Lecture 2.3.10 Floppy Drives
Floppy Disks A small platter of flexible plastic with iron oxide coating Stores information magnetically
Disk Size The original disks were 12” in diameter and could be damaged easily IBM came out with 8” disks that had protective shells on them 5-1/4” disk where an improvement in the design Newest floppy disks are 3-1/2” and have a hard shell
Floppy Capacity Designations (5-1/4”): Designations (3-1/2”) DS:DD – Double Sided, Double Density (360KB) DS:HD - Double Sided, High Density (1.2MB) Designations (3-1/2”) DS:DD – Double Sided, Double Density (720KB) DS:HD - Double Sided, High Density (1.44MB) DS:EHD - Double Sided, Extra High Density (2.88MB)
Floppy Drive Connections All floppy drive cables allow you to connect 2 drives to each system Designated by A: and B: The position on the cable determines whether it is A: or B: Drive type set in CMOS Always connect pin 1 on the cable to pin 1 on the drive
Cable Positions Uses a Ribbon Type cable with 34 pins All drives after the twist are A: (#3) Drives in the middle are B: (#2) The end plugs into the motherboard (#1)
Power Connectors 5-1/4” drives use a Molex connector 3-1/2” drives use a mini Molex connector Can be inserted one way only