Do I still need a 3.5" floppy???

[fretman]

Please...no smart remarks....thanks.

Getting a new system soon and will have Vista Ultimate on it. The store didn't recommend a floppy drive this time although the system they built me 5 years ago had one.

I remember when I installed Windows 98 and XP there was a part of the installation that asked if I wanted to make a startup and boot disk and then it asked me to insert my 3.5" floppies.

Do I still need to do that with today's technology and Vista....not too sure about this.

Or is there any reason why you would still recommend that I get a 3.5" floppy? Thanks.

 

[Gravemind123]

The only reason you would need a floppy these days is if you are going to do any BIOS flashing, other then that, floppies are pretty worthless.

 

[fretman]

BIOS flashing? Please elaborate. Can it not be done without a floppy?

 

[jaguarskx]

BIOS flashing is basically to update the firmware (software) that is on the motherboard itself. Some newer motherboards may allow you to do it from within Windows (I gotta verify this) but it is always safer to it in DOS environment.

Personally, I have never used a floppy disk on my home PCs since 2002.

 

[justjc]

You don't need a floppy drive.

Even in the case of flashing the BIOS, not using the Windows option given by many motherboards, it can be done just as well from a USB flashdrive.
A small note on flashing the BIOS. The rule is do not do it if nothing is wrong, unless the BIOS update offers something you need. As long as you don't change the processor or RAM there shouldn't be any need and even then it's usually not needed.

 

[Joe_The_Dragon]

not all bios can boot usb flash drives

 

[fretman]

Thanks for the suggestions. Another reason I wanted a floppy is because I still have over 500 3.5" disks.

 

[chuckt]

I switched to USB thumb drives because I considered buying one of them cheaper than burning CD's all of the time. I get less errors than the floppy disk gets. The USB drives hold more data and I can put one of them in my pocket. It is more convenient and it may be a good idea to update them every few years for data protection.

Unless you wish to have a drive that is compatible with older systems, it is probably safer to convert your files over to a format that will be available in the future. They are still selling floppy drives today but will you be able to access your data in ten or twenty years from now considering you will still want it?

 

[torcida_kutina]

I use floppy only for BIOS flashing, and for nothing else. Its not expensive (cca 5$), so buy it.

 

[aevm]

Thanks for the suggestions. Another reason I wanted a floppy is because I still have over 500 3.5" disks.

I had about 40 of them, I just destroyed them last week. You could put all that stuff on a single CD-R, but you'd need a week to copy them all.

 

[fretman]

I think I'm gonna go with a floppy/6-in-1 card reader combo. That should future proof me for awhile.

 

[ih8makingupnames]

For your own protection you should really copy anything of value to you off of floppies and onto something better like a cd-r or Flash disk. Even then it is a good idea to keep multiple copies either on your Hard drive or another cd or flash drive. If you have something worth keeping then you are nuts to keep it on a single floppy disk. They are so unrealiable I bet that if you have 500 of them with stuff on them that at least a couple of them are already unreadable. Do yourself a favor, DITCH THE FLOPPIES!

 

[fretman]

OK....I will make back-ups. For some reason I feel that CD-rs are less reliable than floppies.

But the price is cheap for the floppy/card-reader combo so I'll get that anyways.

 

[valis]

The only reason you would need a floppy these days is if you are going to do any BIOS flashing, other then that, floppies are pretty worthless.

dont even need one then, just burn the bios update and create a bootable cd rom.

i haven 't used an actual floppy drive in a couple of years at least

 

[CompTIA_Rep]

I will be repeating some people so dont freat.

You will need a Floppy for a few reasons:
1.) Installing Raid/Sata drivers while installing OS.
2.) Safer way of upgrading firmware (booting with floppy)
3.) Dos stuff (if you use it)
4.) Compatibility with older computers (i.e. you need to print a document on an old system that doesn't have usb, or working usb).


So the answer is: not really! You can always buy a cool Floppy/card reader combo at Compusa for $20 and be on the safe side.

And believe it or not, more then a few times this year, I have used a floppy

 

[CompTIA_Rep]

OK....I will make back-ups. For some reason I feel that CD-rs are less reliable than floppies.

But the price is cheap for the floppy/card-reader combo so I'll get that anyways.

For backups to CDR, there are a few rules for longevity:
1.) Dont ever use CD(dvd) R/Ws.
2.) Dont skimp out. Buy the good brand (gold, or dark blue/purple). There are websites that describe the different colors).
3.) Dont buy in large quantiles (for backups).
4.) Dont store disks vertically. Like glass, gravity will distort the disk over a period of time.
5.) When burning the disks, select data verification.
6.) Burn 2 copies for better redundancy.
If you follow these rules, you will have great success backing up data.


I would like to backup 1TB of data on floppy... but....
I just dont have space for a million floppy disks.

 

[fretman]

Thanks again for another good suggestion. Yes, because the 3.5" floppy/6-in-one card reader combo is so inexpensive I'm going to get it even if I don't have a need for the floppy drive now. But this is a system that I plan on keeping for 5 years so who knows when and if I may need it.

Plus the card reader is an added benefit when I download pics from my camera.

 

[aevm]

For backups to CDR, there are a few rules for longevity:
4.) Dont store disks vertically. Like glass, gravity will distort the disk over a period of time.

Clarify please, if I have a 100-disk spindle, is it better to keep it on its side or standing up? I keep them on the side, so I don't have 99 disks resting on the one at the bottom, is that what you meant? Thanks!

 

[rabidbunny]

I have a question, although it may seem a bit odd.
I have like 100 floppies sitting around that my mom's friend gave to me because she didn't need them. What would be a good/fun way of utilizing this mass of plastic?

T.

 

[fretman]

You can make 100 Star ship enterprises and give them to your Trekie friends.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/389358/make_a_spaceship_out_of_a_floppy_ disk/

 

[dobby]

NO you dont need a Floppy drive most flashing is down inside windows.

 

[CannedTurkey]

You can put a DOS boot image on CD. If you're proficient with DOS and can find some drivers, you can have access to the whole CD. I haven't had a floppy drive in at least 5 years.

 

[flasher702]

die FDD die die!

(sorry, I can't help it)

There is still a lot of software in circulation that uses FDD but there are ways around it. Bootable CD and USB mass storage are workable solutions. FDD needs to go away now (and by now I mean several years ago).