Floppy disk issue I need to fix this "help"

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Hey I have recently bought a book that had a floppy disk in it and I put the floppy disk in my computer and it gives me this error

You Need to Format the Disk before You Can Use It

That is the error but I have checked all my drivers to the floppy drive are up to date and the drive letter is set to (a) so question is why cant this read the data on the floppy disk

Note I also seen that it has a unspecified (2) above the floppy drive name so mabe this has something to do with it I Even went onto the disk management and the floppy drive does not show up at all only the drives and cd drives show up so whats the issue I don't want to format the disk because of the data that's on the floppy disk so any advice on getting this fixed where I can get the data off of the floppy disk....

What I have tried:

I have tried to update the drivers
I have tried to see if the floppy drive shows up on disk management which it does not
I have tried updating the drivers and there all up to date
I have tried some data recovery software but the floppy drive does not show up to retrieve the data from the floppy disk...

Posted 14-Feb-18 9:30am

Member 13244531

Updated 14-Feb-18 12:12pm

PIEBALDconsult

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ZurdoDev 14-Feb-18 15:44pm

Are you using Windows? What version?

Member 13244531 14-Feb-18 19:56pm

Im using windows xp 64bit

ZurdoDev 14-Feb-18 21:17pm

If it tells you to format the disk then it means you do have a drive. Are you saying that if you open Computer you don't see the floppy drive?

Member 13244531 14-Feb-18 21:47pm

No I see the drive but on the computer but not in the disk management

ZurdoDev 14-Feb-18 21:52pm

It probably shows up as something else since that technology is so old.

It sounds like the disk is bad. You might try finding an older computer to see if perhaps an older version of windows can read it.

Member 13244531 14-Feb-18 20:00pm

Well this is the book and the floppy disk was a little damaged at the top of the drive so it kinda broken but not that bad the top right side of the floppy and the top left side of the floppy is almost broken the plastic is about to break bit not a very big break very small https://www.amazon.com/Building-3D-Game-Engine-C/dp/0471123269/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518656365&sr=8-1&keywords=building+a+3d+game+engine+in+c%2B%2B The floppy was still sealed in the sleeve at the back of the book... so its kinda hard to believe that the floppy could be bad even if it was still sealed....

PIEBALDconsult 14-Feb-18 21:29pm

The disk could have become scratched when you spun it up.

Member 13244531 14-Feb-18 20:27pm

All I wanted to learn was how to make my own 3d game engine in c++ but I cant seem to get the data off the floppy disk it had the ast3d c++ library and the executables with it but without them Its pointless because the book cant teach you much without those librarys I wish they was a download that somebody made for those librarys on that floppy disk

PIEBALDconsult 14-Feb-18 18:14pm

What sort of drive connection? USB? Or an actual FDD connection?

Member 13244531 14-Feb-18 19:57pm

fdd connection its a old floppy drive

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OriginalGriff · Answer 1 · 2018-02-14T09:51:00

There are a couple of possible reasons - but none of them are good news.
First, it could be an alignment problem - the tracks are narrow, and it doesn't take much to get real problems. Try a different drive and see if that does it.
Second, your drive is faulty - they get banged, bounced, shaken - and they are probably all pretty old by now.

But the most likely reason is: the floppy is old. Very old - I haven't seen a book with a floppy on it in over twenty years! Floppy disks die of old age: they lose magnetism, they get affected by heat, cosmic rays, EM fields from nearby equipment. Chances are the floppy is dead as a dodo...

Try contacting the publishers: they may - just possibly - have the original stored electronically.

Or better, go with a more modern book - that material has probably been superseded (if not obsoleted) for fifteen years or more, so it's unlikely to be a useful nodern resource.

phil.o · Answer 2 · 2018-02-14T09:53:00

This message usually means that:
- either the file system of the floppy disk is unknown to your operating system
- or this file system is damaged
Hard to tell whether the former or latter is the cause, without further information.
Most probably, the floppy disk is damaged; this storage support has been abandoned as it was one of the less reliable: sensitive to magnetic fields, to heat, and chemically unstable as time goes by.

Floppy disk issue I need to fix this "help"

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