[SLL] Old Floppies

[Paul Allen]

On Wed, 2008-06-11 at 21:53 -0700, Kevin Reeder wrote:

> So, I'm sure you're with me, but I'll spell out the question
> anyway. Where can I find a computer that will read the 5.25" disks
> and let me move them onto something useable on our system? I have a
> 3.5" drive if needed.

I second the suggestion to check a computer surplus store.  There
used to be a place on NE 20th in Bellevue that bought and sold
used computer parts.  Be sure to check what kind of a connector
the drive expects on the cable.  With everything getting smaller,
there was a transition from card-edge to header connectors on
drives of all sorts.  You might even be able to find an old computer
with a 5.25" drive.

But, there is a hard reality here.  I have a box of 5.25" floppies
from my early days before hard drives.  There's probably a couple
hundred diskettes in there.  About five years ago, I decided to see
if I could recover any of the cool stuff I had on those disks.  Not
a single one I tried was readable.  They were well-treated, in their
sleeves, standing on edge in a closed box, and not one had any 
recoverable data.  I was bummed.

Paul Allen