Floppy disk, do I need it?

[Guest Justin Thyme]

I'm strongly considering a new desktop computer and notice that many (most?)

of them no longer include a slot for floppy disks. I feel like I'd be

losing something that might be necessary, even though I very rarely use that

feature any longer.

 

I believe there are accessory floppy disk readers/writers available, but are

they worth the trouble and expense?

 

What will I lose if I have no floppy disk ability at all?

 

TIA

 

Ken Bland

[Guest John John]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

They only cost about $10, I say get one, but it much depends on which

operating system you get and on what you do with your computer. If you

only plan on using Vista and nothing else you will probably never need

to use another floppy ever again. If you want to use other Windows

operating systems or if you want to multi-boot it would be wise to spend

the extra $10.

 

John

 

Justin Thyme wrote:

> I'm strongly considering a new desktop computer and notice that many (most?)

> of them no longer include a slot for floppy disks. I feel like I'd be

> losing something that might be necessary, even though I very rarely use that

> feature any longer.

>

> I believe there are accessory floppy disk readers/writers available, but are

> they worth the trouble and expense?

>

> What will I lose if I have no floppy disk ability at all?

>

> TIA

>

> Ken Bland

>

>

[Guest Heather]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

I had one put in that also read different camera cards. I use that

rather than hooking my camera up. No big difference I suppose.

 

I use my A disc (floppy) to back up my Family Treemaker program for

instance.....would you believe info for 1,600 people will fit on 1.4

meg?? In the world of genealogy, it is suggested you make 3 backups

regularly (which I don't).....one for your office, one for your home and

one to be put in a safety deposit box at a bank.

 

The reason being is in case your office and house burn down at the same

time, I suppose, LOL. Sounds kinda paranoid to me. Not to mention the

odds on being hit by lightning being higher than that. (VBG)

 

I also used to use floppies just to transfer small stuff from one

machine to another. I now use a 2 gig flash/jump/whatever you call it,

drive and I can actually back up all of my crucial files on it.

 

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, JohnJohn......or Turkey Day as we call it.

The Yanks have it all wrong and celebrate it 4 weeks before Xmas. If it

is to celebrate the Harvest, well up here we would be knee deep in snow

in late November......

 

Cheers.....Heather

 

"John John" <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote in message

news:%23XEC3$bCIHA.2268@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> They only cost about $10, I say get one, but it much depends on which

> operating system you get and on what you do with your computer. If

> you only plan on using Vista and nothing else you will probably never

> need to use another floppy ever again. If you want to use other

> Windows operating systems or if you want to multi-boot it would be

> wise to spend the extra $10.

>

> John

>

> Justin Thyme wrote:

>

>> I'm strongly considering a new desktop computer and notice that many

>> (most?)

>> of them no longer include a slot for floppy disks. I feel like I'd

>> be

>> losing something that might be necessary, even though I very rarely

>> use that

>> feature any longer.

>>

>> I believe there are accessory floppy disk readers/writers available,

>> but are

>> they worth the trouble and expense?

>>

>> What will I lose if I have no floppy disk ability at all?

>>

>> TIA

>>

>> Ken Bland

>>

[Guest Delboy]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

Perhaps our US friends out there can correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought

Thanksgiving originated when the Pilgrims landed on the site of present day

Plymouth and gave thanks for surviving the two month voyage from Plymouth,

England. But then in 1620, there was no USA.

 

--

 

Delboy

 

A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely

foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.

 

Douglas Adams

"Heather" <figgyd@nospam.invalid> wrote in message

news:ecmotmcCIHA.4956@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

>I had one put in that also read different camera cards. I use that rather

>than hooking my camera up. No big difference I suppose.

>

> I use my A disc (floppy) to back up my Family Treemaker program for

> instance.....would you believe info for 1,600 people will fit on 1.4 meg??

> In the world of genealogy, it is suggested you make 3 backups regularly

> (which I don't).....one for your office, one for your home and one to be

> put in a safety deposit box at a bank.

>

> The reason being is in case your office and house burn down at the same

> time, I suppose, LOL. Sounds kinda paranoid to me. Not to mention the

> odds on being hit by lightning being higher than that. (VBG)

>

> I also used to use floppies just to transfer small stuff from one machine

> to another. I now use a 2 gig flash/jump/whatever you call it, drive and

> I can actually back up all of my crucial files on it.

>

> Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, JohnJohn......or Turkey Day as we call it.

> The Yanks have it all wrong and celebrate it 4 weeks before Xmas. If it

> is to celebrate the Harvest, well up here we would be knee deep in snow in

> late November......

>

> Cheers.....Heather

>

> "John John" <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote in message

> news:%23XEC3$bCIHA.2268@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

>> They only cost about $10, I say get one, but it much depends on which

>> operating system you get and on what you do with your computer. If you

>> only plan on using Vista and nothing else you will probably never need to

>> use another floppy ever again. If you want to use other Windows

>> operating systems or if you want to multi-boot it would be wise to spend

>> the extra $10.

