Troubleshooting Floppy Drive Problems

This document is designed to assist in troubleshooting problems with the floppy drive. Some of the steps in this document may require that the cover from the system be removed, so please keep in mind that you need to take precautions against static electricity when working inside the computer.

Possible causes

There are many possible reasons that information cannot be copied to or from the floppy drive:

• The diskette may be damaged.
• The settings in the systemís CMOS may be incorrect.
• The cable that goes from the back of the floppy drive to the system board or controller card may be bad or the connection may be poor.
• There may be a conflict within the system with some newly added hardware or software.
• The drive may be damaged or a password may have been enabled on a Pentium or PCI system.
• The diskette drive may be identified incorrectly in CMOS.
• Windows may not be setup to use Advanced Power Management (APM).

Basic Troubleshooting Procedures

These are general troubleshooting steps that may resolve or more accurately diagnose numerous floppy drive problems.

Boot to a floppy diskette: One of the first things to do is to see if the system reads a floppy diskette. Booting to a floppy diskette is one of the easiest ways to do this. Exit Windows.

If MS-DOS diskettes were received with the computer - Place the #1 MS-DOS Setup diskette into drive A: and reboot the system. If the system boots into a screen that says "Welcome to Setup," press the F3 key on the keyboard. This prompts the system to ask if you want to exit setup. If using MS-DOS version 5.0, press the Y key and then the Enter key to exit. If using MS-DOS version 6.0 or higher, press the F3 key once again to exit.

If a System Diskette in a bright orange envelope was received with the computer - Insert the Gateway 2000 System CD in the CD-ROM drive. Insert the System Disk in the A: drive. Reboot the system. When the Main Menu appears, press the 4 key on the keyboard to Exit to DOS.

Format a floppy diskette: Once able to boot to a floppy diskette successfully, another good test for the floppy drive is to see whether it formats a diskette. At the A:\> prompt, type:

c:

and press Enter. The C:\> prompt reappears. Type:

path=c:\dos

and press Enter. Remove the MS-DOS diskette from the A: drive. Place a blank diskette into the A: drive and type:

format a:

The screen prompts to insert a blank diskette into the drive and press Enter when ready to proceed. A warning that all data on the diskette will be lost appears on the screen. Press the Y key and then press Enter to proceed with the format. Once the diskette is done formatting, press the N key in response to formatting another diskette.

If both of these tests are able to be completed, the problem may be with the diskette that is trying to be read or written to. Another possible cause may be new software that was added to the system. By following the above procedures, you 'booted clean' which means the system files that load software applications as the system boots were bypassed.

Resolving Floppy Drive Problems

Floppy identification in CMOS: If the floppy drive is identified incorrectly in CMOS, you will probably be unable to boot to or format a floppy diskette. Refer to the Userís Guide on how to enter the CMOS or Setup program. Once in the Setup screens, check the floppy drive(s) identification. Check that the proper drive settings correspond with the correct drive type, such as 3.5 in., 1.44MB is the current standard for diskette drive 0 or diskette drive A. If using a Pentium or PCI system, check the security section of the CMOS and remove the supervisor password if one has been set. The supervisor password may cause the floppy drive to display error messages identical to those usually associated with a defective floppy drive or cable.

Loose or poorly connected cables: If the CMOS settings have been checked and the settings are correct, the problem may be a poor connection between the floppy drive and the system board. Since there are no locking clips that hold the floppy cable in place, the floppy drive cable needs to be reseated. Power down the system, remove the case screws from the back of the system, and take the outer case shell off the system (see the Gateway 2000 System Guide that shipped with the system for additional information). Orientate yourself with where the back of the floppy drive is inside of the system. Follow the front of the floppy around to the inside of the system. On the back of the floppy drive there is a red, yellow, and black cable and a flat, gray ribbon cable. The red, yellow and black cable is the power lead. The flat, gray ribbon cable is the data cable that needs to be reseated first. Firmly pull the cable straight off the back of the floppy drive, and press it firmly back in place the same way it was taken off. Make sure to pull the connectors, not the cable. Follow the cable down to where it connects to the system board. Firmly pull the cable straight off and push it back on the same way that it was taken off. Power up the system and try to boot to a floppy diskette, and format a floppy diskette as directed above. If still unable to do these things, power down the system, and pull the red, yellow, and black power lead off the back of the drive (pull the connector, not the cable). Replace it with another available power lead that appears similar to the one originally on the drive. Power up the system, and try to boot to a floppy diskette and format a floppy diskette as directed above.

