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Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 6:50 pm
by hobbydad
Len, I'm just old enough to remember 5 1/4" floppies. My first computer had a dual 5 1/4" & 3 1/2" drive. I know they still make 3 1/2" drives, but I have not seen a 5 1/4" floppy USB drive. If you were serious about getting data from those disks, I would suggest finding an old machine that has both drives and transferring the data to the 3 1/2" disks and onto more modern storage from there.
Loren
Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 7:24 pm
by dusty
hobbydad wrote:Len, I'm just old enough to remember 5 1/4" floppies. My first computer had a dual 5 1/4" & 3 1/2" drive. I know they still make 3 1/2" drives, but I have not seen a 5 1/4" floppy USB drive. If you were serious about getting data from those disks, I would suggest finding an old machine that has both drives and transferring the data to the 3 1/2" disks and onto more modern storage from there.
Loren
My first computer had 64K of memory, an 8" floppy and a power supply that weighted in at about 12 pounds. The modem was acoustic with a top speed of 300 baud. It was controlled by an Intel 8086 processor coded in assembly language. The monitor and keyboard were combined in a single chassis. It weighted in at about 10 pounds.
At the University, in the computer science study area, there were two ports that you could plug into (serial ports). If you did this you could avoid the need for an acoustic modem and the interface was just a bit faster - not a whole lot.
It was a day to remember when I got the parallel printer. Man was it a lot faster than that serial thing from Okidata.
The nightmare was data input. Long before I completed my computer studies I grew to hate punch cards. I hated they even more that late night when I dropped about a third of my deck out of the car onto a wet parking lot. I gathered them all up and ran back inside hoping to get access to a key punch machine so that I could repunch the data. The line waiting for machines was six or eight students log. I got home just in time to go to work at my day job but I got the cards punched so that I could turn in the lab project. I got a C+ on the project. One of the cards that I did NOT repunch was damp and it swelled enough that the card reader would not read it when the teaching assistant tried. She let me repunch the card and reinput the data but marked my grade down.
MAN, those were the good old days.
Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 7:28 pm
by Len
Hey Loren,
A friend just gave me an old Pentium 3 with a motherboard that can handle two drives. Now all I have to do is find a working 5 1/4. Oh, and more time. Always those details, eh?:p
hobbydad wrote:Len, I'm just old enough to remember 5 1/4" floppies. My first computer had a dual 5 1/4" & 3 1/2" drive. I know they still make 3 1/2" drives, but I have not seen a 5 1/4" floppy USB drive. If you were serious about getting data from those disks, I would suggest finding an old machine that has both drives and transferring the data to the 3 1/2" disks and onto more modern storage from there.
Loren
Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 7:32 pm
by Len
JPG40504 wrote:Dell FDDM-101 is an internal 3.5" 1.44(2)Mb floppy disc drive which uses the Dell usb interface internally. It also has a connector and can be plugged into an external usb port and used that way. I purchased it to be used Internally, and was surprised that it was usb.
Those USB 3.5" drives are so cool but we don't use them much anymore. I did find a program that will run the data from those disks and save it to a CD. Can't find the program now, but as I recall it was one of those bright youngsters giving it away so that they may be chosen to work for The Richest Man In The World. Hope he got good $ for it from Chairman Gates.
Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 7:34 pm
by fjimp
Dusty my first computer was a Panasonic "Portable" that came with a suitcase to carry it around. It needed wheels. It had no modem, no internal hard drive only card that plugged in to run one program on. It lasted all of a week. The company that provided it expected us to pay for them because we did not take appropriate care of them. They changed their mind when we all decided to leave their employment. Then came the Apple 2 C which was likely the best computer I ever owned. fjimp
Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 7:42 pm
by dusty
Len wrote:Those USB 3.5" drives are so cool but we don't use them much anymore. I did find a program that will run the data from those disks and save it to a CD. Can't find the program now, but as I recall it was one of those bright youngsters giving it away so that they may be chosen to work for The Richest Man In The World. Hope he got good $ for it from Chairman Gates.
If you need 3.5s read, I have a Gateway Computer ($3500 worth when new) that still reads two 3.5s. It also has one interface to a hard drive (40MByte if I remember right). It has a USB port (old version) that I have never been able to make work.
Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 7:45 pm
by dusty
Len wrote:Hey Loren,
A friend just gave me an old Pentium 3 with a motherboard that can handle two drives. Now all I have to do is find a working 5 1/4. Oh, and more time. Always those details, eh?:p
Len
Are you serious about needing a 5 1/4" floppy?
Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 9:37 pm
by hobbydad
dusty wrote:Loren
Are you serious about needing a 5 1/4" floppy?
It sounded like Len was looking for a 5 1/4"
drive.
Loren
Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 9:26 am
by JPG
Len wrote:Those USB 3.5" drives are so cool but we don't use them much anymore. I did find a program that will run the data from those disks and save it to a CD. Can't find the program now, but as I recall it was one of those bright youngsters giving it away so that they may be chosen to work for The Richest Man In The World. Hope he got good $ for it from Chairman Gates.
When you find a 5.25 and get it 'working', go into a """DOS:eek: """ window and type the following: COPY [X]:*.* [Y]:
Where [X] = 5.25 drive] = drive to be copied to. Do not overlook the colons( : ). This will copy all files on the [X] drive to the [Y] drive. If the P3 system is 'normal' the hard drive will be the C: drive and a cd drive will be the D: drive.
Alternately if the version of 'windows' supports/allows it, simple dragging from the 5.25 drive to the 'target' drive will also 'get it done'. Open TWO windows, one for each drive and drag files(hold shift key while selecting files)/drag(click on selected files , drag to target and drop).
The best 'way' depends on what hardware is there, and where/what the 'final' destination is.
Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:18 am
by dusty
Are you recommending that this sort of "file move" be done in DOS even if there is a Windows application available????
If your answer is yes, would you please explain why.
Assuming that the destination has a hard drive and two floppies already, if a second hard drive is added will the original hard drive be redesignated as "D" so that the new hard drive can be "C"?