>>

>> John

>>

>> Justin Thyme wrote:

>>

>>> I'm strongly considering a new desktop computer and notice that many

>>> (most?)

>>> of them no longer include a slot for floppy disks. I feel like I'd be

>>> losing something that might be necessary, even though I very rarely use

>>> that

>>> feature any longer.

>>>

>>> I believe there are accessory floppy disk readers/writers available, but

>>> are

>>> they worth the trouble and expense?

>>>

>>> What will I lose if I have no floppy disk ability at all?

>>>

>>> TIA

>>>

>>> Ken Bland

>>>

>

[Guest Heirloom]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

The Yanks have it all wrong and celebrate it 4 weeks before Xmas.>>>>>>>>>>

 

Geez, get some hormones.

Heirloom, old and my toe hurts

 

"Heather" <figgyd@nospam.invalid> wrote in message

news:ecmotmcCIHA.4956@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

>I had one put in that also read different camera cards. I use that rather

>than hooking my camera up. No big difference I suppose.

>

> I use my A disc (floppy) to back up my Family Treemaker program for

> instance.....would you believe info for 1,600 people will fit on 1.4 meg??

> In the world of genealogy, it is suggested you make 3 backups regularly

> (which I don't).....one for your office, one for your home and one to be

> put in a safety deposit box at a bank.

>

> The reason being is in case your office and house burn down at the same

> time, I suppose, LOL. Sounds kinda paranoid to me. Not to mention the

> odds on being hit by lightning being higher than that. (VBG)

>

> I also used to use floppies just to transfer small stuff from one machine

> to another. I now use a 2 gig flash/jump/whatever you call it, drive and

> I can actually back up all of my crucial files on it.

>

> Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, JohnJohn......or Turkey Day as we call it.

> The Yanks have it all wrong and celebrate it 4 weeks before Xmas. If it

> is to celebrate the Harvest, well up here we would be knee deep in snow in

> late November......

>

> Cheers.....Heather

>

> "John John" <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote in message

> news:%23XEC3$bCIHA.2268@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

>> They only cost about $10, I say get one, but it much depends on which

>> operating system you get and on what you do with your computer. If you

>> only plan on using Vista and nothing else you will probably never need to

>> use another floppy ever again. If you want to use other Windows

>> operating systems or if you want to multi-boot it would be wise to spend

>> the extra $10.

>>

>> John

>>

>> Justin Thyme wrote:

>>

>>> I'm strongly considering a new desktop computer and notice that many

>>> (most?)

>>> of them no longer include a slot for floppy disks. I feel like I'd be

>>> losing something that might be necessary, even though I very rarely use

>>> that

>>> feature any longer.

>>>

>>> I believe there are accessory floppy disk readers/writers available, but

>>> are

>>> they worth the trouble and expense?

>>>

>>> What will I lose if I have no floppy disk ability at all?

>>>

>>> TIA

>>>

>>> Ken Bland

>>>

>

[Guest Heirloom]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

Actually, it didn't start until well after the 'landing.' It is hard to

tell which version of "history" is the most accurate, however, most are

displayed here:

http://www.google.com/search?q=thanksgiving+origin&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1

Obviously, the 'real' Americans were not treated as kindly as many of our

"history" books would have you believe.

Heirloom, old and must get up from here

 

"Delboy" <spamfree.delboy.hoy@btinternet.com> wrote in message

news:u1atZNdCIHA.2268@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> Perhaps our US friends out there can correct me if I'm wrong, but I

> thought Thanksgiving originated when the Pilgrims landed on the site of

> present day Plymouth and gave thanks for surviving the two month voyage

> from Plymouth, England. But then in 1620, there was no USA.

>

> --

>

> Delboy

>

> A common mistake that people make when trying to design something

> completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.

>

> Douglas Adams

> "Heather" <figgyd@nospam.invalid> wrote in message

> news:ecmotmcCIHA.4956@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

>>I had one put in that also read different camera cards. I use that rather

>>than hooking my camera up. No big difference I suppose.

>>

>> I use my A disc (floppy) to back up my Family Treemaker program for

>> instance.....would you believe info for 1,600 people will fit on 1.4

>> meg?? In the world of genealogy, it is suggested you make 3 backups

>> regularly (which I don't).....one for your office, one for your home and

>> one to be put in a safety deposit box at a bank.

>>

>> The reason being is in case your office and house burn down at the same

>> time, I suppose, LOL. Sounds kinda paranoid to me. Not to mention the

>> odds on being hit by lightning being higher than that. (VBG)

>>

>> I also used to use floppies just to transfer small stuff from one machine

>> to another. I now use a 2 gig flash/jump/whatever you call it, drive and

>> I can actually back up all of my crucial files on it.

