Format 720k floppy

  • Thread starter Thread starter Charlie Bress
  • Start date Start date
C

Charlie Bress

I am using XP Pro. Is there any way to format the old 720K floppies?

The format memo only shows the 1.44M diskettes.

Charlie
 
Charlie said:
I am using XP Pro. Is there any way to format the old 720K floppies?

The format memo only shows the 1.44M diskettes.

Charlie
Click to expand...
I stored the following away in a deep recess of my hard drive. Take it
for what it's worth (assumes that your floppy drive is capable of all 3
modes):

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q309623 --
"Windows XP supports formatting only the 1.44MB disk format. Three-mode
floppy drives (drives that are capable of reading/writing with 720KB,
1.2MB and 1.44MB 3.5" disks) requires special driver support, and
support for this feature is not included in Windows XP.

Some 3mode FD drivers may be installed on PCs with Windows XP by OEMs,
although Microsoft does not provide the end-user support for 3mode
drivers. Please contact your OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) if
you have any questions on 3mode drivers."

Why did they remove something that every other version of Windows has?
I don't know either. Nonetheless, support is gone in the Microsoft
floppy driver for Windows XP.

Now, I have two white box PC's - one with a Mitsumi floppy and one with
a Sony floppy disk drive. Both drives support
reading/writing/formatting of 720K, 1.2MB and 1.44MB floppies (hence
"3mode" floppy). Notice in the Q article that if the drive supports
formatting of anything more than 1.44MB floppies, it isn't supported!
Since *most* floppy disk drives from Japanese vendors (Sony, Mitsumi,
etc) are 3 mode, does this mean a lot of people will be in the same
boat? It appears so.

It so happens that my 2 machines were running Windows XP Pro - as
previously stated, one has a Mitsumi floppy, and one has a Sony floppy.
Both were quad booting, running Debian Linux (Woody), Windows 98 SE,
Windows 2000 (one has SP2, one has SP3), and Windows XP Professional
(one has SP1, one does not). Both PC's were basically identical in
software loads, and both PC's had the same problem; XP wouldn't read a
floppy diskette formatted in Linux or Win98, and Linux and Win98 were
running ON THE SAME MACHINE. I could format the floppy to 1.44MB in
Windows XP, but then I couldn't read it in Win98 (Linux would read the
floppy); swapping formatted floppies amongst machines produced the same
results. This meant that it wasn't a hardware problem, it was an XP
problem - more specifically, a driver problem.

So I went looking for a 3mode floppy driver. First, I tried the Windows
2000 stock floppy driver. No go. I tried the Windows ME floppy driver.
Again, no go. I tried the Windows 98 floppy driver. Nada.

It took me a day or two more, but I found one at http://www.viaarena.com.
This driver is for Windows XP Embedded, but works just fine in Windows
XP. I had to force the driver in (Windows XP wouldn't take it using the
normal driver update process), but I now have no problems with my floppy
drive. I suggest you download this before they pull it in violation of
the DMCA or something ;O)

Here's the link to the driver:
http://downloads.viaarena.com/WinXPE/Oct02/XPe_3mflp132_v10.zip

And here are the steps necessary to install it (make sure there isn't a
floppy disk in the drive!):

1. Download driver.

2. Unzip the driver somewhere (I keep all of my drivers in
C:\Drivers\<Driver>, so I extracted it to C:\Drivers\3mode).

3. Open Windows XP's Device Manager, expand the "Floppy disk
controllers" heading, and double-click the listing for "Standard floppy
disk controller".

4. Click the "Driver" tab, then click the "Update Driver" button.

5. Select the "Install from a list or specific location" radio button
and click the "Next" button.

6. Select the "Don't search. I will choose the driver to install."
radio button and click the "Next" button.

7. Click the "Have Disk" button; then, click the "Browse" button.
Browse to the location that you extracted the files to in step 2 and
double click the "VIA3MFPY.INF" file. Then, click the "OK" button.

8. You should now have "VIA 3-mode floppy controller" highlighted in the
drivers list. Click the "Next" button to begin the driver file copy.
Once the file copy is complete, your floppy disk drive will access 3
times (checking all 3 "modes"). This is normal. Click the "Finish"
button when the driver installation is complete.

9a. You may, or may not, have a device labeled "Unknown Device" in the
"Other Devices" heading in Device Manager. If so, continue with step
9a. If not, skip to step 9b. If you have a device labeled "Unknown
Device" in the "Other Devices" heading in Device Manager, right-click on
it and select "Update Driver". Follow steps 5 through 8 to complete the
installation of "Floppy disk drive" (note that the naming of the driver
in the drivers list in step 8 may be different during this step - this
is normal). Once you've clicked the "Finish" button, continue on to
step 10.

