a:\ not accessible - device not ready!

[kagey35]

Updated details: see below.
Have built AMD k6-2 450 & MSI 5169 Mbd with Win98SE & 1.44 floppy.

Set up o/s from CDrom fine. But now floppy will not read / write & I get the above message. Have checked Bios, replaced floppy & cable but still same error. Bios set up ok.
Everything appears normal, boots fine & listed in Explorer but cannot access - sounds like there is no floppy inserted.
Will NOT boot from DOS or Safe Mode either.
Update 8/8/99 - I have now swapped the motherboard for identical model & still have same problem!
Could it be a BIOS problem?
Am running out of ideas have tried all suggestions on thread to date - no luck,
& MSI web site is about as useful as a chocolate teapot!
Thanks, Karen

[This message has been edited by kagey35 (edited 08-08-99).]

[DUSTYRUN]

TRY GOING INTO DEVICE MANAGER AND REMOVING FLOPPY DISK. DO NOT REBOOT. THEN GO TO ADD NEW HARDWARE AND SEE IF IT FIND THE DISK DRIVE. IT SHOULD RRELOAD THE DRIVERS. FOR A FRESH RELOAD, SELECT OTHER DEVICES AND PICK THE FLOPPY YOURSELF. THIS SHOULD WORK.
HEY, I'M NOT TOO EXPERIENCED BUT I TRY AND I LISTEN.

DUSTYRUN

[TigerStrike]

1. Check that the power/data cables are secure.

2. Check to see if the drive light goes on during startup, if it does not either the cables or lose or the drive is toast.

3. Go to the device manager and see if the drive is installed and working properly. (no errors displayed in the drives properties)

4. Kick your computer, kick it hard. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[Dominus]

If Pin 1 is not marked on your floppy drive, then flip the cable over. If the drive light is always solid, this could very well be the problem.

Also try booting to the command prompt (F8 at startup, before the windows screen, and select "command prompt only) and see if the floppy works there. If not, try switching cables/floppies with another machine if you have one available.

[DSEG]

This may or may not help but in my experience build and maintaining pc`s it is amazing how many people have the cables on the right way but with space being limited in some pc`s when putting the cables on you may have missed a pin on the back of the floppy (perhaps even bent it to one side). This happens so often on floppy drives and com ports.

Other than that check your bios and make sure you have floppy a: set to 1.44mb and in the peripherals menu that your FDC (Floppy Disk Controller is enabled)

[DHatAVI]

Also, be certain that you are using the proper connector on the ribbon. If your cable
has 2 floppy connections, the A: drive will usually be connected to the end connector (after the twist).

I once installed an ISA, non-PNP card in a computer, that had a scanner connected to it, and it created a very similar problem.
It would report the floppy as being unformated, which was not the case. If I pulled the card out, it would read the same floppy just fine.
There were no IRQ settings on the card, but several I/O settings. I tried all, but got the same result. Took it home and installed it in my home computer, and it worked just fine. ???. MB mfgr said there was probably a conflict with the MB BIOS address needs.???

[philipg]

Ok, here's the possible cause, you have a conflict in your DMA channels. The floppy uses DMA-2, if you have another device such as a sound card trying to share it the floppy will go dead. Check your microphone ability and see if that's not working either, most likely it doesn't.

I have seen this to be an intermitent problem in some PC's where the DMA's kept reassigning themselve at every boot. As well as PC's that had hard coded settings that were a full blown problem of a dead floppy and/or dead microphone/line-in recording.

I personally have created this problem with an ECP Paralell card and set it to DMA-2, not thinking about what else may be using it. The floppy went dead and the sound input to my sound card won't work, apparently I was prepared after hours of diag's to throw the whole thing out a 3rd story window, device manager didn't show a conlict and I couldn't find it, until I pulled the card and everything came back.

Check and double check all hardware associated with the DMA settings.

Good luck