Question : Problem: Dell Optiplex 3.5" floppy disk drive compatibility problem

 I have a customer who has a 3 year old Dell Optiplex mini tower. He destroyed his internal 3.5" floppy disk drive by forcing a diskette into it upside down. It is not a standard desktop floppy we are all familiar with, but a Sony model MPF820. I believe it is a model used in laptops.
  Anyway, no problem, I searched the InteNet and found that this item was available at several on line stores.  I ordered the exact Sony replacement and installed it this morning in his machine.  Unfortunately it does not appear to operate correctly.  It shows up correctly in "My Computer" but either fails to recognize the diskette inserted into it, nor can it read a previously formatted diskette.  If I try to format a blank diskette it starts to format and fails after several seconds into the format saying  " It cannot continue to format"
  Does Dell modify the firmware on the device or somehow make it non compatible with a standard product?

Answer : Problem: Dell Optiplex 3.5" floppy disk drive compatibility problem

Its highly unlikely to be a firmware or compatibility problem. What you have is a new floppy drive that is horribly aligned and / or damaged. Return it and install its replacement - that should resolve the problem.

Krakers.