[ken baker]

oddly enough I do have a standard floppy sitting around.

ok I will try your suggestions

fdd and power unplugged
sata and power unplugged
cd/dvd only set as master

boot sequence set
setup finds cd fine
seek floppy disabled
setup saved
xp pro in cd

exit setup and the only thing I get id "no disk attached"
bad cable/cd-rom?

have a spare one of those also

[Advertisements]

OK, seeing as you do have a standard floppy drive, I think we should try that instead.

Connect up the floppy drive & disconnect the CDROM drive. Leave hard drives disconnected as well. (make sure the drive cables are removed from the actual mobo).

Go back into the bios & change the following :
Boot sequence to Floppy first.
Make sure floppy drive A & the Floppy drive controller are enabled & change the floppy seek setting back to enabled.

In the 'Standard CMOS Features' section of the bios, make sure that all 4 drive entries are set to either 'auto' or 'not installed'.

In Advanced Bios Features, make sure that the SMART for hard disks setting is disabled.

In PNP/PCI Config, set the Clear NVRAM setting to YES

Save all the settings & reboot from a win98se boot disk. You can download one from here :
http://freepctech.co.../files010.shtml

Let me know how you get on - you should be able to boot from the floppy disk to the DOS command prompt A:>

[Samm]

OK, seeing as you do have a standard floppy drive, I think we should try that instead.

Connect up the floppy drive & disconnect the CDROM drive. Leave hard drives disconnected as well. (make sure the drive cables are removed from the actual mobo).

Go back into the bios & change the following :
Boot sequence to Floppy first.
Make sure floppy drive A & the Floppy drive controller are enabled & change the floppy seek setting back to enabled.

In the 'Standard CMOS Features' section of the bios, make sure that all 4 drive entries are set to either 'auto' or 'not installed'.

In Advanced Bios Features, make sure that the SMART for hard disks setting is disabled.

In PNP/PCI Config, set the Clear NVRAM setting to YES

Save all the settings & reboot from a win98se boot disk. You can download one from here :
http://freepctech.co.../files010.shtml

Let me know how you get on - you should be able to boot from the floppy disk to the DOS command prompt A:>

[ken baker]

ok, standard floppy installed

downloaded 98se startup disk

made advised changes to setup

saved

restart......

floppy clicks and hums. then stops

screen says no disk installed

nothing from d-bracket

black screen

[Samm]

Is the green light on the front of the floppy drive continously on, regardless of whether a disk is inserted or not?

If so, (or even if it isn't) check the orientation of the floppy drive cable :

At the motherboard :
The floppy port on the mobo should be marked with a '1' at one end. The cable must be inserted into the port so that the edge with the red stripe aligns with the end marked with the '1'.

At the drive :
Again, if the drive's connector is marked with a '1' at one end, the red stripe on the cable must align with this. If there are no markings on the drive, then look for the missing pin. (the second pin in from one side will be missing on the drive). The end with the absent pin denotes pin '1', so align the cable's red stripe with this end.

Check the cable then try booting from floppy again. If it still fails, let me know what the exact error message is please.

[ken baker]

turned off the fast boot option and the logo
the disk light comes on with a disk or without, then the light stays on

checked cable. that is connected correctly

"Scan devices, Please wait...
No Disk Attached"

the screen that comes up is
AMIBIOS System Configuration © 1985-2003 American Megatrends Inc.,

Math Processor - Built-in Base Memory Size : 640KB
Floppy Drive A: 1.44mb 3 1/2 Ext. Memory Size : 511mb
serial ports : 3f8 Display type : vga/ega
paralell ports : 378 AMIBIOS date : 1/10/2005
Processor clock : 1800 mhz CPU Cache : 640kb enabled
power management : enabled DDR at Dimm(s) : 1

PCI devices :
onboard Ethernet IRQ 11
onboard raid irq 10
onboard usb controller irq3
onboard mutltimedia device irq 10
agp/vga irq 11
onboard ide 14,15
onboard usb controller irq10
onboard usb controller irq3
onboard usb controller irq11
AGP display controller

then it just sits there...floppy light on, d-bracket dark

[ken baker]

ok, I installed the d-bracket correctly now, (don't ask)

the diagnostic code says early chipset initialization

[Samm]

Is the floppy drive light still staying on constantly?

[ken baker]

once the floppy light comes on, it stays on

[Samm]

once the floppy light comes on, it stays on

Does this happen even when no floppy disk is inserted?
If so, then the floppy drive is either still cabled incorrectly or you are using the wrong type of cable.
Can you tell me whether the cable has 2 or 3 connectors on it in total (including the one that connects to the motherboard)
Is there a twist anywhere in the cable? (see picture below)
[attachment=2972:attachment]

[ken baker]

light stays on regardless of disk

hard to say about the twist. it is a round cable. I will find a regular flat cable and try that

[Samm]

light stays on regardless of disk

hard to say about the twist.  it is a round cable.  I will find a regular flat cable and try that

Yeah do that. Round floppy & IDE cables tend to break more easily that flat ones.
A flat cable may not have the twist in it, if theres only 2 connectors instead of 3. In which case you will often find that the cable will have writing on it to denote which end connects to the Floppy drive & the motherboard

[ken baker]

found a flat cable that has two connectors plus the connector for the motherboard.
before the second connector there is a twist

tried this cable and the light still stays on

[Samm]

OK, just to double check...

When you insert the cable in the mobo, the red stripe should be at the end furthest away from the main ATX power connector on the board.

The connector on the end of the cable, after the twist should be connected to the drive. The red stripe should be aligned with pin 1 on the drive (or nearest the power connector if no pin 1 is marked).

Double check these things then try again. If the light still stays on, turn the cable around at the drive end so that the red stripe is on the other side.

If you still get same problem, check the pins on the drive & in the motherboard connector so see if any are bent over

[ken baker]

flipped fdd cable. Recieved message A: drive error
press f1 to continue
pressed f1 bios information screen comes up stops......

[Samm]

ARRGGHHHH...

Ok, I'm still convinced this is something really simple in regards to the floppy error.
Please don't think I'm being partronising but have a quick look at the (very badly hand drawn) picture below & just confirm that it matches what you have.
The rear of the drive in the picture shows where Pin1 is in relation to the missing pin. If yours doesn't have a pin missing & no number markings, then assume pin 1 is nearest the power connector on the drive.
Double check the power connection to the drive as well.

[attachment=3453:attachment]

Also, check that the floppy drive is a standard 1.44MB drive (not a 2.88MB one)

Next, make sure the following settings are correct in the bios :

[Standard CMOS Features]
Floppy Drive A = 1.44MB 3.5"
Floppy Drive B = Not Installed

[Advanced Bios Features]
Floppy Drive Swap = disabled
Floppy Drive Seek = disabled

[PCI/PNP Configurations]
Clear NVRAM = Yes (NB, this setting will automatically revert back to No after the next reboot, which is fine)

[Integrated Peripherals]
Floppy Disk Controller = Auto or Enabled

Save any change & reboot.

Let me know what happens, including the exact error message if you get one.