Laptop Floppy Problem

AYSO00 · 07-21-2006, 06:22 PM

Hi all,

Well I have a Fujitsu Lifebook C-series laptop, it's my BABY I live off of it since I'm a college student.

It has a CDR/CDRW/DVDR/DVDRW combo drive and an internal floppy drive, and it has an Windows XP os.

A few weeks back my cat spilled my drink onto the keyboard and basically the keyboard was fried. So, I took it to a Fujitsu authorized dealer/repair shop and they replaced my keyboard.

Now I just realized that my internal floppy drive doesn't work.

The computer reads the drive and the controller and the device manager says that both devices are working properly. Also BIOS has it enabled.

When I put a floppy disc in that I know has files on it and that is formatted properly cause I saved the files off of this same computer/FDD I also checked it on another computer, it says 'The disk in drive A is not formatted, would you like to format it now'.

Well I still need the files on that disk so I say no, then I get a Blank floppy and insert it into the FDD and I get the same message. When I click yes to format the floppy and click the box to quick format the floppy I get this error message, 'This disk cannot be quick formatted'.

When I click it so that it format's normal it starts and runs a bit then I get this error message, 'Windows was unable to complete the format'. So I hit 'Ok' and exit the "format window" then I get this error message, 'The disk in drive A cannot be formatted'

Based on this I have come up with 2 possibilities as to what is wrong and I want to get a few other views before I take it back to the shop.

Possibilities

1 is that not only did my cat fry my keyboard but the FDD either the drive itself or the controller (maybe even both) was/were fried as well.

and

2 is that the guys that put the keyboard in my computer put the floppy drive back wrong when they were done (cause the mobo is underneath the keyboard and you have to take the floppy off the mobo inorder to get the mobo out).

So what do you guys think is it option 1 or option 2 or am I not even close.

**Terrister** · 07-21-2006, 07:11 PM

Sounds more like a drive than a controller. A controller or cable problem would show up in the device manager.

So your options are replace the drive or get a usb floppy.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...s=usb%20floppy

ceri sheeran · 07-23-2006, 08:25 AM

Hi,

Firstly take it back and talk to the repair shop.

Laptop repairs are notoriously expensive.

In Device Manager remove the floppy drive and controller and reboot, windows may redetect them properly.

Am externally connected USB floppy drive could be a cheaper solution.

Only possible problem would be that you may not be able to boot from the USB floppy drive. 15 to 20 pounds or dollars.

Depending on the age of the machine you may be able to set the BIOS to be able to boot from floppy disk.

If you are storing college work on floppy disk, back it up onto another media as well. A USB flash drive would work, provided you are using an O/S after WIN98 SE.

Never rely on a floppy disk as the only storage medium for any data.

hth

Ceri

07-21-2006, 06:22 PM	#1 (permalink)
AYSO00 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 1 OS: XP	Laptop Floppy Problem Hi all, Well I have a Fujitsu Lifebook C-series laptop, it's my BABY I live off of it since I'm a college student. It has a CDR/CDRW/DVDR/DVDRW combo drive and an internal floppy drive, and it has an Windows XP os. A few weeks back my cat spilled my drink onto the keyboard and basically the keyboard was fried. So, I took it to a Fujitsu authorized dealer/repair shop and they replaced my keyboard. Now I just realized that my internal floppy drive doesn't work. The computer reads the drive and the controller and the device manager says that both devices are working properly. Also BIOS has it enabled. When I put a floppy disc in that I know has files on it and that is formatted properly cause I saved the files off of this same computer/FDD I also checked it on another computer, it says 'The disk in drive A is not formatted, would you like to format it now'. Well I still need the files on that disk so I say no, then I get a Blank floppy and insert it into the FDD and I get the same message. When I click yes to format the floppy and click the box to quick format the floppy I get this error message, 'This disk cannot be quick formatted'. When I click it so that it format's normal it starts and runs a bit then I get this error message, 'Windows was unable to complete the format'. So I hit 'Ok' and exit the "format window" then I get this error message, 'The disk in drive A cannot be formatted' Based on this I have come up with 2 possibilities as to what is wrong and I want to get a few other views before I take it back to the shop. Possibilities 1 is that not only did my cat fry my keyboard but the FDD either the drive itself or the controller (maybe even both) was/were fried as well. and 2 is that the guys that put the keyboard in my computer put the floppy drive back wrong when they were done (cause the mobo is underneath the keyboard and you have to take the floppy off the mobo inorder to get the mobo out). So what do you guys think is it option 1 or option 2 or am I not even close.

07-21-2006, 07:11 PM	#2 (permalink)
Terrister Moderator Hardware Forum Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: West Georgia, USA Posts: 7,098 OS: Xp	Sounds more like a drive than a controller. A controller or cable problem would show up in the device manager. So your options are replace the drive or get a usb floppy. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...s=usb%20floppy __________________

07-23-2006, 08:25 AM	#3 (permalink)
ceri sheeran Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 285 OS: WINXP	Hi, Firstly take it back and talk to the repair shop. Laptop repairs are notoriously expensive. In Device Manager remove the floppy drive and controller and reboot, windows may redetect them properly. Am externally connected USB floppy drive could be a cheaper solution. Only possible problem would be that you may not be able to boot from the USB floppy drive. 15 to 20 pounds or dollars. Depending on the age of the machine you may be able to set the BIOS to be able to boot from floppy disk. If you are storing college work on floppy disk, back it up onto another media as well. A USB flash drive would work, provided you are using an O/S after WIN98 SE. Never rely on a floppy disk as the only storage medium for any data. hth Ceri Last edited by ceri sheeran; 07-23-2006 at 08:29 AM.