OT: External floppy drive?

"Arri London" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My floppy drive died today; hardware failure according to the comp's
diagnostics.

As it's an old comp, not keen to haul it to the PC ho$pital. It does
have USB ports and there are fairly cheap external floppy drives around.

Anyone use one at all? Just wondering if it's worth the trouble.

Still have some things stored on floppies rather than Zips so would like
access to them on the desktop PC. The equally old laptop doesn't have a
Zip drive although the floppies work perfectly well.

Opinions? Other than the usual flames LOL!

I have one and use it for all my systems. Makes sense considering I only
need it 2 or 3 times a year. But if you want relaly good portability get
ourself a 2.5 inch drive in a USB enclosure. I have a 60 GB setup and i use
it all the time for transfering files and doing backups. It only weighs a
few ounces and doesn't even need a power supply.

Paul

"Arri London" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My floppy drive died today; hardware failure according to the comp's
diagnostics.

As it's an old comp, not keen to haul it to the PC ho$pital. It does
have USB ports and there are fairly cheap external floppy drives around.

Anyone use one at all? Just wondering if it's worth the trouble.

Still have some things stored on floppies rather than Zips so would like
access to them on the desktop PC. The equally old laptop doesn't have a
Zip drive although the floppies work perfectly well.

Opinions? Other than the usual flames LOL!

I have one and use it for all my systems. Makes sense considering I only
need it 2 or 3 times a year. But if you want relaly good portability get
ourself a 2.5 inch drive in a USB enclosure. I have a 60 GB setup and i use
it all the time for transfering files and doing backups. It only weighs a
few ounces and doesn't even need a power supply.

Paul

Arri London said:

My floppy drive died today; hardware failure according to the comp's
diagnostics.

As it's an old comp, not keen to haul it to the PC ho$pital. It does
have USB ports and there are fairly cheap external floppy drives around.

Anyone use one at all? Just wondering if it's worth the trouble.

Still have some things stored on floppies rather than Zips so would like
access to them on the desktop PC. The equally old laptop doesn't have a
Zip drive although the floppies work perfectly well.

Opinions? Other than the usual flames LOL!

TIA

Floppy? Zip? Geez, I haven't used Zips in nearly a decade and floppies
even longer.

I guess a USB floppy drive would work well enough, but I'd hate to spend
money on one. I'd consider getting an external CD/DVD RW drive and find
someone local with a working floppy drive you could use to convert the
data to CD/DVD once and be done with it.

1 CD (700MB) = 486 floppies
1 DVD (single layer 4.7 GB) = 3,263 floppies
1 DL DVD (dual layer 9GB) = 6,250 floppies
1 Blu-Ray DVD (single layer 25GB) = 17,361 floppies
1 Blu-Ray DL DVD (dual layer 50GB) = 34,722 floppies

Get the idea? How many floppies (and Zips) do you need to convert?

Arri London said:

My floppy drive died today; hardware failure according to the comp's
diagnostics.

As it's an old comp, not keen to haul it to the PC ho$pital. It does
have USB ports and there are fairly cheap external floppy drives around.

Anyone use one at all? Just wondering if it's worth the trouble.

Still have some things stored on floppies rather than Zips so would like
access to them on the desktop PC. The equally old laptop doesn't have a
Zip drive although the floppies work perfectly well.

Opinions? Other than the usual flames LOL!

TIA

Floppy? Zip? Geez, I haven't used Zips in nearly a decade and floppies
even longer.

I guess a USB floppy drive would work well enough, but I'd hate to spend
money on one. I'd consider getting an external CD/DVD RW drive and find
someone local with a working floppy drive you could use to convert the
data to CD/DVD once and be done with it.

1 CD (700MB) = 486 floppies
1 DVD (single layer 4.7 GB) = 3,263 floppies
1 DL DVD (dual layer 9GB) = 6,250 floppies
1 Blu-Ray DVD (single layer 25GB) = 17,361 floppies
1 Blu-Ray DL DVD (dual layer 50GB) = 34,722 floppies

Get the idea? How many floppies (and Zips) do you need to convert?

On Sun, 07 Oct 2007 17:44:54 -0600, Arri London <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

My floppy drive died today; hardware failure according to the comp's
diagnostics.