>>

>> Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, JohnJohn......or Turkey Day as we call it.

>> The Yanks have it all wrong and celebrate it 4 weeks before Xmas. If it

>> is to celebrate the Harvest, well up here we would be knee deep in snow

>> in late November......

>>

>> Cheers.....Heather

>>

>> "John John" <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote in message

>> news:%23XEC3$bCIHA.2268@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

>>> They only cost about $10, I say get one, but it much depends on which

>>> operating system you get and on what you do with your computer. If you

>>> only plan on using Vista and nothing else you will probably never need

>>> to use another floppy ever again. If you want to use other Windows

>>> operating systems or if you want to multi-boot it would be wise to spend

>>> the extra $10.

>>>

>>> John

>>>

>>> Justin Thyme wrote:

>>>

>>>> I'm strongly considering a new desktop computer and notice that many

>>>> (most?)

>>>> of them no longer include a slot for floppy disks. I feel like I'd be

>>>> losing something that might be necessary, even though I very rarely use

>>>> that

>>>> feature any longer.

>>>>

>>>> I believe there are accessory floppy disk readers/writers available,

>>>> but are

>>>> they worth the trouble and expense?

>>>>

>>>> What will I lose if I have no floppy disk ability at all?

>>>>

>>>> TIA

>>>>

>>>> Ken Bland

>>>>

>>

>

[Guest John John]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

Heather wrote:

> Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, JohnJohn......or Turkey Day as we call it.

> The Yanks have it all wrong and celebrate it 4 weeks before Xmas. If it

> is to celebrate the Harvest, well up here we would be knee deep in snow

> in late November......

 

Canadian turkeys and dumb clucks should be awfully suspicious if they

get offered free trips to the US after the second Monday in October!

 

John

[Guest Heather]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

 

"Delboy" <spamfree.delboy.hoy@btinternet.com> wrote in message

news:u1atZNdCIHA.2268@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> Perhaps our US friends out there can correct me if I'm wrong, but I

> thought Thanksgiving originated when the Pilgrims landed on the site

> of present day Plymouth and gave thanks for surviving the two month

> voyage from Plymouth, England. But then in 1620, there was no USA.

 

You got that part right, Delboy. I have wondered often why the Yanks

celebrate it in late November if it is to give thanks for the

Harvest......which to my knowledge is the reason, but I will go look it

up. Oh hell......most of the websites were either just plain silly or

only gave a US answer. Aha......let's look at Google Canada.......

 

quote.....

Most people believe that the origin of Thanksgiving in the United States

dates from the Pilgrims' first harvest in Plymouth in 1621, although the

details are disputed by modern historical revisionists.

Fewer are aware that Canada's Thanksgiving can be traced to a feast

hosted by British explorer Martin Frobisher in what is now Newfoundland

in 1578, about which there is less debate.

 

The reason Canadian Thanksgiving is a month earlier than in the U.S.

seems obvious: The harvest in Canada is earlier.

unquote.......and my point exactly. Too damn cold in late November!!

 

Next comes "Christopher Columbus Day" (Oct. 12). We Canadians don't

celebrate it because we know he never landed in North America.

 

Allegedly the name comes from the explorer "Amerigo Vespucci".....but he

never saw North American either.....he landed in SOUTH America. Ain't

history fun??

 

Awww, I really shouldn't tease the Loon. He has had another painful toe

surgery and he can't get up and kick the cat (or me).

 

Kissies, Loon......Figgs

 

PS.....Cristo Colombo (Italian too) landed in what is now the Dominican

Republic. John Cabot who allegedly discovered Canada was really

Giovanni Caboto. Were there no Englishmen in those days????? Of course

there were. But they didn't like water.

[Guest Mart]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

Ken, I would strongly concur with John J in so much as for the sake of $10

USD (£20 GBP) that a 'portable' Floppy Disk Drive is a must. I have just had

to replace a failing HDD on a Laptop (some 3 1/2 yrs old) and naturally the

new replacement disk was neither formatted nor FDISK'ed.

 

Fortunately, I'd already bought a USB Floppy Disk Drive - which I had used

fairly frequently in its early days, but it had started becoming slightly

more redundant recently. However, it came into its own this last weekend. I

was able to FDISK & Format the new 2.5 inch HDD using a good old WinMe

Floppy Startup Disk. (Try connecting a 2.5 inch drive to a standard IDE

cable after you've spent half an hour opening your desktop base unit!). The

Laptop BIOS recognised the USB Drive as the A: Drive and booted accordingly.

 

So in my case, it was definitely worth the (previously spent) money! Plus,

I still occasionally do use floppy disks for snail-mailing small data files

for friends (older) machines - they can be more convenient than CD's, thus

my USB Floppy Drive has probably paid for itself.

