Follow-up on floppy install

G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I recently posted a message about problems installing a floppy drive
into a new
Dimension 3000 for a friend of mine. I got the thing installed and
working, but could
not replace the front cover. He called DELL, who sent out a repair
guy. He tried to
install a new front cover, and had the same problem I had, that the
cover would not
completely close. He told my friend that the problem is in the case
itself, so I assume
he will be back with a new replacement computer. Hopefully he will not
try and stick
him with some kind of refurbished unit. This is a case of poor design,
and I am
afraid there will be future problems like this, whenever the box has to
be opened.

Sherwin D.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

HAMMER! case closed!!

"sherwindu" <sherwindu@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:41C7AB60.8080E869@comcast.net...
> I recently posted a message about problems installing a floppy drive
> into a new
> Dimension 3000 for a friend of mine. I got the thing installed and
> working, but could
> not replace the front cover. He called DELL, who sent out a repair
> guy. He tried to
> install a new front cover, and had the same problem I had, that the
> cover would not
> completely close. He told my friend that the problem is in the case
> itself, so I assume
> he will be back with a new replacement computer. Hopefully he will not
> try and stick
> him with some kind of refurbished unit. This is a case of poor design,
> and I am
> afraid there will be future problems like this, whenever the box has to
> be opened.
>
> Sherwin D.
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Not So Tiny Tim" <NSTT@humbug.com> wrote in message
news:EQ5yd.18702$vU1.5724@fe04.lga...
> HAMMER! case closed!!

I just installed a floppy in my Dimension 3000 today that I ordered
yesterday around 10 AM. It was a snap (literally) to install. It just
snapped in place, one screw to hold there, plug in the cables and boot up.
No A drive found.
Boot up again and F2 for setup - turn on Floppy - exit out and boot again
and now it finds the floppy.
WHY DON'T they send those instructions with the drive. If I didn't know a
little about computers I could have been on the line for hours with tech
support working through the install. BTW, since I didn't get it with the
computer when I bought it because the cost was $25 and I thought I could use
one I already had, I got this one for $14.95 - free shipping overnight.

Tom J
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Hi Tom,
Well, seems like you may have gotten a compatible floppy from a 3rd party.
I also did not find any instructions with the floppy from DELL, but having
installed
them on other computers, soon found there was only one way to do it. Problem
is, the front cover will not close properly now. Possibly the floppy is
causing the
problem. However, as you also noticed, there is only one screw hole on the
floppy and a matching hole on the case, to attach the drive. Either the hole
on the case, or the hole in the floppy were not placed properly, and that
may be the reason my front cover won't close. We were on the phone with
India (DELL) today for an hour, and their conclusion was that the floppy was
not installed properly, and they are scheduling a second trip for a repair
person.
The first repair guy they sent had the same problem I had, but said it was
installed
properly. This second repair person better bring a drill with to make new
holes,
if that indeed is the problem. Again, poor design where DELL did not allow
enough
clearance between the floppy drive and the front panel to allow for small
mismatches
between the alignment of the two pieces. I could even understand if our floppy
was not supplied from DELL, but it was. Although I don't know this for sure,
there must be some industry standard on where these mounting holes are placed,
so that any floppy should fit. What's also amazing is that the support in India

thinks the floppy was installed improperly. They should know better. There
were
not several holes nearby to give alternate mounting positions. The floppy has
to
be close enough to the front cover to allow access via a slot. Again, I give
low marks to DELL on poor engineering. Hopefully their electronics works better

than their mechanical packaging.

Sherwin D.

