kingstehlin

windows 98.
every time i put a floppy in, it reads it for ages then says 'A: is not accesable. this device cannot be read'. but just then it said i need to format the floppy disk, so i started to, then it told me ' the disk maybe dirty or may need to be replaced'. i have tryed with lots of disks that have worked before
it still shows how much space is being used on it though.
please hlp. i really need something of a disk

OldGrayGary

Hi kingstehlin


The odds are higher that the problem lies in one bad floppy drive than in a dozen bad diskettes. See if a friend has an extra floppy drive you can borrow to try. You can test your current drive by attaching it to another PC & seeing if it reads diskettes OK there. If not, it might be time to replace the drive. You can test your diskettes in the same manner: see if they read OK when inserted into the floppy drive of another PC.

There is a common problem reading diskettes in Windows-XP, involving a problematic Registry entry concerning 'upper-filters' and 'lower-filters' for the floppy drive --- but I've never heard of this problem occuring in Windows 98/98se/Me. (The XP problem is usually caused by a CD/DVD-burning software glitch).

There's an old tip from several years ago here at TSF, by Terrister, concerning trouble reading floppies in Win95/98. It might help - can't hurt to try: Also - if you've been inside your PC's case at all, make sure that you didn't inadvertently put the floppy cable back in either upside down (possible on non-'keyed' floppy cables ... also, if the floppy cable has a red stripe on one side, that side should connect to Pin 1 on both the drive connector and the motherboard connector) or backwards (some floppy cables have a 'twist' in them -- that end goes into the floppy drive).

Best of luck
. . . Gary

Jlp1928

Hi King,

Failure to read the data but reading the Directory OK (Space calculation) indicates that the Head is not moving from home position where the Directory is. Take Gary's advice and try another Floppy reader.

Luck, Jim

kingstehlin

thanks for the help. looks like ill look for a new drive

kingstehlin

hey everyone.
recently i asked why my floppy drive doesnt work. you simply answered cos its too old and may need to be replaced. granted.
i cant be bothered replacing it.
anyway i turned my computer on 1 day and the green light on the drive just stays on..like its reading the disk that ISNT in there. umm any suggestions whats up?

and also. different story, same thread.
my 98 is also slowing down a little, little bit of lag, sometimes a siezure haha.
i've unistalled a few games and deleted file no longer needed. but it still happens.
i cant view my desktop 'as a webpage' now cos the lag of dragging a window around etc gets extremely bad.
pleeease help

dai

try a new cable in the floppy if you don't use it just unplug it

Jlp1928

Hi again Dai,

Usually when the floppy activity lite stays on the cable is reversed. The red stripe is usually toward the power connector but a very small percentage are the other way. It will damage any disk you insert when the cable is backwards but no damage is done to the drive. Reverse the cable and if the lite then goes out, try a known good disk and/or format another disk.

Good Luck, Jim

Jlp1928

Hi Dai,

Sorry. My last post was for King.

Jim