Floppy disk problems

[Pauldf]

Hi, I spoke to keith last week and he confirmed that the floppy in the fat frog is a standard PC drive, I have ordered a sony drive from ebuyer - will let you know how I get on when it arrives.

[torch1972]

Often floppy problems can be solved by formatting a disk in the desk itself, before copying files (whether they be software upgrades or fixture personalities) onto it from your PC.

 

Try this and let us know if it solves the problem.

 

Just so you know the it was motherboard that was short circuiting. Which was causing the problems.

[Pauldf]

Hi, I spoke to keith last week and he confirmed that the floppy in the fat frog is a standard PC drive, I have ordered a sony drive from ebuyer - will let you know how I get on when it arrives.

 

Just a quick update,

Fitted the Sony (MPF920) floppy disk drive and is now working - haven't tried a desk update yet as I have the most up to date version installed and have put the old fdd safely to one side for now.

Thanks for the help

Paul F.

[Lightguy]

Poppin' my Zero88 forum cherry.

 

I have many Fat Frogs in the shop but none I have seen with this kind of problem. First, it doesn't boot just gets stuck on the opening screen (www.frogsupport.com). When opened and reseat all connections including the ram slot, I found the problem gone away. Now my FD will not release and acts like its loading a disk but there is nothing in the drive. I think I have narrowed it down to the FD ribbon cable but not 100% sure. Does this sound like a correct diagnosis? I dont want to spend money on a part I don't need.

 

Thanks, LG

[Paul]

In the early stages of booting it's worth having a monitor connected, as you will get some indication on this about how far the loading process has got and if any problems are encountered.

 

If the fault follows the floppy ribbon cable when you swap it into another desk then yes, this is very likely the problem. The desk looks for an upgrade disk at startup, and if it's getting corrupt information from the drive then it could hang at this point.

 

Hope this helps, let us know how you get on.

 

Paul.

[ccawthon]

I am the technical director at a small theater in California and we are using a Leap Frog.

 

I am needing to update the OS (currently running 9.8.1) and add some new fixture types, when i try to format a disk in the desk i get an "Error While Formatting Disk" message. I also get a "No Disk In Drive" error when attempting to save the current show to disk.

 

When attempting to format a disk when i hit enter (to begin the format) the drive powers on and i can hear it opening the cover on the disk then nothing for a few seconds then the above mentioned message.

 

It seems like this is a dead 3.5" drive. I am looking for confirmation on this before i pull the desk apart and replace the drive. Could it posibly be a bad cable? I'm hoping this is an easy fix as our theater's production schedule really wont allow for the desk to be out for service for more than 3-4 days.

 

I have serial number and bios/software information handy if needed.

 

Thanks.

 

-Chris

[Paul]

Before swapping the drive, it's worth trying with a few other disks first to make sure you haven't got a faulty one (it happens). Also double check that the write-protect tab on the disk is in the right position.

 

If your desk is still within it's 3 year warranty period then contact the dealer you bought it from to arrange a warranty repair, or alternatively call our service manager Keith in the office. If you decide to open up the desk yourself, check that both the power cable and ribbon cable to the drive are securely plugged in.

[ccawthon]

Before swapping the drive, it's worth trying with a few other disks first to make sure you haven't got a faulty one (it happens). Also double check that the write-protect tab on the disk is in the right position.

 

If your desk is still within it's 3 year warranty period then contact the dealer you bought it from to arrange a warranty repair, or alternatively call our service manager Keith in the office. If you decide to open up the desk yourself, check that both the power cable and ribbon cable to the drive are securely plugged in.

 

 

I have tried three other disks (different manufacturers, new/old) and the write tab and still the same issue. The theater has been open just over 3 years so we are just passed our 3 year warranty. Seems like thats always the case with these sorts of things. Guess it's time to break out the old screwdriver. I'll try the ribbon and power cables before swapping out drives. thanks for the tips.

[jeremyrb]

Since it's only been about 4 years since anyone posted in this thread, I figure it's my turn.

 

I have a BullFrog desk, and am having nothing but issues with the disk drive. Yes it is the Panasonic one mentioned, so I went out and got another drive today, and it doesn't see anything. I try to format the disk and nothing.

 

With the old drive I can format the disk, but then the computer doesn't see it. When I format on the computer, the desk keeps coming back and saying that there is no disk in the drive, or no .ift files or .cft files exist. I am using the latest system, and the latest fixture tools to create the new fixtures. I even use a disk that I know works, as I have used it before to add and update, but now it says there's no files on it.

 

Heeelllppp. Thanks