Have you tried configuring the gotek (assuming it's flashed with FlashFloppy firmware) via FF.CFG?

https://github.com/keirf/flashfloppy/wiki/FF. … figuration-File

Last few drives I got also were of the newer design with artery MCUs and jumpers didn't do much. I had to configure them via this config file. Basically you set options you want (for instance the type of drive to emulate, ibmpc, amiga...), put it in the root of USB stick, plug it in and turn on the Gotek. It will read it and flash it. After that it should work. You don't need to have this file on stick (else it will reflash every time).

Solo761 wrote on 2023-07-21, 10:35:

Have you tried configuring the gotek (assuming it's flashed with FlashFloppy firmware) via FF.CFG?

https://github.com/keirf/flashfloppy/wiki/FF. … figuration-File

Last few drives I got also were of the newer design with artery MCUs and jumpers didn't do much. I had to configure them via this config file. Basically you set options you want (for instance the type of drive to emulate, ibmpc, amiga...), put it in the root of USB stick, plug it in and turn on the Gotek. It will read it and flash it. After that it should work. You don't need to have this file on stick (else it will reflash every time).

Hi there! Thanks for the tip! It's a good one! 😃
I tried that out, but I still get the garbled output..

Maybe it's also because of the quickness of that 286.
It runs at 16 MHz (CPU), with everything else at zero wait state.

Have you tried that gotek on another computer? Since real floppy drive works there is a chance it's defective 🤔.

I haven't got any 286s so can't try, 486 is oldest I have and haven't had an issue with goteks and that one.

Jo22 wrote on 2023-07-22, 04:07:

Maybe it's also because of the quickness of that 286.
It runs at 16 MHz (CPU), with everything else at zero wait state.

Isn't this detail is abstracted by the floppy controller? The floppy drive itself has nothing to do with the CPU or ISA bus at all.
The controller may have issues though when running outside of some specs (ISA clock speed, etc).

vstrakh wrote on 2023-07-24, 08:29:

Jo22 wrote on 2023-07-22, 04:07:

Maybe it's also because of the quickness of that 286.
It runs at 16 MHz (CPU), with everything else at zero wait state.

Isn't this detail is abstracted by the floppy controller? The floppy drive itself has nothing to do with the CPU or ISA bus at all.
The controller may have issues though when running outside of some specs (ISA clock speed, etc).

Floppy uses DMA. The DMA controller uses 4.77 MHz strictly, so that shouldn't be an issue.

root42 wrote on 2023-07-24, 08:35:

Floppy uses DMA.

It's not the floppy drive, but floppy controller who uses DMA.
Whatever issues that might be related to CPU/bus speed - those shouldn't leak into the floppy drive side, so no point suspecting the system speed as the cause of problems for the floppy drive.
So either you suspect Gotek being faulty, or floppy controller issues with the system speed.

vstrakh wrote on 2023-07-24, 08:47:

It's not the floppy drive, but floppy controller who uses DMA. Whatever issues that might be related to CPU/bus speed - those sh […]
Show full quote

root42 wrote on 2023-07-24, 08:35:

Floppy uses DMA.

It's not the floppy drive, but floppy controller who uses DMA.
Whatever issues that might be related to CPU/bus speed - those shouldn't leak into the floppy drive side, so no point suspecting the system speed as the cause of problems for the floppy drive.
So either you suspect Gotek being faulty, or floppy controller issues with the system speed.

vstrakh wrote on 2023-07-24, 08:29:

Jo22 wrote on 2023-07-22, 04:07:

Maybe it's also because of the quickness of that 286.
It runs at 16 MHz (CPU), with everything else at zero wait state.

Isn't this detail is abstracted by the floppy controller? The floppy drive itself has nothing to do with the CPU or ISA bus at all.
The controller may have issues though when running outside of some specs (ISA clock speed, etc).

Thanks guys for taking your time ! 🙂
I re-installed the previous 1,44MB floppy drive (Teac FD-235HF) and it works fine.
I've done a simple test with a DIR of a 720 KB formatted 1,44MB floppy and another one with CheckIt!
CheckIt ran in read-only mode, because I had no blank diskette at hand right now.

hey did you removed this jumper ?
As i have one installed in yellow square

I'm probably not being very useful here (because I'm not familiar with the recent Gotek models and hardware revisions) but.. Isn't there a whole new firmware by Flash-Floppy for these devices?

