USB Floppy Drive Driver

I recently switched to Mac, and was trying to get my new MacBook set up. I have a DYNEX USB floppy drive (Model: DX-EF101), and need to connect it to my computer. Is there a driver I can use, or one that works for most external USB floppys?
MacBook2,1 Mac OS X (10.4.9) 2 GB RAM, 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor

Have you tried it? Most USB storage devices "just
work".
One thing you will want to do, is always drag the
floppy disk icon to the trash, before you manually
eject the real floppy disk.
Yes, nothing shows up.

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Disk Copy Utility to Write HFS disk images to USB floppy & ZIP drives?

Is there a disk copy utility that allows one to copy an HFS disk image directly to an attached USB drive, bypassing the Finder? I have both 100MB ZIP & 1.44MB floppy images which need to be restored to original media.

If you don't have a Mac that can read your OS X Installer DVD, then you have no way of putting it onto the USB drive.
Although there is PC software that will enable you to read from and write to Mac formatted drives on a PC, you cannot boot a PC from a Mac installer disc. The only possible solution would be the use of third-party PC software that can read an OS X Installer DVD restore its content to an OS X formatted USB drive. Unfortunately I have no idea if there is such an animal.
Maybe you should just order an external optical drive or a replacement drive for the defective one. You might check out macsales.com. Surely UPS delivers to the "middle of nowhere."

USB floppy drive doesn't work

Hello.
I just bought a floppy drive and it may seem defective. I DID load at least ONE disk (System 7.1 install disk 1) but then it went crazy. Now all it does is make one beep every few seconds. What happened?

"I DID load at least ONE disk (System 7.1 install disk 1) but then it went crazy."
The OS 7.1 install disk set is likely on 800K-formatted floppy disks. The easiest way to differentiate between a Double-Density (720K) and High-Density (1.44 MB) disk is the extra hole at the back corner on the 1.44 MB disk. A Double-Density disk only has the single hole with the sliding lock tab. Modern USB floppy disk drives support the 720K and 1.44 MB disks used in PCs, but don't support Apple's 800K-formatted disks. Apple's FDDs had a variable-speed motor, which enabled them to accommodate 800K of data on a 720K disk. This is what caused the drive to become unstable.
"Please also note that I had a floppy working at one point."
If it was an Apple-formatted disk, I assume that it was a 1.44 MB type.

Would you be willing to install WinXP using a floppy and driver w/ BootCamp

I think Apple may be able to provide us full SATA compatibility quickly if they were willing to program the AHCI controller device in enhanced AHCI mode.
This would require us to install (reinstall) windows and use a USB floppy to install the intel AHCI drivers, since they are not a part of WinXP. This is generally what users of the server-class Intel motherboards have to do if they want full SATA performance.
Users who are not accustomed to WinXP installation may find this too difficult.
Perhaps instead of a BIOS set up, Apple can provide an OS X utility that allows configuration of certain system resources. Many WinTel manufacturers provide similar utilities, to simplify BIOS setup. Such a utility would allow more advanced users to enable enhanced-AHCI mode, while the mess experienced users can continue to work in PIO mode.
If you are interested in learning more about the Intel SATA controller in the WinTel environment, you can find more information in the following links:
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/storage/serialATA_FAQ.mspx
http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/imsm/sb/cs-021736.htm
ftp://download.intel.com/design/chipsets/manuals/30144401.pdf (Not specific to the 5000X chipset, but AHCI is a standard across multiple intel chipsets)
Mac Pro 2.66 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

