticed after making these changes that several devices are being listed twice. I've been deleting one of the duplicates. Sometimes there are entries for several different versions of something, like 2 or 3 different brands of floppies. Why is that happening? Do I need to take some kind of action to correct it? There were duplicate entries for my HD, too, so I dumped one of them.

All very weird.

 

Without knowing more specific info about your motheboard and chipset, I am not going to give you any info about your IDE controllers or your floppy controller at this time, however, if you are finding multiple entries for floppy drives, hard drives, cdrom drives, mouse, keyboard, monitor - (lets restrict it to those for right now) - remove all of them and then reboot. Follow those instructions specifically. Not to worry - Windows will find them and reinstall them automatically. it should just reinstall one of each unless you have a dual monitor display adapter, two or more CDROMs, two or more HDD's. You're not going to have more than one mouse or keyboard and you've already said you have just one floppy.

Also, your very first step should be to remove the naming designations you tried to do for your drive letters and let windows do that by itself until we have this resolved. This should be done before trying the above and will also require a reboot. If, after doing the above (first paragraph), you still have problems, post back.

 

Rockster2U: I haven't changed anything yet today. I wanted to post back first about some items you mentioned, in case any of it makes some kind of difference.

I don't know the identity of my system's motherboard, but the owner's manual names Intel's 824307FX and 82438FX Triton chip set.

In My Computer, about a month ago I assigned names to the C, D, and E partitions on my HD as a result of a recommendation from SiSys or some other diagnostic utility I used while trying to sort out another problem I was having (the details of which are in a thread I began in the Windows98 forum, which turned into a virtual epic, a monster containing 156 posts and over 4,200 hits, if anyone wants to look at that and has nothing better to do). All other drives have the names given by Windows. Today, there are 2 floppy drive entries again, "3 1/2 Floppy (A 3 1/2 Inch Floppy Disk" and "3 1/2 Floppy (F 3 1/2 Inch Floppy Disk." For some reason, there in no entry for the CD-ROM drive.

My Computer is taking 27 seconds to open again today, so I didn't want to risk opening Drive A:\, and I assume that Drive F:\ is working like it did yesterday. I notice that My Computer takes that long to open on the first try, but afterwards it's apparently cached and opens immediately. Am I right to believe that the delay is caused by my system's trying to find Drive A:\, just like it tries and fails to find it during POST? Does it find it after that 27-second delay? Why are there 2 floppy entries, A:\ and F:\? And why can't POST find it if Windows can? Does any of that tell us something about the problem's cause?

 

Didn't realize that other post was your baby. Having read some of the comments and all the goings-on there - I'll bid good luck and farewell. No offense intended, just not interested in helping to author another diatribe like that. I will, however, stick with my earlier comments and suggestions based on the symptoms you described.

 

Rockster2U: No offense taken, although I admit to feeling a bit stung by your using the term "diatribe" to describe that other thread I mentioned. "Dialog" and "discussion" I could understand. But why "diatribe "? I thought the thread was remarkable for the level of civility that was maintained throughout its length. Long, yes. Ungodly long, if you prefer. And if my initial post could have been answered by another single post that brought about a quick solution, I'd have been completely pleased and most grateful. Same with this thread. If one reply had resulted in a fix, that would have been the end of it, believe me. I began the thread to solve a problem, and that's all I want.

Back to the current problem. In your post yesterday you offered some suggestions as to what I might do next. I replied that "I haven't changed anything yet today. I wanted to post back first about some items you mentioned, in case any of it makes some kind of difference." I answered some questions you'd asked and then I described what steps I had taken and some observations I'd made as a result of doing them. I thought that including those details would be helpful in eliminating false trails and narrowing down the possibilities to those most likely to end up producing a fix. I ended by asking, "Does any of that tell us something about the problem's cause?"

I hope now that some ideas might be offered to bring this odd floppy disk problem to a quick and pleasant end.

 

The good news: I'm no longer getting the "Diskette drive A error" during POST. The little green light on the floppy drive goes on and a d-d-d-d-d sound comes from the drive when it's being tested during POST, just as it used to before this problem cropped up. Boot-up goes normally now. Device Manager doesn't show any duplications of drives or controllers now.

The bad news: The A:\ drive still doesn't work. The window for My Computer opens immediately, but no text appears there for 60 seconds, and only drives A:\ through E:\ appear at first, then it takes another 10 seconds for the rest of the text to appear. And it shows a floppy disk drive in both A:\ and F:\ and no CD-ROM drive. If I put a floppy in the drive, and click on either A:\ or F:\, after 2 or 3 minutes of delay I get the "[drive] is not accessible. The device is not ready. Retry? Cancel?" warning box. Then I usually have to Ctrl+Alt+Del to get out of a system hanging condition. A later attempt to open My Computer works correctly, supposedly from cache.

Things I've done since my last post: Following posted suggestions, I changed the floppy drive ribbon cable's connection from the middle connector to the one closer to the end. I tried to remove the labels I'd given the partitions on my HD following a posted suggestion from that other thread, but couldn't get it done. (The labels, by the way, are DRIVE_C (C and so on for HD partitions C, D, and E.) I don't remember what the procedure was I used to apply the labels, and I can't find any mention of the subject in my Windows98 Resource Kit (3-inch thick book by MS). When I right-click on My Computer\Properties\Drive Information..., an error box pops up saying "Program not found. Windows cannot find Program.exe. This program is needed for opening files of type 'Drive'. A Find search doesn't show any Program.exe file anywhere on my HD.

Does all that make it seem that there's a configuration problem I can correct, or does it simply prove that replacing the floppy drive is definitely necessary?

 

It's fixed! It turns out that there was a combination of both hardware AND software problems. It's frustrating to realize how close the solution had been all along but never quite in hand.

Thanks to all those who offered their help. I thought I'd post the outcome here for those that have been following this thread and for whatever value the information may have for anybody. The details are in a thread over in the Windows98 forum if you want to check it out.