As it's an old comp, not keen to haul it to the PC ho$pital. It does
have USB ports and there are fairly cheap external floppy drives around.

Anyone use one at all? Just wondering if it's worth the trouble.

Still have some things stored on floppies rather than Zips so would like
access to them on the desktop PC. The equally old laptop doesn't have a
Zip drive although the floppies work perfectly well.

Opinions? Other than the usual flames LOL!

I've used USB floppies with no problem at all. Just wondering if you
can buy one in this day and age.

--
See return address to reply by email

On Sun, 07 Oct 2007 17:44:54 -0600, Arri London <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

My floppy drive died today; hardware failure according to the comp's
diagnostics.

As it's an old comp, not keen to haul it to the PC ho$pital. It does
have USB ports and there are fairly cheap external floppy drives around.

Anyone use one at all? Just wondering if it's worth the trouble.

Still have some things stored on floppies rather than Zips so would like
access to them on the desktop PC. The equally old laptop doesn't have a
Zip drive although the floppies work perfectly well.

Opinions? Other than the usual flames LOL!

I've used USB floppies with no problem at all. Just wondering if you
can buy one in this day and age.

--
See return address to reply by email

"Arri London" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My floppy drive died today; hardware failure according to the comp's
diagnostics.

As it's an old comp, not keen to haul it to the PC ho$pital. It does
have USB ports and there are fairly cheap external floppy drives around.

Anyone use one at all? Just wondering if it's worth the trouble.

Still have some things stored on floppies rather than Zips so would like
access to them on the desktop PC. The equally old laptop doesn't have a
Zip drive although the floppies work perfectly well.

Opinions? Other than the usual flames LOL!

TIA

A replacement internal floppy drive costs less than ten bucks (check
newegg.com) , or you could probably salvage one free from someone elses's
castoff computer. It's not hard to open up the case and swap them out.

"Arri London" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My floppy drive died today; hardware failure according to the comp's
diagnostics.

As it's an old comp, not keen to haul it to the PC ho$pital. It does
have USB ports and there are fairly cheap external floppy drives around.

Anyone use one at all? Just wondering if it's worth the trouble.

Still have some things stored on floppies rather than Zips so would like
access to them on the desktop PC. The equally old laptop doesn't have a
Zip drive although the floppies work perfectly well.

Opinions? Other than the usual flames LOL!

TIA

A replacement internal floppy drive costs less than ten bucks (check
newegg.com) , or you could probably salvage one free from someone elses's
castoff computer. It's not hard to open up the case and swap them out.

In article <[email hidden]>, Arri London <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

My floppy drive died today; hardware failure according to the comp's
diagnostics.

As it's an old comp, not keen to haul it to the PC ho$pital. It does
have USB ports and there are fairly cheap external floppy drives around.

Anyone use one at all? Just wondering if it's worth the trouble.

Still have some things stored on floppies rather than Zips so would like
access to them on the desktop PC. The equally old laptop doesn't have a
Zip drive although the floppies work perfectly well.

Opinions? Other than the usual flames LOL!

For a few dollars, you can buy an external USB 2 hard drive. If your
computer has a USB 2 port, that might be a better option than a floppy
drive.

Arri London said:

Opinions? Other than the usual flames LOL!

Take your floppies to someone who has a working one and transfer
them to CD's (or DVD's). Might as well transfer those Zip disks,
too - they're useless nowdays, too (though I saw somebody buying
a 100Mb drive at Fry's yesterday for $89).

Or you can buy a floppy drive for $3 at a used computer parts
store (or <$10 new), if you insist on having one. They're really
easy to replace yourself. I don't even have floppy drives in any
of my computers any more [opening up my drive bay door - oh, no -
I do have one].

-sw

Stan Horwitz said:

For a few dollars, you can buy an external USB 2 hard drive. If your
computer has a USB 2 port, that might be a better option than a floppy
drive.

Except that you can't stick floppies into it.

-sw

Quoted message said:

My floppy drive died today; hardware failure according to the comp's
diagnostics.

As it's an old comp, not keen to haul it to the PC ho$pital. It does
have USB ports and there are fairly cheap external floppy drives around.

