Frequently Asked Questions
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Q: Why are some USB floppy drives not recognized during an installation of Windows?

A:

Note: This installation process limitation is not a Gateway® limitation. We are providing the following information as a courtesy to our customers. If there are any issues or questions on the procedure you will need to contact Microsoft®.

During an installation of the Windows® operating system, using any operating system media other than the original media provided by Gateway, you may be required to hit the F6 key to load a specific controller driver.

Example: This process would be used to install a SATA Controller driver during a "Site License" installation of the Microsoft Tablet Operating System 2005.

During the installation procedure the USB floppy may not be recognized completely throughout the entire installation. When the Windows installation looks for the drivers off the disk, during the second pass of retrieving the controller drivers, the USB floppy drive may not be recognized. The Windows installation will not progress past this part of the installation. It may appear to the end user that the hard drive is not being recognized and will not accept the operating system. The Windows installation process is working as originally designed by Microsoft. The installation process only recognizes a small number of USB floppy drives that were available at the time.

The resolution is to update the Microsoft® installation process for the specific USB floppy drive. This information is provided in the Microsoft article KB 916196.

Another option is to purchase a drive that is supported by the Microsoft® installation process, and allows the installation process to continue.

The following drives are supported by the Microsoft® installation process:

  • USB\VID_03EE&PID_6901; Mitsumi USB floppy disk drive
  • USB\VID_057B&PID_0000; YEData USB floppy disk drive
  • USB\VID_0644&PID_0000; TEAC USB floppy disk drive