Reading old floppy disks

[Bert]

I have numerous floppy disks on which I archived various
files for save keeping. Some from Win95 others from Win98
machines. When I try to read the disks on WinXP machine
all I get is "insert disk in drive A". How can I retrieve
the data on thes floppies to the XP machine?

[Harry Ohrn]

Are they 700MB floppies? If so they can't be read on XP. If they are 1.44MB
then there might be a problem with the head alignment on the floppy drive in
your XP system.

--

Harry Ohrn - MS MVP [Shell/User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp


"Bert" > wrote in message
...
> I have numerous floppy disks on which I archived various
> files for save keeping. Some from Win95 others from Win98
> machines. When I try to read the disks on WinXP machine
> all I get is "insert disk in drive A". How can I retrieve
> the data on thes floppies to the XP machine?

[Bert]

All floppies are 1.44. I've had a friend check and they
can be read on a Win2K machine. How can I check the WinXP
drive to verify head alignment before I go to Dell?
>-----Original Message-----
>Are they 700MB floppies? If so they can't be read on XP.
If they are 1.44MB
>then there might be a problem with the head alignment on
the floppy drive in
>your XP system.
>
>--
>
>Harry Ohrn - MS MVP [Shell/User]
>www.webtree.ca/windowsxp
>
>
>"Bert" > wrote in message
...
>> I have numerous floppy disks on which I archived various
>> files for save keeping. Some from Win95 others from
Win98
>> machines. When I try to read the disks on WinXP machine
>> all I get is "insert disk in drive A". How can I
retrieve
>> the data on thes floppies to the XP machine?
>
>
>.
>

[erpara]

700 MB??
Wow I want one of those ! : )
>-----Original Message-----
>Are they 700MB floppies? If so they can't be read on XP.
If they are 1.44MB
>then there might be a problem with the head alignment on
the floppy drive in
>your XP system.
>
>--
>
>Harry Ohrn - MS MVP [Shell/User]
>www.webtree.ca/windowsxp
>
>
>"Bert" > wrote in message
...
>> I have numerous floppy disks on which I archived
various
>> files for save keeping. Some from Win95 others from
Win98
>> machines. When I try to read the disks on WinXP
machine
>> all I get is "insert disk in drive A". How can I
retrieve
>> the data on thes floppies to the XP machine?
>
>
>.
>

[Harry Ohrn]

LOL. Yeah me too ;-)

--

Harry Ohrn - MS MVP [Shell/User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp


"erpara" > wrote in message
...
> 700 MB??
> Wow I want one of those ! : )
> >-----Original Message-----
> >Are they 700MB floppies? If so they can't be read on XP.
> If they are 1.44MB
> >then there might be a problem with the head alignment on
> the floppy drive in
> >your XP system.
> >
> >--
> >
> >Harry Ohrn - MS MVP [Shell/User]
> >www.webtree.ca/windowsxp
> >
> >
> >"Bert" > wrote in message
> ...
> >> I have numerous floppy disks on which I archived
> various
> >> files for save keeping. Some from Win95 others from
> Win98
> >> machines. When I try to read the disks on WinXP
> machine
> >> all I get is "insert disk in drive A". How can I
> retrieve
> >> the data on thes floppies to the XP machine?
> >
> >
> >.
> >

[Harry Ohrn]

Maybe the drive is dirty. dust has a way of sneaking into floppy drives.
Blow a few blasts of compressed air into the drive and see if that helps.
There is software that will analyze a drive but most of it is far more
expensive than buying a new floppy. If the system is still under warranty
don't open the case and start digging around inside. Just call Dell and tell
them that disks are being read in several other systems but not on your XP
system. A floppy drive is so inexpensive that they will likely just replace
it for you.
--

Harry Ohrn - MS MVP [Shell/User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp


"Bert" > wrote in message
...
> All floppies are 1.44. I've had a friend check and they
> can be read on a Win2K machine. How can I check the WinXP
> drive to verify head alignment before I go to Dell?
> >-----Original Message-----
> >Are they 700MB floppies? If so they can't be read on XP.
> If they are 1.44MB
> >then there might be a problem with the head alignment on
> the floppy drive in
> >your XP system.
> >
> >--
> >
> >Harry Ohrn - MS MVP [Shell/User]
> >www.webtree.ca/windowsxp
> >
> >
> >"Bert" > wrote in message
> ...
> >> I have numerous floppy disks on which I archived various
> >> files for save keeping. Some from Win95 others from
> Win98
> >> machines. When I try to read the disks on WinXP machine
> >> all I get is "insert disk in drive A". How can I
> retrieve
> >> the data on thes floppies to the XP machine?
> >
> >
> >.
> >

[E.P. van Westendorp]

According MicroSoft Knowledge Base Article - 309623 Windows Xp can read
and write 1.44MB and 720KB 3.5" floppies and also 1.2MB and 360KB 5.25"
floppies.
Windows XP can only format 1.44MB 3.5" floppies.