Newly added hardware: If any hardware has recently been added, such as a tape backup unit, sound card, scanner, network card, etc. to the system, try removing these items from the system one at a time. Each time an item is removed, try to boot to a floppy diskette and format a diskette. If the floppy works, it is possible the hardware that was added may be conflicting with the floppy drive. Re-configure the new hardware, and try replacing it to see if the problem persists.

Floppy drive light stays on continuously: If the light on the floppy drive(s) stays on constantly from the time the system is powered up, the data cable on the system board or controller card may be on backwards. Power down the system and locate where the data cable is attached to the system board. Once it is located, pull the cable off gently (pull the connector, not the cable). Turn the cable around 180 degrees and put it back onto the system board. Power up the system to see if the lights stay on continuously.

Windows is not setup with APM: If the floppy drive works fine in a DOS environment but does not read diskettes or locks up in the Windows File Manager, Advanced Power Management (APM) may not be enabled in the Windows Setup. Exit Windows completely. At the C:\> prompt, type:

cd\windows

and press Enter. At the C:\WINDOWS> prompt, type:

setup

and press Enter. In the System Information screen, use the arrow keys on the keyboard to highlight Computer: MS-DOS System and press Enter to select it. Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to highlight MS-DOS System with APM and press Enter to select it. The System Information screen reappears. Press Enter to accept the configuration on the screen. The next screen prompts for a Windows diskette. Insert the Gateway 2000 System CD disc in the CD-ROM drive. On the line where A:\ is highlighted, press the backspace key until the line is blank. Now type:

d:\wfw311\

and press Enter to load the file from the CD disc. Once the driver finishes loading, the C:\WINDOWS> prompt appears. Reboot the system and return to Windows. Try reading a floppy diskette in Windows again.

If experiencing floppy drive problems after adding a tape backup unit, try using the additional floppy cable that came with the tape backup unit kit. Instructions for this operation are included in the tape backup unit kit.

Error Messages

Some of the following error messages may have been received when trying to access the floppy drive. The error messages can often pinpoint a specific problem.

1. "Diskette Drive 0 Failure" or "Diskette Drive 1 Failure" -- This error is usually seen as the system boots up. Check the CMOS to make sure that the drive(s) are identified correctly. If that does not correct the error, open the system and reseat the floppy drive cable. If that still does not correct the error, try another floppy cable.

2. "Not ready reading drive A" or "Not ready reading drive B" -- This error may be caused by incorrect drive identification in CMOS. Check to make sure that the drive(s) are identified correctly. This error can be caused by not having a diskette in the floppy drive(s) when trying to access it. If the floppy cable is poorly seated, this error often occurs. If using a Pentium or PCI system, this error may occur if the supervisor password is enabled in the CMOS.

3. "Invalid drive specification" -- This error can be caused by incorrect CMOS settings including the floppy drive not being identified at all.

4. "Invalid media type" -- This error may occur if trying to format a diskette that is defective or if accessing a media type that is incompatible with the floppy drive.

5. "Error selecting drive" -- This error occurs primarily in Windows when attempting to access the floppy drive without a diskette inserted. This error can occur with some operating systems, such as Norton Desktop or PC Tools; often these programs have updates to correct the problem.

6. "Non-system disk or disk error" -- This error occurs if using a diskette other than a bootable floppy diskette or the #1 MS-DOS Setup diskette in the floppy drive as the system boots. If a bootable diskette is in the drive and this error is still received, the cable to the floppy cable is loose or defective.

Always make sure that the diskettes that you are attempting to use are high density, good quality diskettes.

If none of these steps resolve the floppy drive problems, call Technical Support for further assistance.

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