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« on: January 03, 2009, 02:29:45 AM » |
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For the month of January and the new year we thought it would be interesting to see when the last time you used a floppy diskette. With all new computers no longer coming pre-installed with a floppy disk drives and programs created over the last few years only being available in a disc format there are not many if any reasons users today would be using a floppy diskette. If you have used a floppy diskette recently feel free to talk about what you used it for and any good/bad experiences you had with it. Also feel free to talk about what you're using as a substitute for a floppy diskette, e.g. thumb drives, CD-R discs, etc. All past monthly polls and results can also be found on the Computer Hope poll page. |
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« Last Edit: January 03, 2009, 02:47:17 AM by Computer Hope Admin »
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Calum
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« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2009, 04:21:38 AM » |
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I used a floppy just over a week ago.
Was trying to make it bootable so I could clone a drive, turned out the floppy controller was actually slightly faulty so it wouldn't boot from a disk, but it would work once within Windows.
Prior to that, in the last few years I've used floppies in college a few months ago (Win98 boot disks, to install Windows 2000 from a caddy drive) and before that, in junior school when we each had a floppy with our name on it to save work on. That's, what, 7 years ago?
Now, all my work is saved on my USB flash drives and various hard disks.
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Bones92
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« Reply #7 on: January 03, 2009, 04:12:23 PM » |
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I use floppys all the time for transferring small files between home and school, I have a usb floppy drive for use with my computer. Better than using an expensive flash disk, no-one will care if I lose or break a flopy disk.
I also use them for transferring files to my win98 computer, as well as boot disks for computers I am repairing (although normally just to get the cd drive going so I can put an OS through it)
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dala74
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« Reply #8 on: January 03, 2009, 08:10:09 PM » |
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In 2004 I purchased a HP as my three year old Gateway "died". A "computer geek" I know said he tried everything to get it free of viruses but to no avail. After I set my HP up, I tried shoving my floppy disks where ever I thought they might go. I read and reread all the directions and set up. Finally I called Best Buy and the young man very nicely told me it didn't have one. I was very shocked as all my stuff was on about 100 floppy disks. My daughters still talk about that situation.  |
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devcom
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« Reply #12 on: January 04, 2009, 06:19:35 AM » |
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i've used them more then 3 years ago but i dont remember for what  Who of you used bigger than 3½-inch floppy ? I've never seen bigger  |
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dala74
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« Reply #15 on: January 04, 2009, 05:57:39 PM » |
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i've used them more then 3 years ago but i dont remember for what Who of you used bigger than 3½-inch floppy ? I've never seen bigger I did in 1983. It was the first computer I had ever worked on for my job. |
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I Shooter
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« Reply #17 on: January 04, 2009, 09:02:41 PM » |
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About four months ago to install Raid. Intel sends it as a floppy. I had to buy a USB floppy to install it.
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soybean
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« Reply #18 on: January 04, 2009, 09:41:31 PM » |
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I can't remember the last time. I'm sure it's been several months but I think probably not over a year.
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soybean
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« Reply #22 on: January 04, 2009, 10:43:23 PM » |
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what is a floppy disk used for? lol
You're kidding, right?  Here, read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floppy_disk |
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Maykon
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« Reply #27 on: January 05, 2009, 09:14:06 AM » |
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I use almost every week, to do the logical partition image, turning the ghost by the floppy drive. |
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BC_Programmer
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« Reply #28 on: January 05, 2009, 10:08:17 AM » |
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A few years from now, people will be wondering why we use a floppy icon for the "Save" button in word processors and other programs...
"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"
My cousin still has some 5 1/2" floppies... I only have one. Though, I remember when I was in elementary school... we had computers from the late 70's (Apples)... they had the old floppy drives.
5 1/4", not 5 1/2". not that it really makes a difference. there were 8" floppies before them, too. EDIT: oops, almost forgot my addition to the Poll. I believe I used one in the last month, as I recall copying a Doom2 wadfile from my PC to my DOS/win31 laptop. I use them pretty often, but as Zylstra says, they go bad fairly quickly. |
If this is real life, where the heck is the decimal?