9b. If you do not have a device labeled "Unknown Device" in the "Other
Devices" heading in Device Manager, expand the "Floppy disk drives"
heading in Device Manager and double-click the listing for "Floppy disk
drive". Follow steps 4 through 8 to complete the installation of "Floppy
disk drive" (note that the naming of the driver in the drivers list in
step 8 may be different during this step - this is normal). Once you've
clicked the "Finish" button, continue on to step 10.

10. Reboot your PC. This should let you know if all of your hard work
REALLY paid off. Check the Device Manager one last time to be sure that
you now have the "VIA 3-mode floppy controller listed under the "Floppy
disk controllers" heading. Put a file on a floppy in Win98 (or another
non-XP OS) and you should now be able to access it in Windows XP (and
vice-versa) without issue. You made it!
 
To format A Disk for 720K.
format a: /t:80/n:9

Open the command prompt and try the above.

make sure you type it exactly.

--

==================================
TaurArian [MS-MVP] 2005-2007 - Australia
==================================
http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
Need more help? http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=ph;en-us;6527
Get Safe online: http://www.getsafeonline.org/
(Links to web pages and MSKB Articles are posted for the purposes of keeping the
information current)


"Charlie Bress" <Here-I-am-at-the-last-moment.com> wrote in message
|I am using XP Pro. Is there any way to format the old 720K floppies?
|
| The format memo only shows the 1.44M diskettes.
|
| Charlie
|
|
 
might need a floppy drive
that is 720k ready.

check out your cmos
settings and see if you
are provided the option as well...

else, glue some decorations
on them for christmas trees...
 
funny....


Lem said:
I stored the following away in a deep recess of my hard drive. Take it
for what it's worth (assumes that your floppy drive is capable of all 3
modes):

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q309623 --
"Windows XP supports formatting only the 1.44MB disk format. Three-mode
floppy drives (drives that are capable of reading/writing with 720KB,
1.2MB and 1.44MB 3.5" disks) requires special driver support, and support
for this feature is not included in Windows XP.

Some 3mode FD drivers may be installed on PCs with Windows XP by OEMs,
although Microsoft does not provide the end-user support for 3mode
drivers. Please contact your OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) if you
have any questions on 3mode drivers."

Why did they remove something that every other version of Windows has? I
don't know either. Nonetheless, support is gone in the Microsoft floppy
driver for Windows XP.

Now, I have two white box PC's - one with a Mitsumi floppy and one with a
Sony floppy disk drive. Both drives support reading/writing/formatting of
720K, 1.2MB and 1.44MB floppies (hence "3mode" floppy). Notice in the Q
article that if the drive supports formatting of anything more than 1.44MB
floppies, it isn't supported! Since *most* floppy disk drives from
Japanese vendors (Sony, Mitsumi, etc) are 3 mode, does this mean a lot of
people will be in the same boat? It appears so.

It so happens that my 2 machines were running Windows XP Pro - as
previously stated, one has a Mitsumi floppy, and one has a Sony floppy.
Both were quad booting, running Debian Linux (Woody), Windows 98 SE,
Windows 2000 (one has SP2, one has SP3), and Windows XP Professional (one
has SP1, one does not). Both PC's were basically identical in software
loads, and both PC's had the same problem; XP wouldn't read a floppy
diskette formatted in Linux or Win98, and Linux and Win98 were running ON
THE SAME MACHINE. I could format the floppy to 1.44MB in Windows XP, but
then I couldn't read it in Win98 (Linux would read the floppy); swapping
formatted floppies amongst machines produced the same results. This meant
that it wasn't a hardware problem, it was an XP problem - more
specifically, a driver problem.

So I went looking for a 3mode floppy driver. First, I tried the Windows
2000 stock floppy driver. No go. I tried the Windows ME floppy driver.
Again, no go. I tried the Windows 98 floppy driver. Nada.

It took me a day or two more, but I found one at http://www.viaarena.com.
This driver is for Windows XP Embedded, but works just fine in Windows XP.
I had to force the driver in (Windows XP wouldn't take it using the normal
driver update process), but I now have no problems with my floppy drive.
I suggest you download this before they pull it in violation of the DMCA
or something ;O)

Here's the link to the driver:
http://downloads.viaarena.com/WinXPE/Oct02/XPe_3mflp132_v10.zip

And here are the steps necessary to install it (make sure there isn't a
floppy disk in the drive!):

1. Download driver.

2. Unzip the driver somewhere (I keep all of my drivers in
C:\Drivers\<Driver>, so I extracted it to C:\Drivers\3mode).

3. Open Windows XP's Device Manager, expand the "Floppy disk controllers"
heading, and double-click the listing for "Standard floppy disk
controller".

