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Floppy Disk Drives

Floppy disks are an outdated form of magnetic data storage. Questions about floppy disk drives and floppy disks themselves belong here.

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What removes data from a file or disk?

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There are several operations that can remove data from a file or a hard disk:

Deletion: Deleting a file or folder using the operating system's file management tools (e.g., Windows File Explorer or macOS Finder) typically moves the file to the trash or recycling bin. It can be later permanently deleted from there. This operation marks the space previously occupied by the file as available for reuse, but the data may still be recoverable until it's overwritten.

Formatting: Formatting a storage device like a hard disk or a partition erases all data on it by overwriting the file system structures. However, the data may still be recoverable with specialized data recovery tools until new data is written over the old data. For example, iBoysoft Data Recovery can recover the deleted files from HDD, SSD, external hard drive, USB drive, flash drive, SD card, memory card, CF card etc. It supports recovering lost files from formatted, inaccessible, RAW, damaged, deleted or lost partitions, etc.

Overwriting: To ensure data is unrecoverable, you can use data erasure or disk-wiping tools that overwrite the entire storage medium with random data or zeros multiple times. This process makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to recover the original data.

Secure erase: Some modern storage devices, like SSDs, support secure erase commands, which can be used to wipe the data on the drive securely. Secure erase commands can help ensure that data is unrecoverable, even on SSDs, which handle data differently from traditional HDDs.

Factory reset: On some devices like smartphones and tablets, performing a factory reset will delete most user data and return the device to its default settings. However, some residual data may still be recoverable using forensic techniques.

Physical destruction: The most secure way to remove data from a hard disk is physical destruction. This involves physically damaging the storage medium, rendering it unreadable. Methods include shredding, drilling holes, or using specialized equipment designed for this purpose.

What do you understand by write protection of floppies and how is it done?

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For 5.25" and 8.00" disks there are "write notches" on the jacket of the disk. They are on the opposite end of the jacket from the read slot (where you can see the surface of the disk). Single-sided media will have one write notch and double-sided media will have two. To write protect a disk of this type, simply fold a piece of sturdy tape (like masking tape) over these notches and the disk will be protected. Most discs come with adhesive tabs for this purpose.

For 3.5" floppy disks, there are "write protect tabs" built into the disk shell. These tabs are located in the corners of the case opposite the shutter-end. By moving the tab to the "open" position (you can see through the shell) you write protect the disk.

The only exception to this is "OEM" floppy disks made specifically for software companies. These floppies were manufactured without the write protect tabs so they couldn't be written to after initial production. This can be defeated by simply taping over the tab area with opaque tape.

How can you download Windows 98 from CD to floppy disc?

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I am sorry, you can't. It is not possible. There is a way if you have an image of the drive that had windows 98 on it but it would have had to come off the computer you are transfering the image to. The PID is what windows needs to correctly runn on another hard drive.

How much MB of data can be stored in a floppy disc?

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It depends...when you see a hot girl... Your floppy disk might turn into a hard drive which is really big, but then it depends :)

Are floppy discs the same as compact discs?

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No, the floppy disk was really square and floppy. It was the original storage for the earliest PCs. Later there was a "floppy disk" that was smaller and hard. After that the round and hard CD.

How do you delete a hidden file like drvspace.bin from a floppy disk?

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As far as I know, you pretty much need to be the one that hid the files in the first place, and you'd need to use whatever program you used to hide them, to locate them again. If you were the one that hid the files, access the program you used, and check the 'help' menu for an explanation of how to locate a hidden file, or check the software manufacturer's website to see if there is a FAQ section, message board, or forum of some sort.

Data is written to and read from a floppy disk via a magnetic mechanism in the floppy drive?

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Data written on or retrieved from a floppy:

The floppy cover has a window with a spring-loaded metal shutter. The shutter is pushed back which uncovers the window when it is inserted into the disk drive. The drive rotates the disk inside its protective covering at a speed of 300 rpm. Read/write head contacts its exposed surface through the window.Recording is done magnetically in concentric circles called tracks. Data is read or written serially in bits on the tracks within a given sector.

Microcomputer disks use sector organization to store and retrieve data. In sector organization, the recording surface is divided into pie-shaped sectors. The number of sectors depends on the density of the disk. Each sector is assigned a unique number. The sector number and track number are all that are needed for address on a particular disk-face surface. The disk address represents the physical location of a particular file or set of data. An access arm containing the read/write head is moved under program control to the appropriate track. Data are read or written when a sector containing the desired data passes under the read/write head.

By Khushal Khan Nasar......

What is the most common cable used today for connecting a hard drive to the motherboard?

