internal usb floppy wanted...again

[sonnyp]

I sure would like to find a supplier for internal usb floppy. As a system builder who just changed from a discontinued Intel DG33FB motherboard to a floppy-controlerless Intel DG45ID motherboard, with the occasional customer that still wants an internal floppy drive, it would be nice to be able to provide that. I've scoured the 'net and found nothing but vague references and people making fun of the idea.

I'm surprised there is not an internal USB floppy drive in production. I can't be the only one trying to support customers who want legacy junk on new computers. Somebody could just make an internal bracket for one of the external drives on the market. Just add a couple screw holes to your design and throw in an adapter that changes an internal USB header into a USB A Female port (or two, the second one available for ReadyBoost) and sell at least several thousand units to people like me. Or you could market an internal USB card reader + floppy that uses just one USB header. I'd even buy that for myself (I still find a use for an FDD once in a while).

I'm with that guy who got made fun of. Why bother with a 34-pin cable anymore? I think the manufacturers are just trying to burn up their stockpiles.

Anyway, if anybody has any ideas about how to provide an internal floppy to my customers without an onboard controller, let me know.

And be nice!

 

[johng24601]

Sorry, I haven't seen an internal USB floppy drive. Could you/your clients use an external usb floppy drive. They work great, they show up just like a regular A: drive in Explorer. You can even boot from them. I just used one to do a BIOS update. They are less than $30 and one drive can just be passed around as needed or you could even share one on a network to allow multiple people easy access.

Good luck

 

[rockbyter]

i would offer a coupon saying "free data recovery from your old floppies", or just give them the external usb version. after looking for a while im not seeing an I/O card like there used to be way back when . Not seeing USB to floppy adapters that would make the process easier... so good luck

 

[mi1ez]

You could probably find an external USB floppy drive that's a standard form facotr and pull the drive out of it's housing. Would be a tad missionous though!

 

[bobbknight]

No one makes a PCI floppy controller, the only internal floppy controllers are old ISA units.
The need for floppies is just not great enough for a company to go to the expense of design and fabrication of an internally mounted external UBS floppy drive.
External USB floppy drive housings vary from maker to maker, design to design. It would be difficult to make an internal adapter that would work with all of the many external USB units available.

Now I know Intel is good and all, but what I would do is use another motherboard for the customer that HAS to have an internal floppy drive.

Another option is the acquisition of the Intel DG33FB from a retail outlet like http://www.pcsforeveryone.com/Product/Intel/BOXDG33FBC

 

[sonnyp]

Thanks for the suggestions, although I can't say there's much new here.

Obviously I'm going to suggest the external floppy for those that need them if there is no internal solution. That's what I do personally at home (my work machine has an internal floppy).

Intel can't be beat for warranty service, so I'm sticking with them. Also it's just impractical to go shopping around the 'net for parts from any old vendor when you buy the quantity and variety of parts my company buys. If we can't get it through the channel we're not going to standardize on it.

I haven't found "an external USB floppy drive that's a standard form factor" either. They do have low profile legacy FDD's with card readers that could physically fit in one bay. I think a person could take that and an external USB FDD apart, combine them and make it work. I have seen compact USB header to USB A Female adapters for ReadyBoost. It's just that now you're talking $80 for an internal floppy. Even the die-hards will pause on that.

 

[will_chellam]

There you go! They do exist and / but have the benefit / disadvantage of an integrated card reader.....

However they do seem a tad pricey, plus most places are showing low stock

http://www.alvio.com/xABK_PID105486_mitsumi_floppy7in1_mitsumi-internal-144mb-35-floppy-drive-w-7in1-card-reader_floppy-drives.html

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16821104104

http://en.toppreise.ch/index.php?a=139535

Hope that helps....

 

[evongugg]

They are not showing you picture of the back.

I have one of those. They have a floppy connector on the back and a USB connector for the memory cards. You still need a floppy controller on your motherboard.

 

[will_chellam]

Well spotted, my bad....

In my haste I assumed someone had bothered to design and build a sensible product rather than just supergluing two separate devices together.....

Guess thats why im not in business

 

[bobbknight]

I have no trouble with Intel, they have the most stable boards around.
It's just to bad they decided to save 8 cents by removing the FDD header and circuit.
Man if I had customers still hitting F6 to load drivers into NT or 2K, I would up sell them.
Xp or 2.3K I would sell them a slip of the os on their machine with the drivers needed.
Data on floppies, man that's just to risky.

If Merisel or one of the other distributors are your channel, I really would look at another board for the customer few and far between that want an internal floppy.
I know margins can be tight, but really your time is also valuable and I'm sure you can work a deal for a good board and fast replacement if needed.

 

[bluandy]

I'm hoping someone from Intel will read this:

"Classic" Series motherboards should be just that:
(or at least they should implement one that is)

A Floppy Controller, a Parallel Port (for printers) and a Serial Port (for modems) and ps2 ports for keyboard and mouse.

Why did Intel decide to take the "classic" out of classic????

