Sony M-PF88E User Manual

Floppy Disk Drive FAQs

How do I copy a document or file to a floppy disk with a computer running a
Microsoft® Windows® operating system.

1. Insert the floppy disk into the disk drive.

2. Open Windows Explorer.

3. Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and then click
Windows Explorer.

4. Locate and click the file or folder you want to copy.

5. On the File menu, point to Send To, and then click 3 1/2 Floppy (A).

How do I format a floppy disk from within a Microsoft Windows operating system?

1. Insert a floppy disk into the floppy drive.

2. Make sure none of the files on the floppy disk are currently being used. A floppy disk
cannot be formatted if a file on it is in use.

3. Open the My Computer window.

4. Right-click the 3.5-inch Floppy drive icon and select Format from the menu. The
Format window appears.

5. In the Format window, click Start to begin formatting the floppy disk.

6. An alert appears to notify you that formatting will erase all data on the disk. Click OK
to continue with the format.

7. When the format is finished, a Format Complete window appears. Click OK.

8. In the Format window, click Close.
The disk is now ready to use. If you have a problem formatting a disk, verify that the disk

is fully inserted into the drive. Also verify that the disk is not write-protected. In the
upper-right corner of the disk there is a square hole with a small sliding plastic shutter.
When the shutter covers the hole the disk is write-protected and cannot be formatted.
Make sure to slide the shutter down so that the square hole is open.

I get a message that my floppy disk is write-protected.

Remove the floppy disk from the drive. There is a tab on the disk that you must move. In
the upper-right corner of the disk there is a square hole with a small sliding plastic tab.
When the tab covers the hole, the disk is write-protected and cannot be written to. Make
sure to slide the tab down so that the square hole is open.

An error message saying the drive is not accessible displays when inserting a disk.

Be sure the Standard BIOS Setup is set correctly for your floppy drive (most are 3 1/2
inch, 1.44 MB). If you have more than one floppy drive, check to see if you have Floppy
Drive swapping Enabled in CMOS. Make sure the floppy disk is not write-protected. Try
another floppy drive. Replace the floppy cable. If the floppy drive LED stays on all of the
time, you have the flat cable plugged in backwards on either the motherboard or drive;
the red stripe goes to pin 1. You could have a bad box of floppy disks. After running a
virus scan on the floppy disk, try the floppy disk in another computer.

One or more files cannot be read from a floppy disk.

This depends on several factors:

 Files have become unreadable because the floppy disk has been ejected while the

green light is still lit and the computer did not finish writing data to the disk. In
this case, the files are probably corrupt and the information is unreadable. Always
wait until the green light turns off before removing the floppy disk from the drive.

 The floppy disk is damaged. Damaged files may be recoverable, but it is

recommended to keep the data on a backup disk.

 A file may be infected with a virus. Use anti-virus software to check the files on

the floppy disk.

 A file can become corrupt if there is not enough space left to hold the saved file.

What are the Mode 1 and Mode 2 options on some floppy disk drives?

Mode 1 formats and stores 720 K of data. Mode 2 formats and stores 1.44 MB of data.
Mode 2 is the most common.