# Floppy Drive



## BrandonL

On my eMachine tower, i realized a while back that there wasnt a floppy drive. I have one but idk how to install it. any tips please b/c i could def. use a floppy drive. thanx


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## PC eye

Besides a quick run to Walmart for a usb floppy drive readily available there you would need a 5 1/4" drive bay adapter. Some are simply two small brackets fastened to the side of a 3 1/2" drive(floppy, hard drive) like those seen at https://www.indypc.com/store.asp?id=548&menu=PC_Hardware/Cards&smenu=&page=1 or a full size bracket that slides into place with the drive already secured inplace. Most of the time those are also secured once inplace.


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## BrandonL

can u show me a picture of the 5 1/4" drive bay adapter... b/c im not having a problem putting it in there, it just the cords i would need for it that's all


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## PC eye

The link above shows what adapter brackets look like for using that method. A good 3 1/2" to 5 1/4" drive adapter is also used for hard drives as well as for mounting a floppy drive in a bay. A typical mounting bracket for mounting a 3 1/2" hard drive in a 5 1/4" drive bay looks like the image here.





 The $5 price is typical at the present time since those are in less demand due to the larger capacity hard drives that have been available for the last several years. To get order online one can be found at http://www.addonics.com/products/other/ Look under "other storage accessories" at the link thjere.


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## BrandonL

o0o wait a sec., that isnt what i need either. my problem is the adapters... what cords do i need to hook it up to the tower and actually install it?


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## Burgerbob

PC eye said:


> The link above shows what adapter brackets look like for using that method. A good 3 1/2" to 5 1/4" drive adapter is also used for hard drives as well as for mounting a floppy drive in a bay. A typical mounting bracket for mounting a 3 1/2" hard drive in a 5 1/4" drive bay looks like the image here.
> 
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> The $5 price is typical at the present time since those are in less demand due to the larger capacity hard drives that have been available for the last several years. To get order online one can be found at http://www.addonics.com/products/other/ Look under "other storage accessories" at the link thjere.


Listen to what he is saying, PCEye!
You will need a floppy IDE cable, just look it up on newegg, and a connector fro your PSU.


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## StrangleHold

BrandonL said:


> On my eMachine tower, i realized a while back that there wasnt a floppy drive. I have one but idk how to install it. any tips please b/c i could def. use a floppy drive. thanx


 

Just get you floppy cable, most floppy drives will just slide in from the front after you remove your panel, screw it down, connect the floppy cable and power plug and your ready to go!


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## BrandonL

ok ill take a look @ that plug. where would i hook it into after i hooked the IDE cable into the floppy drive? i just want to know this all beforehand so im not causing a hassle later on


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## StrangleHold

The floppy cable is not as wide as a standerd IDE cable so you cant get them mixed up on the motherboard and there should be a small 4 pin power connector that comes from your power supply to connect to the floppy drive


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## PC eye

BrandonL said:


> o0o wait a sec., that isnt what i need either. my problem is the adapters... what cords do i need to hook it up to the tower and actually install it?


 
 Often when buying a new board both an ide and floppy ribbon cable will be thrown in the retail box there. Forget going to Walmart for one. They only carry the external usb type there. Any local pc repair shop will have one for about $2 or a place like Compusa. On the 12v rails on a standard atx power supply you will always find the power connector there for floppy drives. Those are smaller in size then the typical molex type used on hard drives and cd and dvd optical drives.


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## BrandonL

okay... but all im lookin for is the cable... i already have a floppy drive i was just wondering where i would get the cable... thanks for that piece of information StrangeHold


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## StrangleHold




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## BrandonL

ok that's exactly what i thought i had to do... just needed clarification. once again u come thru in the clutch StrangeHold lol


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## StrangleHold

BrandonL said:


> okay... but all im lookin for is the cable... i already have a floppy drive i was just wondering where i would get the cable... thanks for that piece of information StrangeHold


 
Mabe circuit city- office max-office depo- or a small local computer store, since it didnt come with a floppy it might by chance have the floppy port disabled in the bios, you might have to enable it


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## BrandonL

and they'll sell them by themselves... i wont need to buy another floppy drive just to get the cables?


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## StrangleHold

They should but I know a small computer store would, I have about 50 of them, I would throw you one if it wasnt so far


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## BrandonL

what about through the mail? would u be willing to share the wealth lol?


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## StrangleHold

BrandonL said:


> what about through the mail? would u be willing to share the wealth lol?


 
It would cost more to ship than buy, there just a few dollars


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## BrandonL

o0o ok well i wouldnt want to make you spend money that you didnt have to... but thanx for the suggestions man


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## PC eye

You can leave out Circuit City as well as Walmart there. Officemax and Staples are also very limited on what they carry. Office supplies are usually seen with a few different make and model cd or dvd burners and some blank media. This is why I recommended dropping by a pc repair shop. They always seem to have a few onhand. Compusa seems to be one of the last retail stores to go to for cables. http://www.compusa.com/products/pro...6&Pn=Single_Device_Floppy_Drive_Rounded_Cable is the 18" round MadDog cable seen there. Got a Compusa around somewhere close by?