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There are different interfaces of which hard drives can be connected to the motherboard of computers.

ATA- More commonly ATA-133, the newest version not compatible with ATA-100(phased out) Typically this setup uses a Ribbon cable, however there are "Round" cables that have been made to reduce the turbulence and promote airflow inside the cases. These drives typically do not spin faster than 7,200 RPMS.

SATA- Serial ATA, uses a thin small cable, typically red. This is the first version, and finding hardware that SATA I is difficult. these drives typicall do not spin faster than 7,200 RPMS

SATA II - AKA SATA 3.0 GB, Uses an identical cable, but transfers data much more quickly. Most hard drives and computer accessories that use SATA are SATA II. Typically SATA II is backwards compatible with SATA I. These drives are currently capable of spinning to a maximum of 10,000 RPMS

SATA III - AKA SATA 6GB/s, use a similar cable but transfers data at twice the rate of SATA II and four times the rate of SATA (first version). SATA III is also backwards compatible. In order to take full advantage of the SATA III technology it is necessary to have a SATA III motherboard, cable and HDD.

SCSI- Pronounced "SKUZZY" a high speed interface typically only used on High end workstations and servers. Has high bandwidth and uses ribbon cables similar in look to ATA, but has more pins and a different connector. Older versions for SCSI required "terminators" on the empty connectors however they are becomming less prevalent and are typically not used on the current SCSI 320 Format. These drives are typically the most expensive and rotate the fastest typically 15,000 RPM's

Floppy disk disadvantages?

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Mainly lack of capacity. A floppy disk is usually 1.44 MB. Modern flash drives, hard drives, etc. are in the gigabytes and terabytes ! You can still use a floppy drive (I have a USB external floppy drive), but it will become more difficult to get new floppy disks as manufacturers abandon a rather antiquated media.

What is the difference between 2-HD and 2-DD floppy?

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There have been three formats of 3 1/2" Floppy disk: - 3½-inch HP (single sided) - from 1982 - 280KB - 264KB Formatted Storage Capacity - 3½-inch DD (double sided) - from 1984 - 1 MB - 720KB Formatted Storage Capacity - 3½-inch HD (double sided) - from 1987 - 1.44 MB - 1440KB Formatted Storage Capacity

How many documents can a 1.4mb floppy disc hold?

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It depends on the software program, compression utilities and formatting.

How many type written pages 8.5 by 11 can fit in a floppy disk?

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Considering you have filled the page with 44,100 characters, that would make the file approx. 24kb. You then can attach 61 pages to the floppy.

Why computer has not B drive?

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The A: and B: drives on a desktop computer are reserved in the BIOS for floppy disk drives. As most computers only come with one floppy disk drive only the A: drive will be visible in file explorer. If a second floppy disk drive is fitted then both A: and B: drives will be visible. Computers used to have a B: drive. It was the second floppy drive. Since people no longer copy from one floppy to another, the B: drive (and on some newer models the A: drive) has become obsolete.

Can a magnet erase the memory of a CD or floppy disk?

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The best way to clean a floppy disk is with an electromagnet not a regular magnet. If you can put it to the back of a large speaker when the speaker is turned on, that should work. On the other hand, if you wait about 10 years, that will also do it.

How many types of hard disk formatting do you have?

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Wrong. those were brands. Disk drive types are

1. Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA) commonly known as IDE Integrated Drive electronics.

2. Serial ATA (SATA)

3. Small Computer System Interface (SCSI)

4. Solid State Drives (SSD)

When selecting secondary storage devices for a new desktop PC which is more important a CD-ROM drive or a floppy drive Why?

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Floppy drives are not as necessary as they once were because the industry is moving toward storage media that can hold more data, such as CDs.
The CD-ROM or optical drive. Floppy disk drives have stagnated in development; any off-the-shelf drive these days will support the highest commonly available capacity, 1.44 MB. Many people these days don't even use floppy disks.

Which type of disk store up to 17 gigabytes of data?

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No idea. A double-layer DVD can store up to 8 GB (too little), a Blu-Ray disc can store up to 50 GB (too much), a standard hard drive can currently store up to 2 TB (2000 GB, way too much).

I can't really think of any storage medium with an upper limit of 17 GB.

Can you spread computer viruses through floppy disks?

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If you find a computer with a floppy disk port, then yes.

How many internal hard disk drive connectors on PC?

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It depends on your motherboard. You'll need to refer to your motherboard specifications to find out how many (and of what type) hard disks you will be able to connect internally.

What is the first sector on a floppy disk called?

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It is just like every other sector on a hard disk, an area to store data, except for the fact that it contains the MBR (Master Boot Record).