Can't read, can't format!

[jmhcs]

I'm working on a Compaq Deskpro PIII 450GHZ, WXP Pro that had a bad floppy drive - or so I thought. I replaced it with a new and that one cannot read or format either. I have run into this problem every once in awhile. Is there something I am doing wrong??

[Rocketmech]

Checked this ?

Make sure the Floppy Controller is enabled in the Bios. And the drive is set as A: 3.5", 1.44 MB .

If the drive light stays on , the cable is connected incorrectly.

Try a new diskette and unlock the write protection.

[MJCfromCT]

Boy oh boy when did they come out with those new PIII models?

My guess is its also a cable that is plugged in incorrectly.

[jmhcs]

I do believe the cable are plugged in correctly but will recheck. It did read one floppy briefly but then failed to read again and said the floppy must be reformatted. However, when trying to reformat, it will not let me. Strange.

[mrrobotto]

Is the floppy a new or old one? Sometimes with floppy's that have been formatted with a different os xp has been known to do this. I read a Microsoft article on it quite a while back and it stated that M$ was aware of the problem. However, as usual it never said if M$ had any intention of fixing it.

It just stated to format a new floppy with XP.

[jmhcs]

The final resolution is not to have a floppy. A few more facts:
When I opened the Deskpro, I notice the cable from the daugerboard to the floppy was missing. This seemed odd.

I plugged in the cable and got nothing. I changed to a good floppy and when the floppy was recognized, I got a disk controller failure and the hard drive was not recognized.

It is not worth it to bring farther so NO FLOPPY from now on. No big deal. Thanks much.

[dajogejr]

Only thing I use a floppy for is to boot in to Ghost from .

Other than that...it's just scenery....

At 10 bucks...it's not a huge investment, and...if you had to have info off a floppy, you can always get an external (USB) floppy drive.

I bought a USB Key drive, 256MB, about 6 months ago...and I've burned about 90% less CDs since.

[jmhcs]

Great suggestion. I Have one but keep forgetting to use it.

[bruceb]

If you are keeping your Ghost on cd's I think the first cd of the
image will Boot and run Ghost to let you do the Restore

I also know that if you run Ghost from the Factory CD, such as
Norton System Works, you can boot from there

[ukulele]

Originally posted by jmhcs
The final resolution is not to have a floppy. A few more facts:
When I opened the Deskpro, I notice the cable from the daugerboard to the floppy was missing. This seemed odd.

I plugged in the cable and got nothing. I changed to a good floppy and when the floppy was recognized, I got a disk controller failure and the hard drive was not recognized.

It is not worth it to bring farther so NO FLOPPY from now on. No big deal. Thanks much.

Don't give up so easy. You will wish you had one one day. Just try it again and think it out.

[dajogejr]

Good point, Uke.

Please don't take my suggestion as a permanent fix, more or less a temp. workaround. I know their all but the way of a dinosaur...but, you will still need a floppy drive occasionally...

Newer boards might support booting off that USB Floppy drive, or support USB booting period, but older ones most certainly don't.

They are always good to have...for such a minimal investment.

[jmhcs]

I will give it another try!