 

[Reichling]

You can just use a super drive. They read floppy disks and have a IDE connector not a FDD.

http://www.weirdstuff.com/cgi-bin/item/19022

and if you don't have IDE:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815158081

 

[Larry63]

I have the same problem. Most of my customers still run DOS.
I think I have found two possible solutions.

And I am still looking for a more elegant solution than these two I offer.

Buslink has a FDD1 3.5" USB floppy drive that is an external unit that looks like they just used a plain floppy drive and encased it in an external USB enclosure.

I have not tried this yet but I will try cracking one open to see how they built this unit. Maybe with a cable swap I can use it to test and see if it can work in my application. Cost of this now obsolete product from Buslink is in the low $50.00 range.

My second solution, is an adaptor that goes on the back of the floppy and the adaptor connects to an internal USB header. It seems to be available in Taiwan. I am going to order two, and try to find out who actually makes this device.

I suspect that this adaptor is the one used in the Buslink product.

I am open to suggestions.....

 

[z0wb13]

I have the same problem. Most of my customers still run DOS.
I think I have found two possible solutions.

And I am still looking for a more elegant solution than these two I offer.

Buslink has a FDD1 3.5" USB floppy drive that is an external unit that looks like they just used a plain floppy drive and encased it in an external USB enclosure.

I have not tried this yet but I will try cracking one open to see how they built this unit. Maybe with a cable swap I can use it to test and see if it can work in my application. Cost of this now obsolete product from Buslink is in the low $50.00 range.

My second solution, is an adaptor that goes on the back of the floppy and the adaptor connects to an internal USB header. It seems to be available in Taiwan. I am going to order two, and try to find out who actually makes this device.

I suspect that this adaptor is the one used in the Buslink product.

I am open to suggestions.....

i don't say this often, but omg, i was looking for that piece that you just described. did it work?

there is this crazy electronics museum around the corner from me, and i just picked up 3 identical 9.1 GB hard drives and an old floppy for $5. i'm a n00b, but i think that i can use the HDs with this on a dp45sg mobo.

looking at how many bugs there are when it comes to building a computer piece by piece, it seems like it wouldn't hurt to have a floppy running to update firmware and such, but maybe it's just that i got used to updating firmware that way.

anyways, anticipating a reply on to how this worked out for you

 

[kohenkatz]

My second solution, is an adaptor that goes on the back of the floppy and the adaptor connects to an internal USB header. It seems to be available in Taiwan. I am going to order two, and try to find out who actually makes this device.

Can you inform the rest of us where you found this adapter?

I have been searching for an adaptor like this for days and have had no success in finding one.

 

[oldensign]

I have just received the same Intel motherboard, then wasted a few hours searching for "internal SATA floppy" and for "internal USB floppy: Nope; all the hits for "internal USN floppy" produce a combination USB media card reader and floppy drive. Nice idea, but the floppy is 34-pin; only the media card reader is USB. I guess I'll have to go with the external USB floppy and try to jam it into a jerry-rigged 3.5-inch frame of some kind. In the meantime, to test the motherboard with Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD) I'm using an SATA DVD drive.

I also have a new EVGA motherboard that has NO 4-pin CD audio header. The manufacturer's flack assures me that "nobody" makes DVD/CD readers with 4-pin audio output. Really? Nobody? Or is it to do with the 7 cents saved by leaving out the 4-pin audio header on the board. How much did they save by leaving the plastic frame off the COM1 connector? Another 7 cents maybe?

There are plenty of SATA-to-PATA (40-pin) adapters available CHEAP, many bidirectional. Where does one find an SATA-to-floppy (34-pin) adapter?

 

[gakingjr]

I have just received the same Intel motherboard, then wasted a few hours searching for "internal SATA floppy" and for "internal USB floppy: Nope; all the hits for "internal USN floppy" produce a combination USB media card reader and floppy drive. Nice idea, but the floppy is 34-pin; only the media card reader is USB. I guess I'll have to go with the external USB floppy and try to jam it into a jerry-rigged 3.5-inch frame of some kind. In the meantime, to test the motherboard with Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD) I'm using an SATA DVD drive.

I also have a new EVGA motherboard that has NO 4-pin CD audio header. The manufacturer's flack assures me that "nobody" makes DVD/CD readers with 4-pin audio output. Really? Nobody? Or is it to do with the 7 cents saved by leaving out the 4-pin audio header on the board. How much did they save by leaving the plastic frame off the COM1 connector? Another 7 cents maybe?

There are plenty of SATA-to-PATA (40-pin) adapters available CHEAP, many bidirectional. Where does one find an SATA-to-floppy (34-pin) adapter?

 

[gakingjr]

Would the EVGA board happen to be e758-TR (132-BL-E758-TR)?

I'm convinced that manufacturers look for things they can change, just to make the devices I have obsolete.

