VOGONS

Search

Common searches

Missing Pins on 3.5 Floppy Connector on old Gateway machine?

Topic actions

First post, by AntiRevisionism

Posted on 
User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Forgive the horrendous cable management... but I was considering moving the components out of this old Gateway machine into a new case.

This Athlon 64 era machine was bought at retail and did not have a floppy drive pre-installed nor did I ever install one later, but it does have a floppy connector on the motherboard. It seems to be missing 3 pins though? Are these 3 pins necessary or is configuration unique to Gateways of the time?

It was hard to get a clear photo at this time of day. I marked in red the three spots with no pins and also marked 3 spots in green were there are pins (but difficult to see).

Attachments

  • 02.jpg
    Filename
    02.jpg
    File size
    237.46 KiB
    Views
    239 views
    File license
    Public domain
  • 01.jpg
    Filename
    01.jpg
    File size
    134.63 KiB
    Views
    239 views
    File license
    Public domain

Reply 1 of 2, by Mister Xiado

Posted on 
User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

Doesn't look like they were broken off, so the best bet is to connect a floppy drive or equivalent emulator to see if it functions. That, and checking the BIOS for FDD configuration options.

b_ldnt2.gif - Where it's always 1995.
Icons, wallpapers, and typical Oldternet nonsense.

Reply 2 of 2, by aha2940

Posted on 
User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

According to the 3.5" floppy pinout on the PC (https://www.chzsoft.de/site/hardware/preservi … logic-analyzer/) you are only missing two "not connected" and a ground pin. Considering all odd-numbered pins on the floppy interface are ground, I'd say your motherboard should work correctly with a floppy drive (assuming all other pins are correctly connected, there are no issues with your mobo and the BIOS has the required support).

Go to top of page Go to top of page
Back to General Old Hardware
Close window
Close window