4. Click the "Driver" tab, then click the "Update Driver" button.

5. Select the "Install from a list or specific location" radio button and
click the "Next" button.

6. Select the "Don't search. I will choose the driver to install." radio
button and click the "Next" button.

7. Click the "Have Disk" button; then, click the "Browse" button. Browse
to the location that you extracted the files to in step 2 and double click
the "VIA3MFPY.INF" file. Then, click the "OK" button.

8. You should now have "VIA 3-mode floppy controller" highlighted in the
drivers list. Click the "Next" button to begin the driver file copy. Once
the file copy is complete, your floppy disk drive will access 3 times
(checking all 3 "modes"). This is normal. Click the "Finish" button when
the driver installation is complete.

9a. You may, or may not, have a device labeled "Unknown Device" in the
"Other Devices" heading in Device Manager. If so, continue with step 9a.
If not, skip to step 9b. If you have a device labeled "Unknown Device" in
the "Other Devices" heading in Device Manager, right-click on it and
select "Update Driver". Follow steps 5 through 8 to complete the
installation of "Floppy disk drive" (note that the naming of the driver in
the drivers list in step 8 may be different during this step - this is
normal). Once you've clicked the "Finish" button, continue on to step 10.

9b. If you do not have a device labeled "Unknown Device" in the "Other
Devices" heading in Device Manager, expand the "Floppy disk drives"
heading in Device Manager and double-click the listing for "Floppy disk
drive". Follow steps 4 through 8 to complete the installation of "Floppy
disk drive" (note that the naming of the driver in the drivers list in
step 8 may be different during this step - this is normal). Once you've
clicked the "Finish" button, continue on to step 10.

10. Reboot your PC. This should let you know if all of your hard work
REALLY paid off. Check the Device Manager one last time to be sure that
you now have the "VIA 3-mode floppy controller listed under the "Floppy
disk controllers" heading. Put a file on a floppy in Win98 (or another
non-XP OS) and you should now be able to access it in Windows XP (and
vice-versa) without issue. You made it!



--
Lem MS MVP -- Networking

To the moon and back with 64 Kbits of RAM and 512 Kbits of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
Click to expand...
 
Charlie said:
I am using XP Pro. Is there any way to format the old 720K floppies?

The format memo only shows the 1.44M diskettes.

Charlie
Click to expand...

Nope, it will not format 720k floppies, but it can read and erase the
filkes on them, so mabey you can just delete the stuff on them if you
need to clean them off? Good luck.
 
Unfortunately the attempt returns the message that "format" is neither an
internal nor external command.

Charlie
 
Sorry it works for me - did you note the " : " also the space between a: and the /t:

as soon as I type format a: /T:80/n:9 It asks for the floppy to be inserted.
--

==================================
TaurArian [MS-MVP] 2005-2007 - Australia
==================================
http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
Need more help? http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=ph;en-us;6527
Get Safe online: http://www.getsafeonline.org/
(Links to web pages and MSKB Articles are posted for the purposes of keeping the
information current)


"Charlie Bress" <Here-I-am-at-the-last-moment.com> wrote in message
| Unfortunately the attempt returns the message that "format" is neither an
| internal nor external command.
|
| Charlie
|
| | > To format A Disk for 720K.
| > format a: /t:80/n:9
| >
| > Open the command prompt and try the above.
| >
| > make sure you type it exactly.
| >
| > --
| >
| > ==================================
| > TaurArian [MS-MVP] 2005-2007 - Australia
| > ==================================
| > http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
| > Need more help? http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=ph;en-us;6527
| > Get Safe online: http://www.getsafeonline.org/
| > (Links to web pages and MSKB Articles are posted for the purposes of
| > keeping the
| > information current)
| >
| >
| > "Charlie Bress" <Here-I-am-at-the-last-moment.com> wrote in message
| > | > |I am using XP Pro. Is there any way to format the old 720K floppies?
| > |
| > | The format memo only shows the 1.44M diskettes.
| > |
| > | Charlie
| > |
| > |
| >
| >
|
|
 
Ps - what happens when you type format /? at the command prompt - do you get all the
information?

note the space between format and /?