The real problem with the Mac Pro and Windows right now is how it sets up the SATA controller device in the CSM, I believe.
Apple can fix this one of 2 ways:
1. Give us PATA emulation with full DMA support, but this does not give us SATA NCQ.
2. Give us Enhanced AHCI support, with NCQ, but this requires us to install an intel driver at windows install time using a USB floppy.
I believe #2 shouldn't be hard for apple to implement, but it makes Windows harder to install. That is why I called for an OS X application that lets the user choose which mode they want the SATA controller to run in.
I included the links above as background material into the full problem, from how to program the device in a BIOS (or CSM) to installing the drivers.
I am asking people, if Apple could provide a firmware update, would you be willing to install Windows again using a USB floppy and driver, or would you rather wait for PATA emulation with DMA support.
I previously wrote a posting that describes this problem:
I have spent a few days researching SATA, and how it is handled under Windows, especially Intel's implementation. Intel is pushing a standardized controller interface called AHCI. AHCI does support legacy PATA emulation. In WinTel platform, it is a requirement of the BIOS to configure the AHCI device properly. The AHCI PCI device will present different PCI subcodes depending if it is running in PATA or native mode. These PCI subcodes are used to choose the appropriate driver at boot time.
For best performance, SATA wants to run in native mode which, on the Mac Pro platform, means running the controller device in AHCI mode. AHCI fully supports DMA as well as Native Command Queuing (NCQ). Combining these two technologies give the best performance.
The PATA emulation can support DMA, depending on the actual BIOS implementation. PATA can not support NCQ.
With Boot Camp, Apple is providing a BIOS layer on top of EFI, the new standard for low-level PC firmware. This layer is called a CSM (Compatibility Support Module). I believe the CSM is not programming the device to enter AHCI mode. Also, the CSM is not providing anything other than Programmed I/O (PIO or non-DMA) in their PATA emulation support.
How do we work around this? I don't know. I am hoping to bring others into this discussion to see if we can figure something out. Considering Apple released Boot Camp 1.1 with the same flaw, I don't believe we can expect them to resolve this issue soon.
Putting the device in AHCI mode may present more difficult problems for Apple. They will have to change their CSM to support loading the boot sector using AHCI instead of PATA protocols.
There is one other thing to note, when you boot with device in AHCI mode, and then install Windows, you must install a 3rd party driver provided by Intel at installation time. Pressing the F6 key early on in the install process, inserting a floppy, which contains the driver, and then choosing the driver for installation. The CSM will have to support USB floppies (I have not tested to see if it does, yet). It also means that any user that currently has Windows installed will have to reinstall Windows once we determine how to put the device in AHCI mode.
If we were willing to give up NCQ, it might be easier for Apple to extend their CSM to include better PATA emulation. We may be limited to 100MB/s, or 133MB/s at best. This is more than enough bandwidth to support any single drive.
Various Intel Macs Mac OS X (10.4.6)

USB Floppy Drive with Leopard?

I'm not sure where else to post this... I have an NEC USB Floppy Drive that used to work under Tiger. Since updating to Leopard, the drive is no longer recognized.
It does, however, work under Parallels Desktop running Windows XP (I got a message that a Flashbuster-U floppy drive was detected.)
The drive is pretty old - it was part of a laptop project from 1998 or so, and while it is still functional, I'm surprised that the support isn't built in anymore.

I did a Google search on "NEC USB floppy" as well as "mac usb floppy" and found nothing other than information regarding SuperDrives, various flavors of Iomega drives, and something called Pace that referred to floppy drives in OS9.
Oh well. Pain in the butt to run Windows every time I would need it (and honestly the need is not that great) but as long as I can make it work...
-Z

Tips for working with USB floppy drives

I was just wondering if anyone had any tips on working with USB floppy drives in Archlinux.
One thing I've noticed is that trying to use mkfs.msdos on my USB floppy drive directly doesn't seem to result in a usable disk (it's mountable, but reports that I don't have enough space available to copy files), but if I use the command on an image file the same size as a floppy disk and then use dd to copy the blank image to my USB drive I get a disk that's perfectly usable. Anybody know what the deal is with that or how I might be able to successfully format a disk in fewer steps (other than keeping the blank images around and just using dd to format the floppies, haha)?
Also, I'd like to hear any other tips or tricks any of you have for working with USB floppy drives. They just seem so much more usable under Windows as opposed to Linux, and that disappoints me a little.

jmetal88 wrote:Okay, thanks guys. I haven't figured out the issue yet, but you're helping me narrow it down. I decided to run a df -h command after each try of formatting the disk this time. I tried the low-level ufiformat command followed by a mkfs.msdos on the device, using a 720k disk, and df -h showed 700k free on the file system. It's just not making the file system large enough (I believe the file I was trying to copy over was 710k or so). When I run mkfs.msdos on a 720k disk image and then dd the image over to the drive, df -h shows 713k free after mounting the drive. Any idea why mkfs.msdos isn't filling out the full 720k on the disk itself, but is on the image?
I would assume this happens because (as far as I can tell from skimming through the source over the course of a few minutes) mkfs.fat only applies floppy size heuristics to fd and lo devices -- your USB floppy drive is treated as a hard drive, and that leads to less-than-ideal default parameters. Run
fsck.fat -v
on the more spacious filesystem to figure out what options need to be set when you attempt formatting an actual disk. Or just make things easier by keeping newly-formatted blank disk images on hand so that dd and (maybe) ufiformat are all you need to worry about.

Portege R100 - can I reinstall WXP with USB floppy & USB drive?

I have recently corrupted my R100 through a virus attack. In spite of belatedly cleaning things up with Norton it now goes very slowly and I believe the only way forward is through a total XP reinstall.
I have the original recovery CDs and a USB floppy drive but not a PCMIA CDRom. As luck would have it my USB CDRom is broken. How do I get out of this situation? I am about to throw out an old desktop and would be happy to use the XP retail on the R100 if needed. Moreover is there any way to start the format & install process from a bootable floppy and then install the bulk of the OS from a USB drive - having been populated previously with copies of CD contents? Desperate people dream up desperate methods!
I have read some other threads on XP recovery issues but they are not entirely coincident with my circumstances. Any help on this front would be very gratefully received.
Thanks in advance.