Tom J wrote:

> "Not So Tiny Tim" <NSTT@humbug.com> wrote in message
> news:EQ5yd.18702$vU1.5724@fe04.lga...
> > HAMMER! case closed!!
>
> I just installed a floppy in my Dimension 3000 today that I ordered
> yesterday around 10 AM. It was a snap (literally) to install. It just
> snapped in place, one screw to hold there, plug in the cables and boot up.
> No A drive found.
> Boot up again and F2 for setup - turn on Floppy - exit out and boot again
> and now it finds the floppy.
> WHY DON'T they send those instructions with the drive. If I didn't know a
> little about computers I could have been on the line for hours with tech
> support working through the install. BTW, since I didn't get it with the
> computer when I bought it because the cost was $25 and I thought I could use
> one I already had, I got this one for $14.95 - free shipping overnight.
>
> Tom J
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Sherwin,

Are you saying that the front bezel/cover won't close properly (5 plastic
tabs), or the metal side cover?

The front bezel (as you know) is somewhat arched and there's nothing in the
steel case to make contact with it outside of those 5 bezel tabs as well as
the floppy eject tab/button.

Is there something loose inside of the plastic front bezel - particularly on
the floppy portion? Just curious. There are two screws that mount the FDD
into the metal FDD bracket - in theory, and if I understand- those could be
temporarily removed and then the FDD would slide back allowing the front
cover to be snapped into place/locked. ?


Stew



"sherwindu" <sherwindu@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:41CA6721.3CE9F40@comcast.net...
> Hi Tom,
> Well, seems like you may have gotten a compatible floppy from a 3rd
> party.
> I also did not find any instructions with the floppy from DELL, but having
> installed
> them on other computers, soon found there was only one way to do it.
> Problem
> is, the front cover will not close properly now. Possibly the floppy is
> causing the
> problem. However, as you also noticed, there is only one screw hole on
> the
> floppy and a matching hole on the case, to attach the drive. Either the
> hole
> on the case, or the hole in the floppy were not placed properly, and that
> may be the reason my front cover won't close. We were on the phone with
> India (DELL) today for an hour, and their conclusion was that the floppy
> was
> not installed properly, and they are scheduling a second trip for a repair
> person.
> The first repair guy they sent had the same problem I had, but said it was
> installed
> properly. This second repair person better bring a drill with to make new
> holes,
> if that indeed is the problem. Again, poor design where DELL did not
> allow
> enough
> clearance between the floppy drive and the front panel to allow for small
> mismatches
> between the alignment of the two pieces. I could even understand if our
> floppy
> was not supplied from DELL, but it was. Although I don't know this for
> sure,
> there must be some industry standard on where these mounting holes are
> placed,
> so that any floppy should fit. What's also amazing is that the support in
> India
>
> thinks the floppy was installed improperly. They should know better.
> There
> were
> not several holes nearby to give alternate mounting positions. The floppy
> has
> to
> be close enough to the front cover to allow access via a slot. Again, I
> give
> low marks to DELL on poor engineering. Hopefully their electronics works
> better
>
> than their mechanical packaging.
>
> Sherwin D.
>
> Tom J wrote:
>
>> "Not So Tiny Tim" <NSTT@humbug.com> wrote in message
>> news:EQ5yd.18702$vU1.5724@fe04.lga...
>> > HAMMER! case closed!!
>>
>> I just installed a floppy in my Dimension 3000 today that I ordered
>> yesterday around 10 AM. It was a snap (literally) to install. It just
>> snapped in place, one screw to hold there, plug in the cables and boot
>> up.
>> No A drive found.
>> Boot up again and F2 for setup - turn on Floppy - exit out and boot again
>> and now it finds the floppy.
>> WHY DON'T they send those instructions with the drive. If I didn't know
>> a
>> little about computers I could have been on the line for hours with tech
>> support working through the install. BTW, since I didn't get it with the
>> computer when I bought it because the cost was $25 and I thought I could
>> use
>> one I already had, I got this one for $14.95 - free shipping overnight.
>>
>> Tom J
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"sherwindu" <sherwindu@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:41CA6721.3CE9F40@comcast.net...
> Hi Tom,
> Well, seems like you may have gotten a compatible floppy from a 3rd
> party.

