Can't read A drive
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From: Helixal on 11 Jan 2010 18:50 I just installed Windows xp sp3 on an older Compaq workstation. When I try to read a file on the A drive I can get the list of files on the floppy but I cant read any of the files even .txt files. I get messages like "cannot read theA:readme.txt file or in another case "the folder is invalid or corrupted" I can use notepad to write a file and then write it to the floppy and I can read the file back My objective in all this is to load windows 3.1 into the virtual machine Sun virtual Box. When I try to load the boot disk using virtual box I have the same problem.
From: sgopus on 11 Jan 2010 20:47 I think the key here is OLDER workstation, try replacing the floppy drive, it's possible that either the drive is out of alignment and not finding the proper bits to locate the file(s), and or the floppy discs have gotten corrupted, since new floppy drives are really cheap, just get a new one. "Helixal" wrote: > I just installed Windows xp sp3 on an older Compaq workstation. When I try > to read a file on the A drive I can get the list of files on the floppy but > I cant read any of the files even .txt files. I get messages like "cannot > read theA:readme.txt file or in another case "the folder is invalid or > corrupted" I can use notepad to write a file and then write it to the > floppy and I can read the file back My objective in all this is to load > windows 3.1 into the virtual machine Sun virtual Box. When I try to load > the boot disk using virtual box I have the same problem. > > > > . >
From: VanguardLH on 12 Jan 2010 01:38 Helixal wrote: > I just installed Windows xp sp3 on an older Compaq workstation. When I try > to read a file on the A drive I can get the list of files on the floppy but > I cant read any of the files even .txt files. I get messages like "cannot > read theA:readme.txt file or in another case "the folder is invalid or > corrupted" I can use notepad to write a file and then write it to the > floppy and I can read the file back My objective in all this is to load > windows 3.1 into the virtual machine Sun virtual Box. When I try to load > the boot disk using virtual box I have the same problem. Did you use a cleaner diskette (the wet type) to clean the heads? Although the floppy drive has a spring-loaded coverplate to hide the slot, the vacuum from the case fans pushing air out the back of the case will draw air past the floppy's coverplate. The result is you get dust inside your floppy unless the intake path elsewhere (front cover, side panel) are so unrestricted that all the intake airflow comes through them. Did you format the floppy in the diskette drive that is in this old Compaq host or on some other host? If not, the alignment for tracks in the diskette drive in one host might be sufficiently different than the alignment for the diskette drive in the old host. You sure the diskette drive types are compatible? You might have formatted the floppy in a 2.88MB 3-1/2" ED diskette drive but perhaps the old Compaq host only has a 1.44MB 3-1/2" HD diskette drive. Also, is HD or ED printed on the floppy itself? See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floppy_disk. Floppies are known to lose bits over time (i.e., they lose retentivity due to magnetic dipole stress - they want to realign over time to reduce stress from differing polarities and this "softens" the recorded data), especially because of the physical contact of the heads scraping against the flexible media. Have you ever refreshed that floppy to ensure to realign the dipoles to strengthen detection of the bits read from that floppy? When was the last time you wrote to the floppy? How long have the files been sitting on that floppy without ever getting rewritten (not read but rewritten)? Floppies are supposed to have up to a few years of data retention but the data often starts going "soft" before that which generates read errors unless the data on the floppy gets refreshed (by getting rewritten). Because there is no shielding inside the soft shell for a floppy, they are also susceptible to stray magnetic fields, like from a magnet or old mechanical telephone bell ringers, which can soften the magnetic recording (even sufficiently to make the sectors unreadable). There are utilities, like SpinRite with its Level 3 refresh function, that will rewrite all sectors of the magnetic media to realign the dipoles to strengthen the signal and detection of the data on the floppy or disk. You'll need to decide if the value of the data on the floppy is worth the cost of getting SpinRite to refresh that floppy or attempt to recover unreadable data.
