A500: Floppy Drive . read/write error for every single disk!!

20 August 2008, 08:06

Hi i think my A500's internal floppy drive is gone... I was testing out some old games.. After I put in one game, the drive made a weird grating noise, (the game didnt load) , and then after that , the drive wouldnt load anything else!

Even previous disks , like my Workbench 1.3 , which had booted up fine just seconds before, stopped working.. So i suspect its the drive..

I always get Read/Write errors , and a menu : Retry/Cancel... aaarghh..!

so will getting an external floppy drive be a quick, inexpensive solution ?

musashi5150 · 20 August 2008, 08:58

No, because your A500 won't be able to boot from it unless you are running Kickstart 2 or later. Even then it would only boot DOS disks, no games etc would work. Best solution is to buy a new internal drive

rkauer · 20 August 2008, 16:06

And don't forget to throw away that filthy disk who destroyed your floppy unit!

I think "destroyed" is a mean work, since probably the unit just need a good clean on the magnetic heads.

Remember: old disks can develop fungus! They appear as some little white dots on disk surface or as concentric marks.

scaf · 20 August 2008, 23:34

I have an A500 without floppy drive.
Then I used the mod described here : http://aminet.net/package/docs/hard/PcF2AmF
It uses a standard PC 1.44 floppy drive, without modification.
It works perfectly with all my (few) games and WB 1.3.
Just remember to fill the HD hole if you use 1.44 floppies.

You can try a remplacement this way.

Jope · 21 August 2008, 09:44

This will not give you a proper ready signal, so it is not a 100% modification.

No XCopy for you then. :-)

21 August 2008, 10:06

today there was a clearance sale of computer items in one of the offices in the industrial park where i work, so i quickly picked up a PC floppy drive, its an ALPS Electric DF354H090G , has anyone tried this particular model in their Amiga ?

Only when i bought it and brought it back to my cubicle that I realised (thru this page: http://www.freewebs.com/computolio/a...atibility.html ) that not all drives will be compatible after modification. The Alps Electric drive there is listed as 'unknown'. Also says in this French site : http://amigaga.chez-alice.fr/classic...amigapcfix.htm

Scaf, will the PcF2AmF mod work with the drive I bought?

scaf · 21 August 2008, 10:34

The PC2AmF mod is intended to work with every PC floppy drive, but it's pretty hard to test them all !

I did no electronic mod on the drive I use, but as Jope said, not all progs will work (XCopy, some games - I don't know wich ones - ...).
The only mod is on the cable (use an old PC floppy cable).
I chose this solution because it was the cheapest : I had a spare drive and a spare cable.

I just think that this mod is a good way for you to test if your troubles come from your floppy drive or your set of floppies.

musashi5150 · 21 August 2008, 10:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by scaf

I just think that this mod is a good way for you to test if your troubles come from your floppy drive or your set of floppies.

Yeah, even if the drive doesn't provide a good RDY signal it should still boot your Workbench disk ok.

21 August 2008, 11:19

thanks for the clarifications , guys , i will try it out and report the results back woo hoo!

23 August 2008, 07:02

how do i know if my drive is UNIT 0 or UNIT 1 ? , as this Alps Electric drive has no jumper settings at the rear .

OddbOd · 23 August 2008, 08:20

Practically all PC drives are factory set as UNIT 1.

scaf · 23 August 2008, 15:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by OddbOd

Practically all PC drives are factory set as UNIT 1.

Right.
And the wiring of the cable (PCF2AmF mod) is to be used with a PC drive set as unit 1; then you don't need to change the settings of your drive, defaults are OK

20 August 2008, 08:06	#1
iggydix Posts: n/a	A500: Floppy Drive . read/write error for every single disk!! Hi i think my A500's internal floppy drive is gone... I was testing out some old games.. After I put in one game, the drive made a weird grating noise, (the game didnt load) , and then after that , the drive wouldnt load anything else! Even previous disks , like my Workbench 1.3 , which had booted up fine just seconds before, stopped working.. So i suspect its the drive.. I always get Read/Write errors , and a menu : Retry/Cancel... aaarghh..! so will getting an external floppy drive be a quick, inexpensive solution ?

20 August 2008, 08:58	#2
musashi5150 move.w #$4489,$dff07e Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Norfolk, UK Age: 42 Posts: 2,351	No, because your A500 won't be able to boot from it unless you are running Kickstart 2 or later. Even then it would only boot DOS disks, no games etc would work. Best solution is to buy a new internal drive Last edited by musashi5150; 20 August 2008 at 09:49. Reason: Spelling error

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20 August 2008, 16:06	#3
rkauer I hate potatos and shirts Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Sao Leopoldo / Brazil Age: 58 Posts: 3,482	And don't forget to throw away that filthy disk who destroyed your floppy unit! I think "destroyed" is a mean work, since probably the unit just need a good clean on the magnetic heads. Remember: old disks can develop fungus! They appear as some little white dots on disk surface or as concentric marks.

20 August 2008, 23:34	#4
scaf Registered User Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: france Age: 48 Posts: 116	I have an A500 without floppy drive. Then I used the mod described here : http://aminet.net/package/docs/hard/PcF2AmF It uses a standard PC 1.44 floppy drive, without modification. It works perfectly with all my (few) games and WB 1.3. Just remember to fill the HD hole if you use 1.44 floppies. You can try a remplacement this way.

21 August 2008, 09:44	#5
Jope - Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Helsinki / Finland Age: 43 Posts: 9,861	This will not give you a proper ready signal, so it is not a 100% modification. No XCopy for you then. :-)

21 August 2008, 10:06	#6
iggydix Posts: n/a	today there was a clearance sale of computer items in one of the offices in the industrial park where i work, so i quickly picked up a PC floppy drive, its an ALPS Electric DF354H090G , has anyone tried this particular model in their Amiga ? Only when i bought it and brought it back to my cubicle that I realised (thru this page: http://www.freewebs.com/computolio/a...atibility.html ) that not all drives will be compatible after modification. The Alps Electric drive there is listed as 'unknown'. Also says in this French site : http://amigaga.chez-alice.fr/classic...amigapcfix.htm Scaf, will the PcF2AmF mod work with the drive I bought?

21 August 2008, 10:34	#7
scaf Registered User Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: france Age: 48 Posts: 116	The PC2AmF mod is intended to work with every PC floppy drive, but it's pretty hard to test them all ! I did no electronic mod on the drive I use, but as Jope said, not all progs will work (XCopy, some games - I don't know wich ones - ...). The only mod is on the cable (use an old PC floppy cable). I chose this solution because it was the cheapest : I had a spare drive and a spare cable. I just think that this mod is a good way for you to test if your troubles come from your floppy drive or your set of floppies.

21 August 2008, 11:19	#9
iggydix Posts: n/a	thanks for the clarifications , guys , i will try it out and report the results back woo hoo!

23 August 2008, 07:02	#10
iggydix Posts: n/a	how do i know if my drive is UNIT 0 or UNIT 1 ? , as this Alps Electric drive has no jumper settings at the rear .

23 August 2008, 08:20	#11
OddbOd Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Australia Age: 46 Posts: 666	Practically all PC drives are factory set as UNIT 1.

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