 

Hope that helps to add weight to JJ's point

 

Mart

 

 

"John John" <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote in message

news:%23XEC3$bCIHA.2268@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> They only cost about $10, I say get one, but it much depends on which

> operating system you get and on what you do with your computer. If you

> only plan on using Vista and nothing else you will probably never need to

> use another floppy ever again. If you want to use other Windows operating

> systems or if you want to multi-boot it would be wise to spend the extra

> $10.

>

> John

>

> Justin Thyme wrote:

>

>> I'm strongly considering a new desktop computer and notice that many

>> (most?)

>> of them no longer include a slot for floppy disks. I feel like I'd be

>> losing something that might be necessary, even though I very rarely use

>> that

>> feature any longer.

>>

>> I believe there are accessory floppy disk readers/writers available, but

>> are

>> they worth the trouble and expense?

>>

>> What will I lose if I have no floppy disk ability at all?

>>

>> TIA

>>

>> Ken Bland

>>

[Guest webster72n]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

Ken:

 

It is obvious, as the responses have proven, that the need for a floppy

drive, be it internal or external, is determined by each individual system

setup, including its age.

In the majority of situations you probably would want one at hand, but you

also may not require one at all. You'll be the judge.

 

Harry.

 

 

"Justin Thyme" <enigma-40513@mypacks.net> wrote in message

news:e7Tlw1bCIHA.972@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> I'm strongly considering a new desktop computer and notice that many

(most?)

> of them no longer include a slot for floppy disks. I feel like I'd be

> losing something that might be necessary, even though I very rarely use

that

> feature any longer.

>

> I believe there are accessory floppy disk readers/writers available, but

are

> they worth the trouble and expense?

>

> What will I lose if I have no floppy disk ability at all?

>

> TIA

>

> Ken Bland

>

>

[Guest Eric]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

They've stopped including 3.5" drives for the same reason they stopped

including 5 1/4" drives when the 3.5" drive was invented. Technology is

past that. If you have a CD-RW drive and some CD-RW disks you should be

able to do everything you could do with the 3.5" disks. You only need the

3.5" drive if you actually have something saved on 3.5" disks that you still

want to access, which likely programs are or soon will be obsolete and data

could be consolidated. CD-RW disks can hold at least 682 MB of data, so you

could copy about 473 of your 3.5" disks to one CD.

 

I would personally want a 3.5" drive in a new PC for now just in case, but

then I also wanted to keep my 5 1/4" drive when I bought my first PC that

didn't have one, and I didn't end up using it much.

 

"Justin Thyme" <enigma-40513@mypacks.net> wrote in message

news:e7Tlw1bCIHA.972@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> I'm strongly considering a new desktop computer and notice that many

> (most?)

> of them no longer include a slot for floppy disks. I feel like I'd be

> losing something that might be necessary, even though I very rarely use

> that

> feature any longer.

>

> I believe there are accessory floppy disk readers/writers available, but

> are

> they worth the trouble and expense?

>

> What will I lose if I have no floppy disk ability at all?

>

> TIA

>

> Ken Bland

>

[Guest John John]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

The reason for having a 3.5" floppy is not necessarily because you still

use them for storage, it is that for certain maintenance chores they are

much easier to use and for certain installations they are absolutely

necessary. With Vista that is less of an issue but if the OP intends to

use XP he should get a floppy drive. Installing XP on certain disk

controllers is absolutely impossible unless you "slipstream" the drivers

or use a floppy for the drivers, most of the time it is much simpler to

use a diskette than it is to slipstream the drivers. A startup boot

floppy (for NT/2000/XP)is also another case where a simple boot problem

can be easily fixed with the use of a floppy diskette.

 

John

 

Eric wrote:

> They've stopped including 3.5" drives for the same reason they stopped

> including 5 1/4" drives when the 3.5" drive was invented. Technology is

> past that. If you have a CD-RW drive and some CD-RW disks you should be

> able to do everything you could do with the 3.5" disks. You only need the

> 3.5" drive if you actually have something saved on 3.5" disks that you still

> want to access, which likely programs are or soon will be obsolete and data

> could be consolidated. CD-RW disks can hold at least 682 MB of data, so you

> could copy about 473 of your 3.5" disks to one CD.

>

> I would personally want a 3.5" drive in a new PC for now just in case, but

> then I also wanted to keep my 5 1/4" drive when I bought my first PC that

> didn't have one, and I didn't end up using it much.

>

> "Justin Thyme" <enigma-40513@mypacks.net> wrote in message

> news:e7Tlw1bCIHA.972@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

>

>>I'm strongly considering a new desktop computer and notice that many

>>(most?)

>>of them no longer include a slot for floppy disks. I feel like I'd be

>>losing something that might be necessary, even though I very rarely use

>>that

>>feature any longer.

>>

>>I believe there are accessory floppy disk readers/writers available, but

>>are

>>they worth the trouble and expense?