Anyone use one at all? Just wondering if it's worth the trouble.

Still have some things stored on floppies rather than Zips so would like
access to them on the desktop PC. The equally old laptop doesn't have a
Zip drive although the floppies work perfectly well.

Opinions? Other than the usual flames LOL!

TIA

They work fine. If you need one, go buy one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000020013+1088308277&name=External+USB

In article <wAeOi.2250$rD1.857@trnddc01>,

Paul M. Cook said:

"Arri London" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My floppy drive died today; hardware failure according to the comp's
diagnostics.

As it's an old comp, not keen to haul it to the PC ho$pital. It does
have USB ports and there are fairly cheap external floppy drives around.

Anyone use one at all? Just wondering if it's worth the trouble.

Still have some things stored on floppies rather than Zips so would like
access to them on the desktop PC. The equally old laptop doesn't have a
Zip drive although the floppies work perfectly well.

Opinions? Other than the usual flames LOL!

I have one and use it for all my systems. Makes sense considering I only
need it 2 or 3 times a year. But if you want relaly good portability get
ourself a 2.5 inch drive in a USB enclosure. I have a 60 GB setup and i use
it all the time for transfering files and doing backups. It only weighs a
few ounces and doesn't even need a power supply.

Paul

I just use an 80 gig external hard drive and back up as I go.
--
Peace, Om

Remove both _ (underscores) to validate gmail e-mails.

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Steve Rothstein

Paul M. Cook said:

"Arri London" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My floppy drive died today; hardware failure according to the comp's
diagnostics.

As it's an old comp, not keen to haul it to the PC ho$pital. It does
have USB ports and there are fairly cheap external floppy drives
around.

Anyone use one at all? Just wondering if it's worth the trouble.

Still have some things stored on floppies rather than Zips so would
like access to them on the desktop PC. The equally old laptop
doesn't have a Zip drive although the floppies work perfectly well.

Opinions? Other than the usual flames LOL!

I have one and use it for all my systems. Makes sense considering I
only need it 2 or 3 times a year. But if you want relaly good
portability get ourself a 2.5 inch drive in a USB enclosure. I have
a 60 GB setup and i use it all the time for transfering files and
doing backups. It only weighs a few ounces and doesn't even need a
power supply.

Paul

Yep, I'm with Paul. We have 3 drives that we swap out in an enclosure. Two
are 80 gigs and one is a 40. When we fill those up, we burn the data to a
DVD. Floppies are so outdated and can't be counted on. I think the
expected shelf-life of a floppy is about 3 months, but, of course they can
last for years. With current file sizes as they are, floppies are pretty
much useless.

Get a multi DVD burner and an encasement for another hard drive and make
your life MUCH easier. Really. You won't be sorry.

kili

Sqwertz said:

Arri London said:

Opinions? Other than the usual flames LOL!

Take your floppies to someone who has a working one and transfer
them to CD's (or DVD's). Might as well transfer those Zip disks,
too - they're useless nowdays, too (though I saw somebody buying
a 100Mb drive at Fry's yesterday for $89).

Or you can buy a floppy drive for $3 at a used computer parts
store (or <$10 new), if you insist on having one. They're really
easy to replace yourself. I don't even have floppy drives in any
of my computers any more [opening up my drive bay door - oh, no -
I do have one].

-sw

We have two working computers in the house and no floppy drives. CD burners
and DVD burners in both, however, and two hard drives in both, and an
encasement attached to one. I still want to build another PC for the
bedroom, though.

kili

"Arri London" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My floppy drive died today; hardware failure according to the comp's
diagnostics.

As it's an old comp, not keen to haul it to the PC ho$pital. It does
have USB ports and there are fairly cheap external floppy drives around.

Anyone use one at all? Just wondering if it's worth the trouble.

Still have some things stored on floppies rather than Zips so would like
access to them on the desktop PC. The equally old laptop doesn't have a
Zip drive although the floppies work perfectly well.

Opinions? Other than the usual flames LOL!

