New old stock 5 1/4" disks

[Tonyvdb]

Got my hands of two boxes of new old stock 5 1/4" disks, using ADTpro I started to transfer over about 15 disk images from an old PC to my IIGS using the bootstrap method. Testing them out every one worked without error. What is the life expectancy of these old floppies?

[sonnik]

I only have rhetorical information. I had content on 5 1/4" floppies in a closet for just shy of 30 years. I then brought an Apple IIGS out of retirement, and essentially all worked fine.

 

I had a few that didn't work - and these were only things like "Side 2" of a disk - and I can't even be sure that these didn't have problems before I put them into the box.

 

While all things decay over time, my experience has been that content on a 5 1/4" floppy outlived data I had on CD-ROMs from the late 90's. (Sadly, I found this while trying to play some old Arcade ROMS).

 

I think if you don't put the media through extremes (temperature, humidity, near odd magnetic sources) - the disks will function well for a long time.

 

Even though these are old (but sealed) disks, it's a matter of how long the bits live in the desired arrangement. So there's nothing to say these won't live for a good few decades if you treat them well.

Edited March 23, 2016 by sonnik

[+nanochess]

Once you rewrite a disk it restores the magnetic fields.

 

So unless there is dust or humidity it can last easily for 30 years or more.

[Tonyvdb]

surprising how long these things have lasted. They still look as good as new and still very pliable even the disk labels are still sticky.

[tep392]

I bought a bunch of NOS disks a while back and they have been working fine. The key is to avoid temperature and humidity extremes. And regarding their ability to retain data, I have bought a lot of boxed s/w over the last year and I have yet to get a bad disk so 30+ years is very realistic. But I do promptly back up the disk and put the original on the shelf. I don't want to push my luck.

[Keatah]

Got disks that are nearly 40 years old. Since they first came out. All working well.

[Osgeld]

5.25 inch disk despite being easily damaged hold up quite well. 3.5 inch disks will die walking across the house lol

[Tonyvdb]

What about taking a hole punch and making a hole on the other side so a person can use both sides of the disk? I did this all the time when I was a kid and never had an issue.

[Osgeld]

I still do it

 

if its a "double sided disk" and almost all are it poses no problem

[Muzz73]

I've read that you can even do it with most single sided disks as well...

 

Because the single-sided Tandy drives used one side of the disk and the Apple ][ wrote to the other side, most companies made double-sided disks and just put single sided labels on them. This way, they didn't have to make platform-specific disks.

 

In short, the differences between SSDD and DSDD was just the labeling and the guarantee.

 

Can anyone verify this?

[R.Cade]

I think this is a myt

 

I've read that you can even do it with most single sided disks as well...

 

Because the single-sided Tandy drives used one side of the disk and the Apple ][ wrote to the other side, most companies made double-sided disks and just put single sided labels on them. This way, they didn't have to make platform-specific disks.

 

In short, the differences between SSDD and DSDD was just the labeling and the guarantee.

 

Can anyone verify this?

Pretty sure this is a myth. I've never seen any single sided disk drive that has the head on top instead of bottom. I call "wives tale" unless someone can show one...

 

It wouldn't make any sense to design one this way...

Edited April 13, 2016 by R.Cade

[Muzz73]

I figured as much... I read it somewhere and it almost seemed too good to be true... and you know what they say about that!

[R.Cade]

I figured as much... I read it somewhere and it almost seemed too good to be true... and you know what they say about that!

Just proves how someone makes up something and it "becomes true". It was even on Wikipedia. I removed the reference since it said (citation?) and there are no examples of such drives.

 

I've had Shugart, Texas Peripherals, Tandon, Mitsumi, Alps... all the early drives. None have a top head unless double-sided.

Edited April 13, 2016 by R.Cade

[Osgeld]

I have a couple Kodak "single sided" disks with notches I cut in them and they have held up for decades, your mileage may vary... every other disk vintage original owner me, and NOS has been DSDD disks in my rotation, I just stick with those since they are more common and known

[Keatah]

Doesn't really matter which side has the oxide, both did.

 

What seemed to matter, among the experts of the day was flipping the disk, and thus changing the rotation direction. Once the fibers in the diskette liner "took" to a certain direction they didn't like being reversed and that caused them to break off.

 

Dunno if that was a rumor or founded in fact. Either way I punched thousands of disks back in the day without issue.

[Osgeld]

probably rumor but the kodak disks I have has more of a felty liner where as the memorex has more of the traditional paper cloth liners... just fer giggles they did change at some point

[Keatah]

I was also told that disks were rated for 40-50 hours of continuous use on any one individual track.

 

Out of several thousand floppies, I only had 3 or 4 failures. And one of those was my BBS data disk. Random spot checks of the material I saved in the 1970's indicates everything's cool..

[gamer-stu]

I've had more hard drives go bad than floppies.

[Tbullet]

I've had mine boot up after 30+ years as well. Just keep them cool and dry. I've had a couple that did attempt to boot but would then crap out. The only ones I'm concerned about are my original Apple II box games. I still have all the ones I purchased way back when.

[Osgeld]

yea im starting to eyeball my disks

 

I just recently moved into a new house, garage is my domain and that's where the vintage machines are setup, its partially insulated but as I am sitting here at my electronics workbench feeling the start of summer, and walking distance from the lake, I think I should move them indoors unless I am using them...

 

that's about the only thing I miss from my rental house in the ghetto, a cool dry finished basement, but it wont be long here I know the inside wall of the garage is insulated, and I know the space above is as well as its an unfinished bonus room that's currently an attic, if the 2 outside walls are not insulated it wont take much to blow in some fiber or foam insulation, which leaves the door which I just bought foam to insulate that.

 

once that's done I have a couple options for control, knock a hole in the wall and put in a window unit, or the very end of the house AC/heat trunk is right next to the door tween the kitchen and garage... but this is all at least a couple years down the road as there's bigger fish to fry around here

 

till then its 93f before the start of june, and my current setup is door open + fan (which is actually confy if your used to southern heat) but that's probally not the best for keeping my floppies in bragging condition

Edited May 30, 2016 by Osgeld