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It's important to know
at least the basics of working with floppy drives and CD-ROMS.
They are the routes by which drivers and software are installed,
and may be required to boot the computer in an emergency.
For instance, when you install a network adapters into a desktop
machine, you may be required to use both the a: drive, and the CD-ROM
to complete the install. You may find yourself in a situation
where you have to troubleshoot the drives instead if installing
something, because you need a drive that you suddenly determine
is bad. The bottom line is, computers with broken floppy and/or
CD-ROM drives are much less useful and functional. Here is
a brief set of tips which may help you when working on floppy drives
and CD-ROMS.
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The a: drive
How
to tell if the drive is broken | A case
where the drive acts broken but really isn't - check the BIOS
The CD-ROM drive
What you need to know about IDE
devices and their connections | Jumper rules
and cd-rom installation notes
Installing USB burners and DVD-ROM's
The a: (floppy)
drive
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While the a: drive is being replaced in terms of storage ( people prefer
ZIP drives or burners), it is still used to boot the computer if things
go wrong. It is important to know how to troubleshoot an a: drive.
How to tell if the floppy drive is broken
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- You attempt to read data off of a disk, and get an error such
as "Cannot read from specified device. Disk may need to be
formatted" or something similar.
- You have attempted to use at least THREE floppies, and continue
to get the error.
- You try the floppies in another, known good drive, and they work
fine.
One of two things may
be wrong: The cable is loose, either at the motherboard or the drive,
or the drive itself is bad.
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- Re-connect the cable to the floppy and to the motherboard, and
make sure the connections are solid.
- Make sure to not reverse the orientation of the calble when connecting.
Thus, remember where the red stripe on the cable is.
- You cannot orient the cable the wrong way.
- A missing pin in the row of connecting pins on the drive corresponds
with a blocked hole on the end of the cable left, below).
- On the motherboard, notice the orientation of the red stripe on
the cable. Pin 1 will be labeled next to the floppy controller on
the motherboard (below, right).
Test the floppies again.
If you get the same error(s), the cable is not to blame
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- Obtain a known good floppy drive (call the helpdesk or myself).
Attach it to the cable and power supply in the computer in question.
- Test the floppies. Are the errors coming up?
- If yes, then there may be a general cable problem, floppy controller
issue, or motherboard issue. Call me.
- If the errors don't come up, the student need to buy a new floppy
drive. Walmart and Office Max have them for less than twenty dollars.
A
case in which the floppy drive acts like its broken but really isn't
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In order for the floppy drive to be able to communicate with the computer,
the computer has to know it's there, and has to know that it is a 1.4
mb floppy drive. The responsibility for this function in with the
computer's BIOS (Basic Input Output System) which, amongst many other
functions, detects all drives in the computer. If the specs for
the drive are improperly configured, the drive will not operate.
In addition, the BIOS data is maintained by a battery on the motherboard.
If that battery weakens, it can affect the operation of the drive.
Here's how to tell if the floppy drive is malfunctioning because of the
BIOS.
- Power the computer
on. Follow the onscreen directions to get to the BIOS.
- You may have to press the f1, f2, f10, Del, or some combination
of keys to get into the BIOS.
- Below are two common BIOS versions you may encounter.
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Screen 1 of 2 |
Computer
Type
System Setup
|
BIOS
Version: A05
|
|
Time: 02:20:30 |
Date: Sun May
02, 1999 |
 |
|
|
Diskette Drive A: |
3.5
inch, 720 KB |
|
Diskette Drive B: |
Not
Installed |
|
| Drives: |
| Primary |
Type |
Cyls |
Hds |
Pre |
LZ |
Sec |
Size |
| Drive
0: |
Auto
|
6136
|
16
|
---
|
---
|
63
|
3166
|
| Drive
1: |
Auto |
0
|
15
|
---
|
---
|
63
|
7003
|
|
| Secondary |
| Drive
0: |
Auto |
FX12
|
0T |
|
|
|
|
| Drive
1: |
Auto |
512 |
12 |
--- |
--- |
32 |
100
|
|
Base
Memory:
|
640
KB |
|
Extended
Memory:
|
31744
KB |
|
Reserved
Memory:
|
None |
|
CPU
Speed:
|
200
MHz |
|
Num
Lock:
|
On |
|
 |
This category sets
the time in 24
hour format (hours:minutes:
Seconds) for the internal clock.
To change the value in a field,
enter a number or use the left or
right arrow key.
