Computer Hope

Question
I have a floppy drive installed but Windows can't see it. How can I make it see it?

Opposite question
I took out my floppy drive, but I can't get Windows to stop seeing it, or I never had a floppy and it sees one. How can I remove this?

Answer to both questions
To solve this problem is simpler than you think, but it requires a little knowledge of BIOS, known to novice users as Setup. This Setup/BIOS can be reached by striking a certain key during boot; for most machines, it is the Delete/Del key. Refer to your computer manual for assistance if this key does not work or if you do not know when to press it. If you have a self-constructed computer, refer to your motherboard manual for instructions.

Once in BIOS/CMOS, navigate to information about all your hardware (hard drive, floppy, CD-ROM, etc.). If you don't know how to find it, look in anything resembling Basic or General settings. If this information is not listed there, look around in the different settings being careful not to change anything until you do find it. Since BIOS's differ from PC to PC, it is impossible to say what heading to find the information on.

Once you reach the settings for the drives, go down to the Floppy and select it. If you are trying to get Windows to see it, enable the Floppy drive. If you're trying to get Windows to "forget it", disable it.


Unlike most hardware, Floppy drives are the only pieces of hardware I know whose installation is not depended on whether it's installed or not; just that BIOS is set to recognize it. In plain English: Most hardware is automatically detected by Windows whether you like it or not, and if it is removed, the system stops seeing it automatically; however, regardless of whether a Floppy is installed or not, the "is it there or not?" question Windows asks is not answered by it's hardware detection, but by BIOS. Strange, is it not?


Save your changes to CMOS/BIOS and reboot. Upon rebooting into Windows, you should have the desired result, be it installing or uninstalling the drive. USB external floppy drives are the exception to the above; these do not require a BIOS change to install/uninstall. It's Plug n' Play, so removing the cord will uninstall the drive without issues (well, unless you were writing to the disk at the time. Do not remove a USB device while it's being written to or read by the computer; Basically, wait for it to stop making noise).