Floppy Diskette Seek Failure

Iconic

It appears that before the RAM failure on my friends Dell 5100 on this thread
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2168113 they were getting 'Floppy Diskette Seek Failure' every time they booted up.

Now the RAM problem has been fixed the message has returned. I have altered the BIOS to ensure the Floppy is not part of the boot up sequence but the message still appears. I have also uninstalled the floppy drive in Device Manager but the message still appears.

From a quick google it appears this might be a motherboard issue. It's no big deal at the moment because you can just ignore the message but has anyone got any advice how to get rid of it?

kwikbreaks

Probably need to set it to short power on self test. It sounds like the floppy is naffed so you may as well disconnect it anyway.

CHR15

Do you have a "Halt On" option for Diskette failure option on the BIOS.

If so change it to "Halt on - No errors"

MothballsWallet

I agree with kwikbreaks - this is something you can see if the floppy disk drive is on its last legs. If you still need one in your system, you could probably pick one up for about 10-15 quid tops if you do a google search.

davb

Yes, I would physically unplug the ribbon cable from the floppy, then there is no chance of a fault causing other issues while it is being detected.

mr_fishbulb

According to the manual, you can turn the disk drive off in the BIOS:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/SYSTEMS/dim5100/en/sm/setup1.htm#wp1097187 Under Drives --> Diskette Drive

I'd do that if they don't use it. Saves you opening the case (I think you will still get errors anyway if you unplug but leave the option enabled in the BIOS - I know you do for the precision workstations if it has the 2nd hard drive enabled but none plugged in).

Saving_spree

Restart pc and hit delete to get to the bios screen
look for boot order
look for floppy drive and disable it
save and exit

Iconic

Many thanks for the replies.

I think the best option is to disconnect the floppy drive.

Stupid question but I cannot understand the Dell instuctions re Floppy Drives and USB. If you disable the Floppy does it affect the USB ports?

'Enables and disables the floppy drives and sets read permission for the internal floppy drive. Off disables all floppy drives. USB enables the USB floppy drive. Internal enables the internal floppy drive. Read Only enables the internal drive controller and allows the internal floppy drive read-only permission.

NOTE: Operating systems with USB support will recognize USB floppy drives regardless of this setting.'

fwor

Iconic wrote: »

If you disable the Floppy does it affect the USB ports?

No, it shouldn't. IIRC that just means that the BIOS will no longer recognise a floppy drive in a USB caddy as a floppy disk.

computershack

I suspect that the CMOS battery is flat so its not storing the settings once the power has been turned off. This means you go into BIOS, alter the settings and they'll remain up until the power is turned off at which point they revert to default which means it searches for a floppy drive during POST.

It is approx 5 years old so the timing is about right. If you take the top off the Dimension, the CMOS battery is a watch battery and clearly visible. Just take it out and go down your local pound shop and buy another. There'll be a number on it, such as CR2032, that is the size you need. Once you've replaced it, you'll find that it'll remember the settings and the message will disappear.

Apples2

computershack wrote: »

Just take it out and go down your local pound shop and buy another.

Are they expensive??