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Slim Floppy Drive to Normal Motherboard?

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First post, by justin1985

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I've got a microATX case kicking around that only has slim drive bays, including a half height 3.25" drive for a slim floppy drive, and I'd love to use it to build a PIII era machine in a compact modern case.

I know OEM systems that use slim floppy drives tend to have the 26 pin flat ribbon connector directly on the motherboard (the IBM ThinkCentre P4 I have does), and this also supplies power.

I've seen adapters like this on AliExpress and eBay, which have a female 34 pin connector on one side, and standard floppy power plus the 26-pin flat cable connector on the other.

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The only images I've found of these used in anger though have shown the female 34-pin connected directly to a GoTek type floppy emulator, with a short cable carrying power from the adapter to the drive. i.e. the use case is connecting a GoTek to an OEM system that only has a 26-pin flat connector, and the flat cable is supplying the power.

Is there anything to stop me using it the other way around? i.e. connect the 34-pin female connector directly to the motherboard, connect the PSU floppy power to the adapter, and run a standard 26-pin flat cable to the slim floppy drive? It looks like the adapter is totally passive, so I'm tempted to think it should work? Or are there some reversed connections etc between motherboard and drive ends of a floppy cable that would mean I'd blow up my motherboard?

Reply 1 of 2, by Thermalwrong

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For cables that do what you're trying to do, you could check out Optiplex floppy drive cables. Those often used slim FDD and have a regular 34-pin connector - I've used a couple of them in my builds over the years and they work nicely.

The part code is 04N093 or 7F455:

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Personally I've only used the 7F455 one but the later white design (4N093) is probably better as I managed to rip one of mine.

They shouldn't cost much, just search for optiplex (floppy,fdd) and have a look through a few listings, I can see a drive I can buy for £7 right now that includes the cable.

Regarding your questions, I haven't got one of those adapters so can't verify the pins but it might work... I mean conceptually it should, but correct pin / cable orientation on the flat flex cable is crucial.

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