disk

When I try to save info on my 3.5 disk I get the error message A:/ is not accesible. No ID mark was foung on the floppy disk. I am operating win2k. I have tried different disks. The drive worked at some point. I cant format a disk. WHEN I TRY THE DRIVE W/O A DISK IT SAYS PLEASE ENTER A DISK. The light comes on only when I try to access the drive. I have opened the box to add a dvd/cd burner I have installed some programs by downloading but not by disk. i dont know what a bios is but i dont think i messed with it. HELP PLEASEWhen I retart the computer with the disk in the drive it does not ask me to remove it. I tried the floppy drive in safe mode same thing. how do change the bios on startup?? I couldnt find it.

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The drive workrd at some point.

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When did it last work?
Have you installed anything recently?
Have you opened your box in recently (to add hardware, clean it, etc.)?
Is the Floppy Drive light on constantly?
Does the light come on at all?
What happens when you try to access the Floppy Drive (A:) without a floppy in it?
Have you tried booting with a floppy in the drive (to see if the BIOS properly detects the drive)?
Have you made changes recently to your BIOS?

I had a similar problem, found that I hadn't seated the cover properly when I rebuilt the beastie.......so I couldn't insert the disc fully.
Can you format a new clean disc ?
Just to prove that the drive is working, and that it is the data being lost .........

[edit] I REALLY need to speed up my typing .............

Hi,

1. Can you read floppies on it?
2. Can you format a floppy on it?
3. Have you tried different makes of floppy?

Cheers

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I have opened the box to add a dvd/cd burner I have installed some programs by downloading but not by disk.

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Is it possible you loosened the cable? Can you open it again and double check that it's seated right and in the right fashion (red stripe should be on pin 1).

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i dont know what a bios is but i dont think i messed with it

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As the computer boots up (right after you power it on), it usually says something like press Del or F10 or F12 or some button to change the Computer Settings/Boot Options (or something to that effect). This is how you'd access the BIOS. It sounds unlikely that you've modified it however.

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BIOS
Acronym for basic input/output system. In the PC, a set of instructions, stored in read-only memory (ROM), that let your computer's hardware and operating system communicate with application programs and peripheral devices such as hard disks, printers, and video adapters. These instructions are stored in non-volatile memory or as a permanent part of your computer. They are always available at a specific addresses in memory, so all programs can access them to perform their basic I/O functions.
IBM computers contain a copyrighted BIOS that only their computers can use; however, other companies such as Phoenix, Award, and American Megatrends have developed BIOSes for other manufacturer's computers that emulate or mimic the IBM instructions without using the same code. If you use non-IBM computer, the BIOS company's copyright message and BIOS version number are displayed every time you turn on your computer.

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Another thought:

Go into your BIOS (on boot up hit the key that gives you setup) and switch off "fast boot"

Reboot and watch what comes up on the black screen : it should detect:

Keyboard
Mouse
Floppy Drive
Hard Drive
CD/DVD

Does it report detecting the floppy drive?

Try booting into "safe mode" and see if you can use the floppy then?

Let us know what happens

PS. I have seen your edit. It would only give you a message if you have the floppy drive as first item in the boot sequence (well, above your hard drive anyway). Otherwise it has found bootable media (the hard drive) and won't check any further.

You could try going into the device/hardware manager and uninstall the fdd and restart the pc..test

but:

If the FDD is not regularly being used.. it is possable the Head sled is not mobile..ie the lubricant is like glue.. the drive detect the disk is present but cant read the data, and not able to format..
beg, or borrow another fdd and instal.. WARNING.. the data plug can go on either way.. one way it won't work at all.. the other it should work like a treat.. be sure you have the machine powered down for this operation..

Undies,

I think that I am right in saying that if the data plug is on wrong way the green light comes on at boot-up and stays on all the time?