TIA

External drives work fine, but your when you start your computer, it looks
for a hard drive designated at C: for the operating system (Windows or
whatever). Do you know if the computer can be set up to look for a USB drive
when it boots up? If not, you're back to square one.

kilikini said:

Paul M. Cook said:

"Arri London" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My floppy drive died today; hardware failure according to the comp's
diagnostics.

As it's an old comp, not keen to haul it to the PC ho$pital. It does
have USB ports and there are fairly cheap external floppy drives
around.

Anyone use one at all? Just wondering if it's worth the trouble.

Still have some things stored on floppies rather than Zips so would
like access to them on the desktop PC. The equally old laptop
doesn't have a Zip drive although the floppies work perfectly well.

Opinions? Other than the usual flames LOL!

I have one and use it for all my systems. Makes sense considering I
only need it 2 or 3 times a year. But if you want relaly good
portability get ourself a 2.5 inch drive in a USB enclosure. I have
a 60 GB setup and i use it all the time for transfering files and
doing backups. It only weighs a few ounces and doesn't even need a
power supply.

Paul

Yep, I'm with Paul. We have 3 drives that we swap out in an enclosure. Two
are 80 gigs and one is a 40. When we fill those up, we burn the data to a
DVD. Floppies are so outdated and can't be counted on. I think the
expected shelf-life of a floppy is about 3 months, but, of course they can
last for years. With current file sizes as they are, floppies are pretty
much useless.

Get a multi DVD burner and an encasement for another hard drive and make
your life MUCH easier. Really. You won't be sorry.

kili

Just remember that the shelf life of a CD or DVD isn't anywhere near
what the initial hype claimed. You should always burn at least two
copies, be careful with the storage environment, check them at least
yearly and reburn them at least every couple years.

It's not just the recordables either, factory pressed CDs also have a
finite life span. A friend's factory W2K CD disintegrated the other day,
so that's what, about 8 years or so? Any CD/DVD media you want to keep
long term should be regularly backed up and re-backed up.

Tape media such as DLT has better storage life, but you still have to be
careful with the environment, and DLT drives are expensive. With the
size of today's hard drives, the only viable medias for full system
backups are tape (current tape types hold hundreds of GB per tape and
have transfer rates of tens of MB/Sec.) or additional hard drives,
either removable or a RAID/Mirror setup/

In article <[email hidden]>,

Pete C. said:

Just remember that the shelf life of a CD or DVD isn't anywhere near
what the initial hype claimed. You should always burn at least two
copies, be careful with the storage environment, check them at least
yearly and reburn them at least every couple years.

It's not just the recordables either, factory pressed CDs also have a
finite life span. A friend's factory W2K CD disintegrated the other day,
so that's what, about 8 years or so? Any CD/DVD media you want to keep
long term should be regularly backed up and re-backed up.

Tape media such as DLT has better storage life, but you still have to be
careful with the environment, and DLT drives are expensive. With the
size of today's hard drives, the only viable medias for full system
backups are tape (current tape types hold hundreds of GB per tape and
have transfer rates of tens of MB/Sec.) or additional hard drives,
either removable or a RAID/Mirror setup/

I wonder if it'd help to vac pac and seal them using a meal saver unit?
Maybe with some dessicants?
--
Peace, Om

Remove both _ (underscores) to validate gmail e-mails.

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down." -- Steve Rothstein

"Omelet" <omp_omelet@g_mail.com> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Pete C. said:

Just remember that the shelf life of a CD or DVD isn't anywhere near
what the initial hype claimed. You should always burn at least two
copies, be careful with the storage environment, check them at least
yearly and reburn them at least every couple years.

It's not just the recordables either, factory pressed CDs also have a
finite life span. A friend's factory W2K CD disintegrated the other day,
so that's what, about 8 years or so? Any CD/DVD media you want to keep
long term should be regularly backed up and re-backed up.

Tape media such as DLT has better storage life, but you still have to be
careful with the environment, and DLT drives are expensive. With the
size of today's hard drives, the only viable medias for full system
backups are tape (current tape types hold hundreds of GB per tape and
have transfer rates of tens of MB/Sec.) or additional hard drives,
either removable or a RAID/Mirror setup/

I wonder if it'd help to vac pac and seal them using a meal saver unit?
Maybe with some dessicants?
--
Peace, Om

No, that wouldn't help.