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jryan999
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« Reply #31 on: January 05, 2009, 10:53:14 AM » |
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I do work for a charity which use laptops running Windows 95, 98, 2000, XP and Vista (I was offered a free Windows 3.1 machine - but declined).
The Windows 95 and 98 machines have problems loading USB drivers (or no USB port), so a floppy disk is the only option.
Back in school in 1978, I did start programming using coding sheets and "punch cards". Floppy disks are bang up to date by comparison.
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wasicuwitco
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« Reply #32 on: January 05, 2009, 11:12:16 AM » |
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We use some antiquated equipment and software at work. I needed to build another cash register for the gift shop, and the newest software that is compatible with our system is DOS 6.2. We are (hopefully) going to upgrade this spring, so I won't be using them much longer.
For personal use, it has been about 2 years.
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BC_Programmer
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« Reply #33 on: January 05, 2009, 11:30:31 AM » |
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I'm dissappointed BC...you missed the obvious: Restored an Acronis image to a HDD this week using a bootable floopy... So I did. In my speed reading of posts I missed it. Or maybe my mind automatically changed it to floppy? I dunno. heh heh. floopy. |
If this is real life, where the heck is the decimal?
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patio
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« Reply #34 on: January 05, 2009, 12:28:36 PM » |
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Last year I went fishing with Salvador Dali. He was using a dotted line. He caught every other fish.
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ras58396
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« Reply #35 on: January 05, 2009, 02:53:13 PM » |
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I used one last weekend to update my Dell's bios. That was the first time in years. I use USB sticks and CDs routinely.
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quaxo
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« Reply #36 on: January 06, 2009, 07:32:51 AM » |
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I remember the old 5 1/4" ones. I remember how my first computer (a 286) would only take the 5 1/4". I thought the 3 1/2" ones were so cool. Much more durable and reliable than the 5 1/4" ones. I also remember having an argument with a girl in a computer class back in junior high who insisted 3 1/2" floppies were called "hard disks", because of the plastic casing and because they weren't 'floppy'. Everything of value I had on floppy I copied over to CDs, like Windows 3.11 for Workgroups, DOS 6.22, and some other old stuff. CD-Rs don't last forever either, so I also keep ISO backups of the CDs, should I ever need to remake one. As a tech, I've more than once had to pull out that disc to fix some old machine. I always ask when building a system if they want or have the need for a 3 1/2" floppy drive. I'd say 75% of the time people don't want them, and of the other quarter that do, most probably don't use it. I'd say the invention of flash drives has really done floppy disks in. They're so cheap now, too. A lot of companies here give flash drives away with the company logo on it as a promotional item. I've got several 256MB ones from various places. I picked up a 2GB one for $3 at IT City (they're kinda like Circuit City in the US). |
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gpay10
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« Reply #40 on: January 06, 2009, 03:55:05 PM » |
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i have been learning about and building desktop PCs and have found that you still need floppy boot discs to load an OS if you need a CD/ROM driver.
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BC_Programmer
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« Reply #41 on: January 06, 2009, 04:11:56 PM » |
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i have been learning about and building desktop PCs and have found that you still need floppy boot discs to load an OS if you need a CD/ROM driver.
el torito notwithstanding. |
If this is real life, where the heck is the decimal?
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ras58396
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« Reply #42 on: January 06, 2009, 05:52:03 PM » |
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My home PC has a built-in Zip drive. My office has an external zip drive. I seldom use either.
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nondaj
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« Reply #43 on: January 09, 2009, 12:27:28 PM » |
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like most others I now use flash drives for info. Also have a huge WD backup drive for whole PC info.
