NOTE: You, the customer, are solely responsible for data security. WinBook strongly recommends that you perform a backup of all personal data contained on your system prior to performing this procedure. Warning: WinBook will NOT be held responsible for any data loss incurred during this process.

Testing Floppy Drive Failure

1. The first thing we want to do is test for a hardware failure. To do this you need to test the drive in DOS.
2. Power off the computer and then power back on. Tap the F8 key as the computer is booting and keep tapping until you see the Windows Startup Menu. Choose the option for Safe Mode Command Prompt only. This will drop you to a Command Prompt (C:\>)
3. Put a blank floppy disk in drive A:. Type A: and press Enter. Does it go to the a:\ prompt? If yes, type dir and press Enter. It should show you the contents of the floppy disk.
4. If yes leave the disk in the unit and type C: and then press enter. This will take the unit to a C:\ prompt. Type copy autoexec.bat a: and then press Enter. This will try to copy the file to the floppy. It should give you a line that says 1 file copied. If it does then the floppy drive is fine.
5. If during this testing you get either a Not Ready reading drive a: or Sector Not found reading drive a: or a General Failure reading drive a: error then the drive is broken. If the drive is working in DOS then it is fine.

Troubleshooting Floppy problems in Windows

1. If you are still having problems reading floppy disks in Windows then it can be a software issue.
2. Click on Start, click on Find, then click on Files and folders. Type *.MPD for the name and make sure it is looking in drive C: Click on Find Now.
3. All files it finds, right click on each one, and select Rename. Press the right arrow key to un-highlight the name, erase the .MPD part and type .MP2 then press Enter.
4. Do this for all the files it finds, then restart the computer. The floppy drive should then work fine in windows. If you are still having problems with the floppy drive then you contact Technical Support by phone. You can contact WinBook Technical Support at 800-468-1225 from 9am to 9pm Mon-Fri EST

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Disclaimer: This information is being provided to you as a service from the Technical Support Department of WinBook Computers. It is intended to assist you in the resolution of your technical problems or questions. If you feel uncomfortable implementing any of the information or suggestions contained herein then you should e-mail the WinBook Technical Support Department. WinBook will not be held responsible for any loss of information, data or programming as a result of the use of this TechNote.