--

==================================
TaurArian [MS-MVP] 2005-2007 - Australia
==================================
http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
Need more help? http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=ph;en-us;6527
Get Safe online: http://www.getsafeonline.org/
(Links to web pages and MSKB Articles are posted for the purposes of keeping the
information current)


| Sorry it works for me - did you note the " : " also the space between a: and the
/t:
|
| as soon as I type format a: /T:80/n:9 It asks for the floppy to be inserted.
| --
|
| ==================================
| TaurArian [MS-MVP] 2005-2007 - Australia
| ==================================
| http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
| Need more help? http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=ph;en-us;6527
| Get Safe online: http://www.getsafeonline.org/
| (Links to web pages and MSKB Articles are posted for the purposes of keeping the
| information current)
|
|
| "Charlie Bress" <Here-I-am-at-the-last-moment.com> wrote in message
| || Unfortunately the attempt returns the message that "format" is neither an
|| internal nor external command.
||
|| Charlie
||
|| || > To format A Disk for 720K.
|| > format a: /t:80/n:9
|| >
|| > Open the command prompt and try the above.
|| >
|| > make sure you type it exactly.
|| >
|| > --
|| >
|| > ==================================
|| > TaurArian [MS-MVP] 2005-2007 - Australia
|| > ==================================
|| > http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
|| > Need more help? http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=ph;en-us;6527
|| > Get Safe online: http://www.getsafeonline.org/
|| > (Links to web pages and MSKB Articles are posted for the purposes of
|| > keeping the
|| > information current)
|| >
|| >
|| > "Charlie Bress" <Here-I-am-at-the-last-moment.com> wrote in message
|| > || > |I am using XP Pro. Is there any way to format the old 720K floppies?
|| > |
|| > | The format memo only shows the 1.44M diskettes.
|| > |
|| > | Charlie
|| > |
|| > |
|| >
|| >
||
||
|
|
 
Charlie Bress said:
Unfortunately the attempt returns the message that "format" is neither
an internal nor external command.
Click to expand...

Note that the syntax (/t:80/n:9) is not correct. The correct syntax was
posted here:
Anyway, I doubt that this is the cause of your problem. Try "Format /?"
at the command prompt as already suggested.
 
I have been having some subtle problems with the OS and have been putting it
off fixing it as I have to do a full restore using a number of recovery CDs
that came with the system. I have no stand alone XP CD-ROM.
None of the attempts to use the format command work. A search for format.com
found it in c:\windows\system32. Exploring the c: drive finds format.com
where it should be. Interestingly enough, attempts to even change
directories to c:\windows\system32 fails. I truly suspect the integrity of
the OS as installed. There are some underlying problems. I just have to get
this PC in good order.

The ability to format the floppy is not really a problem. I raised the
question to satisfy my curiosity and to get a little smarter. I have other
floppies that I can use for the task at hand.

Thanks for your help. I will keep the info you sent for future reference.

Charlie

TaurArian said:
Ps - what happens when you type format /? at the command prompt - do you
get all the
information?

note the space between format and /?

--

==================================
TaurArian [MS-MVP] 2005-2007 - Australia
==================================
http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
Need more help? http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=ph;en-us;6527
Get Safe online: http://www.getsafeonline.org/
(Links to web pages and MSKB Articles are posted for the purposes of
keeping the
information current)


| Sorry it works for me - did you note the " : " also the space between a:
and the
/t:
|
| as soon as I type format a: /T:80/n:9 It asks for the floppy to be
inserted.
| --
|
| ==================================
| TaurArian [MS-MVP] 2005-2007 - Australia
| ==================================
| http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
| Need more help? http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=ph;en-us;6527
| Get Safe online: http://www.getsafeonline.org/
| (Links to web pages and MSKB Articles are posted for the purposes of
keeping the
| information current)
|
|
| "Charlie Bress" <Here-I-am-at-the-last-moment.com> wrote in message
| || Unfortunately the attempt returns the message that "format" is neither
an
|| internal nor external command.
||
|| Charlie
||
|| || > To format A Disk for 720K.
|| > format a: /t:80/n:9
|| >
|| > Open the command prompt and try the above.
|| >
|| > make sure you type it exactly.
|| >
|| > --
|| >
|| > ==================================
|| > TaurArian [MS-MVP] 2005-2007 - Australia
|| > ==================================
|| > http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
|| > Need more help? http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=ph;en-us;6527
|| > Get Safe online: http://www.getsafeonline.org/
|| > (Links to web pages and MSKB Articles are posted for the purposes of
|| > keeping the
|| > information current)
|| >
|| >
|| > "Charlie Bress" <Here-I-am-at-the-last-moment.com> wrote in message
|| > || > |I am using XP Pro. Is there any way to format the old 720K floppies?
|| > |
|| > | The format memo only shows the 1.44M diskettes.
|| > |
|| > | Charlie
|| > |
|| > |
|| >
|| >
||
||
|
|
Click to expand...
 
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