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## bball4life

Ya comp usa tends to be the easiest place to pick up smaller things like that, I'm sure bestbuy or stuff would carry them just check before you go.  Unless you have a fry's electronics near you then that beats all.


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## DCIScouts

Best Buy does not carry these items (I had a similar problem a month ago, tried to go the retail route, and had to go to a local PC parts store...)  We didn't have a Comp USA in the area, they would be the only one that would possibly have this type of thing as far as any retail chain would go.  Otherwise, look for a computer repair shop, and they should definitely have the cables you need.


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## BrandonL

yeh i got a comp. usa near me but now im confused b/c ppl are telling me different things about who has what. there's actually a little computer store by my house that im about to scout to see if they have it. ill check and get back to you guys with some results. thanx for the feedback


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## PC eye

Compusa would certainly be one place or the local pc repair shop. When the 6" round floppy cable used on one case was too short a local shop had a pair of ribbon cables long enough. None of the other stores mentioned before even bothered with the standard  internal drive let alone replacement cables.


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## StrangleHold

PC eye said:


> None of the other stores mentioned before even bothered with the standard internal drive let alone replacement cables.


 
 Circuit city sells both internal and external floppy drives and IDE/ATA cables! Just didnt know if they sold floppy cables!


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## PC eye

StrangleHold said:


> Circuit city sells both internal and external floppy drives and IDE/ATA cables! Just didnt know if they sold floppy cables!


 
 Circuit City doesn't seem to carry the one thing brandonL needs. floppy cables.   Pc Toys is one low end brand that sell round floppy cables with a sort of cheap blue colored vinyl covering. The better brand that is sold by Circuit City is Antec round ide cables but no floppy cables, ribbon or round. With everybody booting from cds floppy cables aren't a selling item.


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## DCIScouts

StrangleHold said:


> Circuit city sells both internal and external floppy drives and IDE/ATA cables! Just didnt know if they sold floppy cables!



Yes, oddly enough Circuit City has a couple of different floppy drives available, but those drives don't have any cables, how useful is that???


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## PC eye

They cut down on the accesories they used to have. At one time they had both round and ribbon types. They also carried the PC Toys brand when round cables were starting to get popular. Well at least they carry Antec cables and supplies along with WD hard drives. But there's no floppy cables or Artic Silver sold there.


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## circledancer

It might be easier to just get on of these, TDK external, just plug and play.About $25.


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## PC eye

circledancer said:


> It might be easier to just get on of these, TDK external, just plug and play.About $25.


 
 Why spend $25 on an external when you can get a floppy cable for an internal drive for less then $5? http://www.cables4computer.com/newproduct/Prod_Group.aspx?groupcode=G0091&itemNo=FLT-1050-24   $1.99 for a 24"  $.99 for a 12".


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## circledancer

Sorry, I did not know it was that inexpensive, just trying to be heplful...


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## PC eye

The cost on external drives will be higher anyways. You can buy Sony drives at one site for $14.99 + $1 shipping. I grabbed a pair here when getting the new case in and then had to chase after a pair cables.    The round cable from the old case was too short while the ribbon cables still onhand here were crud. But I grabbed a pair with one as the spare just like one of the Sony drives.

 Having an internal floppy setup is also a big help at times like repair of the master boot record. You can use a bios update tool by booting from a floppy. Or simply repair the mbr with an older startup disk. Despite systems like eMachines coming without them 3 1/2" drives won't be disappearing any time soon.


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## BrandonL

id rather have an internal floppy drive anyway... I DO HAVE AN INTERNAL HARD DRIVE, so there's no sense in debating about where to buy a new one or if i should get an internal one or not. my simple question was, where can i buy the cords to hook it into my computer and what do they look like...

MODERATORS PLZ CLOSE THIS THREAD


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## PC eye

http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCategory.asp?SubCategory=1


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## StrangleHold

BrandonL said:


> id rather have an internal floppy drive anyway... I DO HAVE AN INTERNAL HARD DRIVE, so there's no sense in debating about where to buy a new one or if i should get an internal one or not. my simple question was, where can i buy the cords to hook it into my computer and what do they look like...
> 
> MODERATORS PLZ CLOSE THIS THREAD


 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812103104


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## BrandonL

thanx for the link stangehold... but i was shown another pic that had a plug that hooks into the four prongs in the back of the floppy drive. is that the little plug that runs from the power supply box with the fan inside it?


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## StrangleHold

BrandonL said:


> thanx for the link stangehold... but i was shown another pic that had a plug that hooks into the four prongs in the back of the floppy drive. is that the little plug that runs from the power supply box with the fan inside it?


 
Thats the power plug, theres one already on the power supply


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## BrandonL

i know that's what i just said... so all i gotta do is buy the other cord that u sent me the link for and im set... so im good

can u take a look at my other thread though. it's under desktops and it's titled *"MAJOR PROBLEM!!!!!"*


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## PC eye

If you can't find the original type replacement cord you can also go with an ide to floppy power adapter cable found at http://www.atechfabrication.com/products/power_cables.htm


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## BrandonL

k thanx *PC eye*


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