FAQ-Diskette problems in the UCLs

We have had several issues related to the problems of floppy disk/drive usage in the University Computing Labs. The problems have been traced to a series of issues. Please read the topics listed below and follow the procedures recomended.

1. There is a brand of diskettes that the Union Bookstore at KSU is selling. The name is Imation and they mostly black (there is also a multi-color pack currently being sold) with a description of "2.0mb" printed on the shutter.

The following issues have been reported:

Unable to format on the Windows NT or Macintosh workstations.
Diskette getting stuck in the floppy drives of the Windows NT workstations.
The saving of data to diskette seems to be unstable for both Windows NT and Macintosh workstations.

Note: We have been in direct contact with the manager of the computer section and they have agreed to exchange all Imation diskettes with a replacement brand. Please have all your Imation brand diskettes exchanged accordingly.

2. The second problem stems from the Windows NT OS having exclusive rights to the diskette drive.

Scenario

First user (user before you) comes in and inserts their diskette into the floppy drive.
They complete their work as needed (ie. saving data to their diskette, disk copies, etc.).
When finished they remove their diskette and leave.
Second user (this is you) comes along and inserts a diskette into the floppy drive.
They try to complete their work as needed but when accessing the disk drive they get errors.

Fix

Second user needs to eject their diskette from the drive.
Open My Computer (or Explorer) and try accessing the floppy drive by double-clicking on it.
A dialog box will appear with an error since there is no disk in the drive.
Click the Cancel button to continue.
The second user then puts their diskette back into the floppy drive.
Disk drive access (ie. files saving, disk copying, etc.) should now work correctly.

Note

Rebooting the workstation or logging back into the server does not take care of the problem.
The third user (the user after you) may have the same drive errors as the second user. They will need to follow the procedure above to remedy the problem.

3. We often have service issues with floppy drives that are related to diskette shutters (sliding silver cover) being stuck inside the drive. A user will get their diskette stuck inside the drive and force the disk out, leaving behind the shutter. The shutter can then prevent the next user from accessing their data disk properly. Some times this is obvious to the user since they can not insert their diskette. Other times a users disk can be inserted without any problems but the shutter prevents the drive heads from being able to make contact with the diskette data platter.

If you suspect a problem with a lab workstation because of a disk shutter being stuck inside the floppy drive you can email us at labs@ksu.edu. Please include the lab location and the number posted on the left side of the workstation.