windows xp

[tubg]

hi!
i built anew computer wth pentium 4 2.6, dvd-rw drive, floppy drive, 80 gb hard drive.
my problem is wth my floppy or floppy programs.
i try to format with my drive and it comes up with the usual this will erase everything then it tries to format then it says windows was unable to compleate this format.
i took the same disk and formatted it on anouther computer and it formated like it was supposed to. my question is there something wrong with my drive or is it windows software. thanks for the help.

[Paul Komski]

Just boot from the WinXP CD, and use it to delete all existing partitions and then create and format a new one for the installation. Setup should then continue OK. There is no need to setup partitions and formats prior to running a setup of Win2K/XP from the installation CDs.

Possibly you had a bad boot floppy diskette - they can be very flippant as to when they work or not.

[Whyzman]

Flippant Floppy! Nice Paul! ;)

[tubg]

hi! paul
my computer has been up and running for two weeks. everything works except my floppy drive wont format.
thanks tubg

[Whyzman]

Won't format a harddrive, or won't format a floppy??

Can you read a floppy?

[tubg]

hi!
it wont format a floppy and yes it will read a floppy

[Paul Komski]

Can you write anything to or delete anything from the diskette. If not then ensure that the diskette is not write protected and from a command prompt try

format a:/u

Report back any specific errors if they occur.

Then maybe try checking or errors from My Computer using chkdsk.

Finally try downloading a bootdisk image from www.bootdisk.com and see if you can write that to the floppy. If that succeeds (a sector by sector method of writing to the disk) then see if you can format it normally.

Sorry for misunderstanding things at the start I thought it was the HDD you were trying to format. No flippancy anywhere either. ;)

[tubg]

paul i am a pritty good mechanic but i don't have much computer skills.
thus i don't know how to get to format a:/u or how to run chkdsk.
i used a disk that i formatted in my other computer and it said the windows was unable to compleate this format.
i tried to load a disk that i hadthat came from pictures on disk company and it wouldnt read them, it said the disk in drive is not formatted properly please check the disk and reformat if necessary.
i have anouther brand new floppy drive would it be practical to try it.
sorry for my shortcommings tubg

[Paul Komski]

Since you can read what is on the floppy it seems unlikely to be a problem with the floppy drive or with Windows - so it looks most likely that the floppy diskette is either bad or write-protected (by the little slider in one of the little squares in a corner of the floppy diskette) or somehow incompatible with WindowsXP.

Rather than try a new drive I would try a brand new diskette and report back.

To error check using chkdsk just RClick on the A drive in MyComputer and choose Properties; then choose the tools menu and select "Check Now".

To run commands from the Command Prompt you first could enter cmd into the run box (reached from the Start button). Then after the Command Window opens type format a:/u where there is flashing cursor. Have the floppy in the drive and then hit Enter.

[tubg]

sorry to be such a pain.
i have been using new dics that i bought localy. evadently they are no good under propertys under general tab file system says raw, used space o bytes, free space 0 bytes,capacity 0 bytes.
i did the command thing it said invalid media or track 0 bad=disk unusable.
however i tried another new disk in my other computer it said o bad tracks and 1.44 available.
then i put it in my new computer under general said 0 used space, & 1.44 free.
ran ckdisk it said windows unable to complete the disk check.
i am at my wits end and i emagine you are to.

[Paul Komski]

No problem - it would just be nice to sort this one out.

Out of interest what make and capacity are the diskettes? Most floppies come ready-formatted nowadays and not as unformatted (or raw) as one of your disks appear to be; either unformatted or just bad. Maybe they are just a bad batch.

Some (particularly older) diskettes do not contain a "media descriptor byte" in the boot sector and this can result in problems with WinXP; I did say floppies were 'flippant' (or fickle if you prefer).

Have you tried writing a Win98 boot diskette with a download from www.bootdisk.com, since this would rewrite the boot sector as part of the process and also insert a media descriptor byte, which is why I suggested it earlier. The alternative is to format them on a computer running Win9X and then see if they work normally on your PC.

If all else fails then, if you have burning software, you could burn a boot cd that would emulate a boot floppy diskette and see if windows could cope with such media.

[tubg]

good morning
the new cd that i tried are tdk mf-2md ibm/dos formatted.
i went to the bootdisk sit and there was a bunch of programs but i coul'dnt find one titled boot disk image.

[Paul Komski]

Direct Link for Win98SE bootdisk = http://www.mirrors.org/archived_software/www.bootdisk.com/winfiles1/boot98se.exe

Have floppy in drive.
Download the file.
Open the file.
You may need to start it twice if it says A is busy.
Let the image be made.

[tubg]

hi! paul
i downloaded the program. inserted disk the program tried to run the disk but
it came up with disk error on track 0 head 0 sector not found. i tried the same thing with a new disk and the same thing happened. i think either i got a bunch of bad disks or who knows. tubg

[Paul Komski]

Beginning to run out of ideas. Perhaps trying a new batch would be worth trying. You could also try SmartFormat 2.1 (http://members.tripod.com/ieeecrce/innovations99/tformat/)

[tubg]

thanks for the help. i found 1 of the six new disks i bought that worked. i can
tell if there going to work by going to propertys if it says 0 and 0 it wont work.
if nothing else this has been a learning experience for me. hoping my 72 year old mind can remember it all. just a waste of time for you so thanks a lot tubg

[Whyzman]

Never a waste of time tubg when the result is, as you say, a "learning experience!" ;)

[Paleo Pete]

i have anouther brand new floppy drive would it be practical to try it.

Absolutely. If the same disks work in another computer, your drive may be dirty. Either try a floppy cleaner, if you can find one, or try the new drive. Might be a good idea to try a diferent ribbon cable too. Make sure you get the cable oriented correctly if you swap drives. If the LED on the floppy stays on all the time after powering up, flip the end connected to the floppy drive, it's backward.

[tubg]

hi! pete
it turns out i had a bunch off disks that wernt any good even though they were new. thanks for the help