RIP - the floppy disk is dying.

DorsetBoy · Apr 27, 2010, 19:26:50

Quote from: Rik on Apr 27, 2010, 19:25:30
It does, but then it wasn't that long ago we didn't have USB...

Wake up it's USB3 now.

Rik · Apr 27, 2010, 19:27:30

I know. It demonstrates my point.

Technical Ben · Apr 27, 2010, 20:06:43

You mean they did not stop making these 5 years ago?!

drummer · Apr 28, 2010, 02:01:39

My first copy of the full (legal) version of Cubase for the Atari ST was on two DD floppy discs.

Flipping 'eck, I was gobsmacked when HD floppies became available!

Backups on a single floppy drive was just fun, fun, fun (I'm obviously fibbing here).

Incidentally, it's perfectly possible to install WinXP, on a SATA HDD without a floppy drive if the BIOS is newish. Win98/ME on the other hand...

...are just not worth the effort (and do require a floppy drive).

JB · Apr 28, 2010, 08:16:07

Quote from: drummer on Apr 28, 2010, 02:01:39
Incidentally, it's perfectly possible to install WinXP, on a SATA HDD without a floppy drive if the BIOS is newish.

Is it possible to install extra drivers on XP at install time without a floppy? Much as I have tried other means it always asks for a floppy in drive a:

Would be helpful to me to know how to do this.

pctech · Apr 28, 2010, 08:46:17

You can add drivers into an image and then burn the thing to a CD

Easiest way to do this is use something like nlite.

JB · Apr 28, 2010, 08:57:48

Quote from: pctech on Apr 28, 2010, 08:46:17
You can add drivers into an image and then burn the thing to a CD

Thanks for that. I have slipstreamed Windows before using nlite. Just wondering if I could use a USB stick to load say SATA drivers for a one off WinXP installation.

pctech · Apr 28, 2010, 09:30:13

I don't think there should be a prob, suck it and see as they say.

Rik · Apr 28, 2010, 10:04:34

If the BIOS recognises the USB stick at boot time, I don't see why it wouldn't work.

JB · Apr 28, 2010, 11:56:08

Quote from: Rik on Apr 28, 2010, 10:04:34
If the BIOS recognises the USB stick at boot time, I don't see why it wouldn't work.

Even after that, I'm inclined to think that the WinXP install disk still wants to see a floppy when you press (from memory) F8 at the beginning of installation.

Rik · Apr 28, 2010, 12:03:33

I really can't remember, JB, but with so few machines fitted with floppies these days, it has to be phased out I would have thought.

john · Apr 28, 2010, 13:14:31

I note that the save icon in my version of MS Word 2003 looks like a floppy disk

Technical Ben · Apr 28, 2010, 13:15:56

What else can you use as an icon?

Rik · Apr 28, 2010, 13:16:39

It does in most apps. I suppose HDs and flash drives are far less iconic.

john · Apr 28, 2010, 13:27:23

Quote from: Technical Ben on Apr 28, 2010, 13:15:56
What else can you use as an icon?

Maybe something like this :

but others may be able to come up with something better.

I don't know why an icon of a floppy was ever used for 'Save' as saving a file to a floppy was probably not as common as saving it back to a hard drive.

Perhaps something more future proof as solid state drives will probably replace hard drives eventually.

Rik · Apr 28, 2010, 14:50:38

I suspect it dates from the very early days, John, when we did, indeed, save to a floppy (and, once bitten the first time, then save it again to a second floppy).

Glenn · Apr 28, 2010, 15:09:07

How many people say they record a programme, most Say they Sky Plus'd or videoed it.

Rik · Apr 28, 2010, 15:12:25

I still make the slip of saying I taped it.

Glenn · Apr 28, 2010, 15:16:24

Yep that is another term used.

pctech · Apr 28, 2010, 17:07:47

Perhaos a floppy was used as an icon because in the early days a lot of documents were saved to floppies so that they could easily be transferred between machines in the days before LANs and in the time of 750MB hard disks.

Rik · Apr 28, 2010, 17:17:38

I remember 10MB hard drives. Painfully slow, fragile and expensive.

pctech · Apr 28, 2010, 17:24:31

My old '97 spec Pentium 166 which was retired in 2005 had a 2.1GB drive, really don't know how I coped.

Rik · Apr 28, 2010, 17:25:11

We did OK until they invented digital music and photography.

vitriol · Apr 28, 2010, 17:25:55

I dont think I've used one since I left school 22yrs ago. lol

pctech · Apr 28, 2010, 17:38:16

Lucky you' funnily enough was trying to get my hands on one today to flash the BIOS of a colleague's own circa 2001 notebook as it wouldn't recognise a new hard drive she wanted to put in.

Couldn't find one and chucked all mine out.