Win 2K Always wanting to format FDD

**elwin** · June 23rd, 2004, 12:47 AM

Windows 2K each time you click on the floppy it wants to format it because it can’t be read. The disks work fine in another PC. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the hardware. It will even start up on a WIN98 startup disk. The thing is that if you click on the floppy with no disk in, it will have the same message. Windows is the culprit and is there a fix that’s not to dramatic. I have replaced FDD and Cable before I throught to start it with a Starup disk.

Two or three reponses have repeated what I have said in the oringial question. The FDD has been replaced with a new one and a new cable and those same floppy Disks read just fine on the other Win2K system that they were created on. The only thing I havent tried is the BIOS.

**TripleRLtd** · June 23rd, 2004, 06:41 AM

That is strange indeed. Since it sounds as if you know the hardware is good, let me ask this: have you tried letting 2K (not xp?) format a blank disk and seeing what happens?

**confus-ed** · June 23rd, 2004, 07:09 AM

Can you identify the floppy disk controller chip ?

W2k has 'issues' with "Winbond Super I/O disk controllers" there was an sp3 level patch which 'kind of fixed it' - but here I don't even know what sp we are at ?

(There's also stuff in sp4 to fix this, but not 'foolproof' always, usually the way I've gotten around it is turning off the controller in bios, making sure windows has 'forgotten about it' & then re-enabling the controller & thus the drive - but this isn't always possible - its to do with the IRQ handling {signalling actually} & order of checking - if you've never noticed both xp & w2k don't refresh disk contents of 'removable media' until prompted 'often' {same 'thingee' going on})

**TripleRLtd** · June 23rd, 2004, 07:24 AM

Originally Posted by confus-ed

... usually the way I've gotten around it is turning off the controller in bios, making sure windows has 'forgotten about it'

Windows forgetting?

Goiod ideas there!
Also: did this just start happening? Anything coincidental about the timing of the problem?

**confus-ed** · June 23rd, 2004, 07:35 AM

Originally Posted by TripleRLtd

Windows forgetting?

..touch of 'confus-ed speak' there - not present in device manager in normal or safe modes (the driver persists on the machine, its just that hardware detect can't see the controller for a bit so windoze 'forgets' about it

)

**elwin** · June 24th, 2004, 01:43 AM

Originally Posted by TripleRLtd

That is strange indeed. Since it sounds as if you know the hardware is good, let me ask this: have you tried letting 2K (not xp?) format a blank disk and seeing what happens?

It just comes up with the same message. Formating or anything with the Floppy wont work. The floppies that were being used were created on another Win2k system. It responds to quick to of even checked if there was a floppy in there.

**NooNoo** · June 24th, 2004, 08:18 AM

Swap out the drive for another known good and satisfy yourself its not the drive flaking first... way quicker than doing loads of software troubleshooting to find its a bad drive.