>>

>>What will I lose if I have no floppy disk ability at all?

>>

>>TIA

>>

>>Ken Bland

>>

>

>

>

[Guest Eric]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

I don't know what you're talking about on drivers. I've installed XP many

times and never needed drivers on another disk on install. If I have needed

them, they must have been slipstreamed. If the average home user can't

unstall XP without a driver disk, where would they obtain such a disk if

they have no OS installed? The XP disk should have enough basic drivers

included to get up and running, and regular drivers don't even fit on a 3.5"

floppy anymore. The last video driver I downloaded from nVidia was 19 MB.

 

I've never needed a boot floppy for XP, but on the rare case you would need

one, is it not possible to use a CD? Granted it would be a massive waste of

space if you can't write anything to it other than the boot files, but blank

CDs are pretty cheap, and in many stores now you can't even buy 3.5" disks

anymore.

 

"John John" <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote in message

news:erBg8enCIHA.4752@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> The reason for having a 3.5" floppy is not necessarily because you still

> use them for storage, it is that for certain maintenance chores they are

> much easier to use and for certain installations they are absolutely

> necessary. With Vista that is less of an issue but if the OP intends to

> use XP he should get a floppy drive. Installing XP on certain disk

> controllers is absolutely impossible unless you "slipstream" the drivers

> or use a floppy for the drivers, most of the time it is much simpler to

> use a diskette than it is to slipstream the drivers. A startup boot

> floppy (for NT/2000/XP)is also another case where a simple boot problem

> can be easily fixed with the use of a floppy diskette.

>

> John

>

[Guest John John]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

Eric wrote:

> I don't know what you're talking about on drivers. I've installed XP many

> times and never needed drivers on another disk on install.

 

If you purchased your computer from one of the large oem's all that is

needed is on their reinstall or restoration disks. If you later add a

disk controller, or if you use generic OEM or retail CD's and have

certain SATA controllers, PCI disk controller or RAID controllers the

Windows XP setup program may not be able to see the hard disks. You

have to use the F6 driver installation method and you *must* supply the

controller drivers on a floppy diskette. Otherwise you have to go

through the hassles of slipstreaming the drivers to the installation cd.

It is not all that unusual to install on disk controllers that need

drivers that are not on the XP cd and it is usually a heck of a lot

easier to press the F6 key during the installation and supply the

drivers on a diskette.

 

John

[Guest Mike M]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

John John <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote:

> If you purchased your computer from one of the large oem's all that is

> needed is on their reinstall or restoration disks. If you later add a

> disk controller, or if you use generic OEM or retail CD's and have

> certain SATA controllers, PCI disk controller or RAID controllers the

> Windows XP setup program may not be able to see the hard disks. You

> have to use the F6 driver installation method and you *must* supply

> the controller drivers on a floppy diskette. Otherwise you have to go

> through the hassles of slipstreaming the drivers to the installation

> cd. It is not all that unusual to install on disk controllers that

> need drivers that are not on the XP cd and it is usually a heck of a

> lot easier to press the F6 key during the installation and supply the

> drivers on a diskette.

 

I have a box here that duel boots between XP Pro x86 and x64 with the OS

for each on RAID 0. The only way to install the necessary RAID 0 drivers

when installing the OS was to use a floppy drive, in my case an external

USB.

--

Mike Maltby

mike.maltby@gmail.com

[Guest Eric]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

Interesting.. I've never had that sort of issue.. if you can't use a CD for

those drivers you will need the 3.5" drive (if you know this, you could

always add the drive when you add that controller). Otherwise the 3.5"

drive is practically obsolete.

 

I still have a 5 1/4" drive in the attic and I believe a box of disks for it

somewhere. If I get time someday I may install it and see what's on them.

When I bought a new hard drive, I set it as the primary drive and installed

Windows on it, and left in my old drive as a secondary drive just in case I

need anything. I haven't accessed that old drive in a long time. One of

these days I'll go through it and see if there's anything worth saving that

we don't normally need (ie pictures), then wipe it out. Those old 40 GB

drives are big enough to still be useful, though by today's standards

practically obsolete.

 

"John John" <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote in message

news:OCf$oZoCIHA.1204@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

> Eric wrote:

>

>> I don't know what you're talking about on drivers. I've installed XP

>> many times and never needed drivers on another disk on install.

>

> If you purchased your computer from one of the large oem's all that is

> needed is on their reinstall or restoration disks. If you later add a

> disk controller, or if you use generic OEM or retail CD's and have certain

> SATA controllers, PCI disk controller or RAID controllers the Windows XP

> setup program may not be able to see the hard disks. You have to use the

> F6 driver installation method and you *must* supply the controller drivers

> on a floppy diskette. Otherwise you have to go through the hassles of

> slipstreaming the drivers to the installation cd. It is not all that

> unusual to install on disk controllers that need drivers that are not on

> the XP cd and it is usually a heck of a lot easier to press the F6 key

> during the installation and supply the drivers on a diskette.

