Cannot Use DISKCOPY Command on Identical 3.5-Inch Disk Drives (150743)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 95
  • Microsoft Windows 98
This article was previously published under Q150743

SYMPTOMS

When you try to run the DISKCOPY command from the Run command on the Start menu to copy from one 3.5-inch floppy disk drive to another identical drive, you may receive the following error message:
Unrecoverable read error on drive A: side 0, track 64 Unrecoverable write error on drive B: side 0, track 64 Target diskette may be unusable.

RESOLUTION

To work around this behavior, use any one of the following methods:

Method 1

Run the DISKCOPY command in MS-DOS mode. To do so, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, and then click Shut Down.
  2. Click "Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode," and then click Yes.
  3. At the command prompt, type the DISKCOPY command you want to use. For example, type the following line, and then press ENTER:

    diskcopy a: b:

  4. When the copy operation is finished, type the following line and then press ENTER:

    exit

Method 2

Disable protected-mode support for the floppy disk controller. This causes the floppy disk drives to operate in MS-DOS Compatibility mode. To do so, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double- click System.
  2. Click the Device Manager tab.
  3. Double-click the Floppy Disk Controllers branch to expand it, and then double-click Standard Floppy Disk Controller.
  4. Click the Original Configuration (Current) check box to clear it, and then click OK.
  5. When you are prompted to restart your computer, do so.

Method 3

Manually copy the information from the source disk to the destination disk.

STATUS

Microsoft is researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

This problem does not occur on computers with one 3.5-inch floppy disk drive and one 5.25-inch floppy disk drive, or on computers with two 5.25- inch floppy disk drives.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:12/16/2004
Keywords:kberrmsg kbHardware kbprb KB150743
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