Diskette Drive Connectors and Cables

          ┌─────────────────────────────────┐
          │          Diskette Drive         │
          \                                 \
          │                                 │
          \        └┘ DskChng jumper        \
          │                          Drive  │
          │ power     Cable          Select │
          └┬────┬─┬┬┬┬┬┬┬┬┬┬┬┬┬─┬┬─────┬┬┬┬─┘
           │oooo│ │││││││││││││ ││       X
           \────┘ └┴┴┴┴┴┴┴┴┴┴┴┘▲└┘
                               └────────────── Key Slot
      Key
     Slot The cable is keyed with a plug at the position of the key slot,
          but I've seen cables in which the plug has fallen out.

          Attach the cable with pin 1 (which has a colored wire) toward the
          slot.

    power A separate power cable is needed for each drive.  The connector
          is keyed to avoid improper orientation.

    Cable Diskette drives are connected by only one cable.  Most systems
          have two connectors on the Cable:
          ┌─────────────────┐  ┌
          │ Connected to the│◄═╡ Connect with the colored wire to pin 1 on
          │ controller      │  │ the controller card.  See below.
          └╥─┬─┬─┬─┬─┬─┬─┬─┬┘  └
colored    ║ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
   wire═╦═►║ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
   (key ║  ║ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
   slot ║ ┌╨─┴─┴─┴─┴─┴─┴─┴─┴┐
   side)║ │ Connected to the│
        ║ │ second drive (B)│
        ║ └╥─┬─┬─┬─┬─┬─┬─┬─┬┘
        ║  ║ │ │ │ │ │\t/│ │  ┌
        ╚═►║ │ │ │ │ │ w │ │  │If your cable does not have this twist,
           ║ │ │ │ │ │ i │ │◄═╡then drive A must have the Drive Select
           ║ │ │ │ │ │ s │ │  │jumper in the first position.
           ║ │ │ │ │ │/t\│ │  └
          ┌╨─┴─┴─┴─┴─┴─┴─┴─┴┐
          │ Connected to the│
          │ first drive (A) │
          └─────────────────┘

    Drive Some, but not all diskette drives have a double row of pins
   Select (usually four sets) with a jumper across one set.  The jumper
          should be across the second set for both diskette drives.

          If you can see any printing on the circuit board, you can usually
          figure out which is the side with the first position (D0 or
          pin 1, etc.).  Or you can tell the end with pin 1 by looking at
          the back of the controller.  It is the side that has a square
          solder mark.

 DiskChng A few drives let you choose whether the drive should
   Jumper detect when the drive door has been opened (indicating the
          likelihood that a disk has been swapped).

          DOS device drivers have supported Disk Change or "change line"
          for many years, and you should enable this feature (usually by
          placing the jumper).

          If DOS thinks that the drive does detect Disk Change, but it
          actually does not, then DOS may not be able to tell when a new
          diskette is inserted in the drive (for instance, the Dir command
          will show the directory of the previous diskette).  This is
          dangerous.

█▌Controller Card Connection▐█
  Many controller cards support both hard disk and diskettes.  Be sure to
  connect the disketted drive cable to the pin-set marked FDD or floppy
  disk.

  Cables often have a plug to match a missing pin, to ensure the proper
  orientation.

  The side of the cable that has a colored wire is the one to connect to
  pin 1.  To locate pin 1 on the controller, try:

    ■ Look for a 1 printed on the circuit board.  Or...
    ■ If there is a square solder mark on the back side of the controller
      where the pins are connected, this is pin 1. Or...
    ■ Refer to your controller documentation.

See Also: Hard Disk Cables
          Cables and Pin Outs
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