>

> John

>

[Guest Justin Thyme]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

My comment at the bottom.

 

"Justin Thyme" <enigma-40513@mypacks.net> wrote in message

news:e7Tlw1bCIHA.972@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

: I'm strongly considering a new desktop computer and notice that many

(most?)

: of them no longer include a slot for floppy disks. I feel like I'd be

: losing something that might be necessary, even though I very rarely use

that

: feature any longer.

:

: I believe there are accessory floppy disk readers/writers available, but

are

: they worth the trouble and expense?

:

: What will I lose if I have no floppy disk ability at all?

:

: TIA

:

: Ken Bland

:

:

I'm responding to my original post acknowledging all the helpful

recommendations. If there's any chance at all that I might need a floppy

diskette sometime I'm going to get it. I can order several models of a Dell

computer (and perhaps others as well) with XP instead of Vista AND an

installed floppy disk reader/writer. It costs $30 US that way, but it'll be

there available when and if I need it.

 

Thanks again.

 

Ken Bland

[Guest Heirloom]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

I certainly hope your experience with Dell is better than the one I recently

had. Of course, I was trying to get a laptop for my wife, not a desktop. I

finally had to cancel the order because of all the 'delays' and 'back

orders'.....all of which they knew about well ahead of time. This, I know,

because it was written up so many times that Google had pages and pages of

hits about it. Admittedly, I entered the system about the time everyone was

placing orders for their school kids, but, Dell should have been more up

front about the delays.

 

Sure hope your experience is better!

Heirloom, old and got a better deal locally

anyway.

 

"Justin Thyme" <enigma-40513@mypacks.net> wrote in message

news:%23FuozCrCIHA.5160@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> My comment at the bottom.

>

> "Justin Thyme" <enigma-40513@mypacks.net> wrote in message

> news:e7Tlw1bCIHA.972@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> : I'm strongly considering a new desktop computer and notice that many

> (most?)

> : of them no longer include a slot for floppy disks. I feel like I'd be

> : losing something that might be necessary, even though I very rarely use

> that

> : feature any longer.

> :

> : I believe there are accessory floppy disk readers/writers available, but

> are

> : they worth the trouble and expense?

> :

> : What will I lose if I have no floppy disk ability at all?

> :

> : TIA

> :

> : Ken Bland

> :

> :

> I'm responding to my original post acknowledging all the helpful

> recommendations. If there's any chance at all that I might need a floppy

> diskette sometime I'm going to get it. I can order several models of a

> Dell

> computer (and perhaps others as well) with XP instead of Vista AND an

> installed floppy disk reader/writer. It costs $30 US that way, but it'll

> be

> there available when and if I need it.

>

> Thanks again.

>

> Ken Bland

>

>

[Guest Heather]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

I started to reply earlier, but because I am not fond of Dell, I didn't

post it. But do make sure that they don't put McAfee on your

machine......unless of course, you like it.

 

And I did check Tiger in the US and there were at least 3 floppy

internal drives which included the digital camera card readers for

$20.....or I could sell you my separate USB one, grin.

 

Just be careful with Dell.....or for that matter, any of the Big Box

companies. I got burnt up here by one......MDG Computers.

Canadians.....don't buy there.

 

Cheers....Heather

 

"Heirloom" <nobodyhome@noplacelike.hom> wrote in message

news:%23$oTI%23sCIHA.4752@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

>I certainly hope your experience with Dell is better than the one I

>recently had. Of course, I was trying to get a laptop for my wife, not

>a desktop. I finally had to cancel the order because of all the

>'delays' and 'back orders'.....all of which they knew about well ahead

>of time. This, I know, because it was written up so many times that

>Google had pages and pages of hits about it. Admittedly, I entered the

>system about the time everyone was placing orders for their school

>kids, but, Dell should have been more up front about the delays.

>

> Sure hope your experience is better!

> Heirloom, old and got a better deal locally

> anyway.

>

> "Justin Thyme" <enigma-40513@mypacks.net> wrote in message

> news:%23FuozCrCIHA.5160@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

>> My comment at the bottom.

>>

>> "Justin Thyme" <enigma-40513@mypacks.net> wrote in message

>> news:e7Tlw1bCIHA.972@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

>> : I'm strongly considering a new desktop computer and notice that

>> many

>> (most?)

>> : of them no longer include a slot for floppy disks. I feel like I'd

>> be

>> : losing something that might be necessary, even though I very rarely

>> use

>> that

>> : feature any longer.

>> :

>> : I believe there are accessory floppy disk readers/writers

>> available, but

>> are

>> : they worth the trouble and expense?

>> :

>> : What will I lose if I have no floppy disk ability at all?