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alan2273
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« Reply #45 on: January 09, 2009, 04:19:52 PM » |
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I use a floppy drive about once a week to back up my home accounts, I also have a 250mb Zip drive. as well as USB flash drives and a USB back up hard drive, but I have been using the floppy for that long now, it is hard to break the habit. |
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Larrimmus
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« Reply #46 on: January 09, 2009, 10:51:09 PM » |
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Hi! I'm new to this forum, having found you while looking to change my boot.ini file. I'm very grateful to find this resource! Anyway... I just used a couple floppies tonight, to run "Partition Magic" to back up my system. I have a separate hard disk that I keep in a drawer with my XP system on it. I back up my system every two or three months, and usually run that program from Windows, but there was a problem at the end of that transfer tonight , so I shut down and rebooted into the floppies to clean up the mess and do the copy again. (The problem turned out to be a loose power connection to the drive I was making the copy to.) Yeah... I'm a little slow to upgrade (I didn't buy XP until a year after Vista came out!), so I still have a floppy drive. |
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BatchFileCommand
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« Reply #47 on: January 10, 2009, 01:19:32 PM » |
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I used a floppy disk film to create ultra-violet rays to use as a backup in case I lose my remote (I'm serious).
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οτη άβγαλτος μεταφ βαθμολογία
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BC_Programmer
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« Reply #52 on: January 10, 2009, 09:10:19 PM » |
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The floppy disk "film", as we are calling it in this topic, though we should say magnetic material or magnetic disk, does in fact filter infrared.
true, but he implied that it "created" UV light using it. which begs the question as to what a UV light has to do with a remote control, since most remotes use IR or radio. |
If this is real life, where the heck is the decimal?
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Zylstra
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« Reply #53 on: January 10, 2009, 09:13:43 PM » |
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The floppy disk "film", as we are calling it in this topic, though we should say magnetic material or magnetic disk, does in fact filter infrared.
true, but he implied that it "created" UV light using it. which begs the question as to what a UV light has to do with a remote control, since most remotes use IR or radio. I'm guessing he/she got UV confused with Infrared. |
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Owldancer
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« Reply #54 on: January 11, 2009, 04:58:56 PM » |
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I use "floppy" often as I have a sony camera that uses them. Very nice for taking pictures and putting them on my computer and e-mail.
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Dontcallmelate4dinner
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« Reply #58 on: January 12, 2009, 07:35:57 PM » |
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Today. I am trying to see if an old Toshiba T1200 laptop ,that was given to me last year, works. Had to buy a USB powered floppy drive. I put the MS-DOS 3.3 that I need onto disks. The T1200 has 1 floppy drive, and a hard drive. It powers up, goes through a memory test up to 640MB! More to follow soon.  |
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BC_Programmer
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« Reply #59 on: January 12, 2009, 07:52:07 PM » |
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I am trying to see if an old Toshiba T1200 laptop Had to buy a USB powered floppy drive
erm... USB on a laptop from 1987? |
If this is real life, where the heck is the decimal?
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Dontcallmelate4dinner
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« Reply #60 on: January 12, 2009, 09:03:29 PM » |
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Uh.......nooo. This machine I'm on doesn't have a floppy. But I have 1 now. T1200 says to me: Starting MS-DOS... Bad or missing Command Interpreter Enter correct name, blah, blah. Doesn't matter what I type in, get the same message. Could be ammo for a new post.
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Zylstra
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« Reply #61 on: January 12, 2009, 09:10:44 PM » |
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Uh.......nooo. This machine I'm on doesn't have a floppy. But I have 1 now. T1200 says to me: Starting MS-DOS... Bad or missing Command Interpreter Enter correct name, blah, blah. Doesn't matter what I type in, get the same message. Could be ammo for a new post.
Probably... http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=917&st=1According to this, it has at least one floppy drive. USB does not work on such an old computer. |
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evilfantasy
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« Reply #62 on: January 12, 2009, 09:15:59 PM » |
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erm... USB on a laptop from 1987?
Probably to plug into the newer computer (which don't have floppies anymore) to write to the floppies with then use them in the laptop... |
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BC_Programmer
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« Reply #63 on: January 12, 2009, 09:16:33 PM » |
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erm... USB on a laptop from 1987?
Probably to plug into the newer computer to write to the floppies with then use them in the laptop... ahhh, yes, of course, of course. |
If this is real life, where the heck is the decimal?
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joevh09
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« Reply #65 on: January 13, 2009, 06:10:48 PM » |
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I used one about 3 weeks ago to flash the bios in a computer.
