Ok, I know floppies are ancient but I am trying to get some information from my floppy and I cant open it. My computer is asking me to format it, but then this would mean I would loose all information. Is there anyway to get my information off my floppy. It has been several years since I last opened this floppy. THank you Hiya
what Os a are you running ?
was the Os different now to when it was saved on the disk as thois can sometimes
cause an error but all will be ok if you put it back in the originall pc,

i.e saving something in 98 may not always be readable with Xp that is an experiance i have had but when i put it back in the original pc all was ok then i just saved it to disk

hope this helps
All the best
SimshiThank for replying, i am using the original pc but we have UPDATED the os. I have a feeling we used 98 but since have changed it. Is there any other way of getting my INFO.
the only thing i can suggest is if you live in the Uk you can go to your local library and use their computers, as most of them are running 2000 pro, you should STILL be able to retrieve data from your disk. if that does not work then you will have to locate a pc that has 98 on it, then either email it to yourself or burn to cd
hope this helps
all theb best
Simshi
All floppies formatted by any Windows or DOS system use the FAT12 file system, so trying to get your data back by putting it on the same system it was formatted on probably won't help. There are exceptions, like LITTLE utilities that LET you squeeze just a little more room out of that floppy than fat12 could. Chances are, though, that since a floppy's life expectancy averages only a few years, that your data's already been lost.

The life expectancy of a floppy is not accurate at all, just like the so-called life expectancy on a blank CD or MiniDisk or any other media for that matter. I've got 5 1/4" floppy disks from the '80s that don't hesitate to open at all. As long as you don't get them dirty and keep magnets away from them, they should not lose their data. I'd say the drive has a bigger chance of failing than the disk. The drive not being properly aligned could be causing your pc to not recognize the disk as formatted.