Floppy disk/drives. (CD, desktops, hard drive, bios)

[K-Luv]

I notice that floppy drives are still an option on some PC builds, my GF bought a piece of hardware recently and it came with an install CD and a floppy, and places like Newegg still sell the drives.

I figured that these devices are an archaic form of data storage (and have been for at least 8 or 9 years), especially since the prevalence of thumb drives these days.

So, does anyone still use floppy disk, and if so, why? Are there any advantages?

[LogicIsYourFriend]

Haven't used one in probably 10 years. Usually when I tried to, the disks had lost their data somehow. Very unreliable, and also very small storage: 1.44mb if I remember right.

[EscapeCalifornia]

I still carry one in case I need to do something like install an OS for someone when the OS CD lacks the drivers for their hard drive interface. Dell actually sold some PCs a few years ago with a 3rd party IDE or SATA card but failed to provide the system with a floppy drive or a restore CD with the proper drivers slipstreamed in. In a case like that, hooking up a floppy drive is a lifesaver.

[hoffdano]

I still have a floppy drive but can't say the last time I used it. Maybe once a year (getting less frequent over time) I need to read a floppy (usually from someone else). If I were building a new PC I still might put one in since they only cost $15 or so. I like the ones that have a memory card reader.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by LogicIsYourFriend

Haven't used one in probably 10 years. Usually when I tried to, the disks had lost their data somehow. Very unreliable, and also very small storage: 1.44mb if I remember right.

Older 1.44MB 3.5" diskettes are very reliable ... newer ones seem not to be. I have dozens (hundreds) of diskettes from the late 80's and early 90's when I used to collect DOS and Win 3.x shareware from BBSes, etc., and I've had no read errors that I can recall on any of those diskettes. I've been going through those disks recently trying to locate some old programs.

[wGoshen]

Floppy drives may never use used any more, but I think they are still necessary to have. I had to update the BIOS and do some tests at work yesterday, and it asked to test the floppy drive after the POST tests.

[BagongBuhay]

I have had to purchase an external floppy drive in preparation for the 2 older desktops to croak. I have an embroidery machine that uses a floppy drive to sew embroidery designs on the machine. Three years ago, I called a distributor to find out how much it would take to convert the machine to one with a USB connection, and the price was so outrageous that only a complete upgrade to a new machine was the only way to go. My machine already cost $6K new back in 2001, and the trade in would only cover possibly a third of the new one. I would have to keep the floppy drive of both the machine and an external one handy or lose the functionality to embroider.

[harry chickpea]

Use them to ship software from time to time. A lot of the computers using my program are "virgin" in that they have no internet capability and the CDs are disconnected to limit idiot kids from playing games and searching for porn on them.

[gallowsCalibrator]

It may not be "floppy" disks, but we use SuperDisks at work. DoD banned flash drives, so the LS-240's are faster when transferring stuff back and forth on computers.