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You are here: Experts > Shopping > Computer Peripherals > Floppy, Zip, and Jazz Drives > External Floppy Drive
Expert: Dinesh - 10/16/2009
Question
QUESTION: I own a typing business and I'm doing a project for a client that's from the stone age. He has Windows 98 on his computer, Windows XP and he is still saving his work to a floppy disk. He has an external floppy disk drive that he uses and he brought it so I could plug it into my computer and load his files. He works in Microsoft Works which I have on my computer. I plugged the drive in and his files came up, but I wasn't ready to work on them at the present.
I left everything plugged in and logged off from my computer. The next day I booted up my computer and went to reload his files and the disk didn't show the files at all. What could have happened to those files? I get a message asking if I want to format the disk and I'm afraid to because I'm thinking it wil erase what's on there. I don't know how to get into MS-DOS to run the disk directory to see if the files are there. I have Windows Vista so would that have anything to do with the files disappearing. If so, why did they appear in the first place. Please help. I don't want to tell this man that his files are gone.
ANSWER:
Hello, It's because of the floppy's poor quality. Some floppy drives are not good at reading such floppies and they fail like yours. As they fail to read some sectors of floppy, they ask you to format your drive.
I can suggest you two ways,
1. Try reading data from your floppy using some other floppy drive.
2. You can use any of file or data recovery software to recover your data.
Analysing your problem, I am sure that your data won't have been lost. By properly using the software mentioned, you can retrieve your files almost completely. It's preferable to try recovery of files in an operating system other than Windows Vista.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Okay but why is it when I first plugged the drive in and loaded the disk, the files came up. So I'm thinking it's something I did to make them not appear again. It sounds like I'll have to take this floppy to some computer business to try and get them to fix or read it. I have windows vista on my laptop as well. I tried to put the floppy into my husband's computer and it seems as though it did not want to work. His active desktop disappeared and I had to bring it back. He has Windows XP.
Answer
Fine, the answer i gave early is based on the error messaged you got like "Do you want to format the disk ?". When this comes up it indicates the inability of floppy drive to read the floppy but nothing as you said changed settings not to make appear files again.
It should be because of floppy, as it previously worked with your drive and not worked in your husband's computer. Its a good idea that to contact a computer business if you prefer not to fix yourself.
Take care..
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