Formatting an old diskette?

I have several diskettes that I have found recently and then went and bought a disc reader since none of the computers I have have one. Unfortunately the damn computer is telling me that I need to format the disc which is the last thing I want to do since I want to keep the information that is on them. How can I open up the discs without having to reformat them and ruin the info stored on them?

D

I would use a utility knife to open them. If that doesn't work, maybe a sledge hammer.

Seriously, there are places that will pull the files off of them for a fee. I think they can do this at FedEx Office stores. http://www.fedex.com/us/office/

This might be helpful: http://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/07/23/...igital-history

Even more seriously, you should go to Indys and ask Whiterabbit, he knows everything.

Thanks BS but I don't want anyone to see what is on these discs lol

What program did you use to put stuff on the disks?

I would use a utility knife to open them. If that doesn't work, maybe a sledge hammer.

Seriously, there are places that will pull the files off of them for a fee. I think they can do this at FedEx Office stores. http://www.fedex.com/us/office/

This might be helpful: http://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/07/23/...igital-history

Even more seriously, you should go to Indys and ask Whiterabbit, he knows everything. Originally Posted by Big Stig

He was always good for cock pictures. IMHO, nothing else.

Floppy diskettes don't hold their data forever, particularly if they're stored in a "hostile" environment (fluctuating between extremes of temperature, etc.). Eventually the ferrous surface starts to flake off, and your data goes with it... Or if they're stored near electronics in use that generate a magnetic field, that can damage the data as well.

If you already have a floppy drive (guessing it's a USB type), and you have any necessary drivers installed (usually don't need any special drivers, but it sort of depends on what kind of drive you ended up with), and it's telling you that the diskettes need to be formatted, the formatting is probably damaged - that's going to make the system treat them as blank diskettes, because it can't read anything from them if the formatting is messed up. You could try reading the diskettes on a different system - if you look around, you can find old computers at places like thrift stores, that have floppy drives, just make sure you confirm that the floppy drive is working properly before you take it home - sometimes a diskette that one floppy drive sees as "damaged" will be readable in another drive that isn't quite as picky. Short of that, you could try taking the diskettes to a data recovery specialist if whatever's on them is really important.

It can also depend on the programs used to create the data on the diskettes.

I actually still have a computer with a diskette drive but even when I transfer the data to a flash drive it won't always be accessible on my newer computer(s) if I don't have a program that will open it.

He was always good for cock pictures. IMHO, nothing else. Originally Posted by bambino

Oh come on. He's a technical genious. LOL

What program did you use to put stuff on the disks? Originally Posted by amishgangster

I do not remember that. It has been probably 13 or 14 years since I put anything on them. It was an old digital camera that we used.

Actually whiterabbit would be a good person to ask about that.
Either that or a photographer with an old system....

Sorry but it does sound like the files might be gone.

I do not remember that. It has been probably 13 or 14 years since I put anything on them. It was an old digital camera that we used. Originally Posted by smoothnsilky

Do you still have the camera? I have had this issue a couple times with old stuff, disks and CDs too, as the really old drviers are not on new comps. The new comp then thinks the disk needs formatted because there is no data on it that the current newer comp can read. If you install the driver for the camera used on the comp you are currently using (it its even possible) you might have a shot at getting the info. I had one such issue a few years ago, I actually had to get out an old comp that i had saved that had Windows 98 on it to get the info off because the driver I needed to use wasnt compatible with the newer versions of Windows.

I know where you can use a computer with Win98 on it if you need to Dawn.

Right here!

Noooo, I don't have that camera anymore and I do not remember what it was. I will try this computer I have here to see if it will work. Thanks everyone!

If the disk was written by the camera itself (rather than transferring the photos to a computer and writing them to the disk from there), it may be in a proprietary format that is not recognized on a PC. In that case, you may find it difficult (if not impossible) to read the disk on a computer. If you later remember what type of camera it was (manufacturer and model), there might be software you could run on a PC that can read it. Or it may well be possible that the disk can't be read at all without using that type of camera.