VOGONS


First post, by Machine Monarch

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Hi everyone!

First time posting here and I had to create an account because I'm ecstatic!

A while ago I purchase a Toshiba Satellite Pro 430CDT as I had always wanted one of those thick 90s laptops. It came in quite good condition, the battery even held some charge for upwards of 30 minutes.
The floppy drive that it came with was already broken because the rubber band had dried out. As some of you know, it does feature a CD-ROM drive which it is not possible to boot from.

Earlier I came across this post, Toshiba Satellite Pro 430CDT, which showed that it was possible to replace the floppy with a slim floppy TEAC-drive...
Fastforward half a year or so and I'm at work where we're throwing out these very old Supermicro Super Servers (5013C-M) which have been sitting below a storage shelf collecting dust. I quickly notice that they feature slim-type floppy drives and I decide to salvage one in the off chance that maybe, MAYBE they work!

Unfortunately the drive does not fit in its original case BUT at least the connector seems to be the same... And it WORKS! 😁

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I decide to try and update the bios from version 6.30 to 6.50 using the floppy drive. This also works!

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As an added bonus, the CD-Drive from the servers is also compatible with this laptop.
I left the sticker with the server name on for added coolness... 😉

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Now onto replacing the HDD with Compact Flash. I think I'm going to try and install NetBSD on it due to their low hardware requirements. Maybe I can even get a CMOS battery replacement!

Reply 1 of 3, by jaZz_KCS

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Depending on where you live regarding postage, I can hit you up with a floppy that fits.
Or, you buy yourself one of these that I usually use as substitutes for Satellites.
One of those cheap USB superslim USB Floppy drives.
They seem to be mostly TEAC old stock, and have the same formfactor and button position. They are nudered by a small PCB in the enclosure which can be removed. Afterwards they can read and write all the formats again, they have the same smaller width 26pin flat ribbon connector (with the USB translator PCB in place they work over USB, albeit only 720 and 1440 modes are available, but over the original connection they do work as originally intended).

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These drives usually cost around 10-15 bucks tops.
I have successfully used these drives as substitutes in laptops of the Compaq Contura and Aero series, as well as Toshiba DynaBook, Tecra and Satellite (Pro) series.

Reply 2 of 3, by Machine Monarch

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jaZz_KCS wrote on 2020-02-25, 19:59:
Depending on where you live regarding postage, I can hit you up with a floppy that fits. Or, you buy yourself one of these that […]
Show full quote

Depending on where you live regarding postage, I can hit you up with a floppy that fits.
Or, you buy yourself one of these that I usually use as substitutes for Satellites.
One of those cheap USB superslim USB Floppy drives.
They seem to be mostly TEAC old stock, and have the same formfactor and button position. They are nudered by a small PCB in the enclosure which can be removed. Afterwards they can read and write all the formats again, they have the same smaller width 26pin flat ribbon connector (with the USB translator PCB in place they work over USB, albeit only 720 and 1440 modes are available, but over the original connection they do work as originally intended).

61WS1W4azmL._SL1300_.jpg

These drives usually cost around 10-15 bucks tops.
I have successfully used these drives as substitutes in laptops of the Compaq Contura and Aero series, as well as Toshiba DynaBook, Tecra and Satellite (Pro) series.

I just discovered a whole bunch of old slim floppy drives tucked away in a drawer at work. Some of them seem promising so I'm going to see if I can start with those.
In anyways, thank you for the kind offer!

Reply 3 of 3, by jaZz_KCS

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Machine Monarch wrote on 2020-02-25, 20:13:

I just discovered a whole bunch of old slim floppy drives tucked away in a drawer at work. Some of them seem promising so I'm going to see if I can start with those.
In anyways, thank you for the kind offer!

There surely ought to be some fitting ones amongst them. And direct drive. Most newer ones are, gladly.