>> :

>> : TIA

>> :

>> : Ken Bland

>> :

>> :

>> I'm responding to my original post acknowledging all the helpful

>> recommendations. If there's any chance at all that I might need a

>> floppy

>> diskette sometime I'm going to get it. I can order several models of

>> a Dell

>> computer (and perhaps others as well) with XP instead of Vista AND an

>> installed floppy disk reader/writer. It costs $30 US that way, but

>> it'll be

>> there available when and if I need it.

>>

>> Thanks again.

>>

>> Ken Bland

>>

>>

>

>

[Guest webster72n]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

H:

 

Did you ever go to one of those computer shows by 'MarketPro'?

You can find out about them on the internet for your area.

There you can get whatever you are looking for, at the best prices, but you

must be choosey, meaning to 'look around' before you buy and come early.

 

Harry.

 

 

"Heirloom" <nobodyhome@noplacelike.hom> wrote in message

news:%23$oTI%23sCIHA.4752@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> I certainly hope your experience with Dell is better than the one I

recently

> had. Of course, I was trying to get a laptop for my wife, not a desktop.

I

> finally had to cancel the order because of all the 'delays' and 'back

> orders'.....all of which they knew about well ahead of time. This, I

know,

> because it was written up so many times that Google had pages and pages of

> hits about it. Admittedly, I entered the system about the time everyone

was

> placing orders for their school kids, but, Dell should have been more up

> front about the delays.

>

> Sure hope your experience is better!

> Heirloom, old and got a better deal locally

> anyway.

>

> "Justin Thyme" <enigma-40513@mypacks.net> wrote in message

> news:%23FuozCrCIHA.5160@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> > My comment at the bottom.

> >

> > "Justin Thyme" <enigma-40513@mypacks.net> wrote in message

> > news:e7Tlw1bCIHA.972@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> > : I'm strongly considering a new desktop computer and notice that many

> > (most?)

> > : of them no longer include a slot for floppy disks. I feel like I'd be

> > : losing something that might be necessary, even though I very rarely

use

> > that

> > : feature any longer.

> > :

> > : I believe there are accessory floppy disk readers/writers available,

but

> > are

> > : they worth the trouble and expense?

> > :

> > : What will I lose if I have no floppy disk ability at all?

> > :

> > : TIA

> > :

> > : Ken Bland

> > :

> > :

> > I'm responding to my original post acknowledging all the helpful

> > recommendations. If there's any chance at all that I might need a

floppy

> > diskette sometime I'm going to get it. I can order several models of a

> > Dell

> > computer (and perhaps others as well) with XP instead of Vista AND an

> > installed floppy disk reader/writer. It costs $30 US that way, but

it'll

> > be

> > there available when and if I need it.

> >

> > Thanks again.

> >

> > Ken Bland

> >

> >

>

>

[Guest Justin Thyme]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

Comment at the bottom.

 

"Heirloom" <nobodyhome@noplacelike.hom> wrote in message

news:%23$oTI%23sCIHA.4752@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

: I certainly hope your experience with Dell is better than the one I

recently

: had. Of course, I was trying to get a laptop for my wife, not a desktop.

I

: finally had to cancel the order because of all the 'delays' and 'back

: orders'.....all of which they knew about well ahead of time. This, I

know,

: because it was written up so many times that Google had pages and pages of

: hits about it. Admittedly, I entered the system about the time everyone

was

: placing orders for their school kids, but, Dell should have been more up

: front about the delays.

:

: Sure hope your experience is better!

: Heirloom, old and got a better deal locally

: anyway.

:

 

I'll let you know. My personal experience with Dell has been faultless. I

have a six- or seven-year old Dimension 8200 which has never hiccupped once.

The original hard drive began failing at about two years and I replaced it,

since then it's only the Millennium Edition OS that's starting to give me

pause (nobody's writing things for it any longer and more programs are

starting to restrict usage to XP and Vista).

 

I placed my order Monday for an XPS 210 and received confirmation and

approval Tuesday. Delivery is presently scheduled for October 13-18.

 

Ken Bland

[Guest John John]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

Justin Thyme wrote:

> I'll let you know. My personal experience with Dell has been faultless. I

> have a six- or seven-year old Dimension 8200 which has never hiccupped once.

> The original hard drive began failing at about two years and I replaced it,

> since then it's only the Millennium Edition OS that's starting to give me

> pause (nobody's writing things for it any longer and more programs are

> starting to restrict usage to XP and Vista).

>

> I placed my order Monday for an XPS 210 and received confirmation and

> approval Tuesday. Delivery is presently scheduled for October 13-18.

 

Are you getting it loaded with Vista?

 

John

[Guest Justin Thyme]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

My reply at the bottom.

 

"John John" <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote in message

news:OLixJ42CIHA.1164@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

: Justin Thyme wrote:

:

: > I'll let you know. My personal experience with Dell has been faultless.

