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3.5 floppy disk drive

r2020
r2020 Posts: 25 Forumite
in Techie Stuff
I'm restoring an old computer and I need a floppy disk drive.
When pricing them I have found that external USB drives are cheaper.


Are they just internal drives with an adapter so that I can remove the drive and fit it in the computer?


I need to be able to boot the computer from a floppy disk.
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Comments

  • Rainbowgirl84
    Rainbowgirl84 Posts: 1,175 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Combo Breaker
    r2020 wrote: »
    I'm restoring an old computer and I need a floppy disk drive.
    When pricing them I have found that external USB drives are cheaper.


    Are they just internal drives with an adapter so that I can remove the drive and fit it in the computer?


    I need to be able to boot the computer from a floppy disk.

    £6.40 delivered on ebay?

    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mitsubishi-Internal-3-5-inch-D359M3-Floppy-Disk-Drive/173913941552?hash=item287e142630:g:xewAAOSwd25c6cMJ
  • forgotmyname
    forgotmyname Posts: 32,804 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    How many do you want? I strip the motors from them and bin them.

    Find a computer shop and they will probably give you some for pennies. Probably 20p in scrap by weight.

    Goto a carboot, probably several old computers for a couple of £.
    Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...

  • that
    that Posts: 1,532 Forumite
    Which os, that is still usable, supported, has up to date software needs a floppy disk?
  • Neil_Jones
    Neil_Jones Posts: 9,385 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    that wrote: »
    Which os, that is still usable, supported, has up to date software needs a floppy disk?

    I think that if the computer needs to be booted from a floppy to get going we're looking at something really really old or really obscure. It's clearly not going to be going on the internet.
  • Chino
    Chino Posts: 2,031 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    that wrote: »
    Which os, that is still usable, supported, has up to date software needs a floppy disk?
    The OP stated:
    r2020 wrote: »
    I'm restoring an old computer
  • Nasqueron
    Nasqueron Posts: 10,116 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I had to get a floppy disk drive for an old old laptop, eternal job runs off a parallel cable - this was the old Windows 95 era machine

    Sam Vimes' Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness: 

    People are rich because they spend less money. A poor man buys $10 boots that last a season or two before he's walking in wet shoes and has to buy another pair. A rich man buys $50 boots that are made better and give him 10 years of dry feet. The poor man has spent $100 over those 10 years and still has wet feet.

  • almillar
    almillar Posts: 8,621 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    External ones are USB, and you'll likely have trouble with very old computers booting from USB, if it even has USB!!
    The external ones are 'skinny' compared to a standard 'desktop' one, and likely DO NOT take the same ribbon and power sockets, so I wouldn't try that. If you're in NI, I can give you one free - let us know where you are and there must be someone near you that can let one go. Pay the postage and I'll send you one.
  • that
    that Posts: 1,532 Forumite
    edited 30 May 2019 at 6:19PM
    There is old and there is very old - predating CD drives, which is nearly green screen graphics era. So old that it does not contain photos :)

    Think I still have a few eide drives at home floating around if you need one. Also have a MFM controller and a 20Meg 5.25 drive somewhere too and theat is not a PCI interface. Unsure the drive has data on it though :(
  • datostar
    datostar Posts: 1,288 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Excuse me, it's not just old computers and their OS's using 3.5 inch floppies. I have a Yamaha PSR 9000 music keyboard from the late 90's which can back up and read MIDI data and files, Registrations, Sample Data etc. on floppies. The cheapo USB drive I got for my iMac comes in very handy for backing up keyboard data to the computer and transferring MIDI files etc. to the keyboard. Looking at some music production facilities, there does seem to be some quite venerable kit around so there's probably still a market for them.
  • forgotmyname
    forgotmyname Posts: 32,804 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    that wrote: »
    There is old and there is very old - predating CD drives, which is nearly green screen graphics era. So old that it does not contain photos :)

    Think I still have a few eide drives at home floating around if you need one. Also have a MFM controller and a 20Meg 5.25 drive somewhere too and theat is not a PCI interface. Unsure the drive has data on it though :(


    Green screen? Whats wrong with B&W or Orange and Black? :)
    Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...

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