Resolved Windows allocates wrong drive-letter to floppy drive

Hi,

Some time ago my (elderly) floppy drive died and (since I also own a usb external drive) I didn't replace it. Lately though this has been giving me problems, which may (or may not) indicate that it is becoming erratic in operation. The simplest way around this seemed to be to buy a new internal floppy drive because - surely - that couldn't give me any problems.

Little did I know! Apparently even that most venerable and least complicated of devices the floppy drive can't be relied-upon any more. I have now been around the BIOS settings loop several times, to no avail. In the BIOS Floppy Configuration screen floppy A is set to 1.44 MB; for some reason floppy B also appears even though I only have the one drive (and anyway my motherboard only has one floppy connector on it). I've disabled drive B. In the boot screen first boot device is set to 1st floppy drive (again, why "first" when there is only one?). Mysteriously, 1st floppy drive is listed under "Removable drives" on this screen. though it isn't removable.

In all this, it seems to me, I'm seeing traces of the usb drive that was previously connected. Is this possible and, if so, how can this be corrected?

When I boot with a boot-floppy in the drive it is not detected. In "My Computer ", only one floppy drive is shown but it is allocated the letter 'B', and if I try to open it with a floppy in the drive I get a message saying "please insert a disk into drive B ". Maddening! Why oh why can't one fit a new drive in the case and have it just work?

I tried doing a search but didn't find anything relevant.

 

Perhaps the old drive was good after all.

Have you tried selecting the "Reset to default values" in the BIOS routine?

Perhaps the mobo floppy controller has failed or the data cable is faulty (or plugged in backwards)???

Perhaps the new drive is faulty???

 

In addition to suggestions above – check your floppy cable.

If it has 3 connectors make sure drive is plugged into the connector at the end - after the twist in wires. That's the 'A' drive connector.

 

Hi,

Thanks for the suggestions. Much appreciated.

Yes,surferdude2, I had tried this; it didn't help.

I've now tried with the cable connected both ways around, and that makes no difference either.

However, it seems clear that the problem has some more deep-seated origin. I still suspect that it must have something to do (as I said before) with there having been a usb drive connected previously. Otherwise, why should the BIOS still be registering "Floppy B ", as well as 'A' (when in the manufacturer's BIOS Guide the screenshot of that same screen only has one drive - called 'A', naturally - and this is in accord with the fact that the mainboard only has one floppy connector on it). And there's also the fact that "First floppy drive" is being shown in the BIOS under 'Removable drives', which I would have thought was completely inappropriate with reference to a drive plugged directly into the mainboard connector (though not to the external usb drive which is now no longer connected).

Is anyone able to give advice about the technicalities involved please?

 

A thought: ought I to clear the CMOS?

 

Just to clear up a thing for you.
there's also the fact that "First floppy drive" is being shown in the BIOS under 'Removable drives'
Your floppy drive is a removeable drive. While the hardware itself seems permanent while installed, the floppy that you insert into it is removeable media.
Clearing the CMOS might help.

 

Thanks for that clarification. I suppose the convention goes back to prehistory, and for some reason the same logic was not applied to CD-ROM drives when they subsequently came to be introduced.

Anyway, I'm getting absolutely nowhere with trying to solve my problem. I've now cleared the CMOS, and switched to a different floppy cable just in case the one I was using happened to be faulty. Neither has made the slightest difference: my computer continues to fail to see the new floppy drive as the 'A' drive and continues to behave as though there were two floppy drives installed of which the new drive is the second not the first.

The drive may of course be faulty but I still suspect that the BIOS has in some way become corrupted, or is stuck in an endless loop, or something... Is there any way this hypothesis can be either confirmed or refuted? I'm reluctant to exchange what may be a perfectly OK drive, especially if that only results in finding myself back at square one - as it inevitably will if I'm right in believing the fault lies elsewhere.

 

You need another system to use for testing the floppy drive. Otherwise, get another floppy drive and verify the diagnosis one way or the other.

You've done all that you can with the BIOS setup and it hasn't helped.

My best guess would be that the floppy drive or its related mobo controller has failed. There is little that you can do to fix that.

FWIW, Going without a floppy drive in this day of inexpensive usb flash drives isn't all that bad.

 

I'll pass along something that might be of value although it applies to how Windows recognizes drives and doesn't affect the bios recognition.

I use several usb flash drives and have written batch files that depend on their drive letter staying the same. Sometimes the drive letters get changed and I have to edit the Registry to get it back to my standards.

The key I edit is:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices

I delete the entire key and reboot for effect. I have even went so far as to make a .reg file to semi-automate the process:

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices]

That allows the Windows system to redetect all the connected drives and assign drive letters to them using its standard convention. This has served me very well. Without it, I would have some stubborn usb drives that refuse to keep the drive letter I assign, even when I retag them using the Disk Manager applet that Windows supplies, the letter often won't stick upon reboot.

Consider trying that if you like. It'll do no harm if it doesn't help. Export the key before editing to protect yourself from a misstep.

 

Thanks for that suggestion surferdude. I followed it, with the result you predicted: my drive now has the letter 'A' allocated to it in Windows.

However, sadly that hasn't given me a working drive. When I load a diskette into it and try to open it I get the same message as before, except that it now asks me to insert a disk into drive 'A'!!! I suppose I must conclude the drive is faulty (I haven't got another machine to test it in), and shall have to return it.

Is it OK to leave the Registry as it now is (ie with mountdevices key removed), permanently?

 

The key will have restored itself and all is well. I think you need a new floppy drive although it could yet be a mobo controller failure or mobo floppy socket.

Getting the new drive is the way to go.

 

Hi kosketus,

When you say your elderly floppy drive died, how old is your computer? Especially the Power Supply Unit?

Also, when you say you boot with a floppy in the drive, does the floppy drive's light come on at any time during or after POST?

 

Hi jpChris,

The floppy drive that died was originally in another, VERY old, PC (c. 1998?). My current PC is recent, and the PSU is a Corsair HX520W.

The alumimium bezel that Lian-Li supply for my case, to keep it "neat and tide" (sic), masks the drive's light so I can't see if it is flashing or not. However, I CAN hear the drive's mechanism whirring during Post (and also when in Windows if I try and fail to open a disk I can hear the drive cycling whilst Windows displays its message asking me to put a disk in it).

 

I'm marking this thread "solved" because I've now established that the problem isn't in hardware; the drive isn't faulty and the problem I'm having is in software. So if I want to pursue this I'll need to start a new thread.

Although I said in #10 that I didn't have another computer to test the drive in, I've subsequently remembered my (semi-retired) Shuttle HTPC. So i dragged it out and connected-up the floppy drive to it and found that there's nothing wrong with it.

Thanks for all the help. I did learn a few tricks and that's never a waste of time!

 

Hi kosketus,

One last thing: Go to Control Panel | System | Hardware | Device Manager. Click on the "+" sign in front of Floppy Disk Controller and Floppy Disk Drives. Do you see a yellow exclamation mark? There should only be one listing under each.

May not help, but it won't hurt, try uninstalling the drivers and reboot; letting Windows reinstall the drivers. If you get the "New Hardware Found" screen, just follow the prompts and let Windows install the Standard Drivers.

Any joy?

 

'Fraid not.

The problem is linked (in some way I can't understand - but I'm no geek) with copying certain files to a formatted floppy. A description of the resulting behaviour can be found here http://www.windowsbbs.com/windows-xp/90587-floppy-disk-not-accessible.html if you're interested.

 

Thanks for letting me know uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers didn't work. I read the thread and see you've gotten it straightened out.