Apple External Floppy Drive

clearfire62 · Mar 10, 2012, 07:49 PM

Does anyone know the connector that the old 800k external floppy drive used? I would like to connect to my Performa some how but it doesn't have that type of connector. I'm thinking that it could possibly be converted to the SCSI that the Performa has.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenf/5375889864/

David Schmidt · Mar 10, 2012, 10:51 PM

Which Performa do you have? Either it has a floppy interface on the back (a DB-19, by the way) or you can't hook one of these to it. Only a few Performas had external floppy connectors. There are no adapters to go from anything else to these external floppy drives.

MacTech68 · Mar 11, 2012, 05:41 PM

IIRC the only Performa with an external floppy drive port is the Performa 200 (a thinly disguised Classic II).

What is the reason for wanting to do this? I can think of 2.

clearfire62 · May 11, 2012, 07:09 PM

Sorry for the really long delay.

I want to use my old floppy drive to recover files from my old 800k disks. I have a Performa 6110CD which has a 1.4MB drive. The external drive is the only drive besides my Plus that has 800k drive to read the disks.

David Schmidt · May 11, 2012, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clearfire62

I want to use my old floppy drive to recover files from my old 800k disks. I have a Performa 6110CD which has a 1.4MB drive. The external drive is the only drive besides my Plus that has 800k drive to read the disks.

Your performa should be able to read the 800k disks directly. Have you tried popping them in?

clearfire62 · May 11, 2012, 11:08 PM

Yes I have. I don't remember what it says verbatim, but it says they cannot be read and need to be initialized. If you attempt to, it will fail. I thought that 800K and 1.4MB are incompatible, aren't they?

Also, did I put this in the right category on this forum?

MacTech68 · May 12, 2012, 01:05 AM

Correct forum. You're fine there.

You need to check your 800K floppy only has a single hole (the write protect hole), normally has a sliding switch underneath.

If your 800K floppy has two holes, then it is really a 1.44MB diskette which may have been formatted in an 800K only drive mechanism. I've seen this done. The problem is when you put such a disk in a 1.44MB drive, the drive detects it as a 1.44MB disk and expects it to be formatted as such. If this is the case, you can attempt to read it as an 800K by putting some tape over the top and bottom of the second hole (NOT the write protect hole).

The other cause can be a failure of the 1.44MB detect switch in the drive. When an 800K disk is inserted, the switch is pushed down and closes the detect circuit. If the switch is faulty (dirty, oxidized), then it won't detect the 800K disk. Sometimes a drop of contact cleaner on the white actuator of the switch will work. This runs down the white actuator and into the switch, aiding the contacts to make 'better' contact. I have had situations where I've had to replace the switch.

There are a number of other possibilities like dirty heads. Also, if the data on the disk is important to you, DO NOT "Initialize" the disk. Doing so will erase it.

See the difference in the holes here:
http://floppydisk.com/images/dd_vs_hd.jpg

David Schmidt · May 12, 2012, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clearfire62

I thought that 800K and 1.4MB are incompatible, aren't they?

In any other situation, on any other platform... yes. But any built-in 1.4MB floppy disk drive on Apple hardware is capable of anything from 400k all the way up to 1.4MB.

skinny*k · Aug 19, 2012, 07:25 PM

If you don't mind opening your computer and taking apart the external case, the 20 pin ribbon cable attached to your internal drive will fit the connector on the external drive. If that solves your problem you can copy your files to the HD.

Some Macs (up until the first iMacs) had an "extra" floppy port on the motherboard that you could use for a permanent solution, but I don't know about your Performa—which one is it?

Mar 10, 2012, 07:49 PM	#1
clearfire62 macrumors newbie Join Date: Feb 2012	Apple External Floppy Drive Does anyone know the connector that the old 800k external floppy drive used? I would like to connect to my Performa some how but it doesn't have that type of connector. I'm thinking that it could possibly be converted to the SCSI that the Performa has. http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenf/5375889864/
	0

Mar 11, 2012, 05:41 PM	#3
MacTech68 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Australia, Perth	IIRC the only Performa with an external floppy drive port is the Performa 200 (a thinly disguised Classic II). What is the reason for wanting to do this? I can think of 2. __________________ iBook14" 1.42Ghz, G4 DigitalAudio 733Mhz, iMac Snow 700Mhz, iBook SE 466Mhz, PowerBook Pismo 500Mhz, G3 B&W, G4 MDD 1.25Ghz, iMac 233 1998, iMac G4 USB2 1.25Ghz, iMac C2D 2.16Ghz, MacMini G4 1.25Ghz
	0

May 12, 2012, 01:05 AM	#7
MacTech68 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Australia, Perth	Correct forum. You're fine there. You need to check your 800K floppy only has a single hole (the write protect hole), normally has a sliding switch underneath. If your 800K floppy has two holes, then it is really a 1.44MB diskette which may have been formatted in an 800K only drive mechanism. I've seen this done. The problem is when you put such a disk in a 1.44MB drive, the drive detects it as a 1.44MB disk and expects it to be formatted as such. If this is the case, you can attempt to read it as an 800K by putting some tape over the top and bottom of the second hole (NOT the write protect hole). The other cause can be a failure of the 1.44MB detect switch in the drive. When an 800K disk is inserted, the switch is pushed down and closes the detect circuit. If the switch is faulty (dirty, oxidized), then it won't detect the 800K disk. Sometimes a drop of contact cleaner on the white actuator of the switch will work. This runs down the white actuator and into the switch, aiding the contacts to make 'better' contact. I have had situations where I've had to replace the switch. There are a number of other possibilities like dirty heads. Also, if the data on the disk is important to you, DO NOT "Initialize" the disk. Doing so will erase it. See the difference in the holes here: http://floppydisk.com/images/dd_vs_hd.jpg __________________ iBook14" 1.42Ghz, G4 DigitalAudio 733Mhz, iMac Snow 700Mhz, iBook SE 466Mhz, PowerBook Pismo 500Mhz, G3 B&W, G4 MDD 1.25Ghz, iMac 233 1998, iMac G4 USB2 1.25Ghz, iMac C2D 2.16Ghz, MacMini G4 1.25Ghz
	0

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Mar 10, 2012, 10:51 PM	#2
David Schmidt macrumors regular Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Southeastern USA	Which Performa do you have? Either it has a floppy interface on the back (a DB-19, by the way) or you can't hook one of these to it. Only a few Performas had external floppy connectors. There are no adapters to go from anything else to these external floppy drives.
	0

May 11, 2012, 07:09 PM	#4
clearfire62 Thread Starter macrumors newbie Join Date: Feb 2012	Sorry for the really long delay. I want to use my old floppy drive to recover files from my old 800k disks. I have a Performa 6110CD which has a 1.4MB drive. The external drive is the only drive besides my Plus that has 800k drive to read the disks.
	0

May 11, 2012, 11:08 PM	#6
clearfire62 Thread Starter macrumors newbie Join Date: Feb 2012	Yes I have. I don't remember what it says verbatim, but it says they cannot be read and need to be initialized. If you attempt to, it will fail. I thought that 800K and 1.4MB are incompatible, aren't they? Also, did I put this in the right category on this forum?
	0

Aug 19, 2012, 07:25 PM	#9
skinny*k macrumors member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: California	If you don't mind opening your computer and taking apart the external case, the 20 pin ribbon cable attached to your internal drive will fit the connector on the external drive. If that solves your problem you can copy your files to the HD. Some Macs (up until the first iMacs) had an "extra" floppy port on the motherboard that you could use for a permanent solution, but I don't know about your Performa—which one is it?
	0