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ImnoGuru
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« Reply #66 on: January 14, 2009, 05:53:20 PM » |
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I still use floppy's on a regular basis, although Ive got flash drives and CD/DVD burners, I mainly use the floppy's for my old Sony camera. Its big and cumbersome but Ive made a lot of treasured memories from using it, and its always a talking point when I bring it out at family get togethers.((Mainly from family saying how jurasic I am) WHEN WILL THEY GET THE HINT TO BUY ME A NEW DIGITAL CAMERA??? Ho Hum.)
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terbeamon
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« Reply #67 on: January 15, 2009, 08:53:57 PM » |
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I have not used a floppy disk for several months. I do carry a USB 2 floppy drive in my laptop case just in case.
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Track
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« Reply #68 on: January 16, 2009, 01:10:29 AM » |
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Look, I uh.. just wanted to know what XP 64-bit would be like, okay?! Stop judging me! I threw it out the very next day, I swear! I don't even remember how to hook up a floppy drive.. *uncomfortable laugher* is that what they're called? I.. didn't even know. It's not MY fault! My cat put me up to it.. "Meee-install-a-floppy-drive-into-your-computer-ow." I am innocent !!
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BC_Programmer
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« Reply #69 on: January 16, 2009, 01:33:29 AM » |
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Look, I uh.. just wanted to know what XP 64-bit would be like, okay?! Stop judging me! I threw it out the very next day, I swear! I don't even remember how to hook up a floppy drive.. *uncomfortable laugher* is that what they're called? I.. didn't even know. It's not MY fault! My cat put me up to it.. "Meee-install-a-floppy-drive-into-your-computer-ow." I am innocent !!
what does XP 64-bit have to do with floppies? |
If this is real life, where the heck is the decimal?
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Track
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« Reply #70 on: January 16, 2009, 05:29:38 AM » |
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Look, I uh.. just wanted to know what XP 64-bit would be like, okay?! Stop judging me! I threw it out the very next day, I swear! I don't even remember how to hook up a floppy drive.. *uncomfortable laugher* is that what they're called? I.. didn't even know. It's not MY fault! My cat put me up to it.. "Meee-install-a-floppy-drive-into-your-computer-ow." I am innocent !!
what does XP 64-bit have to do with floppies? I'll give you a hint - look at my specs. |
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friedemann
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« Reply #71 on: January 20, 2009, 10:57:15 AM » |
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Like right now because the computer does not see the CD drive so I am kind of stuck to boot it up as I am stuck in DOS.
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goodiestan2002
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« Reply #72 on: January 23, 2009, 01:28:04 AM » |
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I never use floppy for more than 4 years.
By the way, i never expect USB flash drive to substitude floppy instead of ZIP drive or LS-120;
Sometimes, future is unpredictable
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cjones
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« Reply #73 on: January 27, 2009, 03:50:36 AM » |
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ironic question, I just finished putting all the floppies on a CD friday.
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reddevilggg
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« Reply #74 on: January 27, 2009, 04:14:07 AM » |
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ironic question, I just finished putting all the floppies on a CD friday.
Is that the Alanis Morisette definition of ironic, or just what other people would call coincidence?? |
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Zorgon
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« Reply #75 on: January 27, 2009, 05:39:53 PM » |
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I use floppies to save because I'm still using quickbooks 2001 and the only quick save option it gives you is to use a floppy. I could save to the hard drive but then I would have to save to a cd after that and its just easier to pop a floppy in.
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Frankie0566
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« Reply #76 on: January 28, 2009, 12:03:52 AM » |
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I used a Floppy about a month ago while helping a patron at the library where I work. Must of the patrons that come either use floppies or they just don't save. I, personally use flash drives or e-mail it to myself if I don't have a flash drive with me. For music I use CDs.
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macdad-
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« Reply #77 on: January 28, 2009, 09:41:39 AM » |
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still keep a few floppies around for namely: Emergency Diskette Desktop Tools(love that game ) Get Saddam(another fun game) Batch games, so i dont waste space on my USB and as Temporary storage if my USB drive gets full. |
If you dont know DOS, you dont know Windows... Thats why Bill Gates created the Windows NT Family.  |
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