If you can get the setup files onto the R100 HDD using a FAT32 partition, you can install Windows from the HDD after booting from an MSDOS boot disk. (MSDOS cannot see NTFS drives).
You can use a 1.8" USB HDD Adapter to copy the Setup files to the R100 HDD from another PC. The Adapter wouldn't be expensive.

USB floppy drive not getting recognized

I've just bought a USB floppy drive, and when I plug it in and insert a disk, it is not recognized. The drive itself works fine. I've read that when I put in an improperly formatted disk it should prompt me to initialize the disk, but this did not happen... and I don't have any properly formatted disks to try.
If it matters, my ultimate goal here is to create floppies that will be friendly with really old Macs, and my only resource is my MacBook Pro.

If they treat their hardware like most manufacturers they would provide a new driver. I have an HP printer that is 4 years old and HP provided me a new Leopard driver. It is only plug and play if the correct drivers are in place. Since it is an older piece of equipment it may have not been included with Leopards development. Check the IBM site for new drivers.

Equium L350-10L - WXP installation without USB Floppy Drive

Hi Guys,
Recently purchased a L350-10L and I'd like to upgrade to Windows XP from Vista. ;-)
I'm aware I need the Intel Matrix Storage Manager drivers loaded during the XP installation but I don't have a USB Floppy Drive. I've tried using USB key but with little success. Is there any way to do this without a USB FDD or have I gotta bite the bullet?
Many thanks for your time,
Leon Rice
[email protected]

I agree with kody. On this forum you can find fantastic threads with precise description how to use nLite software for WXP installation. Just use Advanced search option.

USB Floppy Drive That Can Read 2-DD Disks?

I need to access some info from some 2-DD floppies, and I got a Sony MPF88E for this purpose. Although it says in the manual it can read these disks, it doesn't; I put the disk in, it sounds like it's spinning, and then stops, without displaying an icon, and Disk Utility doesn't see anything there. The drive was able to read an HD floppy just fine. I told this to Sony and they said it should read 2-DDS, so it must be defective. I got another drive with the same result. Also, I tried two different 2-DD floppies each time with the same result.
Interestingly, I went looking for another drive and see the SmartDisk 2x floppy drive on the Apple Store, but one reviewer says it doesn't read 2-DD disks: http://store.apple.com/us/reviews/T8169LL/A?fnode=MTY1NDA0Nw&p=1&s=topSellers
I can probably pick up a Quadra or something for the price of a drive, but for convenience sake (I've got boxes full of floppies I'd like to archive and get rid of), I'd really like a USB drive.
I also see a Lacie floppy drive out there with favorable reviews except that it's "slow," which for floppies is something you kinda have to live with, but it's a "1x" drive, and I wonder if this spec might have anything to do with its reading ability? The Sony and the SmartDisk are both "2x."
Can anyone recommend a USB floppy drive that can definitely read 2-DD disks?
Thanks!

I can tell you that the LaCie drive with a mechanism by Y-E Data definitely has the same problem. I first tried using it yesterday and couldn't get it to read any of the disks I wanted to use. I contacted LaCie, and their tech had no idea what the problem was. This morning, I tried all the disks I have lying around and two worked like a charm. I thought it had something to do with brand until I realized they were both HD disks and the rest were DD disks. Y-E blames it on the lack of capability in the Apple Driver in OSX, but either way, I still can't read my DD disks in 10.5.6.

USB floppy drive compatibility

Alright. I really hope you guys have an answer for me.
I posted this in "input devices" and didn't get any responses. Hopefully I'll have better luck here:)
I purchased a SmartDisk USB floppy drive. When I installed the software, Classic launched (this is when I became a bit concerned).
I restarted my machine, put a floppy (formatted for Mac) into the drive and waited. The icon that was supposed to show up on my desktop wasn't there. I tried a few floppies, with the same results.
I followed all of the instructions, but I'm not seeing any floppy icons on my desktop. When I check in System Profiler, the floppy drive is recognized.
On the box, compabitility for Mac OS 8.5 and above is claimed...
Any help is appreciated!

