Floppy drive headaches.

[BlacknTan]

When I try to access my floppy drive in XP Pro, I get this error message..

A:/ is not accessible.
The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error.

If I do a restart, press F2 to enter the BIOS and press F10 to exit the BIOS without altering anything, then proceed to load Windows, the drive operates perfectly.
If I start up in Safe Mode, the drive operates perfectly.
Once I shut the machine down overnight, if I do a normal startup in the AM, the error message is there.
Went to Device Manager and uninstalled the drive, restarted Windows. It found the drive. Still no luck.
This is a month old Intel D945GNT board with a Pentium D 830 Processor..

Can anyone offer any suggestions??

[jlreich]

Sounds like chip creep with the temperature changes from shutting down overnight, then turning it back on. Try reseating the floppy cable. Or a new cable if that doesn't help. If that still doesn't help replace the floppy drive. They are cheap at about $12.

[Paul Komski]

Does a warm reboot (shut down and restart) without going into the BIOS make any difference?

Can you access a floppy from a command prompt in windows?

Does "Disable All" startup programs from run msconfig and a reboot make any difference?

[BlacknTan]

If I enter the BIOS and exit, I can access the FDD for that entire session.

If I do a warm reboot, I can still access the FDD normally.

If i shut down for fifteen minutes or so, and reboot, the error message returns. At that point, I would have to enter and exit the BIOS again.

Honestly, I dn't know how to access the FDD from a command prompt.

I'll try to disable the startup menu and get back..

[Paul Komski]

Honestly, I dn't know how to access the FDD from a command prompt.

Put a floppy in its drive and then enter
cmd /k A:
into the run box and then enter
dir
at the A:\> prompt.

You can if you like combine the constituents into a single run entry:-
cmd /k "A: && dir"

The dir command at an A:\> prompt should give a listing of the files and folders in the floppy's directory.

You can also just open the command prompt console by just entering:-
cmd
and then issue individual commands one by one. Enter A: to go to the floppy drive and then dir to list its contents.

The main difference between doing a warm boot over a cold boot is that the RAM is not re-initialised but this still doesn't explain why the floppy always works when you boot into safe mode. That implies an inherent windows problem but with PCs sometimes things remain mysterious. It is worth considering replacing the CMOS battery especially if your clock is losing time.

[BlacknTan]

Paul,
I entered this command as you suggested..

cmd /k "A: && dir"

A black dialog box came up and said......

The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error.
Volume in drive C has no label.
Volume serial number is 30DF-769A

Thanks for your help BTW.

Should I wipe the HDD and do a clean install of Windows??

BTW, my clock keeps good time and no other problems..

[Paul Komski]

Should I wipe the HDD and do a clean install of Windows??There is a compromise and that is to do a parallel (clean) installation. That should give you a dual boot menu to the old and new installations. The new installation to say Windows2 folder should let you know whether the floppy is still an issue and you can then decide on what to do next.

[BlacknTan]

Thanks much Paul.

I'll report back on the outcome...