Trouble with 3 1/2 floppy drive..

[Mike in utah]

I’m having trouble with the 3-½ inch floppy drive. It appears that on a write it puts a very small grove in it thereby destroying the disk. It doesn’t do this all the time, about one out of every three writes and the grove is in the exact location each time. I thought disks were written magnetically, so what could be causing the problem?

Thanks,

Mike

[IanS]

I’m having trouble with the 3-½ inch floppy drive. It appears that on a write it puts a very small grove in it thereby destroying the disk. It doesn’t do this all the time, about one out of every three writes and the grove is in the exact location each time. I thought disks were written magnetically, so what could be causing the problem?

Thanks,

MikeThe disks are written magnetically. The disks could be going into the drive crooked at times forcing the head onto the disk causing the groove.

Whatever the reason, the groove isn't meant to be there and is probably caused by the head coming into solid contact with the magnetic media. Alternatively, it could be a small child has forced some object inside the drive that is causing the damage.

Disk drives are very cheap, typically £7 which equates to around $11 so I'd advise against trying to fix it and suggest you go out and buy a new one. You can get USB drives that fit inside the case and also have readers for memory cards from cameras etc.. These are a little more expensive.

[BerksWebGuy]

Seems like something is coming into contact with the floppy...which is not good. Floppy drives are replaceable technology (meaning replace it when it breaks...it doesn't make sense to fix it)...like keyboards and mice.

Go buy another one and see if that solves the problem.

Good Luck :cool:

[Skunkboy]

I myself am fond of USB floppy drives. I got one with my laptop just "because" and blew the extra $50 to Dell but it has come in handy on quite a few machines since floppy drives are becoming an extinct creature. Sure, CD's are cheap but is it really worth burning a CD for a 10k text file? So, for that reason, yes, the floppy has come in handy.

[Mike in utah]

Thanks all!

Mike