EDIT: Yes, I just checked and:

To support older versions of the FlashFloppy bootloader, two types of Update file are included in the distribution, distinguisha […]
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To support older versions of the FlashFloppy bootloader, two types of
Update file are included in the distribution, distinguishable by name:
FF_Gotek-*.upd: Legacy Update file
- All STM32F105/AT32F415 devices
flashfloppy-*.upd: Universal Update file
- All AT32F435 devices
- STM32F105/AT32F415 devices running a recent FlashFloppy bootloader

You need to flash the FF_Gotek-*.upd t othat device instead of flashfloppy-*.upd

EDIT2: I noticed you are using the 4.x experimental branch, try using the latest version from the stable branch (3.41) instead? Specifically because this release mentions fixing some timing issues for AT32F415 that you have..

** v3.41 - 14 July 2023
- AT32F415: Fix timer handling since clock speed increase (v3.39).
- LCD: Faster power-on initialisation. Don't wait for display to clear.

EDIT3: Also, the Flash-Floppy git wiki has this to say about the AT32F415 MC:

Artery AT32F415
Starting Spring 2021, the STM32F105 microcontroller previously used has been replaced with Artery AT32F415 due to cost and availability. The major disadvantage of this chip is its tiny 32kB SRAM which makes it difficult to reliably support some operations, such as track formatting, and writing to high-density HFE images. Reliability of these operations will depend on USB stick performance. Due to this limitation, I highly recommend the latest enhanced model with AT32F435 MCU for new purchases!

So maybe trying a faster USB stick may also help?

appiah4 wrote on 2023-07-25, 10:49:

So maybe trying a faster USB stick may also help?

Good idea. It doesn't seem to support USB 3 or 4, though..
And I haven't seen a good USB 2.0 pen drive for ages.

The Gotek is still stuck in the 2000s, it seems.
Or rather, the 80s, maybe.
For comparison, the Super Nintendo released in 1990 had 128KB of working memory, because the original 1988 design with 8KB (then 32KB) wasn't enough.

The most reasonable move would be to a) wait b) to throw that Gotek away or c) use it for parts, I suppose.

While I got it partially working (that special firmware), it's very bad. Small files can be copied, one by one, but that's all.
I can't imagine using it for installing OS/2 from floppies, for example. 🙁

Edit: The OLED display and the chassis might be worth saving, though.

Edit: Here's a (last) picture of the poor Gotek.
Personally, I don't expect to see any further firmware releases for it.

Given the mess of hardware that the Gotek platform now is with the cut-down microcontrollers substituting the hardware it had originally, I'm surprised there hasn't been an effort to create an RP2040 floppy emulator.
To clarify though, the Gotek you're referring to is just this particular one, the model with the AT32F415 that's got the limited memory, right?

The STM32 series of chips seems to have just been very susceptible to cloning somehow. The STM32 'Blue-Pill' dev board was popular and useful for a while too, until clone chips started getting installed on those boards and the standard of that platform was broken too.

Thermalwrong wrote on 2023-12-03, 13:45:

To clarify though, the Gotek you're referring to is just this particular one, the model with the AT32F415 that's got the limited memory, right?

Yes. The older Gotek model I have works like a charm after getting rid of the original firmware and installing Flash Floppy (never had real trouble with any version).

It's just that AT32F415 chip that doesn't cut it, I think.
The available RAM simply is too low to both hold a whole sector/cluster/block whatever and Flash Floppy.

And the problem with USB 1.x/2.x is the lack of DMA or interrupt support.
Everything's essentially done by polling method. USB 3 was an improvement here.

Finding a reliable USB 2.x pen drive with a good performance/access time is difficult.
Such things aren't being printed on the packaging.

That's why a proper Gotek (64KB+) with caching capability is so preferable.

Edit: There are new Goteks with an AT32F435 being sold right now.
The new chip is huge compared to the punny 415 type.

I've bought 3 flashfloppy gotek drives from a seller on ebay in the last couple months and all three are running just fine - 1 on an 8088, 1 on a 486, and 1 on a pentium II. I also before that bought an artery model on amazon and wound up coastering it trying to upgrade it to flashfloppy. So my advice to those buying one is to save yourself the trouble and just get one already set up with flashfloppy, most sellers will back what they sell.

The one I got is here, but there are others too.https://www.ebay.com/itm/234259341532