• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here

Failed Floppy on a Toshiba Tecra 740CDT

G

Grandcheapskate

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2014
Messages
808
Location
New Jersey, USA
I have a 1997 Toshiba Tecra 740CDT laptop whose external floppy drive seems to have quit (it spins but does not read). The only internal device on this laptop is a CD reader and the only external port seems to be a parallel printer port. The floppy is connected via a proprietary port and the floppy itself is an insert into an external case (so the floppy drive can be removed from the case).

Here's my question. The laptop is currently running Win98 so there is an OS installed. Because the laptop is incapable of booting from the CD, without a floppy drive I would never again be able to install an OS (probably either Win95 or Win98) should the OS get corrupted.

Is that correct?

Thanks...Joe
 
Basically, yea. Many machines from around that time only booted from floppy drive and the hard drive. Nothing else.

So if you ever had to re-install Windows 98 fresh, what you would have to do is remove the hard drive, attach it to a different system, format the drive and make it bootable with the Win98 DOS 7.1 system files, and copy the Windows 98 SETUP folder to the hard drive. Also copy any needed driver files to a folder in the hard drive. Then put the drive back in to the computer, boot the hard drive to DOS, and run setup.

That said, you might just double check the BIOS and see if there are any options about booting from anything else.

Also, if you have not already tried, if the floppy drive just can't read disks, perhaps try a cleaning disk. It could be the head is just gunked.
 
Grandcheapskate said:
I have a 1997 Toshiba Tecra 740CDT laptop whose external floppy drive seems to have quit (it spins but does not read).
Click to expand...
According to the 740CDT's user manual, the CD-ROM drive is plugged into what Toshiba name the "SelectBay", and the diskette drive can be ejected from its external case and inserted into the SelectBay in place of the CD-ROM drive. Presumably, that it is done when the 740CDT is powered off. If the diskette drive works in the SelectBay, then you have at least isolated the diskette drive problem to the drive's case.

I have a 430CDT, and I recall that years ago, when acquiring spare diskette drives and cases, that one problem was caused by a bent contact in a connector.
 
SomeGuy said:
That said, you might just double check the BIOS and see if there are any options about booting from anything else.
Click to expand...
The 740CDT's user manual indicates that the options are:

FDD --> Built-in HDD (default)
Built-in HDD --> FDD
FDD --> Second HDD
Second HDD --> FDD
 
Grandcheapskate said:
(probably either Win95 or Win9 should the OS get corrupted.
Click to expand...
For my 430CDT, I removed the 430CDT's hard drive, set it up as the second hard drive in a vintage desktop, then used Ghost software to make an image of the 430CDT's hard drive. Later, if the OS on the 430CDT's hard drive gets damaged, I can put the drive back into the desktop then restore the Ghost image.
 
Hi Guys,
Thanks for the replies. I did try a cleaning disk but that had no effect.

After I posted this question I thought about the possibility of connecting the hard drive to another computer should the need to reinstall the OS ever arise. Good to hear someone has done that and been successful.

I will see if swapping the internal CD drive with the floppy drive makes a difference. If it does, then that would be great. On older machines like this one, the floppy drive can be more important than a CD drive.

Joe
 
Grandcheapskate said:
After I posted this question I thought about the possibility of connecting the hard drive to another computer should the need to reinstall the OS ever arise. Good to hear someone has done that and been successful.
Click to expand...
An advantage of the Ghost technique is that the drivers required for the particular Toshiba laptop are already installed.

Grandcheapskate said:
I will see if swapping the internal CD drive with the floppy drive makes a difference. If it does, then that would be great. On older machines like this one, the floppy drive can be more important than a CD drive.
Click to expand...
Just in case you are unaware, the CD-ROM drive will not work in the external case. The 740CDT's user manual includes, "Do not insert the CD-ROM drive module into the external diskette drive case."

That is also the situation for my 430CDT. As pictured at [here], there is a label on the diskette case warning that the CD-ROM drive will not work in the external case.
 
I just downloaded the manual for the 740CDT and it says the same thing about not using the external case for the CD drive. I just looked up how to remove the internal CD drive and insert the floppy drive. I doubt the floppy drive is going to work because it does not sound as if the head is trying to engage the diskette. I have a feeling the only way to even attempt a fix is to open up the floppy drive and see if there is anything I can do.

It's too bad it's the floppy that failed. I have a CD drive that works in the parallel port but I don't ever remember seeing a floppy which would connect via that port.

Thanks...Joe
 
The Microsolutions Backpack line included floppy drives that attached to the parallel port. Those used to be affordable about a decade ago but the prices have been increasing steadily.
 
After ejecting the floppy drive from the external case, I was able to extract the floppy drive from it's outer casing. There are two screws left which, if I could remove them, should allow me to take off the top cover and give me access to the drive mechanism. They are really tight and there's not a lot of leverage you can get with a screwdriver on such a tiny screw.

I'll keep trying to get them loose but in the meantime I will do a little searching to see if I can find a replacement floppy. Once you get the floppy drive out of it's casing it looks like a normal floppy drive only slimmer and with a ribbon connector. Might be proprietary (most probably) and maybe not. It is made by Matsushita.

Just to see what is out there, I did a search for the part number - EME279TC. I got one hit...at a price of $232!

I was also thinking I could attach a Zip drive to the parallel port but I still would not be able to boot from it.


Thanks...Joe
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top