Help! Strange FDD behavior on Epox EP-8K7A

[Odeen]

Hi there!

I am setting up a system for a friend with the above motherboard and a Mitsumi (I think) floppy drive.

Here's what's going on:
I plug the cable into the motherboard (connector is keyed so it only goes in one way - Pin1 is on the bottom as diagrammed on the mobo)
Plug the last connector into the floppy drive (after x-over)
Power on

One of the following two things happens:
1) Floppy drive light stays on all the time (connector flipped)
2) POST code reader says "FF", hard drive light is on, CD-ROM drive is on, no signal out of the video card, system doesn't reset - must hold down the power button to power it down.

However, if I plug the MIDDLE connector into the floppy drive, it WORKS. Does anyone know why the 8K7A doesn't like a crossed-over floppy connector? Or is my floppy drive screwy?


Thanks,

Alex

 

[AkumaBao]

That's just how it is. Sometime the floppy connector is made upside-down. Nothing is wrong with your FDD. Did you try flipping the end of your FDD the other way to see if that worked? I take it the end with the twist in it is pluging into the floppy drive itself?

 

[Odeen]

Well, consider me officially stupid.

The issue was actually with an Intel modem I was using. With the modem installed, the system could power up the first time after being plugged in, and it could reboot. But it couldn't shut down, then power up being plugged in.

I thought it was the floppy drive, as it conviniently worked when I unplugged it, installed the floppy drive cable, and plugged it back in, but... just further proof that correlation doesn't imply causality.

I set up the system with an ECS K7S5A board, and it looped 3dmark 2001 overnight w/o crashing.. Since all components are at stock speeds, it should be perfectly stable. The EP-8K7A has otherwise been amazingly stable for me with the hardware I have (I don't own a modem, though!). Well, go fig.


-Alex