Not so. The floppy came directly from Dell Small Business Parts. Unlatch
the computer cover and front cover, remove the screw and slide the drive to
the rear, then hold firmly up on the drive as you slide it forward. The
drive has slots in the top that latch into the mounting above it, that also
helps hold the drive in place. If there was already a pin in your front
cover, you don't need the one shipped with the floppy.
Hope this helps a little!!
Tom J
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Tom J wrote:

> "sherwindu" <sherwindu@comcast.net> wrote in message
> news:41CA6721.3CE9F40@comcast.net...
> > Hi Tom,
> > Well, seems like you may have gotten a compatible floppy from a 3rd
> > party.
>
> Not so. The floppy came directly from Dell Small Business Parts. Unlatch
> the computer cover and front cover, remove the screw and slide the drive to
> the rear, then hold firmly up on the drive as you slide it forward. The
> drive has slots in the top that latch into the mounting above it, that also
> helps hold the drive in place.

Yes, but there is a single screw that firmly fixes the horizontal movement
of
the floppy, so that when you insert/eject floppies, the drive does not
shift.
The screw hole in the case must line up with the corresponding hole in the
floppy drive, and that fixes the horizontal position of the drive. As
stated
before, if the floppy is preventing the front cover from closing, perhaps
these
holes were not made in the right place.

Sherwin D.



> If there was already a pin in your front
> cover, you don't need the one shipped with the floppy.
> Hope this helps a little!!
> Tom J
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"sherwindu" <sherwindu@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:41CBB8B7.A6E38EB8@comcast.net...
>
>
> Tom J wrote:
>
>> "sherwindu" <sherwindu@comcast.net> wrote in message
>> news:41CA6721.3CE9F40@comcast.net...
>> > Hi Tom,
>> > Well, seems like you may have gotten a compatible floppy from a 3rd
>> > party.
>>
>> Not so. The floppy came directly from Dell Small Business Parts. Unlatch
>> the computer cover and front cover, remove the screw and slide the drive
>> to
>> the rear, then hold firmly up on the drive as you slide it forward. The
>> drive has slots in the top that latch into the mounting above it, that
>> also
>> helps hold the drive in place.
>
> Yes, but there is a single screw that firmly fixes the horizontal
> movement
> of
> the floppy, so that when you insert/eject floppies, the drive does not
> shift.
> The screw hole in the case must line up with the corresponding hole in
> the
> floppy drive, and that fixes the horizontal position of the drive. As
> stated
> before, if the floppy is preventing the front cover from closing,
> perhaps
> these
> holes were not made in the right place.
>

Just one other thought. If that floppy you are trying to use has a full
front cover it will not work. The floppy I got from Dell only had the slot
door and nothing else. It was also about 2/3 the height of the regular
floppy drives I have lying around that I was planning on using. When the
screw hole aligned with the drive, the front of the drive was even with the
front of the CD drive, and again no front cover on the floppy drive.

Tom J
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

On Tue, 21 Dec 2004 04:46:18 GMT, sherwindu <sherwindu@comcast.net>
wrote:

>I recently posted a message about problems installing a floppy drive
>into a new
>Dimension 3000 for a friend of mine. I got the thing installed and
>working, but could
>not replace the front cover. He called DELL, who sent out a repair
>guy. He tried to
>install a new front cover, and had the same problem I had, that the
>cover would not
>completely close. He told my friend that the problem is in the case
>itself, so I assume
>he will be back with a new replacement computer. Hopefully he will not
>try and stick
>him with some kind of refurbished unit. This is a case of poor design,
>and I am
>afraid there will be future problems like this, whenever the box has to
>be opened.
>
> Sherwin D.

Yes, it'll almost certainly be a refurb. If it works, so what? Or
you and your pal could swap motherboards and send the new one back.
--
Top 10 Conservative Idiots:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/top10/
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 07:40:23 GMT, sherwindu <sherwindu@comcast.net>
wrote:

>Anybody want a good
>deal
>on a Dimension 3000?

Offer $300.
--
Top 10 Conservative Idiots:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/top10/