Floppy Disk Drive
 

Im thinking of buying a new computer.

Do I really need a Floppy Disk Drive? What are they used for now in modern computing? In the past they were used to back-up files from Hard Disk such as Word Documents or System Restore Packs but are they used anymore? Now that CD-RW is now the main way of backing up?

I just want to make sure that floppy disks are in the past.....or whether they are still needed. I will only be using the computer for personal use and the occasional word processing.

Re: Floppy Disk Drive
 

in terms of backing up data, the floppy is pretty much dead. on the other hand, it can occasionally be useful (e.g. flashing the bios, transferring files to an older pc) and for the sake of an extra fiver, you might as well have one i'd say.

Re: Floppy Disk Drive
 

No you don't, for legacy reasons I have one, and hardly if ever use it.

The last time was running memtest a few weeks ago, and before then, well I can't remember.

I have CD-RW, DVD-RW, and a flash key, so really, don't need it.

I should yank it out, and mod the fascia as a control for my case lights and fan speed thingies.

Re: Floppy Disk Drive
 

a couple of my lecturers insist on work being submitted on a floppy, for reasons known only to them... so i gotta keep one.

Re: Floppy Disk Drive
 

theres always booting up raid or sata drivers when installing o/s

Re: Floppy Disk Drive
 

Talk about dark ages... I'm in Nottm, where's that?

Re: Floppy Disk Drive
 

i suggest you stick one in there, its a near neglible cost to have one in your pc, floppy's are still useful for small documents instead of wasting a cd-r.

Re: Floppy Disk Drive
 

A CDR actually costs less than a floppy these days so it is much less of a waste in monetary terms.
I'd still keep the trusty old floppy drive though.

Re: Floppy Disk Drive
 

ditch it and get a usb one (not all that much more expensive) and only get it out of the cupboard when you need it. use that 3.5" bay for your fanbus.

Re: Floppy Disk Drive
 

That's the only reason I have for keeping one, and even then I take it out of the case after installing the OS.
I use GMail for transferring documents between home & college, which is also a handy backup. :)

Re: Floppy Disk Drive
 

with a floppy you can rewrite over it but with a cd-r you cant.

Re: Floppy Disk Drive
 

You can write data to the CD as multisession so have the ability to use one CD for the contents of several hundred floppies. Alternatively use CD/RW disks.

Re: Floppy Disk Drive
 

I've just been getting a friend out of the mire by re-installing XP on his PC. He managed to blow up his mobo (almost literally - one of the diodes tried to unsolder itself).

I sorted him a new mobo, processor and memory. The new mobo uses an Nvidia chipset but the old one is Via-based. XP refused to boot - even in safe mode!!!

So he bought a new disk drive too - a SATA one and we tried re-installing XP on that instead. Now, here's the rub, his version of XP home (SP1) doesn't support his SATA chip so we had to load on the drivers. The *only* place that XP will look for them is on the floppy!!!!!

Jeeeeez - and this is progress?

Re: Floppy Disk Drive
 

I have to keep mine, I ve got a sony Mavica digital camera and the camera takes floppys. I know it might be getting old but its one of the best cameras I`ve had.

Re: Floppy Disk Drive
 

Floppy? What's one of those?

/strokes his iMac lovingly :D

Re: Floppy Disk Drive
 

Yes, my gf also needs to submit coursework on a flopppy.

Re: Floppy Disk Drive
 

please keep thte stroking of things lovingly out of here, this is not the time or place for that sort of thing1 :D

ik

Re: Floppy Disk Drive
 

dunno i pretty much stroke it all these days :naughty: maybe chris t is the same :erm: :D :p: :naughty: