Unable to Read from Floppy Disk Drive on Laptop Computer

• Microsoft Windows 95

SYMPTOMS

Windows 95 may not be able to read data from floppy disk drives on some Toshiba laptop computers that are running the upgrade version of Windows 95. This behavior typically occurs only if you try to read from a drive that does not contain a disk and then later attempt to read from that drive again.

CAUSE

This behavior is due to a timing problem with the Hsflop.pdr driver included with the upgrade version of Windows 95. This problem does not occur with the Toshiba (OEM) version of Windows 95.

This behavior has been observed with Toshiba Tecra 700-series laptop computers, and may also occur with Toshiba Satellite Pro 400-series, 2150- series, and 2100-series laptop computers.

It is possible that this behavior may also occur with laptop computers from other manufacturers.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Windows 95. An update to address this problem is now available, but is not fully regression-tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem. Unless you are severely impacted by this specific problem, Microsoft does not recommend implementing this update at this time. Contact Microsoft Technical Support for additional information about the availability of this update.

MORE INFORMATION

This problem does not affect all floppy drives in a particular model of computer. Failure to reproduce this symptom generally indicates that the particular floppy drive tested is not susceptible to this problem. It is not possible to determine, without testing, whether a particular laptop computer will encounter this problem. Further, it is possible that laptop computers other than those mentioned above may contain floppy drives that are susceptible to this problem.

The updated version of the Hsflop.pdr file is included with the Toshiba OEM version of Windows 95. This update should be required only by Toshiba customers who install the upgrade version of Windows 95 on one of the affected computers.

An update is also available from Toshiba Technical Support and via Toshiba's BBS and other electronic support services (such as Toshiba's Web site) as HSFLOP.EXE, a self-extracting compressed file. For example, you can download the HSFLOP.EXE file from the following Toshiba Web site:

   http://www.toshiba.com/tais/csd/support/files/win9drv.htm