Some people reported success when formatting 720KB 3.5" floppies in the
Command Window using the parameters for such a disk.

--

Eric P. van Westendorp Tel: +31(0252)210579
Reigerslaan 22 2215NN Voorhout Netherlands

Harry Ohrn wrote:
> Are they 700MB floppies? If so they can't be read on XP. If they are 1.44MB
> then there might be a problem with the head alignment on the floppy drive in
> your XP system.
>

[Maureen Goldman]

>"Bert" > wrote:
>I have numerous floppy disks on which I archived various
>files for save keeping. Some from Win95 others from Win98
>machines. When I try to read the disks on WinXP machine
>all I get is "insert disk in drive A". How can I retrieve
>the data on thes floppies to the XP machine?

Will XP read any of the disks? For me, it would read perhaps half of
the disks left at 1.44M (none of the ones that had been expanded to
1.65M). Do you have any official disks, like the Win98 boot disk?

As for how you retrieve the information: you may need to format some
floppies with XP, then copy it over on those disks from a non-XP
machine. Or, if you have a fast connection, there's always email.

[Chuck]

"E.P. van Westendorp" > wrote in message
...
> According MicroSoft Knowledge Base Article - 309623 Windows Xp can read
> and write 1.44MB and 720KB 3.5" floppies and also 1.2MB and 360KB 5.25"
> floppies.
> Windows XP can only format 1.44MB 3.5" floppies.

100% correct.

> Some people reported success when formatting 720KB 3.5" floppies in the
> Command Window using the parameters for such a disk.

Made me get the dos manual out again. From the command prompt
for a 720k disk: format a: /n:9 /t:80. Seems like only yesterday.
The /f:720 switch wouldn't work for me.

Did ya ever make a 1.44 out of a 720 by punching a hole in it?

[Patrick]

E.P. van Westendorp wrote:
> According MicroSoft Knowledge Base Article - 309623 Windows Xp can
> read and write 1.44MB and 720KB 3.5" floppies and also 1.2MB and
> 360KB 5.25" floppies.
> Windows XP can only format 1.44MB 3.5" floppies.
>
> Some people reported success when formatting 720KB 3.5" floppies in
> the Command Window using the parameters for such a disk.
>
>
> Harry Ohrn wrote:
>> Are they 700MB floppies? If so they can't be read on XP. If they are
>> 1.44MB then there might be a problem with the head alignment on the
>> floppy drive in your XP system.

Getting a little of topic, but I know below to work, on my machine anyway.
(formatting 720 floppy that is).

format a: /t:80/n:9

[E.P. van Westendorp]

No I never did because at the time there were many warnings about the
reliability of disks treated like that.
I still have many 1.44MB floppies I used in the later 80's, I got my
first 1.44MB drive in 1988 with a computer running Dos 3.3, most of them
are still OK.
I wonder how the how the treated 720KB/1.44MB ones kept after all these
years, afterall most of them are only DD.
720MB floppies (and 1.2MB ones) were never very popular in my country, I
only got them when I bought commercial software stored on those formats.
I don't remember ever buying them.

--

Eric P. van Westendorp Tel: +31(0252)210579
Reigerslaan 22 2215NN Voorhout Netherlands

Chuck wrote:
> Did ya ever make a 1.44 out of a 720 by punching a hole in it?

[Malvern]

"erpara" > wrote in message
...
> 700 MB??
> Wow I want one of those ! : )
> >-----Original Message-----
> >Are they 700MB floppies? If so they can't be read on XP.
> If they are 1.44MB
> >then there might be a problem with the head alignment on
> the floppy drive in
> >your XP system.

Wish I had them that size when I was transferring stuff between W95 and XP
(:

Malv

[Malvern]

"Bert" > wrote in message
...
> I have numerous floppy disks on which I archived various
> files for save keeping. Some from Win95 others from Win98
> machines. When I try to read the disks on WinXP machine
> all I get is "insert disk in drive A". How can I retrieve
> the data on thes floppies to the XP machine?

I read a the replies and may have missed this, but nowhere did I see a
reference to the fact that if these floppies have contents created by
programs OTHER than ones in Windows, you need the same program or a later
version on the new machine. Otherwise, nothing is going to be seen.

Malv

[Mike Truitt [Microsoft]]

Hello all,

There are a lot of variables to this issue and it is currently under
investigation. I have been working the issue for some time trying to lock
down a stable repro scenario and determine root cause. Work continues.

Best regards,

Mike Truitt
Microsoft Corporation