Farewell To the Floppy Disk

s31523 writes "Those of us who have been in the IT arena for a while remember installing our favorite OS, network client, power application, etc. by feeding the computer what seemed an endless supply of 5.25" soft floppy disks. We rejoiced when the hard 3.5" floppies came out, cutting our install media by 1/3. We practically did backflips when the data CD-ROM arrived and we declared: we will never need any other disk than this! It is with sadness that I report the beginning of the end for the floppy: computer giant PC World has announced it will no longer carry the floppy disk once current supplies run out."

Comments

Windows installer requires them

[ArcherB]

I wonder if this means that MS will stop requiring floppies to install a 3rd party RAID controller during the installation.

(I bring this up because I had to install a floppy on a computer I was reinstalling XP on the other day so I could use the SATA drive! I kinda felt dirty after doing that!)

Re:Windows installer requires them

[Nik13]

For Win XP yes, that is, until they make a new installer for it, based on Vista's (been hearing about this lately), which they will do mainly to support the new deployment techniques replacing RIS. Vista doesn't need a floppy for drivers (the installer uses WinPE, and can load drivers from just about anything, including USB memory sticks). Meanwhile, you can integrate driver packs (including mass storage adapters) or just your own drivers on your XP install disc, and you won't have to provide a floppy anymore. It's not as hard as it may sound, and it only takes a few minutes to do. Go to MSFN if you need information on things like this, and lots more (unattended installs too, which save a lot of time)

Personally, I haven't had a floppy in any of my PCs for at least 5 years. For the odd time I needed a win98 boot floppy or such, then I have floppy images on several bootable DVDs (there's lots of them out there if you're too lazy to do it yourself or don't know how).

However, I still have an old floppy drive (and a trusty LS120) somewhere on a shelf, for the odd time it might come in handy (rescue data, reflash a BIOS from dos - although I prefer to do that from a hard disk as floppies are unreliable, and things like that).

Re:Windows installer requires them

[rickb928]

Yes, you can, and yes, I can tell you how. I did it to 20+ Compaq servers for a project. if XP only wants a foppy for the drivers, I expect this trick will work for that, too. After all, it's just a floppy as far as Windows knows.

Hint: format the USB key as a 1.2MB floppy. If you ask nice, I'll tell you how. If you ask naughty, go Google it yersef. I did. Took me most of an hour to figure it out, and most of a day to get it approved. Slick.

Of course, WIN Server 2K/2K3 and the F6 floppy idea still rots, but it's NOT impossible.

-rick

Sadly... Good!

[HomelessInLaJolla]

> computer giant PC World has announced it will no longer carry the floppy disk once current supplies run out.

Since '95 the quality control on floppy disks has been so low that it hasn't been worth buying them anyway. At one time a SS/DD 5.25" could be used as a DS/DD reliably for five years or more without errors "just appearing". Maybe a patent ran out or QA began paying more attention to HD and CD manufacturing. Whatever it was, though, after '95 the floppy disks which I've bought have an average lifespan of about three months before random errors begin appearing on the media.

BIOS Upgrades...

[xTK-421x]

For those who still upgrade their BIOS via floppy (which seems to be the last major use), here's how to format your USB key to be bootable: http://h18000.www1.hp.com/support/files/serveropti ons/us/download/23839.html

Not for me

[willith]

When I can upgrade the BIOS and firmware on every device I have to support at work from inside of Windows, *then* I'll bid goodbye to the floppy. With the wild mix of hardware most IT shops have to deal with, I wouldn't count on it any time soon. In the PC world, we're shackled to the floppy disk because of the low level at which it's integrated into the system, and as crappy as it is, some tasks still require it.

Yes, you can do that with the nifty-keen gaming motherboard on your gaming computer, but my army of Dell Optiplex GX150s and 260s still need me to use floppies (USB sticks aren't allowed in the building for ludicrously retarded "security" reasons).

Who cares what PC World says?

[gklinger]

Those of us who enjoy using older computers (in my case, Commodore 8bit computers) have been dealing with this problem for quite some time. It has been at least seven years since I saw 5.25" floppy disks for sale in a mainstream store. Luckily, there's a company still making 3.5", 5.25" and even 8" (seriously) floppy disks and they sell directly to the public through their website. They're called ATHANA International located in Harbor City, CA and their prices are reasonable. 5.25" DS/DD, 48TPI, soft sectored (unformatted) disks are $7.95 per box of 10 if you buy 2-5 boxes and the price drops to as little as $0.52 per disk if you purchase 500 or more.

I hope someone finds this information useful.

Another publicity stunt from the Dixons group

[Dogtanian]

For those not familiar with the parent company of PC World, the former Dixons group, this is the third time that they've pulled this stunt. That is, with great ceremony, announcing that they are to stop selling a technology that is (supposedly) becoming long-in-the-tooth and obsolete, and getting lots of attention from the press, who use it as an excuse to describe the (supposed) passing of a particular technology:-

(1) Death of video recorder (i.e. VCR) in sight

(2) Dixons to end 35mm camera sales.

In the case of the VCR, their announcement was misleading at best, and more likely just a pack of lies. Dixons.co.uk (and the large-format Currys stores) *still* each sell a wide range of standalone VCRs, over 2 years later. (Visit dixons.co.uk and search for "video recorder").

IIRC the high-street Dixons stores (now called "Currys.Digital", ugh) still sold them long after the supposed phase-out date. I don't know about the 35mm cameras, but even if they were telling the truth in that case, it was a nice publicity stunt for them. Even more so for the floppy discs; you're stopping selling floppy discs and you felt the need to make a big announcement about it?!

Of course, the intention behind these announcements- besides the straight publicity- is to give the impression of Dixons and PC World as hi-tech, cutting-edge type places. When in fact they're mediocre at best; sometimes competitive, but just as often overpriced- particularly for more humble items such as USB and Ethernet cables, staffed by salespeople who like to pretend they know more than they do, flogging overpriced warranties and with a poor reputation. Online shopping is much cheaper, and with a better selection.

They got a mention on /. too...

[Dogtanian]

Hang on a minute; after some searching, it looks like even our favourite website picked up those stories (via the BBC):-

(1) "The UK's largest retailer of electronics is phasing out VHS VCRs." (Note that as I pointed out then, Dixons' "discontinuation" of the VCR took place before DVD recorders (*not* playback-only devices) and HDD-based PVRs had taken off.

(2) "Digital Cameras Force Film Off Dixons' Shelves"