98se - Floppy won't in windows work but will in dos mode

[OldPCKen]

Hi, I am working on a client's laptop PC. It is an IBM Thinkpad 600e with a 24x CDROM in the swap bay and an external floppy drive that plugs into the side. Running Windows 98se, I cannot get the floppy drive to read a disk! I get the message "disk is not formatted, format it now?" In the msdos prompt, I get a "general read error". BUT, when I restart the laptop in msdos mode OR boot from the floppy drive, it reads and writes any diskettes fine.

I tried deleting the floppy and the FDD controller from windows and have the Add Hardware find them and reload them. That did not work. I replaced the files ios.vxd, hpflop.pdr, and diskdrv.inf with fresh copies and reloaded them. Still did not work. I stopped Norton Anti-Virus from checking the floppy with every access. I tested the floppy drive in the swap bay - no difference.

The fact that the drive works fine in msdos mode and to boot from would tell me it is not a hardware problem. Please help! Thank you.
OldPCKen

 

[kestrel1]

Not always the case. I had the same problem with a clients PC & I thought exactly the same as you, that it wouldn't be the hardware.
I decided to change the floppy drive, just to prove it, but it all worked fine afterwards.
Doesn't really make sense, but believe me, it is true.
Hope this helps you.

 

[OldPCKen]

My client told me that he tried his floppy drive on someone else's ThinkPad and it works! I also believe he said that other person's floppy drive will not work on his. Are there any laptop experts out there? Please help. Thanks.
OldPCKen

 

[kestrel1]

Have you actually tried re-installing Windows over the top of the existing version?
This may fix the problem.
Have you checked that there isn't a virus?
I use AVG Anti-Virus boot disc's to check for viruses from DOS. You can download a free version or a trial.
Version 6 is the free version & can be downloaded at

http://www.grisoft.com

I know Norton Anti-virus is installed, but are the definition files upto date & has the client run a full check of the system at regular intervals?
Have you checked for spyware etc. Probably not the cause, but they can cause problems.
Try AddAware from

http://www.lavasoft.de

Or Spybot search & destroy
(can't remember the website)

 

[OldPCKen]

Kestrel1, thank you for the suggestions. For DOS based anti-virus pgms, I've used F-Prot. I will try both and use Adaware the next time I see my client to install a scanner.

OldPCKen

 

[mudskipper]

I would also be curious to know if you can read the floppy from Safe Mode...?

Mudskipper
-----------------
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Quick! Run out and find me a four year-old child: I can't make heads nor tails out of this!"