From: Bill in Co. on 12 Jan 2010 02:42 VanguardLH wrote: > Helixal wrote: > >> I just installed Windows xp sp3 on an older Compaq workstation. When I >> try >> to read a file on the A drive I can get the list of files on the floppy >> but >> I cant read any of the files even .txt files. I get messages like >> "cannot >> read theA:readme.txt file or in another case "the folder is invalid or >> corrupted" I can use notepad to write a file and then write it to the >> floppy and I can read the file back My objective in all this is to load >> windows 3.1 into the virtual machine Sun virtual Box. When I try to load >> the boot disk using virtual box I have the same problem. > > Did you use a cleaner diskette (the wet type) to clean the heads? > Although > the floppy drive has a spring-loaded coverplate to hide the slot, the > vacuum > from the case fans pushing air out the back of the case will draw air past > the floppy's coverplate. The result is you get dust inside your floppy > unless the intake path elsewhere (front cover, side panel) are so > unrestricted that all the intake airflow comes through them. > > Did you format the floppy in the diskette drive that is in this old Compaq > host or on some other host? If not, the alignment for tracks in the > diskette drive in one host might be sufficiently different than the > alignment for the diskette drive in the old host. > > You sure the diskette drive types are compatible? You might have > formatted > the floppy in a 2.88MB 3-1/2" ED diskette drive but perhaps the old Compaq > host only has a 1.44MB 3-1/2" HD diskette drive. Also, is HD or ED > printed > on the floppy itself? See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floppy_disk. > > Floppies are known to lose bits over time (i.e., they lose retentivity due > to magnetic dipole stress - they want to realign over time to reduce > stress > from differing polarities and this "softens" the recorded data), > especially > because of the physical contact of the heads scraping against the flexible > media. Have you ever refreshed that floppy to ensure to realign the > dipoles > to strengthen detection of the bits read from that floppy? When was the > last time you wrote to the floppy? How long have the files been sitting > on > that floppy without ever getting rewritten (not read but rewritten)? > Floppies are supposed to have up to a few years of data retention but the > data often starts going "soft" before that which generates read errors > unless the data on the floppy gets refreshed (by getting rewritten). Vanguard, do you know of any cite that talks about this floppy data retention issue? It would be an interesting read.
From: VanguardLH on 12 Jan 2010 04:15
Bill in Co. wrote: > VanguardLH wrote: >> Helixal wrote: >> >>> I just installed Windows xp sp3 on an older Compaq workstation. When I >>> try >>> to read a file on the A drive I can get the list of files on the floppy >>> but >>> I cant read any of the files even .txt files. I get messages like >>> "cannot >>> read theA:readme.txt file or in another case "the folder is invalid or >>> corrupted" I can use notepad to write a file and then write it to the >>> floppy and I can read the file back My objective in all this is to load >>> windows 3.1 into the virtual machine Sun virtual Box. When I try to load >>> the boot disk using virtual box I have the same problem. >> >> Did you use a cleaner diskette (the wet type) to clean the heads? >> Although >> the floppy drive has a spring-loaded coverplate to hide the slot, the >> vacuum >> from the case fans pushing air out the back of the case will draw air past >> the floppy's coverplate. The result is you get dust inside your floppy >> unless the intake path elsewhere (front cover, side panel) are so >> unrestricted that all the intake airflow comes through them. >> >> Did you format the floppy in the diskette drive that is in this old Compaq >> host or on some other host? If not, the alignment for tracks in the >> diskette drive in one host might be sufficiently different than the >> alignment for the diskette drive in the old host. >> >> You sure the diskette drive types are compatible? You might have >> formatted >> the floppy in a 2.88MB 3-1/2" ED diskette drive but perhaps the old Compaq >> host only has a 1.44MB 3-1/2" HD diskette drive. Also, is HD or ED >> printed >> on the floppy itself? See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floppy_disk. >> >> Floppies are known to lose bits over time (i.e., they lose retentivity due >> to magnetic dipole stress - they want to realign over time to reduce >> stress >> from differing polarities and this "softens" the recorded data), >> especially >> because of the physical contact of the heads scraping against the flexible >> media. Have you ever refreshed that floppy to ensure to realign the >> dipoles >> to strengthen detection of the bits read from that floppy? When was the >> last time you wrote to the floppy? How long have the files been sitting >> on >> that floppy without ever getting rewritten (not read but rewritten)? >> Floppies are supposed to have up to a few years of data retention but the >> data often starts going "soft" before that which generates read errors >> unless the data on the floppy gets refreshed (by getting rewritten). > > Vanguard, do you know of any cite that talks about this floppy data > retention issue? It would be an interesting read. Basically I came across the information and issue when I had hard disks that were increasingly errored with read errors. When I started using SpinRite, and when, as I recall, there was more technical details available, I realized just what was dipole stress (my layman's term for why there is a natural tendency for magnetic dipoles to realign, or I adopted the term long ago after reading something about it) and why retention wanes with any magnetically encoded data. I'm sure there are articles out there that discuss more in depth regarding the physics involved. Just imagine you have 2 bar magnets. When they are oppositely oriented, they tend to push on each other. When attracted, they pull. There is a natural tendency to realign. Magnetic dipoles is the due to the moment of the electron. Electrons move (or their cloud changes). Material is elastic. It moves. Reversed oriented dipoles don't want to stay that way. Their magnetic force wants to have them realign. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipole |