Creating a bootable Zip-disk: can I finally remove my old-fashioned floppy drive?

[aa_koch]

I have both a floppy drive and a 250MB Zip-drive (internal IDE) installed. I have no use for the floppy drive, but I haven't the b*lls to chuck it out the window because I'm not convinced yet I'll never need to use another floppy disk again again. I know I'll never use floppies to store or transfer files, but can a Zip-disk completely replace a floppy disk? I am specifically talking about flashing the BIOS, and running utilities which automatically create bootable floppy disks (i.e., harddrive diagnostic tools, Norton Ghost) that you must run them from.

I read a few articles online which all lead me to believe that it is fairly easy to create a bootable Zip-disk. All I need to know before I make a decision about getting rid of the floppy drive completely, is whether booting from a Zip-drive will allow me to flash the BIOS, and be able to run those diagnostic tools. (If I download a program which requires that a floppy be created, I can do that on another computer and copy the files to the Zip-drive afterwards. But will the utility still run?) So if any of you have experience doing this, please let me know... I really can't stand having a floppy drive installed that I haven't used for over a year!

Also, should I remove the floppy drive, can I make the Zip-drive the A: drive? Or can A: and B: only be used for floppy drives? I guess Windows (XP, in my case) will expect that a floppy drive is attached to the system, but is there a way to "instruct" it so it knows there is no floppy drive attached?

 

[mee987]

i still dont think its a good idea to flash bios from the zip, because it would have the same risks as flashing from an ide hdd -- which they ALWAYS tell you not to do.

i dont think you can make it your a: drive, both a and b are reserved for drives on the fdd controller (your zip is probably ide)

 

[aa_koch]

Hmm... makes sense. But if I flash my BIOS from the harddrive (I assume you mean those "Live BIOS flash" programs, where you flash the BIOS while within the OS), it means that I'm running additional programs that could cause a conflict. That wouldn't be the case if I booted from a Zip-disk, so the computer doesn't notice the difference whether I boot from floppy or Zip, does it?



<< i dont think you can make it your a: drive, both a and b are reserved for drives on the fdd controller (your zip is probably ide) >>



Ah, yes... I forgot about that. Silly me...

 

[aa_koch]

Anybody else got any ideas?

 

[LoTecha]

I got a q for you. Why do you want to remove your floppy? It adds versatility to your computer (say if a friend wants to write a paper on your computer and needs to save it to a disk). I don't see any advantages to running w/o a floppy... just a few potential headaches.

 

[mee987]

sometimes it can be a pain... right now im using a full-tower case, the 3.5" slot is at the very top of the case while the fdd connector on the mobo is near the bottom. the cable has to be stretched pretty tight for it to fit. the only time i ever would need it would be for school papers, and for that I just upload them to an ftp and pull them up on a school computer from the net.

 

[aa_koch]

Well, fact of the matter is that I can't remember the last time I used the floppy drive. It has to have been at least a couple of months since I last needed it, and I don't expect to be using it anytime soon. Also, I want to install the Zip drive into the 3,5" bay on my big-tower, so for cosmetic reasons also it would be best if I could remove it.

Anyway... I just checked the BIOS (I'm using an MSI K7T266 Pro2-RU mainboard), and noticed that I couldn't select any boot devices other than floppy, CD-ROM, IDE-0 and IDE-1. Before (when I had an ASUS A7V), I could select whether to boot from floppy, Zip, LS-120, and loads of other storage devices. Does anybody know if this means I can't boot from the Zip-drive anyway, or will it find the Zip-drive as long as I assign as Master on IDE-0 or IDE-1?

Last but not least... let's say I remove the floppy drive, but buy an external one you hook up to the USB port. Will this work when I boot from a floppy to install a new BIOS or stuff like that, or will the floppy drive not be recognized then because it requires Windows?

 

[mee987]

I would say just take the floppy drive out but keep it around for a while. I have been running floppy-less for about 6 months now and I have been fine. whats the worst that could happen? if you need it for an emergency you can always pop your side panel off and connect the floppy drive for a bit without messing with putting it in a 3.5" bay.