This is what it says:
<code>Windows: Disk in drive x: is not formatted, do you want to format now? Mac: Floppy Disk does not mount on the desktop.
We have learned that on some computers, powering up the computer with the floppy drive connected can put it in a state where it will not properly read floppy disks. To see if this might be the situation on your particular system, try either of the following as a potential workaround:
1. Power up the computer with the floppy disconnected. Then connect the floppy drive, allow it a few moments to mount, and attempt to read a floppy.
2. If the computer was already powered up with the floppy drive connected and the floppy drive does not appear to be performing normally, disconnect the floppy drive [using the "Unplug or Eject Hardware" icon in the Windows taskbar, or by dragging to the Trash on the Mac]. Then reconnect it and try to read a floppy disk.
3. We also need to make sure that we are using 1.4MB HD (High Density) Floppy Disks, not DD (Double Density) Floppy Disks.
4. Try the drive on different USB ports, or another machine. Make sure that you are not connected through a hub or other device, but directly to the machine.</code>

SA30-414 boot from the USB floppy drive

Hi All!
I'm tryin to get my my satellite A30-414 to boot from the USB floppy drive and enter the dos mode, but all i get is a black screen (without a cursor, of course!!), and then the windows XP logon page directly. Can you tell me whether this model has a boot device menu hotkey?
Also, I may have permanently changed some boot configurations (namely by holding down the F12 at startup and then the F2 key at a later try) with my attempts to get the machine to boot from floppy drive: now even when the floppy drive is not connected i get this awkward black screen and then, after a few seconds, the windows logon page. How can I acceed the setup menu and check?
Thanks in advance for your help!

Thanks to you all for your support!
Now I'll tell how this problem originated. I connected the standard usb fdd with a standard DOS boot disk to which I had added a firmware upgrade for my DVDrom unit. I powered on and held the F12 key down expecting to see the boot device selection menu, instead i got a black screen for a few seconds and then the winXP logon page. At this point i rebooted and held down the F2 key with the same purpose. But the computer went into some kind of hybernation and by pressing the power-on button it shut down.
From that moment on startup I don't see the BIOS POST page anymore: countless seconds of black screen and then the WinXP logon page. The most optimistic explanation to this is that i inadvertently changed the boot order, so it searches for floppy first, and when it doesn't find it then it goes to C:\. Does it sound logical?

Purchased a USB Floppy Drive..Having trouble installing?

I'm trying to install, having trouble understanding pdf manuel. Can anyone explain in true laymen terms. I have intel mac and trying to learn the cp language. How do you get the mac to read the floppy when it is inserted?
ALL INFO FROM YOU EXPERTS WILL BE OF GREAT VALUE
Thank you
Lisa

Hi, Lisa.
If you have a USB Floppy Drive, all you need to do is connect it to one of the USB ports on your Mac. Then insert floppy. That's it.
Performance of floppy drives under Mac OS X is notoriously slow compared to under Mac OS 9, but they work. With a Mac, there's no software to install: it's truly plug-and-play with USB floppy drives.
What specific brand and model number of USB floppy drive did you buy?
My wife has a Targus model PA905 external USB floppy drive that works properly with all our Macs and her work PC.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

Usb floppy drive

Hi all,
I just bought a usb floppy drive. Anybody could help me to access floppy device, please? Do i need to create device first or solaris will auto detect it?
thank you in advance.
regards,
zonex

Does the VAIO have USB ports and at least Win 98? Pretty much I use the thumb drives for small files. I've got a 128 MB SanDisk Cruzer Mini that I've been using for a couple of years. I've also got an unopened 256 MB version. These things are so cheap that a reasonable sized one is a must.
Other than that, I've got a macally USB floppy drive. It's really, really slow, even compared to a typical internal floppy. I'm not sure why I bought it other than for the rare case I get or find something that comes in a floppy.

Windows Virtual PC 2007 USB Floppy drive

I'm planning to get VirtualPC 2007 for Vista Home Premium SP2, and I wanted to make up a collection of Windows'es from 1985 all the way to 2015. I'm not even sure if 64 bit is enabled in my bios, but I will just change it if not. But since i'm using a laptop
from the newer generation I have no floppy drive, which about half of the windows versions are on. But I have 2 USB floppy drives, and I want to know before I waste all my money on Windows/286. So it narrows it all down to this, Is VPC 2007 compatible with
USB floppy drives?
Thanks,
-CookieHumm

oh yes, you are unfamiliar with windows sharing. no prob.
First off you have to set up a network on your windows PC. I don't know how savvy you are with your PC, but basically you have run the network setup wizard. You might also have to set up a protocol in your network properties (usually IPX will do the trick). If you click on the windows start button and see a network button near the my computer button you are most of the way there.
Once you have your computer set up for networking you need to enable sharing, which you also do in the network properties (there is a checkbox somewhere).
Lastly, you need to specify which folder(s) you want to share! Just right click on the drive (D: for example) in my computer and click 'sharing'. Naviagate the menus and enable sharing.
Your MBP is already set up for talking to windows networks, so just go to finder and click on networks, pick the workgroup that you specified when you set up your network on your windows machine and click ok. A connection to your external drive should appear. Now you can drag and drop all the files you want.
Sorry if this is confusing, but I can't really rememeber all this stuff off the top of my head.
If you want more clarification, search for 'how to share in windows XP' or something like that.
Good luck

USB Floppy Drive Driver

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