Floppy disk can't open files

Closed
Rebecca - Updated on Aug 14, 2017 at 05:16 PM
alexalex88r Posts 5 Registration date Tuesday August 29, 2017 Status Member Last seen June 6, 2023 - Sep 22, 2017 at 10:29 AM
Hello, my floppy disk doesn't let me open any of my files and says i have to format it. how can i make it work?



Related:

2 responses

BrianGreen Posts 1005 Registration date Saturday January 17, 2015 Status Moderator Last seen September 30, 2021 149
Updated on Aug 19, 2017 at 07:48 AM
Hi Rebecca,

Does your floppy drive read any disks at all that were recorded on another machine? If not then it is most likely the drive has failed. If it only reads disks that were recorded from that machine then the heads are out of alignment and unless you need to share disks between computers (unlikely now as this is (very) old technology) then this isn't a problem. Otherwise, you will need to save the info on your disks to another drive (perhaps your hard drive) and then replace the drive ... but you will have trouble getting a new floppy drive now.

If this is only one disk that doesn't work, then it is likely the disk has been left by a magnetic field (eg a loud speaker, a magnet, a wire plugged into the mains) and all data on it is now lost for ever. you could try retrieving the data with a program designed to recover formatted disks, but the chance of success is remote.

I really appreciate thank you messages as a payment for solving issues   :o)
2
alexalex88r Posts 5 Registration date Tuesday August 29, 2017 Status Member Last seen June 6, 2023 2
Sep 22, 2017 at 10:29 AM
The first thing you should do is to to identify unrecognized file types by using https://www.filetypeadvisor.com/ . The interface is pretty simple, so even a complete non-techie can identify the most probable type of file
1