Solutions

Do you really need that floppy drive?

By JOHN TORRO
© St. Petersburg Times
published December 16, 2002

Q. I am having problems with my A drive. When I turn the computer on, the light on the A drive clicks on momentarily. But if I try to use a floppy disk, I get a message telling me: "A:\ is not accessible -- The drive is not ready." I have checked the device status in the system manager and it says: "This device is working properly." I have tried to update the driver, but it said the proper driver is installed. What are my options?

A. It sounds as if your floppy drive is on the fritz. Boot to a Command (DOS) prompt. (Press and hold the Ctrl key as you reboot.) Then check to see if it can read a diskette. If not, then you know it's not just a Windows anomaly. If it does read successfully at the Command prompt, boot again into Safe Mode. (Again hold the Ctrl key as you reboot and choose Safe Mode.) If Windows can now read from the floppy, there may be a driver conflict, and it will most likely be with your video adapter (this happened to me a few years back). In this case you may need to update your video drivers. Check the vendor's tech support Web site.

If neither of these solutions work, let's move forward: If you're comfortable opening your PC, check that the ribbon cable is securely connected and correctly oriented. Most have the side of the ribbon cable with the red stripe closest to the power.

Replacing a floppy drive is relatively simple and very inexpensive, no more than $10 or $15.

But while you are at this computing crossroads, let me propose a new direction: Do you really need a floppy drive? I know that sounds sort of radical and will probably generate a lot of passionate reader response. But when you think about it, what do you really need it for? When was the last time you received software on a floppy disk? Most current PCs have a BIOS that can boot from a CD if needed and you can transfer a floppy's worth of data just as easily through a network connection or in e-mail. Okay, enough of these zealous provocations. I don't want to upset anyone. You should probably just replace it with a new one.

Regaining control of attachments

Q. I installed a Microsoft critical update. Apparently a new feature has Outlook Express inspecting e-mail attachments and blocking most without giving me the option to see or delete them. These have a posted notice, "OE removed access to the following unsafe attachments in your mail." I can find no way to disable this feature nor to view what OE has removed. Everyone else I've talked to is experiencing this new problem with significant business and personal impact.

A. I have written about this a number of times over the past few months. One place to check first is the Tech Times' online archives (www.sptimes.com /Technology.shtml). But here's the solution, one more time:

This is a new setting that gets turned on by default in Outlook Express. Microsoft, being the benevolent dictator of our PC environment that it is, is just trying to prevent us from mindlessly opening e-mail attachments that may contain viruses that will harm your PC as well as everyone you communicate with. If you are sure you want to open an attachment, you can toggle it on or off permanently or as needed.

The option is labeled as: "Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus." You'll find it on the Outlook Express menu bar, Tools, Options, Security tab. While this Outlook Express change was part of the XP service pack, it was also included in the latest versions of Outlook Express for any of the Windows versions.

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