Residue can build up very quickly on the heads, which can then lead to the second problem….Ģ. This loose material will aggregate on disk drive read/write heads leading to errors. It’s best never to try to read disks that look like this without removing the fungi. Specks of fungi on a 3.5 inch floppy disk If you see white specs or spots then you have fungi growing on the disk (Figure 3).įigure 3. Pull back the disk cover (if it has one) so you can see the surface of the disk and rotate it manually. So, what are the signs that disk media has a problem? Loose, degraded or damaged media is not always obvious but many times it is! In my experience there are three common visual clues that suggest your disks are not be as good as they once were. How quickly all or any of these things happen depends on how well the disks were manufactured in the first place, and how well they have been stored. Furthermore, with 3.5 inch floppy disks, the glue sticking the metal hub (at the centre) to the mylar can become unstuck. Humid conditions can cause fungi to grow on the media. As the years go by this can degrade, lose its magnetic orientation and/or become loose on the mylar surface. This article discusses disk media and give tips on how to visually assess the health of floppy disks.įloppy disks are covered with magnetic storage media. consider the MOST likely problem: the media itself. However, before you start searching the web for hardware solutions and fiddling around with drive alignment etc. It’s possible there could be a hardware or driver issue. You struggle to get even a directory and many times the computer does not recognize the disk is formatted at all. However, things are not going as well as you’d hoped. So, you’ve bought one of those cheap USB floppy disk drives to archive those old PC disks which you’ve found at the bottom of the closet. If you are a vintage computer hobbyist or enthusiast wanting to take a deep dive into the topic, best check out Herb Johnson’s page.įigure 1. The target reader is the casual user wanting to check out old disks which have surfaced. Note: This article is a quick guide focusing on common floppy disk problems that prevent files being recovered. Why can’t my computer read my floppy disks? One possibility: disk degradation and/or damage.
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