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System Problems ]
I changed from one disk to another but when I look at what is on the new disk I see the
contents of the old disk
Explanation: After removing a floppy disk from the drive and replacing it with
another, the system still shows the contents of the old disk when the directory is
searched.
Diagnosis: Modern floppy disk drives use a special signal as part of the floppy
disk cable to signal when the disk that is in the drive has been changed. There is a sensor inside the drive that detects when
the disk is ejected and a new one inserted, and a signal is sent to the floppy disk
controller to tell it that there is a new disk in the drive. This mechanism is used for
performance reasons: by keeping track of when the disk is swapped, the system doesn't have
to re-load the contents of the disk each time you access it. However, if anything happens
to cause this disk-change signal to not be sent properly when the disk is changed, odd
problems and data corruption will result on your floppies, because the system will write
incorrect information to what it thinks is a different disk than the one in the drive.
Recommendation:
- Do not do any writing to any important floppies until this problem is resolved, or you
could easily destroy their contents.
- If the drive was just installed recently, or you just worked inside the PC, you have
probably either connected the disk incorrectly, or you have loosened or damaged the floppy
cable. Double-check all connections and see if the problem clears up.
- Clean the drive. Dirt can sometimes
accumulate on the disk change sensor and cause it to stop working properly. For this type
of problem, it is recommended that you blow compressed air into the drive (carefully) to
loosen up any dust within the drive. A head cleaner won't generally fix this problem,
because it is not really related to the read head.
- You could have a defective floppy cable.
Try replacing it.
- There could be a problem with the floppy disk controller. Try replacing the floppy drive
and see if the problem clears up. If replacing the drive and the cable doesn't fix the
problem, then the floppy controller (or motherboard on systems with integrated floppy
controllers) is implicated. Troubleshoot it here.
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