Change take effect immediately.
| Microprocessor: |
Pentium-200
with MMX(tm) |
| Secondary
Cache: |
512
KB (PB) |
| System
Memory: |
32768
KB (SD) |
| Service
Tag: |
xxxxx |
|
|
| Tab,Shift-Tab
change fields |
<-,->
change values |
Alt-P
page |
Esc
exit |
Alt-B
reboot |
|
|
|
Computer Manufacture
Setup
|
|
|
| BIOS
Version |
4S4EB2X0.10A |
| Processor
Type |
Pentium
(R) III |
| Processor
Speed |
500
MHz |
| Cache
RAM |
512
KB |
| Service
Tag |
***** |
 |
|
| System
Memory |
128
MB |
| Memory
Bank 0 |
128
MB SDRAM |
| Memory
Bank 1 |
Not
Installed |
|
|
Diskette Drive A |
Not installed |
| Diskette
Drive B |
Not
Installed |
| |
|
| Memory
Bank 2 |
Not
Installed |
| |
|
| Processor
Serial Number: |
[Disabled] |
| L2
Cache ECC Support |
[Auto] |
| |
|
| System
Time |
[06:38:00] |
| System
Date: |
[04/30/1999] |
|
Enabling
this option
enables the processor
Serial Number feature.
Disabling
this option
disables the Processor
Serial Number feature
|
|
F1
Help
Esc
Exit |
Select Item
Select Menu |
-/+
Change Values
Enter
Select Sub-Menu |
F9
Setup Defaults
F10
Save and Exit |
|
|
|
Both
BIOS screens specify an incorrect floppy drive setting.
- In the AMI BIOS on the left, the Diskett Drive A: is set to 3.5
inch, 720 KB. It should read 3.5 inch, 1.44 mb.
- If the storage capacity of the drive is set incorrectly, the drive
will not operate.
- In the Phoenix BIOS on the Diskette Drive A: setting is
set to Not Installed.
- Since the default BIOS setting for a floppy drive is 3.5 inch,
1.44 MB, this implies the BIOS is not detecting drives.
- Set the diskette drive a: setting to 3.5 inch, 1.44 MB, and then
restart. If the setting is once again set to Not Installed, the
BIOS battery is dying and needs replacement.
- A dying BIOS battery will cause the computer to not communicate
with the drive, and thus the drive will appear inoperable.
The CD-ROM Drive
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Res Techs are frequently asked to install CD-ROM/Burner Drives, or to
try to figure out why the CD-ROM may be malfunctioning. A basic
understanding of how to connect CD-ROM droves to the computer will help
you troubleshoot such eventualities. This section will deal only
with IDE type drives, since you will most frequently encounter these in
a desktop machine.
What you need to know about IDE Connections and
their Jumper Settings
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- Integrated Drive Electronics
- Most consumer hard drives, CD-ROM/Burner/DVD drives, and internal
ZIP drives are IDE devices
- An IDE cable can connect to a maximum of 2 devices, of any combination.
- All IDE devices have a series of six jumper connectors on their
back ends. These are set in three rows of 2 vertical connectors.
- One set of two connectors is labeled "Master" (MA).
One is labeled "Slave" (SL), The third is labeled "Cable
Select" (CS).
- See below left for an example of the jumper connector labeling.
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- The jumpers must be set correctly if the computer
is to distinguish between the two devices on a single cable.
- If there is one device on a cable, it has to have a jumper covering
the two connectors labeled "Master" (MA).
- If there are more than one device on a single cable, one has to
be the master, and one has to be the slave.
- In the above right figure, the connectors labeled "SL"
have a jumper covering them. This device is labeled as a slave.
- The figure below provides a summary of
IDE connections and jumper setting rules.
The cable select
setting is rarely seen here. Both devices must be set to "CS",
and a special cable must be used.
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<<< 1st IDE device.
Can be the hard drive, CD-ROM, or ZIP drive.
<<< 2nd IDE device on the same cable. Can
be any of the above listed devices.
- If there is only one device on the cable,
it will be jumpered as the Master.
- If there are two devices on the cable, one must be the Master,
and the other must be jumpered as the slave.
- If one of the devices on the cable is a hard drive, it should
be the master.
- If both devices on the drive are CD-ROMS, the faster one
should be the master, EXCEPT......
- If one of the CD drives is the burner, set the other drive
to master, and the burner to slave.
- One reason the CD-ROM might be malfunctioning
is that it may not be jumpered properly. Always check the
jumpers.
(Notice that Pin 1 is specified. The bolded stripe at the
right edge of the cable represents the red stripe which must be
oriented towards Pin 1)
<<< The IDE cable connects to one of the 2 IDE
controllers on the motherboard.
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The burner will not
function as a burner until CD burning software is installed.
Installing
USB burners/DVD-ROMS
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- Installation is just like any other USB install.
- Insert the USB cable into the computer and allow for a detection
- The system will install USB drivers for the particular device,
but.........
- The burner will only be seen as a CD-ROM unless it is in Win XP,
or until you install CD-Burning software!
- The DVD will function as a DVD only in Win XP or Windows with
Media Player 8. In previous versions of Windows, you need to install
DVD playback software!
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