A1200 floppy drive issue

18 January 2019, 13:09

Hi all,

New member and first post - hoping for a wee bit of help/advice.

I've got an A1200 which I've been piecing together/adding to and have it all working with an ACA1221 accelerator, CF card and classic work bench, which is all great.

The floppy drive had been a bit erratic, but was being recognised when I put a disk in and didn't show anything on the work bench screen when there was no disk in the floppy drive.

Last night, I disconnected the floppy drive and gave it a good clean with cotton buds (badly needed, was very dusty/hairy!). When I reconnected the drive, disks are not being recognised and there is always a floppy icon on the work bench, labelled "DF0:????". I have checked that the cables are in correct, so it is not this, but did notice that one of the pins on the motherboard connector seemed to be missing. I didn't notice before, but assume that this has always been the case as there is no sign of the missing pin and I don't think I broke this last night.

I have also tried completely removing the floppy drive and cables and rebooting, but the same floppy icon with "DF0:????" is now always being displayed, even though there is not drive connected at all.

Does anyone have any suggestions/advice for getting the floppy back in action, or at least removing "DF0:????" from the desktop.

Any ideas would be great!

Jope · 18 January 2019, 14:17

Pin 3 is supposed to be missing from the motherboard connector.

Try to reconnect the floppy cables, make sure that you don't miss a row of pins on either end.

18 January 2019, 15:49

Thanks, I assumed that 1 of the pins was supposed to be missing and it was pin 3. I'll try carefully reconnecting again later, but pretty sure it was on correctly. Would you expect to see "DF0:????" on workbench when no cable is connect to the fdd pins at all?

Vypr · 18 January 2019, 16:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeteAUFC

Thanks, I assumed that 1 of the pins was supposed to be missing and it was pin 3. I'll try carefully reconnecting again later, but pretty sure it was on correctly. Would you expect to see "DF0:????" on workbench when no cable is connect to the fdd pins at all?

This is normal, I see this on my A1200 when I boot from hard drive and no disk drive plugged in. If your drive is dead I have a couple of spares kicking around you're welcome to have.

darefail · 18 January 2019, 16:56

I think i had the DF0:???? message two times.
As jope said above, i missed a row of pins and believe me, it is possible to be 100% sure that you connected it right but it is not!
The second time was when i didn't connect the pin 1 of motherboard to pin 1 on the floppy. I think in this case the floppy drive led light also is always on.

20 January 2019, 17:38

Hi all, thanks for all of your advice. I've re-installed the drive, being particularly careful with the cable and it's working again. I obviously had missed a row of pins, despite being so sure that I hadn't.

My next problem with the floppy drive now is that when I have installed it and screwed the case shut again, I am unable to insert/remove a floppy disk correctly as it doesn't seem to be lining up correctly with the slot in the case. I've also remembered that this was the main issue that I was having with the FDD when I last used the A1200 a couple of years ago. I've ensured that the shielding for the motherboard is all installed correctly and I've tried everything to get it lined up correctly, but there doesn't seem to be space to get it any lower down, which seems to be required to line it up correctly.

I'm now wondering if the floppy drive that I have is indeed meant for an A1200 - it's a Mitsumi. Vypr - would you be able to send me a pic of your spare A1200 floppy drives to let me check if they are the same as the one I have?!

Does anyone have any other suggestions about what I could try to get the drive that I have properly installed?!

FOL · 20 January 2019, 22:43

Thats also normal, you have tightened the screws up to tight. This will cause the issue your having.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeteAUFC

Hi all, thanks for all of your advice. I've re-installed the drive, being particularly careful with the cable and it's working again. I obviously had missed a row of pins, despite being so sure that I hadn't.

My next problem with the floppy drive now is that when I have installed it and screwed the case shut again, I am unable to insert/remove a floppy disk correctly as it doesn't seem to be lining up correctly with the slot in the case. I've also remembered that this was the main issue that I was having with the FDD when I last used the A1200 a couple of years ago. I've ensured that the shielding for the motherboard is all installed correctly and I've tried everything to get it lined up correctly, but there doesn't seem to be space to get it any lower down, which seems to be required to line it up correctly.

I'm now wondering if the floppy drive that I have is indeed meant for an A1200 - it's a Mitsumi. Vypr - would you be able to send me a pic of your spare A1200 floppy drives to let me check if they are the same as the one I have?!

Does anyone have any other suggestions about what I could try to get the drive that I have properly installed?!

18 January 2019, 13:09	#1
PeteAUFC Posts: n/a	A1200 floppy drive issue Hi all, New member and first post - hoping for a wee bit of help/advice. I've got an A1200 which I've been piecing together/adding to and have it all working with an ACA1221 accelerator, CF card and classic work bench, which is all great. The floppy drive had been a bit erratic, but was being recognised when I put a disk in and didn't show anything on the work bench screen when there was no disk in the floppy drive. Last night, I disconnected the floppy drive and gave it a good clean with cotton buds (badly needed, was very dusty/hairy!). When I reconnected the drive, disks are not being recognised and there is always a floppy icon on the work bench, labelled "DF0:????". I have checked that the cables are in correct, so it is not this, but did notice that one of the pins on the motherboard connector seemed to be missing. I didn't notice before, but assume that this has always been the case as there is no sign of the missing pin and I don't think I broke this last night. I have also tried completely removing the floppy drive and cables and rebooting, but the same floppy icon with "DF0:????" is now always being displayed, even though there is not drive connected at all. Does anyone have any suggestions/advice for getting the floppy back in action, or at least removing "DF0:????" from the desktop. Any ideas would be great!

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18 January 2019, 14:17	#2
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,865	Pin 3 is supposed to be missing from the motherboard connector. Try to reconnect the floppy cables, make sure that you don't miss a row of pins on either end.

18 January 2019, 15:49	#3
PeteAUFC Posts: n/a	Thanks, I assumed that 1 of the pins was supposed to be missing and it was pin 3. I'll try carefully reconnecting again later, but pretty sure it was on correctly. Would you expect to see "DF0:????" on workbench when no cable is connect to the fdd pins at all?

18 January 2019, 16:56	#5
darefail Registered User Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Ελλάς Age: 44 Posts: 93	I think i had the DF0:???? message two times. As jope said above, i missed a row of pins and believe me, it is possible to be 100% sure that you connected it right but it is not! The second time was when i didn't connect the pin 1 of motherboard to pin 1 on the floppy. I think in this case the floppy drive led light also is always on.

20 January 2019, 17:38	#6
PeteAUFC Posts: n/a	Hi all, thanks for all of your advice. I've re-installed the drive, being particularly careful with the cable and it's working again. I obviously had missed a row of pins, despite being so sure that I hadn't. My next problem with the floppy drive now is that when I have installed it and screwed the case shut again, I am unable to insert/remove a floppy disk correctly as it doesn't seem to be lining up correctly with the slot in the case. I've also remembered that this was the main issue that I was having with the FDD when I last used the A1200 a couple of years ago. I've ensured that the shielding for the motherboard is all installed correctly and I've tried everything to get it lined up correctly, but there doesn't seem to be space to get it any lower down, which seems to be required to line it up correctly. I'm now wondering if the floppy drive that I have is indeed meant for an A1200 - it's a Mitsumi. Vypr - would you be able to send me a pic of your spare A1200 floppy drives to let me check if they are the same as the one I have?! Does anyone have any other suggestions about what I could try to get the drive that I have properly installed?!

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