Just Curious - How many of you have used floppy drives on your PC?

ankura12 · 29th November 2007, 18:20

On other technical forums , of which I have been a member, I come across members who have been in the IT field for long. I think this is a forum which has a mix of professionals from all fields, who have been using computers for long. So, a large number of you would have seen computers of various types. Todays PCs have all kinds of peripherals, but come without any floppy drives.

So, I am curious to know,

How many of you have used PCs which had 3.5" floppy drives?
Going one step back, have any of you used 5.25" floppy drives?
Going one more step back, are you aware of 8" floppy drives?

Request to Mods: Please transfer this thread to the right forum

msdivy · 29th November 2007, 19:27

5.25" to boot to DOS & work on BASIC - from 88 to 93.
3.5" to store files, as boot disk & to run FDISK - till 2002, basically till most BIOS supported boot from CD Drive option.

I still remember, single 3.5" floppy used to cost Rs 20/- for 1.4MB data.

Samurai · 29th November 2007, 19:46

I have seen the 8" disk once in 1989, but never used it.

I started using PCs in 1989, until 1991 I rarely had access to PCs with hard drives. So I always used PCs with two 5.25" floppy drives (but no hard drive) those 2 years. The disk capacity was 360KB for low density or 1.2MB for high density.

In 1991 I saw the first PC with 3.5" drive with 720KB and 1.44MB capacity. Didn't get access to those until 1993. I still remember loading Borland C++ compiler from a 22 disk set.

Got my first work PC with hard drive in 1991, the capacity was 20MB.

Got my first work PC with CD-ROM in 1994.

My boss had used punch cards in the 70s, I only studied them, never used.

vivekiny2k · 29th November 2007, 19:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by msdivy

5.25" to boot to DOS & work on BASIC - from 88 to 93.
3.5" to store files, as boot disk & to run FDISK - till 2002, basically till most BIOS supported boot from CD Drive option.

I still remember, single 3.5" floppy used to cost Rs 20/- for 1.4MB data.

same here. although i used first portion of it only for playing games after loading DOS. and I don't regret having an incompetent computer instructor

. because of the 1.4 Mb limit we learnt all the compressing options, JPG image formats etc.

msdivy · 29th November 2007, 20:02

Earliest computer game I have played is Packman on 5.25" floppy. Our teacher used to give this floppy only when all of us in the class completed their assignments

. This was in school.

When I moved to college there was Netware everywhere. So floppies were not required. Anyway we still backed our files on a floppy, just in case the SysAdmin messes & deletes the network drive.

When I started working, it was Windows 95 everywhere & CD ROM was common. I remember our group importing a Yamaha CD Writer for Rs 25K from US. Later Windows 98 came, then 2000, Me (most horrible release) & XP/2003. XP SP2, 2003 have been a very stable release. Now we support Vista/2008.

PS: Sorry if its a bit OT.

abhibh · 29th November 2007, 20:21

I have seen 8" floppies but i have only used 5.25 and 3.5". I still have 3.5" and 5.25" drives with me

cheap_deal · 29th November 2007, 20:28

huh? floppy what? ive used flappy paddles

gameonrwind · 29th November 2007, 20:30

I have an 3.5" floppy drive , to be used in a dell laptop ,
i
ts swapable with a CD Drive which sits in the same bay

never use it though :P

DriverR · 29th November 2007, 20:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by abhibh

I still have 3.5" and 5.25" drives with me

I still have few 3.5" and 5.25" disks with me! Souvenir peices!

I used to use the 5.25" disk for my school projects!!! Horribly unreliable! I had to keep saving the data in new disks, as the disks used to to get easily corrupted.

rex_varghese · 29th November 2007, 20:37

Not seen the 8" one.
But, have used both 5.25" and 3.5" ones, long time back.

Nostalgic ...

Regards
Rex

cypher · 29th November 2007, 20:59

I've used 5.25" and 3.5" ones. Never seen the 8" floppies. My first x86 PC was a 8086, with 640Kb of RAM, no hard disk and two 5.25" floppy drives.

Going a further step back, I have a cassette drive. It was attached to an Atari 600XL. Belive it or not, it still works today and the data is readable - nearly 20 years later.

Technocrat · 29th November 2007, 21:11

Yep I have used 5.25 and 3.5 floopies Not sure about the 8 inch ones though as dont remember a 3rd kind of floppy.

Btw this thread needs to have poll. reporting to Mods

Sparkie · 29th November 2007, 22:01

Oh we had and still have an IBM XT(I think that's what it was called) which is as old as me(22 years) but is no longer working now :(. But we used that computer for a good 15 years with of course the 5 and a quarters! And that drive was even exchanged for a new one in the mid-nighties for another five and a quarter. That computer had even a monochrome yellow monitor built into the CPU casing, with a folding keyboard so we just had to shut the keyboard after which the computer could be carried around! And I have played so many games with those 5 1/4's, dig-dug, pacman, space invaders, bubble bobble, pretty much everthing there used to be that time!
We have even an Epson LX-80 dot-matrix printer - which is again the same age as me - which is still being used by my Dad along with my current Windows XP equipped computer. Compare that to the slew of current ink-jets, my first inkjet bought around 2000 conked in 2 years flat.
Sorry for going a bit OT guys!

diabloo · 29th November 2007, 22:57

Our college didn't have any CD writers

& so had to use floppies. I have my project work floppy with me even now

.

