Thinkpad 560 - ext floppy drive doesn't work **PICS**

[laguro]

Guys, i bought a fujitsu 3.5" ffd unit (model fpcfddo2) and it doesn't work with my thinkpad 560..
i was reading that that connector may have different pinouts, is this true?
in bios discete icon doesn't active, but pcmci icon is active (i don't have any btw!)
may be i do something wrong or i just bought broken ext floppy drive?

sorry for bad english

[axur-delmeria]

1. Drive may be defective. It's very old after all.

2. Was it ever mentioned anywhere that it's compatible with Thinkpads?

[rkawakami]

I am not 100% certain that the Fujitsu drive can work with the Thinkpad. One of the external floppy drives that should work with the 560 is FRU 05K6187, an Ultraslimbay housing that accepts the standard Ultraslimbay floppy drive for the 600 series. Example photos:

The external floppy drive Ultraslimbay (05K6187)


The bottom of the bay:


The Ultraslimbay floppy drive (standard floppy for the 600 series systems):


Floppy drive mounted inside the bay:


I tried this out on my own 560 but unfortunately it has boot error 174, which from the sound of it is a bad hard drive. The floppy DOES attempt to boot the diskette by spinning it up but the 174 error prevents the program from loading.

[laguro]

2. Was it ever mentioned anywhere that it's compatible with Thinkpads?

no, that's why i ask you, guys.. i thought that this connector is like usb - work the same on any computer.

[laguro]

which from the sound of it is a bad hard drive

SO SAD!

but thank you for helping anyway..

[rkawakami]

Well, I finally got my 560 to boot one time after trying about a dozen times.









This external floppy drive solution is one that I use for all Thinkpad laptops and docking stations that have that thin floppy drive connector.

[rkawakami]

I was looking around for any documentation on the Fujitsu external floppy connector and I ran into this:

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Floppy_Connector

No mention of the Fujitsu drive, so no incompatibility issues are noted. What IS noted are that Toshiba and Apple have used the same connector and they are NOT compatible with the Thinkpad.

[axur-delmeria]

no, that's why i ask you, guys.. i thought that this connector is like usb - work the same on any computer.

Unless Fujitsu worked with IBM to make their external floppy drives compatible, the default answer is no. unfortunately.
These connectors are wired directly to the floppy controller (these drives have 26 pins), so it's up to the manufacturer to assign the pinout. I guess the connectors are the same between different laptop brands is because it fits the requirements: has enough pins, has a locking latch, reasonably robust, and slim.

[ragefury32]

The one that came with my 560E is IBM Part # 10H3980, which has a TEAC FD05-HF drive with a 26 pin FFC connector connected to the IBM 21mm floppy interface - the machine itself has a 17mm interface and uses cable with IBM Part # 39F2077. The question here indeed is whether the Fujitsu is pin compatible with the interface on the IBM...manufacturers back then does not standardize too much. Thinkwiki points out that there are compatible Dell and Toshiba drives on the 21mm connector, but they are probably more rare than the IBM drive.

A used 10H3980+39F2077 combo goes for anything between 10-15 USD on eBay, sometimes cheaper if it's listed as parts-only.
You might be able to carefully crack open the plastic enclosure to swap out the broken TEAC drive, assuming that it's actually broken - chances are a good clean-and-lube will make it work again. If you are adventurous you can swap it out with a Gotek 26 pin equivalent (SFRM72-DU26 or SFRM144-DU26), then perform a hardware hack - solder some missing headers on it, remove some resistors, add an OLED display and then install FlashFloppy onto it. It's not difficult and can be used for anything 17mm or 21mm IBM compatible as long as you have the cable to pull it off.