Floppy boot order (Can you boot from B or only A?)

[ImperialGuardsman]

Hello everyone,

A little while back I converted my old XP machine to Windows 98SE and added a 5.25 inch floppy drive. Due to the location of the 5.25 bays, it was easiest to make the 5.25 drive A and the existing 3.5 inch floppy drive B. I wanted to boot to Memetest 86 (4.3.7) and popped in my 3.5 inch boot floppy.

After trying it and a DOS boot floppy, it looks like I cannot boot using the 3.5 inch drive. I can boot with my 5.25 windows 98 boot floppy though. Keep in mind that I had tested booting from the 3.5 when it was the only floppy in the system and it worked. The boot floppies in question have been tested on another machine and work. Both drives work too.

In a system with 2 floppy drives, can you only boot using drive A? Does it vary according to floppy controller and motherboard? The boot options in the BIOS only have "Legacy Floppy" and do not specify which floppy. I have legacy floppy as the first boot priority.

Motherboard: Asus A7V8X-X (BIOS version 1003)

Thanks!

P.S. I have a memetest86 CD, so I am fine there. I just want to know about floppy boot options in case I ever need to boot via 3.5 inch floppy. Feel free to move this thread if I picked the wrong subforum.

 

[captaincharisma]

try swapping the data connections for the floppy drives. in some cases depending on what connector you use on the ribbon cable determines the drive order

 

[nigelivey]

Could I ask why on earth you are a/ Running that OS and b/ You still have those drives????

 

[captaincharisma]

Could I ask why on earth you are a/ Running that OS and b/ You still have those drives????

i know right? if it is just for nostalgia purposes just install windows 98 in a virtual machine on your main computer

 

[ImperialGuardsman]

Could I ask why on earth you are a/ Running that OS and b/ You still have those drives????

I have old programs (games, really) that do not function on newer operating systems. Along with that, I found Windows 98 in a virtual machine to be a bit...odd. Plus, the CPU was still too fast for some of the games (along with the graphics being screwy on top of that.

 

[ImperialGuardsman]

try swapping the data connections for the floppy drives. in some cases depending on what connector you use on the ribbon cable determines the drive order

I know that switching the cable around would change which is A and which is B. My real question is can you boot from B regardless of the type of floppy (3.5 or 5.25)? I would like to be able to boot from either one, if it is possible, without changing connectors around each time.

Thanks!

 

[captaincharisma]

try swapping the data connections for the floppy drives. in some cases depending on what connector you use on the ribbon cable determines the drive order

I know that switching the cable around would change which is A and which is B. My real question is can you boot from B regardless of the type of floppy (3.5 or 5.25)? I would like to be able to boot from either one, if it is possible, without changing connectors around each time.

Thanks!

there might be somewhere in the BIOS that would allow you to change the boot order but that's about all i know cause it should be as simple as selecting which drive is primary and secondary. but if you are looking to play old games on modern systems look into a program called DOSbox. its a DOS emulator that runs many old DOS games

 

[Paperdoc]

Yes, you can only boot from floppy unit A:, but it does NOT matter which size/type that drive is.

On SOME mobos the BIOS Setup screens allowed you to specify the "normal" assignment - that is, unit on the END of the ribbon cable is A: - or reverse the assignment. IF you have that, use that feature. I had a machine with that feature and used the 3½" unit as the A: drive for booting, even though it was on the middle connector.

Otherwise the default system is that A: is the drive unit on the END connector, and the boot floppy drive. B: is the drive on the middle connector. So you must connect the cable according to how you want it to work.That can be a problem if the connector locations and cable length don't allow you to route the cable that way.

 

[ImperialGuardsman]

Yes, you can only boot from floppy unit A:, but it does NOT matter which size/type that drive is.

On SOME mobos the BIOS Setup screens allowed you to specify the "normal" assignment - that is, unit on the END of the ribbon cable is A: - or reverse the assignment. IF you have that, use that feature. I had a machine with that feature and used the 3½" unit as the A: drive for booting, even though it was on the middle connector.

Otherwise the default system is that A: is the drive unit on the END connector, and the boot floppy drive. B: is the drive on the middle connector. So you must connect the cable according to how you want it to work.That can be a problem if the connector locations and cable length don't allow you to route the cable that way.

There we go, that was the type of answer I was looking for. Hopefully, my bios has a setting to reveres the drive letter. That will make it easy. I knew that A is always at the end after the twist, but hopped that either drive could be the boot floppy when needed. Thanks!

 

[Paperdoc]

You're welcome, and thanks for Best Solution.