I can't format a floppy no matter what I try on xp or windows 2000 pro.I've tried different drives,about 100 blank floppies,turned virus scanner off,etc.It seems to be after I installed sp3 & on the 2000 pc,sp4. Could this be an issue? I need to resolve this because I'm building a new pc & will need to install raid drivers from floppy. Both pc's read a floppy,just not format or write. After trying about 20 different floppy drives,I'm sure they're not all bad. If you have an answer to this wierdness,please post it asap or email me at: [link removed]put floppy in the subject line,Thanks,Pete.

Does the format option exist?

If so what happens when you try it?

What error message do you get exactly?

I have not used 2000 in several years but there is no issue with XP SP3.

I can't format a floppy under windows xp or on my other pc running windows 2000 pro.They both used to format floppies fine but it seems ever since I installed sp3 for xp & sp4 for 2000 pro,niether will format a floppy. I've tried atleast 20 drives & over 100 new,blank floppies in both machines to no avail. I tried shutting down my virus scanner as well,no dice. I found this site through google & tried all of the sugestions. Both pc's do read floppies fine. I'm building a new pc & will need to install raid drivers via floppy. I've never had a problem like this. Do I need to go back to windows 98,just so I can make the disks?LOL!! The exact error is: "Windows cannot format the drive". It's 2009,you'ld figure floppies should be extinct by now. After all,90% of the new pc's don't come with a floppy drive. Any answers would be greatly appreciated.

start > Run... cmd

then type:

format a:

insert floppy

what happens?

Also please reply to this thread rather than starting another one. Thanks.

Just to add this old thread you were reading has a bunch of links to browse:

http://www.d-a-l.com/help/general-ha...disk-work.html

Besides trying the command prompt also try safe mode.

Another possibility is open Windows Explorer and expand C:

Then while the focus is on C: and not on A: go back to My Computer and try to format A:

As far as the new computer most motherboards now support USB boot and as such the drivers can be on a USB drive or SD card.

You can also slipstream the drivers into a new XP CD as seen here:

Install Windows XP on SATA without a Floppy (F6) - No Floppy...no Windows on SATA? Wrong! - Softpedia

(thanks dobhar)

I have removed your email address from your opening posts. It is not a good idea to post email addresses in public forums because badguys troll public sites for such information. Also, this is a "forum", by definition a place for open discussion for all to participate, and maybe learn something new. Emails and PMs do not fit with that concept.

I'll make a slipstream disk & try it. The new board isn't here yet so I got some time. I tried all of your other suggestions & none worked. When I tried cmd it says the drive is busy. Hmm,nothing I can see in task mgr using it. At any rate,I won't be setting the sata drives up in a raid cfg,so it might not matter if I don't install the raid drivers. The last pc I built I installed xp just fine onto a sata drive without installing drivers for it. I just needed to install the nvidia raid drivers from floppy to use the raid function. The pc I'm building will be pretty much just a gaming system,no real important stuff,so I don't need a raid cfg to guard against data loss from a hdd failure. It'd be nice to have it though in case I want to use it at a later date. I still like floppies for small things though. I know it must have something to do with the service packs. I didn't have a problem until sp3 for xp & sp4 for 2000 pro. I'll do a test when I install xp & not update it right away & see when I can't use my floppy drive. Also,when I built this pc the motherboard cd only gave you one option to install the raid drivers,that was floppy. The board is about 5 years old now,so hopefully this new board evolved abit. Thanks for you're help & let me know if you think of anything else.

Thanks for the update.

I would rerun from the command prompt and see if the exact same error comes up.

Run the command with the drive empty. You will then be told to insert disk and Enter.


I have XP SP3 on a few machines and they all format just fine. I just dusted off my floppy stack and tried every computer.

Tried the cmd without a disk.It asked for a disk,I put one in,hit enter & says the drive is busy. I don't know what's going on,lol. I got about 15 more floppy drives to try out. If that doesn't work,I'll buy a brand new one & if that doesn't work,it's time for a big hammer! Keep the ideas flowing,I'll try anything at this point. Thanks for putting so much effort into this annoying problem.