problem with drive B:

[johnny]

Hello,
I've just connected to my Amstrad CPC 6128 drive B: It's from PC (I have few different models). It works, but ...
With CPCDiskXP ver. 2.0 I prepare disk. After format I send for it any game for example. I use only MF2DD original disks.
In amstrad I type  "|b", then READY on the screen. After "cat" is correctly show contents of diskette.
When I type: run"zorro, after few seconds of drive's diode blinking report: "Drive B: read fail, Retry, Ignore, Cancel? I tested about 10 disks, and result was the same. PC disc drive I used is NEC FD1231H. I tried Samsung and Alps, too. Without effect.
When I load CPM and I use disckit3, then format, after few seconds is: "disc error on B:, sector #5- media changed, Retry or Cancel? In connecting tape pins 33, 34 are linked, of course...
Voltages of power supply (PC, AT) is correctly: 12,80 and 5,08 measured with working drive.
CPC Drive A: is good, works perfectly.
Please, tell me, what I do wrong.
best regards, sorry for english

[Cholo]

Sounds like you are doing things right but are having disc troubles. If the floppies can be "CAT"-ed then  the drive part should be working ok. Using 720k DD floppies is indeed the safest to do. Some drives may also work with 1,44m HD floppies. HD floppies can also be used as DD if you tape over the HD hole, and makes sure to format them on pc. One way or the other its a good idea to format (720k format) the floppies first on pc before using them on cpc. Windows no longer supports 720k formatting, so you need to find a program to do that (lots of freeware ones out there). Definately worth trying some different brand of floppies as even if you have bought a box of 10x that was factory sealed they may still have errors (i recall this happen a lot in my amiga days). Anyways, after having formatted the floppies you can start writing with CPCDiskXP.

Do note that most amstrad games cant be run directly from drive B. This goes for both commercial and the cracked ones. So most having a Drive B is usually just to keep backups of disc or files and each time you want to play a game you need to copy it first from B to A and run it from A. The reason for this is that only very few game recognizes the |B command. So running the game from B and the game usually crashed when it ignores |B and begins to load files from A and cant find the files.

Also you may want to use 720k pc dos formatted floppies directly on your amstrad. Symbos reads 720k floppies without any troubles (and you dont need any extra hardware). Like you put 3 Dsk files on a 720k pc dos floppie and load up Symbos, then use the Dsk-extractor program to extract the Dsk image(s) from drive B floppy and extracts it to A drive floppy.

My main guess is still that you are having troubles finding good floppies.

[Bryce]

It may be a simple cable issue / bad connection. Have you tested that all the wires are making good contact?

Bryce.

[nurgle]

HD floppies can also be used as DD if you tape over the HD hole, and makes sure to format them on pc.

This should be avoided as it is not realiable. HD Floppies don't have the same magnetic properties as DD Floppies. Formatting them in DD might just work, but the data is not safe at all and doing so can result in all sorts of "strange" and "unexplicable" errors.

[robcfg]

I always use HD floppies and I haven't had any problems so far...

[johnny]

I tried, I tried ...
Now I have "|b" then READY, and "cat" then Drive B: user 0, Drive B: read fail/disc missing, R, I or C? on the screen.
I have 2 connecting tapes. Today I tested naxt floppy: Teac FD 235HF. Maybe my CPC is damaged?
Effect still the same. Now it isn't read the directories of discs.
I have no idea. I'll test the connection, but I use 2 different tapes...
Real horror ...