29th November 2007, 23:00

i remember having my school maths palindrome program done in my 5" Floppy

View Poll Results: Which floppy drive have you used?
3.5"	70	88.61%
5.25"	55	69.62%
8"	9	11.39%
Punch Card	7	8.86%
Cassette	19	24.05%
None	10	12.66%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 79. You may not vote on this poll

29th November 2007, 18:20	#1
ankura12 BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 33 Thanked: 3 Times	Just Curious - How many of you have used floppy drives on your PC? On other technical forums , of which I have been a member, I come across members who have been in the IT field for long. I think this is a forum which has a mix of professionals from all fields, who have been using computers for long. So, a large number of you would have seen computers of various types. Todays PCs have all kinds of peripherals, but come without any floppy drives. So, I am curious to know, How many of you have used PCs which had 3.5" floppy drives? Going one step back, have any of you used 5.25" floppy drives? Going one more step back, are you aware of 8" floppy drives? Request to Mods: Please transfer this thread to the right forum
	() Thanks

29th November 2007, 19:27	#2
msdivy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,815 Thanked: 2,826 Times	5.25" to boot to DOS & work on BASIC - from 88 to 93. 3.5" to store files, as boot disk & to run FDISK - till 2002, basically till most BIOS supported boot from CD Drive option. I still remember, single 3.5" floppy used to cost Rs 20/- for 1.4MB data.
	() Thanks

29th November 2007, 19:46	#3
Samurai Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore/Udupi Posts: 25,831 Thanked: 45,598 Times View My Garage	I have seen the 8" disk once in 1989, but never used it. I started using PCs in 1989, until 1991 I rarely had access to PCs with hard drives. So I always used PCs with two 5.25" floppy drives (but no hard drive) those 2 years. The disk capacity was 360KB for low density or 1.2MB for high density. In 1991 I saw the first PC with 3.5" drive with 720KB and 1.44MB capacity. Didn't get access to those until 1993. I still remember loading Borland C++ compiler from a 22 disk set. Got my first work PC with hard drive in 1991, the capacity was 20MB. Got my first work PC with CD-ROM in 1994. My boss had used punch cards in the 70s, I only studied them, never used.
	() Thanks

29th November 2007, 20:02	#5
msdivy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,815 Thanked: 2,826 Times	Earliest computer game I have played is Packman on 5.25" floppy. Our teacher used to give this floppy only when all of us in the class completed their assignments . This was in school. When I moved to college there was Netware everywhere. So floppies were not required. Anyway we still backed our files on a floppy, just in case the SysAdmin messes & deletes the network drive. When I started working, it was Windows 95 everywhere & CD ROM was common. I remember our group importing a Yamaha CD Writer for Rs 25K from US. Later Windows 98 came, then 2000, Me (most horrible release) & XP/2003. XP SP2, 2003 have been a very stable release. Now we support Vista/2008. PS: Sorry if its a bit OT. Last edited by msdivy : 29th November 2007 at 20:04.
	() Thanks

29th November 2007, 20:21	#6
abhibh Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Back in the HOOD near you! Posts: 2,768 Thanked: 39 Times	I have seen 8" floppies but i have only used 5.25 and 3.5". I still have 3.5" and 5.25" drives with me
	() Thanks

29th November 2007, 20:28	#7
cheap_deal BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: unknown Posts: 465 Thanked: 8 Times	huh? floppy what? ive used flappy paddles
	() Thanks

29th November 2007, 20:30	#8
gameonrwind BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: bangalore Posts: 33 Thanked: 4 Times	I have an 3.5" floppy drive , to be used in a dell laptop , i ts swapable with a CD Drive which sits in the same bay never use it though :P
	() Thanks

29th November 2007, 20:37	#10
rex_varghese BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Marlborough, MA/Bangalore Posts: 345 Thanked: 59 Times View My Garage	Not seen the 8" one. But, have used both 5.25" and 3.5" ones, long time back. Nostalgic ... Regards Rex
	() Thanks

29th November 2007, 20:59	#11
cypher BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Pune Posts: 153 Thanked: 4 Times	I've used 5.25" and 3.5" ones. Never seen the 8" floppies. My first x86 PC was a 8086, with 640Kb of RAM, no hard disk and two 5.25" floppy drives. Going a further step back, I have a cassette drive. It was attached to an Atari 600XL. Belive it or not, it still works today and the data is readable - nearly 20 years later. Last edited by cypher : 29th November 2007 at 21:01.
	() Thanks

29th November 2007, 21:11	#12
Technocrat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: GTA Posts: 14,813 Thanked: 2,700 Times	Yep I have used 5.25 and 3.5 floopies Not sure about the 8 inch ones though as dont remember a 3rd kind of floppy. Btw this thread needs to have poll. reporting to Mods
	() Thanks

29th November 2007, 22:01	#13
Sparkie BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Chennai-not at home now Posts: 101 Thanked: 2 Times	Oh we had and still have an IBM XT(I think that's what it was called) which is as old as me(22 years) but is no longer working now :(. But we used that computer for a good 15 years with of course the 5 and a quarters! And that drive was even exchanged for a new one in the mid-nighties for another five and a quarter. That computer had even a monochrome yellow monitor built into the CPU casing, with a folding keyboard so we just had to shut the keyboard after which the computer could be carried around! And I have played so many games with those 5 1/4's, dig-dug, pacman, space invaders, bubble bobble, pretty much everthing there used to be that time! We have even an Epson LX-80 dot-matrix printer - which is again the same age as me - which is still being used by my Dad along with my current Windows XP equipped computer. Compare that to the slew of current ink-jets, my first inkjet bought around 2000 conked in 2 years flat. Sorry for going a bit OT guys!
	() Thanks

29th November 2007, 22:57	#14
diabloo BANNED Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bengalooru Posts: 1,480 Thanked: 17 Times	Our college didn't have any CD writers & so had to use floppies. I have my project work floppy with me even now .
	() Thanks

29th November 2007, 23:00	#15
gump Posts: n/a	i remember having my school maths palindrome program done in my 5" Floppy
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