Jump to content

Is the floppy disk dead?


DigeratiPrime

Recommended Posts

As a practical device, enough has been enumerated here about how they don't have much use. However, the one place I've found them useful is when at a client's PC which is older and I find the CD drive is dodgy. All of a sudden I'm faced with a machine that can't boot from a USB and won't recognize my boot CD which I need to work on the machine. The dilemma has been solved inthe past by using the floppy drive to boot and then tranferring control over to the CD.

This is only an emergency type of situation, but I see nothing wrong with keeping one around somewhere or in a machine you can still boot. When I build new machines for friends or others these days, I leave the floppy out. I usually tell them they can put one in anytime they want, but that they'll most likely not want to.

I still have an external 5.25" floppy drive with a huge port connector collecting dust somewhere and taking up space. I even have some of the old really floppy floppy disks with data on them...... Sigh. I won't admit to having rolls of tape or punch cards, though. That might give away my age.... :^)

Edited by DonDamm
Link to comment
Share on other sites


I've still got floppy drives in most of my machines. Like DonDamm said, they are very useful when CD drives tend not to work properly on the first try. I'm actually going to start putting floppy images on a USB drive in order to boot off of that. I'll see how it goes.

Here's my collection:

img2751dq2.th.jpg

And here's how to re-use a copy protected floppy, lmao:

img2752gf8.th.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the floppy still has it's uses from time to time, but honestly I haven't touched one in ages...

That's just so very sad!

I just built a new PC that in the real world would cost upwards of $1000.00 and YES oh YES, it has a 3.5" Floppy Drive in it.

When you're Flashing a System ROM, or adding those SATA drivers to a fresh install of XP, guess what......YUP, a floppy is called for.

I used 5.25" floppy disks for years before the release of the first 3.5" disks.

That little disk that you could drop on the floor, kick around a bit, dust off and still read, was a real boon to the computer industry. Magnets? You gotta be kidding me! Ever try to completely erase a 3.5" FD with a magnet? I have and I failed miserably. I even used one of those big 6" magnets used to hold a CB Radio antenna on a car roof. NO joy!

I had to use a 110vac degausing tool to finally erase it.

Those little guys are more durable than most people are willing to give them credit for.

I still use the 3.5" floppy in my daily work in the computer business. I go through several hundred a year.

I was saddened to find out that my new mobo will only support just ONE floppy drive. Drive B: is history, I guess.

My Hal 9000 that I just retired, had TWO floppy drives in it. God, I loved that little computer. :thumbup

Cheers Mates!

Andromeda43 B)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
As for the floppy debate, I would/will never buy a machine without a floppy bay. Floppies have saved my bacon too many times. Nor, by the way, would I have a system without DOS - that too has been a lifesaver.

I agree!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

its definately dead, i havent used one in god know how long! i dont even have one in my computer for 90% of the stuff that you would need a floppy for you can use a cd or a usb drive for
So what if you get locked out? Windows sometimes doesn't recognise or find CDs etcetera which are essential to the application you're trying to run. But it always finds the floppy.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

hmm, the 486 was annoying before i but in a working floppy dirve. afterall the only other form of transfer was interlnk which is a bit inconvienient.

the floppy disk is always a good thing to have, its how i restore my boot sector its just the easiest way to get out of those annoying situations

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...

Very much alive. Couldn't live without it. Use it every time I reinstall the OS, and frequently use it to boot into DOS to delete files that Windows (XP) won't let me. Booting from CD makes the CD drive A:, and I then cannot access the CD(?) As for copying files to transfer, no, for that I use my USB flashdrive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's amazing how old fashion people's thinking is.

Sorry folks, floppy's dead.

Don't believe me? Try to find floppy headers on new motherboards... they're becoming very rare.

Speaking which, Intel's pushing for legacy free. I just built a system today using a new Intel motherboard. Guess what? No floppy headers, no serial ports, no PS/2 ports. 100% legacy free.

Edited by jcarle
Link to comment
Share on other sites

its definately dead, i havent used one in god know how long! i dont even have one in my computer for 90% of the stuff that you would need a floppy for you can use a cd or a usb drive for
So what if you get locked out? Windows sometimes doesn't recognise or find CDs etcetera which are essential to the application you're trying to run. But it always finds the floppy.

if i get locked out then i boot from a linux live cd or UBCD4Win :thumbup if it doesnt recognize the cd/dvd drive then its time to reinstall :lol:

I think the floppy still has it's uses from time to time, but honestly I haven't touched one in ages...

When you're Flashing a System ROM, or adding those SATA drivers to a fresh install of XP, guess what......YUP, a floppy is called for.

thats not always the case i flash my bios from a cd and my xp cd's already have the sata drivers built into them :D but i guess if youre a technician and arent allowed to remaster the Windows cds then i guess you have to use the good ol' floppy

Edited by Brando569
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 14 years later...

not really.  it is /redundant/ and has been since the introduction of zip disks, cf cards and usb flash memory, but there will always be a use for a floppy drive, especially hen working with legacy systems that predate usb1.0 or IDE thus making flash drives, zip disks or cf cards unusable in those cases). and no not all such systems suppor adding an IDE or USB controller card.  (MFM RLL and ESDI come to mind.  Most won't boot from LPT1 but many do support disks using paralell port, so once booted to dos via floppy all thats needed is a LPT1 zip250 to transfer the data to another machine. (or a LPT1 cdrom if you're trying to install winME on such a system (original 95 and the floppy version of 98 can be squeezed onto a zip250 so no cd drive needed and only the one ME boot floppy rather than the dozens of install floppies). but 98se and ME will require a LPT1 cdrom (or scsi if you're /really/ lucky and the board supports it.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...