Editing Amstrad PC3086 Maintenance Guide (section)

== Floppy drives ==

* Drive types are held in the clock chip and set with <code>DEVICE SETFD</code>, which also sets changeline, A/B swapping and write precompensation. Change LK1 and LK2 to match the drives fitted.<ref name="g3device" /><ref name="g3links" />
* The controller supports high-density drives. The PC3086 cable has no twist, but it can be replaced with a standard twisted cable; Elliott ran a TEAC FD-235HF as drive A: this way, set as 1.44 MB with changeline. The drive light then stays on, because a standard twist swaps both the drive select and motor-on lines.<ref name="shw2" />
* Elliott suggests a floppy emulator such as a Gotek set up as a 720 KB drive as an alternative to an original drive.<ref name="sqa">John Elliott, [https://www.seasip.info/AmstradXT/qanda.html "Amstrad XTs: Questions and Answers"], seasip.info, 26 June 2019. Retrieved 2026-10-02. Setup utilities (DEVICE.COM on the PC2086 and PC3086, Ctrl-Alt-S on the PC5086) and Windows 3.0 on these machines.</ref>

See [[Floppy Drive Repair]].