Do I have to have a floppy?

[Roch]

Hi all
I am about to build my first PC. I saw a gallery image of a computer someone put together and it didn't have a floppy drive. I thought this looked really nice and thought i'd do the same. Is this possible? Most of the components seem to include software on a floppy however, i suppose I could burn them to CD, but I was more concerned about BIOS things. Anyone done anything similar? Any comments would be welcomed.

 

[error_911]

Well, technically you don't need one, so no. But, only WinXP will allow you to install the OS completely without the use of a floppy drive, and in that case, you've got to make sure that none of your hardware requires installation via a floppy drive and are all WinXP compatible, otherwise I guess you could just pop opn the case and plug one in just when u need it.

Woohoo! Broke the 30-celcius barrier with through the loud and innefficient world of air-cooling! Also, never - NEVER - play with gum in one hand and hair in the other... just trust me.

 

[dhlucke]

Copy your drivers to a cd. Unless you know of a specific use for a floppy that can't be avoided, you don't need one. You can flash your bios from the hard drive.

I've flashed my bios without a floppy, and haven't used a floppy in 1.5 years.

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[camieabz]

Can you borrow one for you OS setup?

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[Roch]

Many thanks for the advce, expect many more silly questions, it's my first build!

 

[upec]

You will not need the floppy drive. I have 6 computer only one have floppy drive. I rarely use the floppy drive.

 

[berone]

You got me to thinking about the machine I'm putting together. I never use the floppy but I would be reluctant not to have one since you never know. On the other hand, I don't really need to look at it all the time... How about mounting it in an empty 5 1/4" bay on rails and put a blank over it. Then if the rare occasion comes up where you need it, you just pop the blank out to access it. That's assuming that the reason for not having it is aesthetic.
BTW, you can install WinME and 2K without a floppy drive - they will both boot from the CD.

Anthony

 

[namek0]

I rarely use a floppy, but still have one in every one of my computers. I occasionally get asked to scan a disk or some crap like that, or use one for a class, so I figure what the hell.

It's not like I'm going to be using that fdd slot for somethign else

It's all good ^_^

 

[upec]

I share my floppy drive on my network so I can read and write to floppy from all my computers.

 

[svol]

Well if it is your only PC then it might be usefull as a lot of network or controllercard drivers come on floppy.
Otherwise you can always put then on CD on another PC.

I like to use my floppydrive for BIOS flashes, testing utilities that require a floppy and transporting smale system files when they are missing from PCs when the LAN is down.

My dual-PSU PC is so powerfull that the neighbourhood dimms when I turn it on

 

[RobD]

I like to use my floppydrive for BIOS flashes

A very valid point indeed. I noticed in the press today that DELL will not be shipping floppy drives in their PC's in the future. So, what happens if the mobo goes tits up and you need to flash the BIOS? It's all very well running mobo utils that get it direct from the net or Intel's Express BIOS, but if the damn thing won't boot, then you're in a world of hurt.

Long live the floppy drive! Only costs a few $'s anyway!

 

[svol]

Well there are programs so you can flash the BIOS from your HD... but a lot of rescue utilities use floppies.

My dual-PSU PC is so powerfull that the neighbourhood dimms when I turn it on