CertiGuide to A+ (Core Hardware) - Attaching a Floppy Disk Drive To a PC

In order to use a floppy disk drive in a PC, you must have a floppy disk controller that interfaces the drive with the motherboard. You also need a special ribbon cable to attach the controller to the drive.

Originally the floppy controller was a dedicated expansion card that was inserted into an expansion slot on the motherboard. Later, the floppy controller was integrated into multifunction expansion cards that also included parallel port, serial port, and hard disk IDE controllers.

These were commonly found in ISA and VLB-based systems. However, when Intel introduced its Pentium class systems with its new PCI bus, many motherboard manufacturers began integrating the floppy disk controller directly onto the motherboard along with the IDE, serial, and parallel port controllers.

**Figure 68: ISA floppy disk controller and ribbon cable**

Floppy Disk Form Factors

Floppy Cable - Pin 1

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CertiGuide to A+ (Core Hardware) (http://www.CertiGuide.com/aplush/) on CertiGuide.com
Version 1.0 - Version Date: December 6, 2004

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