Installing an FDD
Installing an FDD in all but the newest systems is straightforward. Note, however, that some cases designed to accept FlexATX motherboards have only one externally accessible 5.25-inch drive bay, intended to accept a CD or DVD drive. This is because FlexATX systems are intended to boot from CD and so eliminate “legacy” connectors, including the FDD. That means if you intend to install an FDD in a FlexATX system, you’ll need a case with two or more externally accessible drive bays (assuming you also want to install an optical drive and/or tape drive in the system), and you’ll need to buy a separate PCI card that provides an FDD interface because FlexATX and other “legacy-reduced” and “legacy-free” motherboards do not provide an embedded FDD interface.
FlexATX motherboards also fit standard ATX cases, so installing the FlexATX motherboard in a standard ATX case eliminates the drive bay problem, although not the lack of an FDD interface. If you really need an FDD in a system, we recommend using a motherboard that provides an embedded FDD interface.
Use the following rules when installing FDDs:
To install one FDD in a system, standard practice is to jumper that drive as the second drive (DS1/DS2) and connect it to the end connector. Alternatively, you can jumper the drive as the first drive (DS0/DS1) and connect it to the middle connector. Either method allows the system to see that drive as A:. If your drive cable has only two connectors, jumper the drive as the second ...
Get PC Hardware in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