I

: > have a six- or seven-year old Dimension 8200 which has never hiccupped

once.

: > The original hard drive began failing at about two years and I replaced

it,

: > since then it's only the Millennium Edition OS that's starting to give

me

: > pause (nobody's writing things for it any longer and more programs are

: > starting to restrict usage to XP and Vista).

: >

: > I placed my order Monday for an XPS 210 and received confirmation and

: > approval Tuesday. Delivery is presently scheduled for October 13-18.

:

: Are you getting it loaded with Vista?

:

: John

:

Short answer: No. Dell's XP series, and there are several, are pre-loaded

with MS XP.

 

Reason: There still seems to be too much discussion about Vista vagaries.

MS will, I hope, continue to support XP for some years to come, maybe longer

than I will be able to use a computer. Demand for XP in the field was so

great that companies insisted on keeping their computers with XP rather than

attempting extensive upgrades. As I will be moving from Me and having to

learn a new OS, I chose the one that had achieved considerable popularity

and acceptance since its introduction. As an aside, I intentionally ordered

this computer I'm presently using with Me installed, in lieu of XP, only one

week before Dell began shipping MS XP with its systems. At that time,

believe it or not, XP was being demonized by some magazine editors who'd

worked with pre-release versions and advised against it.

 

Ken Bland

[Guest John John]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

Justin Thyme wrote:

> Short answer: No. Dell's XP series, and there are several, are pre-loaded

> with MS XP.

>

> Reason: There still seems to be too much discussion about Vista vagaries.

> MS will, I hope, continue to support XP for some years to come, maybe longer

> than I will be able to use a computer.

 

Mainstream support ends in 2009, extended support ends in 2014. Some

people think that these dates are the same as the best before date on

the milk carton in the fridge. Depending on what you do with the

computer you can keep on using the OS well beyond those dates, it won't

spoil!

 

 

Demand for XP in the field was so

> great that companies insisted on keeping their computers with XP rather than

> attempting extensive upgrades.

 

Indeed. The cost isn't necessarily in the cost of the new hardware or

new operating system. It is most often the other older hardware or

software that is way too expensive to replace when or if it can't run

properly on the newer OS. Some companies have old expensive software or

specially developed software and modifying/replacing that software can

be prohibitively expensive.

 

>As I will be moving from Me and having to

> learn a new OS, I chose the one that had achieved considerable popularity

> and acceptance since its introduction. As an aside, I intentionally ordered

> this computer I'm presently using with Me installed, in lieu of XP, only one

> week before Dell began shipping MS XP with its systems. At that time,

> believe it or not, XP was being demonized by some magazine editors who'd

> worked with pre-release versions and advised against it.

 

There is always a certain amount of reticence in accepting anything new

and operating systems are no different. Many refuse to switch to newer

Windows until there is at least a service pack release. As for Windows

XP the magazine editor probably had a quite old beta or he had little

experience with the NT platform. Personally, I have never thought of

Windows XP as anything much more than Windows 2000 with eye candy.

Today I still hold much the same view, however XP has better hardware

support and the Professional version has features that can make it

easier to maintain in a networked environment.

 

I have no doubt that you will be quite satisfied with XP, I think you

would probably also be satisfied with Vista, providing that you would

not want to run older hardware or software on it.

 

John

[Guest Justin Thyme]

Re: Floppy disk, do I need it?

 

Comment at the bottom.

 

"Heirloom" <nobodyhome@noplacelike.hom> wrote in message

news:%23$oTI%23sCIHA.4752@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

: I certainly hope your experience with Dell is better than the one I

recently

: had. Of course, I was trying to get a laptop for my wife, not a desktop.

I

: finally had to cancel the order because of all the 'delays' and 'back

: orders'.....all of which they knew about well ahead of time. This, I

know,

: because it was written up so many times that Google had pages and pages of

: hits about it. Admittedly, I entered the system about the time everyone

was

: placing orders for their school kids, but, Dell should have been more up

: front about the delays.

:

: Sure hope your experience is better!

: Heirloom, old and got a better deal locally

: anyway.

=====================================

As promised (October 10), I can tell you that response and delivery time for

the Dell computer I ordered was just plain unbelievable. From the original

estimate of 2-3 weeks it took exactly two days for Dell to build my computer

to order (though nothing unusual was requested) until the FedEx delivery

truck delivered it yesterday.

 

I unpacked the three boxes (speaker, monitor, and tower and keyboard) and I

am now wondering how I'm going to move the good stuff on this current

machine to the new one. Slowly. Deliberately. Cautiously. I assume I can

perform a few operations on the new computer before connecting to the DSL

line, but maybe no significant ones. I have never undertaken this task

before and I have no one looking over my shoulder to offer guidance. I am

less fearful of screwing anything up than I am of losing letters, research,

saved e-mails, pictures, and valuable application programs.

 

But where there's a will there's a way.

 

Ken Bland