Help! Can't boot from floppy!

[KnightWhoSezNee]

I just finished building a system and I can't get my floppy drive to read my boot disk. The light on the drive stays on the whole time the computer is on. The drive cable is aligned correctly on the drive and on the motherboard. I checked to see if the power connector is on correctly and I even switched to a different connector. No help. The BIOS is able see the drive. What's up? Do I just have a bad drive?

 

[Chuffmaster2k]

I had a bad floppy cable once that did the same thing. Good Luck

 

[pudcox]

Check your cable against a cable that is known to work, before you junk the floppy drive. I have had bad cables give me the same problem. good luck

 

[boomerang]

Turn the ribbon cable around. It's plugged in 180 degrees off.

 

[Tates]

I agree with Boomerang. I did the same thing the first I fired up my newly constructed machine. Doh!!

 

[compuwiz1]

Pin 1 on the drive must match the end where the red stripe is on the cable. You have it reversed.

 

[Petro89]

Yes, it's true that the red stripe on the cable should match up with pin 1, but I've seen older cables and connectors that don't work that way. Being that the light turns on, the floppy probably is OK, and it is getting power. Being that it stays on, you have at least one side of the cable in the wrong way. Try switching one end around 180 degrees as boomerang said, and then switch it back and try the other end if it doesn't work.

 

[Wolfie]

I have been told that the rule of thumb is to put the red wire closest to the power conection. That way you will have it facing the right way. That was the same problem when I built my first computer. For some reason they have not made the floppys with the slot on the right side to work with ribbons right. On some floppy drives you might have to work that tab the wrong way. It will work if the light is on.

Good luck

Wolfie

 

[okydoky]

My Mitsumi floppies have the red stripe away from the power connector. Be sure you are using the twisted end of the cable at the floppyA and the middle connector for floppyB if so equipped... The red stripe from what I have seen is away from the connector on most floppies and towards on IDE cables for other peripherals...