 

[pkingzog]

I think this is what the OP needs and only 5.99 @ Geeks.com:

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=YD-8U10-2&cat=RDM

Specs:

Part #: YD-8U10-2
Warranty: 90 Days
Condition: New
Packaging: Plain Box
Ship Weight: 0.5 lb
Manufacturer: Y-E Data
MFG Part #: YD-8U10
Supported By: Geeks


Features/Specifications:
1.44 MB Slim Floppy Disk Drive


General Features:
Black bezel
3.5-inch form factor
Slim design (0.5-inch height)
1.44 MB capacity
4-pin USB internal header connector (18-inch cable length, approximate)
Busy LED


Unit Dimensions:
0.5 x 3.75 x 5.1-inches (H x W x D, approximate)


Regulatory Approvals:
CE
UL
BSMI
TUV

Package Includes:
1.44 MB Slim Floppy Disk Drive


Additional Information:


Notes:
Model: YD-8U10


Requirements:
Floppy controller
Available 3.5-inch drive bay
Available 4-pin USB internal header connector


The stated requirement for a floppy controller puzles me because the only plug is a usb header conection

 

[rhoek11]

I had the same problem - new motherboard without a floppy drive connection, and a need for a 3.5" floppy drive in the system. I picked up a Buslink FDD1 drive on eBay for $15 plus shipping. Two screws hold the casing together, and it was easy to open things up and get to the drive itself. What I found was a basic floppy drive that is attached to a simple circuit board by 4 screws. The drive itself is just your basic floppy drive, and the board that converts the connection to USB is easily detached and could be tucked just about anywhere in the computer case. The connection from the floppy drive plugs into a standard female USB port, and there are two of these on the motherboard and a couple more on USB/Firewire cards. This is a simple and nearly ideal solution.

I have the same problem. Most of my customers still run DOS.
I think I have found two possible solutions.

And I am still looking for a more elegant solution than these two I offer.

Buslink has a FDD1 3.5" USB floppy drive that is an external unit that looks like they just used a plain floppy drive and encased it in an external USB enclosure.

I have not tried this yet but I will try cracking one open to see how they built this unit. Maybe with a cable swap I can use it to test and see if it can work in my application. Cost of this now obsolete product from Buslink is in the low $50.00 range.

My second solution, is an adaptor that goes on the back of the floppy and the adaptor connects to an internal USB header. It seems to be available in Taiwan. I am going to order two, and try to find out who actually makes this device.

I suspect that this adaptor is the one used in the Buslink product.

I am open to suggestions.....

 

[sound4film]

I think this is what the OP needs and only 5.99 @ Geeks.com:

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=YD-8U10-2&cat=RDM


Requirements:
Floppy controller
Available 3.5-inch drive bay
Available 4-pin USB internal header connector


The stated requirement for a floppy controller puzles me because the only plug is a usb header conection

I spoke to the tech support guy at Geek.com. He says there's no requirement for a floppy controller, and he is trying to get the info on the web site changed.
I'm going to order one.

 

[popatim]

I was wondering if the need for a floppy drive was for boot time if a usb one would even 'work' at that point in the process? For $5 worth testing for sure.
Good find pkingzog!

 

[Guest]

I have the same problem. Most of my customers still run DOS.
I think I have found two possible solutions.

And I am still looking for a more elegant solution than these two I offer.

Buslink has a FDD1 3.5" USB floppy drive that is an external unit that looks like they just used a plain floppy drive and encased it in an external USB enclosure.

I have not tried this yet but I will try cracking one open to see how they built this unit. Maybe with a cable swap I can use it to test and see if it can work in my application. Cost of this now obsolete product from Buslink is in the low $50.00 range.

My second solution, is an adaptor that goes on the back of the floppy and the adaptor connects to an internal USB header. It seems to be available in Taiwan. I am going to order two, and try to find out who actually makes this device.

I suspect that this adaptor is the one used in the Buslink product.

I am open to suggestions.....

 

[Guest]

You can just use a super drive. They read floppy disks and have a IDE connector not a FDD.

http://www.weirdstuff.com/cgi-bin/item/19022

and if you don't have IDE:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815158081

There are some good floppy drive emulation as the DTX200 from datex,we try that work properly ,on all systems.
http://www.datexdsm.com/emulator/docs/DTX200en.html

Price start from 190.USD. .

 

[Drumznut]

I have also had this problem recently, as we want to switch our builds to Core i7 950's with LGA 1366, and an MSI X58 motherboard that has no floppy controller.

I figured out a perfect solution to this problem!!

Here is what I did:

We've been using Ultra - ULT40366 Internal Floppy Drive/Card Readers

I took an Iomega External USB Floppy Drive - Model 32633, and took the drive out of the Iomega casing. I then also took the floppy drive out of the Ultra unit and the Iomega USB one fit in there perfectly and all screw holes lined up also. For installation into the computer case, it is as normally done, and to hook up the drive to the motherboard I just took apart a 2 port USB bracket that hooks up internally to the motherboard and plugged in one side as normal to the motherboard and the other side as normal from the male plug of the Iomega USB drive and "Viola!!" I now have a floppy drive and card reader installed on the computer on a motherboard without a floppy drive controller!!