How to fix “Diskette drive 0 seek failure”
Diskette drive 0 seek failure
“Diskette drive 0 seek failure” is a common error that Windows users may face when they boot their laptop or desktop computer. The error can affect laptops and desktops that run Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, and 10.
Window users may wonder what the diskette drive 0 seek failure is and why they’re seeing the disk error when they try to boot their computers. When they boot their computers the screen becomes black and says “Diskette drive 0 seek failure.” Below the disk error message, it says “Press F1 to continue, F2 to enter SETUP.”
The diskette drive 0 seek failure error is shown when the computer tries to boot to a floppy disk drive but fails to find it. The computer tries to boot to the diskette drive because the diskette drive is set among the boot order devices.
Why diskette drive 0 seek failure is shown
The diskette drive 0 seek failure error can affect computers that contain or do not contain a floppy disk drive and can be the result of a manual change to BIOS settings or addition of new hardware. If hardware such as RAM has changed or a new hard drive has been added then you may see the diskette drive 0 seek failure error when you try to boot your computer.
If the diskette drive is enabled in BIOS but a floppy disk drive is not present on the computer the diskette drive 0 seek failure error will be shown on the screen. If a computer does have a floppy disk drive and receives the diskette drive 0 seek failure while attempting to run Windows then it is likely that BIOS settings or hardware such as RAM has changed.
Additionally, if your computer has a diskette drive and you have not changed any settings then your CMOS battery that maintains your BIOS settings and system time may be exhausted.
Listed below are 2 solutions to fix the diskette drive 0 seek failure error. They include disabling Drive A in your computer’s BIOS settings, cleaning your diskette drive (floppy disk drive), and replacing the CMOS battery.Disable Drive A in BIOS settings
Disable Drive A (also called Legacy Diskette A or Floppy Drive A) in your computer’s BIOS settings to stop your computer from attempting to boot on the floppy disk drive.
- Shut down your computer.
- Press the power button to turn your computer on and immediately press the F2 key (F10 on some computers) to get to the BIOS setup menu.
- Use the arrow keys on your keyboard and go to Standard CMOS Features and hit the Enter key on your keyboard.
- Use the arrow keys to scroll down to and highlight Drive A (Drive A may already be selected with something like “Drive A: 1.44, 3.5.”), then press the Enter key on your keyboard.
- Scroll up to select None and hit Enter.
- Press the F10 key on your keyboard to SAVE to CMOS and EXIT, type Y when asked, and press Enter to restart your computer.
If you are using a laptop you can find the diskette drive in the Main tab marked as Legacy Diskette A: In other computers, you can often find the diskette drive in the Drives link.
Clean diskette drive
After the turn of the century, floppy disks started to become obsolete and computer manufacturers stopped equipping their products with floppy disk drives. If you are currently using a floppy disk drive, chances are that it has been through many years of usage and may have collected dust and other particles.
Where your floppy disk drive is new or old, you may need to physically clean your diskette drive to fix the drive 0 seek failure error.
- Remove the diskette drive from your computer, turn the diskette drive upside down, and open it up.
- Run the read head back and forth repeatedly to clean it and distribute remaining lubricant from the ends of the shaft along the screw threads and lightly blow air onto your drive to remove dust and other particles.
- Plug the diskette drive back into your computer and turn on your computer.
You may need to replace your floppy disk drive if you are still seeing the drive 0 seek failure error when you boot your computer. Luckily, they are inexpensive.
Replace CMOS battery
Have you ever noticed a small battery on your motherboard and wondered why its there? That’s the CMOS battery. The CMOS battery sits on your motherboard and powers the system clock and BIOS settings. It makes it so that your BIOS settings do not change.
If you check your BIOS and the date and time are incorrect or your computer says ‘battery low’ or ‘your system time needs to be set’, then you probably need to replace your CMOS battery since these errors usually occur when the battery is too low. When the battery is exhausted the BIOS settings may change and revert to factory settings that may have included an enabled floppy disk drive.
- Purchase a new CR2032 lithium coin cell battery (they are very inexpensive). If you are unsure which battery to purchase, open your computer and review the CMOS battery on the motherboard.
- Open your computer’s case to expose the motherboard.
- Take out the old CMOS battery and replace it with the new one.
- Use the instructions above to disable Drive A: in your computer’s BIOS settings.
- Restart your computer.
If you are using a laptop there may be a hatch or chamber that you can open to expose the CMOS battery.
I must say that this is beautifully expressed, but it only cites one version of PC–BIOS. It would helpful to extend this presentation to the family of PC–BIOS by including all of the major vendors. Surely the root of the issue is in the early days of “diskette only” microcomputers where the only boot-able device was a floppy diskette in fact. Installing the first IBM XT 10MB hard drive was quite a thrill, and booting from it was not easy!