The State of Floppy Disks

by: jameswalsh
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Word Count: 783

Definition

A floppy disk is a data storage device made of a disk of thin, flexible magnetic storage medium. This flexible or commonly referred to as 'floppy' medium is encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. Floppy disks are read and written by a floppy disk drive or FDD. IBM invented the floppy disk in the 1970s. It was first introduced in the market in the large eight inches format. The bulky size was reduced to thin manageable five and three inch sizes.

The floppy disk has come a long way. The invention of flash drives and optical storage media may have pushed the floppy disk to the sidelines. Over the years, the floppy disk has becomes a common data loss device. It poses little data security threat to hackers. It has also been identified as a source of data privacy invasion.

Usability

Floppy disks are designed to be robust to function smoothly in an unfriendly environment filled with dirt, abrasive particles and moisture. Floppy disks are easily available and affordable. This makes them a simple and extensively used data storage device. They do not have drive compatibility problems. They can be run on any computer. Floppies are portable and can be easily stored. But they can only be useful under proper maintenance. They require proper handling and care. Some of the common mishandling problems are from:

Magnetic fields.
Flexing or bending.
Excessive temperature.
Touching the magnetic surfaces.
Solvents or other reactive chemicals.
Removal of the disk from a drive while in use.
Excessive amounts of dust, smoke or other pollutants.

Disadvantages

Recycled Floppy Disks: Floppy disks are mass manufactured. They tend to be easily available. Vendors recycle or recondition the floppies for resale in the market. They are packaged as new and sold to unsuspecting consumers. But recycled floppies contain residual data. Residual data has the potential of corrupting new data.

Automatic Reformatting: IBM invented the concept of automatic reformatting in the 1990s. Floppy disks have the ability to reformat existent stored data. Valuable data in correct format and sequence may be lost. Floppy disk manufacturers specify an unformatted capacity. Usually this capacity is 2.0 MB for a standard 3½-inch HD floppy. This data capacity should not be exceeded. In case it happens, automatic reformatting takes place. This leads to an inability of the disk to interchange data leading to data losses.

Data Loss: Data loss can occur due to human error of poor maintenance and manufacturing defects. Liquid spilled on the disk may cause contamination. Contamination by dirty media or polluted environment could lead to mechanical wear. It could also result in immediate failure of the floppy disk. Another frequent maintenance error is that of an electro-static discharge called an ESD. It occurs due to poor handling of the floppy. Electrical discharge gets transmitted and dissipated through out the drive when the disk is handled with wet fingers or palms.

Similarly, the disk should not be thrown or tossed. There should be no sudden vibration or jolt. Floppies are sensitive to temperature conditions. Volatile temperature variations of heat and humidity can cause ESD. ESD causes the disintegration and meltdown of the floppy elements resulting in data loss.

Data Loss & Data Recovery

Nowadays, inbuilt data recovery tools of SCNDSK and CHKDSK ensure that a floppy is undamaged internally before use. DIY software of Easy Doctor and Scavenger also ensure full floppy data recovery. But, in order to run these utilities and software one has to ensure a few measures:

Always ensure that the floppy is compatible with the drive being used.
Make sure that the data stored does not exceed the floppy data capacity.
Check your cabling. Check the power cable for a bad connection, and check the twisted cable for the correct configuration: drive A: should be connected to the end-most connector.
Always shut down your computer before removing the floppy for physical examination. Check whether the metal switch at the back of the floppy is in read-write mode.
If stored data is inaccessible, remove the floppy disk to check for surface damage. This could be in the form of a scratch or a sunken area in the middle of the disk. This usually reflects a mechanical damage.
In order to clean the floppy disk, rotate it gently. Blow air and wipe the disk with tissue. The tissue should not completely dry or moist to transmit electrical discharges.
Avoid spiting on the disk. A user should minimise throwing or dropping it from a height.
Start the CMOS Setup and check the BIOS setting for the floppy drive. If A: or B: drive is set as none or not installed, the drive will not work. Change the settings and save them for the floppy to function.

About the Author

James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. If you are concerned about data loss and would like more information on Data Recovery see http://www.fields-data-recovery.co.uk

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