Member Avatar for maswfc

my floppy drive light is constantly on, anyone know why

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Dani AI

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Short checklist and safe steps that go beyond the quick suggestions from and so the cause is identified rather than guessed.

Power down and unplug before touching anything. Inspect the 34‑pin ribbon for the red stripe (pin 1) and any visible damage; if the cable has a twist, ensure the connectors sit where the drive manufacturer expects for "cable select." Also check the drive's small jumper block (some drives expect a jumper, others use cable select).

Try to isolate hardware vs software: enter BIOS/UEFI—if the LED is off there but on in Windows, background polling (Explorer/autoplay, antivirus scanning removable drives) can keep the LED lit. Temporarily disable floppy in BIOS or boot a minimal environment to see whether the LED still stays on; if it does while BIOS is active, the problem is at the cable/drive/controller level.

Swap parts to locate the fault: use a known‑good ribbon cable, try the drive in another PC, or connect a different drive to the same cable. If the light remains constant with a different drive and cable, suspect the motherboard header; if it disappears with a different cable or machine, suspect the cable or drive. If unsure, a cheap replacement floppy drive or cable will quickly prove the point.

Cautions: always power off before reseating connectors and watch for bent pins. If the LED is on even when the drive is unplugged, stop—that indicates a wiring or short on the case/motherboard and needs further electrical diagnosis. If none of the above helps, replacing the drive or the cable is the usual, low‑cost resolution.

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Member Avatar for jwenting

New installation? If so you may have connected it wrong.

Member Avatar for maswfc

thanx :mrgreen:

Member Avatar for suRoot

when it's on all the time you have connected the floppy cable incorrectly, try turning it upside down, if that doesn't work put it back to orig and move the mobo header end round

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