Trouble installing floppy drive

G

Guest

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

I thought I would help a friend to install a Dell floppy drive in his
new Dimension
Desk Top computer. I'm sorry I volunteered. It should have been a
quick install.
However, the manual that came with the drive is one of the worst I have
ever seen.
Illustrations are almost useless, and text is just as bad. Instead of
showing an illustration of the motherboard for the location of the data
cable, they show a blowup
drawing of the plug which actually was misleading when I finally
discovered the plug
location. Fortunately, there was only one plug on the motherboard that
matched up.
The biggest problem was opening the case. They say you simply slide
the side cover plate of the chassis. I am no weakling and with all my
strength, it would not
budge. It took some persuasion with a screw driver to move it. The
front panel was
even trickier, and took considerable force to disengage it. After
installing the floppy, I could not get the front panel to close
completely. Because of the chinsey
design of the floppy eject button, this lack of closure made the button
inoperable. I
finally had to tape the front cover to the chassis to get the eject to
work. It is controlled by a flimsy piece of plastic, which will
probably break in short order. I
then called Dell to schedule a service call to bring out a new front
panel, and fortunately, it is still in warranty. Even though this is a
lower end unit for Dell, they
should have minimum quality and user friendly cases. I'm sure it would
not increase
the cost of the unit. They have designed this one not to be opened by
the faint of heart, or not to be opened at all.

Sherwin D.
 

David

Distinguished
Apr 1, 2004
2,039
0
19,780
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

This is why they make external usb floppy drives.
PS all the instructions for servicing the computer are
on the Dell website (including front panel..etc).
Dave
 
G

Guest

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

Sounds like the technician (you) did not have the experience to tackle the
job. Did you follow the step-by-step procedure in the computer manual? The
manual that comes with the drive is generic since the drive is used for
several computer models.


"sherwindu" <sherwindu@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:41C277AF.397D94D@comcast.net...
>I thought I would help a friend to install a Dell floppy drive in his
> new Dimension
> Desk Top computer. I'm sorry I volunteered. It should have been a
> quick install.
> However, the manual that came with the drive is one of the worst I have
> ever seen.
> Illustrations are almost useless, and text is just as bad. Instead of
> showing an illustration of the motherboard for the location of the data
> cable, they show a blowup
> drawing of the plug which actually was misleading when I finally
> discovered the plug
> location. Fortunately, there was only one plug on the motherboard that
> matched up.
> The biggest problem was opening the case. They say you simply slide
> the side cover plate of the chassis. I am no weakling and with all my
> strength, it would not
> budge. It took some persuasion with a screw driver to move it. The
> front panel was
> even trickier, and took considerable force to disengage it. After
> installing the floppy, I could not get the front panel to close
> completely. Because of the chinsey
> design of the floppy eject button, this lack of closure made the button
> inoperable. I
> finally had to tape the front cover to the chassis to get the eject to
> work. It is controlled by a flimsy piece of plastic, which will
> probably break in short order. I
> then called Dell to schedule a service call to bring out a new front
> panel, and fortunately, it is still in warranty. Even though this is a
> lower end unit for Dell, they
> should have minimum quality and user friendly cases. I'm sure it would
> not increase
> the cost of the unit. They have designed this one not to be opened by
> the faint of heart, or not to be opened at all.
>
> Sherwin D.
>
 
G

Guest

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

Hi David,
I have a better solution. Let Dell put a lock on the chassis so that
you can't add
new internal drives, fix or replace existing drives, cables, etc, add
more memory, etc.
An online manual doesn't help when they make the cases so tight that
it takes a
can opener to get into them.

Sherwin D.

David wrote:

> This is why they make external usb floppy drives.
> PS all the instructions for servicing the computer are
> on the Dell website (including front panel..etc).
> Dave
 
G

Guest

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

sherwindu <sherwindu@comcast.net> wrote:
> An online manual doesn't help when they make the cases so tight that
>it takes a
>can opener to get into them.

You didn't say what "new" Dell box you have, but I've really fallen in
love with the new Dell cases used in the Optiplex GX270 series.
Almost completely tool-free!
 

Fixer

Distinguished
Jun 2, 2004
261
0
18,780
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Point is there is a knack getting into the cases over the years I musts
opened thousands and never had a problem yet, but theres always a 1st time I
suppose
"sherwindu" <sherwindu@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:41C338AD.77F044A9@comcast.net...
> Hi David,
> I have a better solution. Let Dell put a lock on the chassis so that
> you can't add
> new internal drives, fix or replace existing drives, cables, etc, add
> more memory, etc.
> An online manual doesn't help when they make the cases so tight that
> it takes a
> can opener to get into them.
>
> Sherwin D.
>
> David wrote:
>
>> This is why they make external usb floppy drives.
>> PS all the instructions for servicing the computer are
>> on the Dell website (including front panel..etc).
>> Dave
>
 
G

Guest

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

This is a Dimension 3000. Any design that relies on thin plastic tabs for
structural
support is asking for trouble. The little pin sized button for the floppy
eject hardly
works. It's as if Dell is embarrassed to have it visible and try's to hide
it, instead of
making it the size of the end of one's finger.
The older Dell low end boxes had a much better system of a top release
lever,
which literally split the box in two, and was much easier to open and
close. I guess
they call it progress.

Sherwin D.

William, P.N., Smith wrote:

> sherwindu <sherwindu@comcast.net> wrote:
> > An online manual doesn't help when they make the cases so tight that
> >it takes a
> >can opener to get into them.
>
> You didn't say what "new" Dell box you have, but I've really fallen in
> love with the new Dell cases used in the Optiplex GX270 series.
> Almost completely tool-free!