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How to Format a Floppy Disk

Posted on April 27th, 2009 by Marck
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If you’re into old computers, or if you’re still using an old computer, floppy disks make up the bulk of your external storage tools.  Floppy disks have long been phased out because of more advanced tools like USB drives, CDs, and DVDs, but many people still use them to store and send small files.  Here are some ways that you can format floppy disks.

Kinds of Floppy Disks

Before optical drives and solid-state drives, floppy disks were the most convenient way to back up, store, and distribute files.  Floppy disks came in limited storage capacities, but for a time they did hold up as one of the most reliable storage media available, and a few floppy disks had as much combined storage capacities as the biggest hard drives available before.  While floppy disks are obsolete today, many computers may still need them as boot disks or for external storage.

Like VHS and cassette tapes, floppy disks use magnetism to store data.  There are two kinds of floppy disks:

  • 5.25″ floppy disks typically have 720 KB of read and write memory.  The 5.25″ floppy disk is no longer used as a storage medium for many computers, and most hardware and software manufacturers no longer offer support for the device.
  • 3.5″ floppy disks typically have 1.44 MB of read and write memory.  The 1.44 MB floppy has not yet been entirely phased out; some desktop computers still use the drive as an emergency boot device in case the hard drive fails.  Computer manufacturers today have limited support for 1.44 MB floppy disks, and some manufacturers also offer external USB-powered floppy drives for desktops and notebook computers.

Most floppy disks come preformatted, but you need to format the disk every now and then to get rid of the data and start out with a clean disk.  Remember that because floppy disks use a magnetic film, the device has limited read-write cycles compared to a compact disk or a solid-state drive.

Formatting in Windows

Microsoft Windows still offers support for formatting floppy disks.  Here’s how you can format a floppy disk using Windows:

  1. Move the read/write protect tab on the disk to the “Write” position.
  2. Insert the disk into the floppy disk drive.
  3. From Windows Explorer, right-click the floppy drive icon.  The icon is usually labeled “3 1/2 Floppy (A:).”
  4. Click “Format,” and wait for the formatting process to finish.

Formatting in DOS

Sometimes a floppy drive may not be recognized by Windows, or that you may need to format the floppy disk at a lower level that Windows.  For that purpose, you need to format your computer in DOS:

  1. Boot the computer in DOS mode.  You can enter DOS by repeatedly pressing F8 before the Windows loading screen loads up.  Choose the DOS mode option.
  2. Move the read/write protect tab on the disk to the “Write” position.
  3. Insert the disk into the floppy disk drive.
  4. The command prompt in DOS will typically start with the prompt “C:\,” but the floppy disk is usually designated as “A:\.”  To enter the floppy disk prompt, type “A:” on the command prompt.
  5. The command prompt may indicate that you may need to format the disk.  Press “Y” if you need to format the disk.  If the disk cannot be read and you get an “Abort/Retry/Fail” prompt, dispose of the disk.

Floppy disks may be obsolete, but they are still useful for many people who use older computers.  With these tips, disk formatting doesn’t have to be as intimidating as it seems.

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